Ummm Help Please!

Firstly, Annabelle really is a well behaved little girl...at home. For some reason when we go public she goes into super whiny, tantrum throwing mode. I thought it was supposed to be the terrible two's? I still have 4 months left!! Any who, at home when she throws a fit (usually over not getting a sippy cup overflowing with milk because she needs to finish the half empty one first...seriously..this is the thing she throws the biggest fit over) I just let her throw it, be it 10 minutes long and I pay no attention to her. In public its another story...

Why is it when I am in a restaurant and she starts to whine I feel like I need to acknowledge it? Then I usually say if you want ___ then you need to stop ____. If you don't stop ____ then you don't get ____. It works at home, but not here. She just screams and I take ____ away which results in a bigger tantrum. People start to stare and I want to give in just to make her be quiet, but if I do that then she will think when we are out she can get away with this kind of stuff. So I need help from other mom's. What do you do in that situation?

Another topic I need help on is baking. I always have really ripe banana's and I end up making banana bread and/or muffins way too frequently. When I make banana muffins I make the yummy crumbly topping. It's the only way to go when eating muffins. Anyway, so I decided to make it and put it on my banana bread. This is what happened...

Only some of it actually remained on the sides of the bread, all the rest fell into the middle and sunk to the bottom ('The ocean is big and blue, I just wanna sink to the bottom with you'...sorry)

The bread looks like a butt and you can see all the brown sugar/cinnamony ooey goodness at the bottom. The bread still tasted good, but does anyone know how I can prevent this from happening.

And to end on a happy note, Annabelle is talking more (I know, how can it be possible?) and just crackin us up with the funny things she has been saying lately. I have seen this on others' blogs and thought I would start a list of 'Anna's funnies' on the side of our blog. Hopefully I will remember to update it frequently. Enjoy!

Oh and you can wish my lil' sister Happy Birthday (it's tomorrow) here. She will love that she will have over 40 comments on one post. You know you will Ove!

Thanks for being such a great sister to me, not so much in high school, but that was well deserved on my bratty behalf ;) I love that we talk on the phone almost daily and I enjoy our crazy weirdness that no ones thinks is funny but us (let's remember singing and dancing to Blue's Clues in New York and people stopping to watch us). You make me laugh, you always comfort me and reassure me when I over think things and I am oh so jealous of your awesome good looks. Hope you have a great day! Love ya!

Favorite Things

So for all of you who read about Lori's 'Favorite Things Swap' on my blog and didn't participate...you are going to be jealous now. Today my doorbell rang and I got my package - yeah! My swap partner was Amanda and she completely spoiled me. Really. And she even made the packages it all look so cute. How I envy those with a creative eye and a knack for cute ideas like this. See for yourselves - You were supposed to include 3 of your favorite things and I got:

A yummy smelling wallflower from Bath & Body Works. I love fall scents and it is 'nutmeg' -Yesssss!

Recipes. Oh Amanda and I are so on the same page. I love to cook and bake and as I have mentioned, I am always looking for new recipes.

These are the ones I am most excited to try:

And a gift card to Shade. I have a problem with this store. Their main store is 1 block from Ross's work and it takes more self control than I have to not stop by there whenever we bring Ross lunch or dinner. It is a little safer loitering online....a little ;)

Seriously. Thank you Amanda! I love love LOVED my gifts.

Jigga What?!

When we ran the Ogden Marathon as a relay I had mentioned my desire to do half marathon. Now or never right? So my dad, bro-in-law John, and I signed up for the Top of Utah Half. Ross, Anna and I headed up to Logan Friday and went out to dinner with our friends Steven and Nancy. Thanks again for letting us spend the night - It was really nice to have to wake up 1/2 hour before we needed to leave vs. 2 hours!

Nancy and I got up around 5 AM so that Nancy could register, I could pick up my packet and we could get loaded on the bus. The drive up the canyon seemed to take forever and I was seriously worrying about what I had gotten myself into. It was a beautiful day, not nearly as cold up the canyon as I thought it was going to be. I met up with my 'former' roommate and running partner Stacia - we haven't ran together in a long time and I forgot how nice it is to have someone to run with. We had a great time talking and catching up.

The run was going great until about mile 5 when I could feel a blister forming in the inside of my right foot, just on the outside of my arch. Then about a mile and a half later I could feel one on the same spot on my left foot. Well, I knew it was going to hurt if I walked, hurt if I ran so I might as well stick it out.

Any who, Stacia and I continued on pace, well until mile 11 that is and Stacia got her second wind and I stayed behind ;) and she beat me by 1 minute 25 seconds . After the race I had a lady tell me she was pacing off of us and had fun listening to our conversations..hmmm good thing our conversations weren't of the inappropriate nature I suppose. Thanks Stacia - you helped me out a TON. I wish you lived closer so we could run together more often. I didn't really notice how bad the blisters hurt until I finished. I thought about taking pictures of the quarter sized blister, but lucky you - I didn't. Does anyone have any tips on preventing blisters? Should I just tape my feet beforehand?

My goal was to finish under 1 hour and 50 minutes and I finished with a time of 1 hour 43 minutes and 53 seconds. Wahoo! My brother-in-law and dad both finished the race with good times and survived as well. My cheerleaders - Anna's cheese in this picture cracks me up.

Anna and her cousins at the finish line.

Ross's siblings got me a massage for my birthday a while back and I saved it for just this occasion. After we got back to Ogden and I showered and ate lunch I headed off for the much needed massage - it was heavenly. When I left I was feeling much better than when I walked in. But as I was driving back to my parents house I could feel every muscle starting to tighten again - dang!

Well today my knees are a little stiff and I am sore, but it's all good. I did it and that is all that matters....right?!

5,320 Calories

Ross shared this video (click here) with me yesterday. I was in awe. Of course, I had to go to McDonald's website and find out his daily caloric intake. And this is assuming he has 6 piece nuggets and not the 10 piece and medium, instead of large fries...I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Breakfast: 1,560 calories

Lunch: 1,250 calories

Dinner: 2,510 calories

Daily Intake: 5, 320 calories, 287 fat grams, 90.5 saturated fat grams, and 234 grams of protein

Since watching the Olympics I have used the word 'insane' to describe a lot of the events and results. Annabelle has been using the word 'awesome' every time someone is jumping off a diving board. I think Ross would use Anna's favorite new word to describe who I think might be his new hero. After all, nutrition isn't really his 'forte' either ;)

More Than Just Sugar

So I realized now whenever I see people they expect me to be eating sugar and/or junk food at all times because of all the treats I show on my blog. While I do enjoy my fare share of treats, I do make and eat real food. So for all of you out there worried about my malnutrition or vitamin deficiency - I am okay.

A while back I mentioned Ross and I really like Thai and Indian inspired food and some of you mentioned you would like me to share recipes we use. I thought I would just post some of what we ate last week for dinner so that my post wasn't forever long. I hope you guys will try some. I will share more as I make dinner each week on one condition - I want you to share recipes me with me too! :) I am always looking for something new to make. I hate getting into a dinner rut!

Thai Chicken Squares

We like chicken squares, but we are a fan of Thai food so combine them and this is what you get. I know this is not a traditional Thai dish in any way, but you still get the flavors and the idea.

2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken

1 1/2 cups coleslaw mix - I usually make my own chopping up 1/2 each of red and green cabbage and 1 carrot diced (it's much cheaper than buying it from a bag)

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/3 cup Thai Peanut Sauce

3 medium green onions, chopped

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

Heat Oven to 375. In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients except for rolls. (shown above)

Separate biscuits and stretch a little to make them bigger and place them on cookie sheet. Divide filling evenly onto the rolls and bring the sides up and over to create a square/pocket of filling.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown. I serve them with rice and drizzled with more peanut sauce (we have established my love for all things peanut)

Thai Chicken Pizza

You can make this really easy by buying a pre-made pizza crust, but I make mine cause it is super easy and a hecka lot cheaper. This recipe makes 2 pizza's.

Pizza Dough:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (you can substitute whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all purpose)

.25 ounces active dry yeast

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water

1/2 - 1 Tbsp. olive oil

cornmeal, for sprinkling

Directions:

Mix a little sugar into the warm water. Sprinkle yeast on top. Wait for 10 minutes or until it gets all foamy. Pour into a large bowl. Add flour, salt and olive oil. Combine. Knead for 6-8 minutes until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (add a bit more flour if you need to). Cover and let rest for 10-30 minutes. Lightly grease two 12 inch pizza pans (or cookie sheets if you don't have pizza pans). Sprinkle with a little bit of cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a pizza pan and pat it with your fingers until it stretches over the whole pan. Try to make it thicker around the edge. Then spread with toppings of your choice and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly, hot and the edges are golden brown. **If you don't want to use all the dough, you can freeze it. Take a portion of the dough, form it into a ball, rub olive oil over it and place it in a freezer bag. Make sure to thaw before using.

Thai Chicken Pizza toppings:

I don't measure so just put however much you like. For instance, I am not a big fan of cheese so I don't put as much as some might.

Spread peanut sauce evenly over crust. Then Sprinkle lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Then top evenly with chopped cilantro, sliced water chestnuts, shredded carrots, cashew pieces, and shredded cooked chicken. Sprinkle with a little more cheese and drizzle with peanut sauce. Bake as mentioned above.

Chicken Stir Fry

We eat this ALL the time because it is so quick and easy. However I usually only make enough for dinner that night because Ross won't eat left over stir fry. So you might have to double the recipe, but Ross and I do eat a lot ;) And these measurements are guesstimates - sorry I don't always measure.

Directions:
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in wok over medium high heat. (I like to use sesame oil)

Cut 1-2 uncooked chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces and put into hot wok. Stirring constantly until almost cooked through.

Add the following while chicken is cooking:

1/2 tsp. chili garlic sauce, less if you don't want it as hot

1/2 tsp. ginger (we use the kind you buy in a jar all the time - love it!)

A drizzle of soy sauce (less than 1/4 cups worth)

Splash of lime juice (probably 3 Tbsp)

When chicken is cooked, but not browned add half a bag of stir fry vegetables. (I love the Great Value Sugar Snap Pea Mix)

Cover and let the veggies steam until done (about 5-7 minutes)

Serve over rice.

We are having Gumbo and Curry this week - I will take pics and post them sometime next week if you guys want that info as well. Now that I am taking pictures of food it makes me realize you need a nice camera to do so. So please excuse the not so great pictures - I figure, you get the idea. And like I said leave me a comment about any recipes you would like to share with me or you can share them here. I would LOVE it :)

Reunions

Last weekend was my mother-in-law's family reunion up in Bear Lake. It is always the second weekend in August and we always have lots of fun. I was a little nervous about camping because of how Anna reacted to camping last year documented here. But this year was much better. Granted she woke up throughout the night, but she always fell back asleep on her own quickly. She just wanted to interrupt our sleep I am sure ;)



She had so much fun playing on the swings and having all the 8-12 year old girls want to take care of her. Seriously, there are so many people who come up to this reunion and I have decided that all little girls just love being little mom's to even littler girls. One little girl even made Annabelle this visor. She mostly just liked to pull the stickers off of it.



Anna loved going to the lake and as always it was hard to drag her away from the water. We thought she would love boating but I think the life jacket put a damper on the whole experience. Basically she screamed until we took it off and I wasn't about to go boating without it so we didn't get to go for a ride :( She was just fine though playing in the water.


Anna usually takes a 3-4 hour nap everyday and wakes up at 8AM ish every morning. While in Bear Lake she only took 1-1 and 1/2 hour naps and woke up at 6AM every day. By the time we left Saturday she crashed. When we were in Sardine Canyon she woke up and couldn't quite fall back asleep. The poor girl would fall asleep and wake up screaming and then fall back asleep for 2 seconds and wake up and scream bloody murder. So we decided to stop at my parents house and give her a good nap in a crib. We put her down at 6:30 and she didn't wake up until 8 the next day. That's a long nap ;)

I was pretty concerned about trying to find time to read 'Breaking Dawn' so I didn't take many fun pictures. Seriously. The above pictures were all I took so I am awaiting some pictures that my mother-in-law took and I will upload them when I got them.



I make home made oreos for the trip every year. Here it the pic before I frosted them all. I meant to take a 'finished' picture and forgot that too (hey the night we left was the same as our SYTYCD party too so I was making the cup cakes to take there and I was packing for Anna, my husband and myself so I had a lot on my mind!) By the time I remembered this was all I had left - 3 cookies. They were a hit.


This weekend is the Dinsdale family picnic and I am supposed to bring a dessert and a salad. I haven't made the salad yet, but these just came out of the oven. I think I have a problem with the combination of peanut butter and chocolate.

And in other 'reunion' news, my friend Megan is home from Texas for a couple of weeks. Last night we got some friends from high school together and had fun eating pizza and catching up. These ladies are so much fun - thanks for getting everyone together KariAnn!

I Want My Two Dollars!

Every Tuesday during the month of August Thanksgiving Point has '$2 Tuesday's' where you can get into their Gardens, Museum of Ancient Life or their Farm Country for only two bucks and Anna is free because she is under the age of 2. So when my friend Alexis called me up and asked if we wanted to go, of course I said 'Yes!' We both had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into...

When we got their at 10:30 (the museum opens at 10AM) the line was wrapped around the building. Little did we know that every other family in the state of Utah had the same idea. So we waited in line for about 20 minutes - not too bad. The place is seriously HUGE so we figures no big deal. Wrong. It was packed like sardines, or if you are an Ellen fan like me, pickles.

Kids were everywhere, shoving other kids everywhere and non observant moms in abundance. They had a room full of water and sand where you could bury dinosaurs and such, afterwards you had to wash your kids hands off and I had a mom nudge Anna out of the way while I was washing her hands and stick her kid on front of her. Love it. They also had this 'dinosaur dig' room where you could brush off the sand to reveal dinosaur bones. This is my view of it. We were stuck outside with no way to move...anywhere.

After a few minutes, it cleared (the walk way that is) and I was able to get a good shot of the kids playing.

After about two hours we had had enough. We did have a good time though, it was nice to get out of the house and it was cheap, but we both agreed paying full price to have a little more room to move might be better - people stress me out...and this about sums up how my kid acted.

Oh and I just got 'Breaking Dawn' today in the mail...stupid Amazon.com! Luckily my husband bought it for me Wednesday night because he knew I wanted to read it whilst vacationing in Bear Lake this last weekend, so now I have 2 copies, haha. Anyhow, I know there might be a few people out there who have not read it yet or finished it, but I would like to discuss and hear others comments on how they felt cause I have heard mixed reviews.

I have mixed feelings too. I won't say anything so as to not spoil it for others, but if you have read it, leave a comment or shoot me an email on your thoughts if you so desire.

Or Anna says you can call her. She loves to talk on the phone lately, a little too much. If I am on the phone she usually just grabs it out of my hand to talk to the other person, especially if she thinks it is Grandma on the other end. She is pretty good at carrying on a conversation with the person too...I have no idea where she got that from?

Just don't call her too early, she doesn't like that ;)

Oh and if you don't know where I got the title for my post, don't bother calling either. I can only be friends with others who enjoy 80's movies as much as me. Kidding.

THE PARTY

Remember the group 'The Party?' Was I the only avid NEW Mickey Mouse Club watcher? You know how they always did musical numbers during the show? They decided that they would form an actual 'band' and try and make it in the real music world and all the mousekateers out there watching could send in a suggestion for this bands' name. After the contest ended, that had chosen a name - 'The Party'. They never made it big and it is probably because they chose that name.

I mean parties are fun after all. Here is a look at our SYTYCD finale party last night.

The food.

My contribution.

The voting for Twitch.

Someones plate (who will remain anonymous) who left early.

Come on now. Did you even eat anything? That is not what my finished plate looked like, that is for sure. So why not help this 'someone' (found here) out?

I wish I would have got a picture with everyone in it, but people had to leave early because they had 'kids' to attend to. And lets face it we didn't adhere to the rules we had set up well and ended up talking a whole lot. Lots of interesting stories were told and a lot of laughing...good times.

Carlee couldn't figure out how the on/off button worked on my camera and took this picture. I think it might have been a lot funnier last night.

Basically it was midnight by the time I got home yet I was not tired. I am pretty sure last night was a good example of when a good bed time routine would have come in handy cause I don't know if it was all the sugar I ate or that I was just so wound up but I laid there for a good half an hour before I fell asleep.

Thanks for hosting a wonderful party Carlee and for everyone who came...cause they brought yummy food ;) It was a blast. Hopefully our teenage power voting paid off.

Random

I have found something else Annabelle seems to love as much as water....

(don't you love how we force Anna to do something - like this slip and slide - even though she screams bloody murder because we are convinced she will love it. And she did...eventually)

and taking baths,

even monkeys.

She especially likes to get all her blankets out and then put the monkey to bed and then make the snoring noise - you know, so we know the monkey is sleeping.

Annabelle, meet bubbles.

lots of bubbles... she can't get enough of them and now wants to

constantly be playing with them.

On an unrelated subject (I just really wanted to include these 2 pictures) here is how we found Anna taking her afternoon nap on Saturday. I suppose it is one way to make sure you don't toss and turn while sleeping.

And on Sunday we met up with our friends who are visitng from New York. Their little girl Parker put on a concert for us with her Hannah Montana guitar and headset/microphone. It was awesome. We had a little Celine Dion, a little Nacho Libre - the classics.

Isn't she cute? I had always liked that name for a girl and if it wasn't for her my husband would have never let me use it for Annabelle's middle name - so I really love her ;) Thanks for letting us crash your party. Hopefully we will be visitng you in New York soon!