I could save this for a Leila-ism, but then I'd have to wait until the monthly anniversary of Leila's birth, which is January 5th. And by that time Christmas and Santa will be old news, so I'll post it now.
Leila can be pretty thoughtful in her prayers. She thinks of things that happened during the day and thanks Heavenly Father for those things. She will also sometimes tell me ahead of time what she wants to pray for next. The other day Leila said "Mom! When I say prayers next, I want to say "Thanks for Santa. . .and thanks that he says "Ho! Ho! Ho!" As random as that was, I thought it was pretty cute :)
Writing about this little moment reminds me of a sweet news article about a little boy who had a special request for Santa: He wanted him to kneel and pray with him for a sick baby! Children have a way of bringing the Christmas spirit! And what a beautiful combination to have the giver of earthly gifts (Santa) praying to the giver of eternal gifts. You can check out the story here:
Whenever people were surprised that he could do something well, my Grandpa Dixon (Poppy I called him) would say "well, I'm not just a pretty face!!" As for Leila, well. . .she's most definitely a pretty face, though she's not going to wow any crowds at "America's Got Talent" at this point. But in all seriousness, this Mama is proud of her little girl! She's among all these six and seven-year-olds and holding her own as well as a her little 3-year-old self can. I'm proud of her for making friends with these girls so easily, for getting up in front of lots of people and not being afraid! And this little group is a non-competitive one, with the goal to build confidence in girls, so I think it is serving its purpose! Besides that. . . goodness she's cute!
Now, for this next one. . .all I can say is that she missed two dance classes. Maybe that's when they practiced this one, 'cause she doesn't seem to know what's going on (and that's why I like watching it!)
I have often thought how grateful I am for the Savior. And of all the reasons I have to be grateful for him, what makes me feel like I am about to burst with gratitude is the fact that he gave me my family. Not only here and now, but the possibility that I can have them with me forever. Both my family of origin and my family of procreation mean the world to me. So when it comes down to it, Christ has really given me the world!
Ten years ago today I went through the temple (Cardston, Alberta) for the first time to receive my endowment (which means "gift"). It truly has been a gift to make promises with my Heavenly Father, and receive blessings both in and out of the temple. I feel peace and receive answers to prayer when I'm there. And I feel that, because I do temple work, the Lord blesses me in all aspects of my life, even when I am not inside those sacred walls.
I love this particular video, not only because it shows beautiful pictures of the Cardston temple, but also because it plays a song that Leila and I love to sing together!
A little less than half a dozen years after going through the temple for the first time, I was able to walk in the doors of the Bountiful Utah temple with my handsome fiancee and walk out with him as my amazing husband and eternal companion! The temple is a special place! The words that were spoken during that ceremony didn't end with "'til death do you part". Rather, we were married "for time and all eternity" as long as we live righteously. I am grateful to have been married in the house of the Lord by priesthood authority so that I have the chance to keep that wonderful guy! I miss him enough when he's gone a long day at work! I don't want anything, including death, to separate us. I'm grateful for my Savior, the temple, and my husband. Those 3 things really lay the foundation for every meaningful happy thought I have!
I wrote this one a few months ago, but haven't found quite the right time to post it. Since I need to fill up 12 days worth of posts for my 12 days of Christmas blogging, I figure now is as good a time as any. . .and I've got such a wonderful companion, I just can't keep it to myself for too long :)
I love this picture of us. . .even though it's 2 years old
. . .Robby and I need more pictures together!
I want to start a new tradition of posting from time to time what I love about Robby, so I can always remember and so that our children can learn from the marriage pro! It's incredible to me--I'm the one who got a degree in Marriage and Family Studies, but he's the one who "gets it" in terms of how to have a happy marriage and I learn from him every day. The things I love may not be mind-blowing, as they are usually just small acts of service or kind words, but they mean the world to me and, in my opinion, make for an extraordinary marriage! Anyway, without further adieu:
I struggle with meal planning off and on. So, instead of well-orchestrated dinners, too often we have pancakes, grilled cheese, or a pre-made Costco meal. Sometimes I can make it look like I've put some work into it by pulling out a freezer meal that I've previously made and popping that into the oven or slow cooker . . .but even those have started to dwindle. This past week I made a goal of doing meal plans. I don't know why I've been struggling with it so much! It's not like it's hard! I just print off a menu planner. . .
Like this one
There are gazillions of menu planners on the web. This one is my favorite because I don't write down the ingredients that I already have, just the ones I need and it becomes a shopping list--so convenient! Also, instead of writing down the starch that goes with the dinner, I use that spot to write which website or cookbook I got the recipe from, so I can find it again when I need it!
So this should be easy right?! But like many other things, I tend to make a mountain out of a mole hill and make things seem harder/ more time consuming than they really are, and I don't do it. Well, I planned my meals last week! Hooray! Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it was super easy from A to Z, after all--I do have to figure out how to make dinner while having to entertain two cute/intense little girls, but it worked out!
So now that you have the background, here is how the conversation with my husband went:
Me: So, I'm really proud of myself!
Robby: Ya?! How so?
Me: I made a goal to do better at meal planning and I did it! I've felt silly having so many lame meals lately! But this week I made chicken and sausage stroganoff, breakfast casserole, chicken pot pie, and chicken enchiladas!
Robby: Good job! The chicken pot pie was so good! And the enchiladas were amazing! . . .But those seemed like pretty intense meals to prepare. To be honest, the difference between enchiladas and Costco lentils on rice is so little. It's like. . .
Me: The 80/20 rule?
Robby: Ya!
*Aside: The 80/20 rule is the idea that you do 20% of the work for 80% of the quality, so sometimes it just makes sense to stop there. Because otherwise, you have to put in another 80% worth of time/effort, just to increase your results a meager 20%. Robby's philosophy is--why sacrifice balance and sanity when 80% is still a good score?
Robby: Really, I'd rather we just had baked potatoes for dinner if it meant you could just get a nap in.
You can bet he got a hug, a kiss, and an "awww" for that one! He is always so considerate of me and looks for ways to help ease my load. And it's so nice to know that he sincerely cares about me!
If you want another story about how wonderful it has been to be married to this guy, check out this one.
So one of my New Year's resolutions was to blog once a week. You can tell from looking over there -----> and scrolling down that I didn't meet my goal. . .not even close. To kinda sorta make up for it (but not all the way), I'm planning on blogging the twelve days up to and including Christmas. Call it compensating for my lacking. . .call it a self-inflicted punishment. Either would probably be at least somewhat true :)
I don't know about you, but to me pumpkin flavor is not just a Thanksgiving thing, but a Christmas thing too. I'm sure it's partly because of big family dinners that end with a hefty slice of pumpkin pie. But I also think it's just one of those inanimate things that gives me a warm happy feeling! It fits right up there with fireplaces, hot chocolate, and candles flickering on the hearth. So even when it's in a cold smoothie, something about it being pumpkin just gives me warm fuzzies inside :) But I've come to realize that Oreo doesn't share my same sentiment as I can't seem to find pumpkin oreos now that Thanksgiving is over. If you've seen 'em somewhere--fill me in!!
Oatmeal smoothies. Have you had one? No? Sounds gross? Well, all I can say is, don't knock it 'til you try it. I've been making banana oatmeal smoothies for well over a year now and when I first served one up to my husband, he said "hmmm. . .it's like drinking banana bread batter. . .but I actually like it!" So there you have it. Oh! And my little girls really like them too, so that's a plus. I like them because they are kind of a stick-to-your-ribs kind of on-the-go food, they're yummy and not packed with calories=win, win, win!
So a week ago, I started thinking I would make a pumpkin oatmeal smoothie, 'cause those two things seem to go pretty well together. In fact, if you agree, you gotta try this pumpkin pie oatmeal--It's sooo good! But I made the smoothie it and it was missing something in texture and sweetness. I threw a frozen banana in (like I do with the banana oatmeal smoothie) and voila! That did the trick! But you'll notice I didn't call this recipe "pumpkin-banana oatmeal smoothie" and there's a reason for that--not only is that title too long to fit on one line, you actually can't really taste the banana that well, so it doesn't deserve to be in the title! Like I said, it just helps with adding smoothness to the texture and a natural sweetness without over-doing it.
Ingredients
1/2 cup cooked and cooled oatmeal (it could be any kind--even from the packets)
heaping 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (more or less to taste)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1 cup of any kind of milk (I use almond milk, but if you use sweetened almond milk, don't use honey or it will be too sweet)
1 Tbs. honey
1 frozen banana (I like to slice mine into quarters before I plastic wrap it and throw it into the freezer)
About a 1/2 tray ice pellets **see note below
Instructions
In a small bowl combine oatmeal, cinnamon, vanilla, pumpkin puree, milk, and honey. Stir together and dump in blender. Add frozen banana and 1/2 tray of ice pellets. Blend until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Makes 2 glasses.
Here is a pic of my unique ice cube tray that I swear by for making smoothies.
You can see see that roughly half the tray is empty, 'cause I used it to make a pumpkin
oatmeal smoothie. Honestly, when I try to dump the ice into the blender I get a good
number of them all over the floor and my 3-year-old goes scrambling for them as though
I just hit the jackpot on a pinata. So it's, really probably a little less than half a tray
that ends up in the smoothie :)
**Note: One trick I use in making smoothies of all kinds is to use an ice cube tray that makes little pebbles rather than big honking blocks. I got mine in a pack of two at Target. I find that my blender (a Ninja--so not a small potatoes Osterizer, but not a high fluting Blendtec either) can break it down into smoothie texture better without having those random chunks of ice floating around in my smoothie. I don't know what it is, but I like to chew my orange juice (extra pulp), but I don't like to chew my smoothie. . .no thanks! So you can use regular ice cubes, I just don't know how many--I'm sure it's not an actual science. . .I would guess 4 or five would be great.
If you try it, let me know! Even if you hate it, 'cause at least you'll have the right to say so if you've actually tried it :)
This is my little cutie in her dance costume. I will post some videos of her first dance performance EVER later this month. Dang! She's cute! (. . .If I do say so myself!)
1) Reading Buddies
Leila likes to be read to. And although there are many books that she likes, there is one that stands out above them all--Classic Bedtime Stories by Scott Gustafson. Not only does it contain some great classics like Jack and The Beanstalk and The Three Billy Goats Gruff, not only does it have breathtakingly gorgeous illustrations, but it was purchased for my daughters by their beloved Grandma Parker as a "just because" gift (those are the best kinds of gifts, aren't they?)
When Robby was little his Mom read to him and his siblings a lot. Robby often tells me of the memories he has of his mom reading to him when he was young. It's common to hear him say "I love that book! My mom read it to me as a child." Being read to aloud is just one of the many examples of memories that have created such a strong bond between Robby and his Mama.
One of the stories Robby and his Mama read together was the story of Little Black Samba and The Tigers. That story happens to be in this compilation of classics--I think that's why this book piqued Grandma Parker's interest when she saw it at the store :) She has read it to Leila a *few* times :) You can tell that's an understatement when you watch them reading it together in this video.
Note: This video was taken 6 1/2 months ago (in May when Leila was not yet 3). I tried in vain to upload it months ago. It took me this long to get me to ask my super-duper multi-talented, technically savvy hubby for help. It was NBD for him of course.
What a little performer she is!
2) I Have a Happy Family (Home Evening)
During FHE Robby asked what Leila likes about our family:
She said "I like that our family reads scriptures together and that you guys got married in the temple"
For another FHE Robby asked when was the last time Leila felt the Spirit. She turned it into the same question as the other week:
Leila: I like that our family loves each other so much!
I like that too. . .and I like that she's so darned sweet!
3) Jesus' Hands
We have been trying to teach Leila that when she makes good choices it makes Heavenly Father and Jesus happy and when she makes not-so-good choices it makes them sad.
One day she spilled some water and said "Oh no! It's not good to spill water! When we spill water on the floor it's like we're spilling water on Jesus' hands!"
**Hmmm. . .not. . .exactly.**
Here is Leila with Santa at the Christmas party. I liked that they had a couch--no need to sit on a strange old guy's lap, right?
4) Syllable Smarts
This week Leila learned about syllables. It took about 30 seconds to get the concept. I'm always amazed how quick she is to catch on to things!
L: All. On. A. Sat-ur-day. Night! (pointing at me, then her and switching who she was pointing at for each syllable)
M: Oh! That's good! You pointed at a different person for each syllable! Do you know what a syllable is?
L: No. What is it?
M: It's the sounds in a word. Let's see how many syllables Saturday has in it: Sat-ur-day (holding up a finger for each time I said a syllable). How many is that?
L: 3!
M: Great job! How about "Leila"? How many syllables are in your name?
Together: "Lei-la" (holding up a finger for each syllable)
L: Two!
M: That's right! How about "hippopotamus"?
L: Hip-po-pot-a-mus (holding up fingers) . . .five!
We kept trying that--I would suggest a word, then she would suggest a word. She got them all right until she suggested a whole sentence, something like "I have some peanut butter to eat". At that point she bit off a little more than she could chew :)
5) A Little Medicine Goes a Loooong Way!
The other day I was getting ready to give some Zarbee's cough medicine to Heidi. It's all natural, boosts the child's immune system, and is OK for kids 12 months and up. . .Oh. . .and it has honey in it. So I sucked up a half teaspoon using the medicine syringe, but in doing so, I got some sticky medicine on my hands. . .and I DON'T like being sticky! So I stood the syringe up on the table with the nozzle pointing to the ceiling while I washed my hands. Leila immediately climbed up on the chair and, harnessing the full power of her curious nature, pushed the syringe down . . .hard. It all happened in the blink of any eye--before I could let out a dissuading response! So I just watched helplessly as the contents of the syringe spewed quickly into the air, raining all over my shirt and arm, Heidi's hair, and leaving a nice sticky trail on the ceiling! Of course Leila ended up untainted! So much for not getting sticky!!
6) Origins
Leila: What is oatmeal made of?
Me: Oats.
Leila: Applesauce is made of ducks!
*mmm. . .K! I may never look at applesauce the same again!*
Like reading about our fun, smart, sweet girl? Click here for past Leila-isms!
