Blog Updates

You will all notice quite a few changes to my fabulous blog. I have been doing a lot of reading on making blogs in general better and decided to implement a bunch of new things. I have also changed back to a boring blog background because we have had to downgrade our amount of RAM and it takes forever to load the page the way it had been. I have also added labels to all of my blogs now, so you can ignore my journaling and just look at the picture posts or vice versa. If anyone wants to learn how to add three columns, scroll boxes (which I don't have anymore), change colors, etc. please check out the amazing blog Tips for New Bloggers.

Baby Sign Language Fun

Your baby can learn sign language!
Here's how to say:

• "Please change my diaper": Turn beet red and make straining expression, then smile.

• "I'd like something to eat, please": Cram fist in mouth and suck wildly.

• "I'm tired": Make a series of weeping gestures before closing eyes and lolling head backward.

• "Please pass me that thing up there that I can't reach": Point and grunt, then continue pointing and open mouth into screaming position.

• "No thank you. I think I've had enough": Throw food or object to floor with exaggerated grin.

This was in an email I get from www.babycenter.com. They send me updates weekly on Caden and monthly on Nathan (it switches automatically at one year to once a month emails). They give great advice about what your baby should be doing, what you should be looking for and questions different Mom's have asked. At the end of every email they post a joke and this one just cracked me up, so I had to share!

Deal or No Deal

So, this is not one of my favorite game shows (that title is reserved by Wheel of Fortune), but I am so excited to tell everyone... you have to watch the show on June 11th at 7pm! A friend of mine and Scott's (from the singles ward, although he is married now), Adam Hansen (we knew him as Spanky, but I think he is trying to pretend he has matured what with marriage and all) is going to be on! I saw a preview on my friend Kara Charlton's blog, but I couldn't find it to put it on mine. I don't know if her blog is private, but you could try and check it out at http://charltonfamilycircle.blogspot.com/.

CATS Memory - Elaine Paige

My Twilight Cast

Okay, so most of you know about the Twilight books. If you haven't read them, go read them! I am on my second reading of Twilight right now. But here is my Edward. He was Stephenie Meyer's choice for Edward until she realized how old he was. I still think he is the best choice.

Here is a picture I thought would be Bella. I'm not sure who she is. See Jazmin, pale can be beautiful!

These are a couple of Stephenie's picks for Bella.
Emily Browning
Ellen Page

This is Rachel Leigh Cook for Alice. I really like Rachel Leigh Cook and think she would make a great Alice.

Stephenie's pick for Jacob Black, Steven Strait. I like this one, he certainly reminds me of my idea of Jacob.
If you go to Stephenie Meyer's website she has more ideas for who should be cast as which character. I love these books!

Halloween Books

So my good friend Jaime Blaisdell posted her favorite Halloween books and asked us about ours. So here are a couple (okay the only) of our favorites.

The Witches Ball

This book rhymes! Okay, so we love rhyming books. We also found it in a board book style, and the pictures are so fun. Nathan loves reading it over and over and over....

This is a great book for little ones. It has soft puzzle pieces on each page and helps with counting to three.

Blog Colors

So, I recently learned (thanks to my awesome friend Jaime!) how to change my blog colors (messing around with html coding is fun! and a bit scary...). So you may notice that I have a new theme every week or day... or minute :) . Yeah!!!

Envirosax

So my Aunt and Grandma decided to get me the envirosax as my birthday present (a little early I know). I am so excited. I haven't used them yet, but I will this weekend. I just have to tell you how cute they are. Here is a picture of the ones I got and the other two packs. They make fantastic gifts!

They are so fun!

They can hold a lot!

They are so compact they can fit in the console between the front seats!

Here are the two other packs. I want them all!

I bought these on the delight website, see my link to it on the left under my favorite websites. Hurry! These are going fast as they were featured in Oprah's magazine! Kyra Sedgewick and Cameron Diaz are also happy Envirosax owners!

Funny Ebay Posting

Okay, so a friend sent me these links to a mom who posted this funny ebay message about the Pokemon cards she was auctioning off. Here is the ebay link, and the link to her great website. I would love to hear what you all think about it. It is hilarious.

4 Things

I just realized that Jaime Blaisdell tagged me for this a couple weeks ago. Sorry Jaime! So, here it is.
4 jobs I've had
1. Sales (Cutco Knives, Kirby, Mary Kay, BeautiControl, etc.)
2. Waitress at Jim's
3. Photographer at Sears (my favorite)
4. Associate at Bealls

4 movies I can watch anytime
1.Miss Congeniality
2.Pirates of the Carribean
3.Mr and Mrs. Smith (Sometimes I would love to be able to pummel my spouse like that... very rarely of course :) )
4.Princess Bride (the best movie to quote!)

4 places I've lived
1.(only 4!) California
2.Germany
3.Las Vegas
4.San Diego

4 Favorite TV Shows
1.24
2.House, MD
3.Grey's Anatomy
4.The Office

4 Favorite foods
1. Chicken Marsala from Olive Garden
2.Chimichangas from Gringos
3.Rudys
4.Anything my hubby grills!

4 Places I'd rather be
1.LaJolla Beach
2.On a cruise
3.Washington with my Aunt and Grandma
4.Europe!

4 websites I visit daily
1.Gmail
2.My friends' blogs
3.Amazon
4. I do a lot of googling, so google I suppose (does that count?)

4 people to tag
1.Bobbi
2.Caroline
3.Rachel Smith
4.Kat

Easy Recipes

A couple of weeks ago Scott's 1993 Isuzu Rodeo died completely (the engine block cracked). So, having just bought a house, the last thing our already stretched budget needed was another car payment. We were a one car family for our first two years of marriage, but this will be the first time with kids in the picture. At least I am stuck at home in a house, right? Anyway, so I have decided to try and be a better stay at home mom/wife.
I am not a very competent cook, and I have a limited number of recipes that I feel comfortable making. Besides the fact that I hate being in a hot kitchen over a hot stove. I am totally a casserole person. Mix it, throw it in the oven and no need for side dishes. Unfortunately my hubby is not a big fan of casseroles, so I have taken to watching the food network channel. Rachel Ray is a bit overly bubbly, but her 30 minute meals show is amazing! I actually tried making one of her complete dinners (cooking five things at once) I ended up adding the wrong ingredients to the wrong pots, and burning two things. Scott, being the wonderfully patient and loving husband he is, raved over it and has even asked me when I will make it next. Anyway, I was talking to another friend and telling her my story and we decided to swap a couple of recipes. She gave me this amazingly simple, mouth watering recipe, and I just can't keep it to myself. So, here it is, and I hope everyone enjoys it!
Crockpot BBQ Chicken
Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (as many as will feed your crew)
A bottle of Hot'n'Spicy BBQ Sauce (we love HEB's Texas Bold, but I know you can only get it locally)
Enough water to just cover the chicken in the crockpot
Add chicken, water and half the bottle of BBQ sauce to crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. After it is done the chicken will just fall apart, my friend adds the rest of the BBQ sauce, but I didn't. I used the juice from the crockpot as a very liquity gravy. I also made mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls. The left over chicken is great for sandwiches as well. My mouth is watering just writing about it. I hope you love it as much as we did!