the cupcake maker

Tessa got her cupcake maker! We made a batch of mini cupcakes and then washed up the 2o or so mini spoons and measuring cups and bowls and mini serving plates and trays. It was fun.

some presents ...

what does the spoiled 5th child & only boy get?

Christmas Morning

I guess the girls made it on to the nice list. It was close though. Santa brought Julia and Rachel wii fit and Grace and Tessa a gymnastics mat.

all decorated and ready for santa...

Waiting for Santa

Christmas Eve Party

This Christmas we had no parents/grandparents nearby so things were a little quiet. Some friends kindly invited us to their big family Christmas party and the kids participated in acting out the nativity. Jack even played the baby Jesus.

all dressed up ...

Sleddin'

Winter Fun

We have a perfect sledding hill right out our back door. Usually we don't get enough snow here to use it but this year we have had plenty. Check out Grace's sledding attire. What kind of mom lets her kid sled in a nightgown?

T-E-S-S-U

"Mom, you guys didn't spell my name right when I was born. It should end with a U but if you don't like that then you can just call me Tess and spell it T-E-S-S."

I tried to pull a fast one over on Tess yesterday at Costco. I saw a cupcake maker that she had asked Santa for. (she decided that maybe the Big City Slider pan was not for her and if she got a cupcake maker she could still serve all her friends). Anyways I did not want to make a seperate trip back there so I snuck it into the cart and quickly covered with clothes and my coat while she was distracted. When we got to the check out I quietly told the cashier what I was trying to do and she scanned everything very carefully while I talked to Tessa. As we were leaving Tessa took the receipt from me and held it up to the bottom of the cart and said, "I need to cover that up so I don't see it." I asked her what she was talking about and she pointed to the tiniest corner of the cupcake maker that was peeking out at the bottom of the cart. 4 year olds are smarter than they look.

Tessa's Christmas Wish

John took Tessa to see Santa at the mall last night and she could not think of anything to ask him for this year. Must be nice not to have any wants that haven't been met. Well, today Tessa came and grabbed my hand and dragged me to the television to see an infomercial on Big City Sliders (a special pan that lets you cook 5 mini hamburgers at once). She said, "This is what I want for Christmas! He said you can serve them to all your friends!".

I posted Grace's unusual Christmas wish a while back. Is it me or are my kids just a little bit strange?

mommy ... james pinched me

These are the cutest twin nephews I have ever had! I cannot wait to hold them!

What does Jack do at Disneyland???

Not much. Just hangs out and sucks his thumb.

We Love Pickles!

Where Dreams Come True ...

The Happiest Place on Earth ...

We had a fun time visiting Disneyland this week. We went with Grandma Jeane and our good friends the Fellers and the Fellows. Our girls are quite the thrill seekers ... the bigger the drop the better when it comes to rides.

Fun in Seattle

Check out the 2 bad Staley dudes! We took Jack on a last minute getaway to Seattle last weekend. We had a lot of fun shopping and eating. One restaurant just dumped a bowl of seafood in the middle of the table and gave you a wooden block and mallot to go at it.

Tessa is popular!!!

I was reading Tessa's preschool report card to her and her teacher had commented on her sweet personality that everyone loves. Tessa got a big smile on her face and said, "YES!!! Does that mean I'm popular?"

Thanksgiving Turkey

Grace - "We're having turkey for dinner on Thanksgiving right? Well can I go with daddy when he goes out to catch it?"

Can someone please sing with Tessa???

Tessa was singing Hairspray songs in the car while I was driving today. She realized she didn't know all the words and asked me to sing with her. I was listening to something on the radio so I said, "I don't really feel like singing right now." Tessa replied, "Well mom I don't really feel like singing either but I'm still doing it!"

Gracie's Christmas Wish

"Mom ... there is ONLY one thing that I want for Christmas - a hamster. Every time I wish upon a star that is the only thing I ever wish for. Just a hamster."

Diet Pancakes???

Rachel says these are better than regular pancakes! The vita mix is perfect for this. Make it extra healthy by cooking them with a little cooking spray instead of butter and serving with just a touch of syrup. I used the nutmeg syurp from Trinidad. They are very filling - yet somehow Rachel still ate 4 of them.

1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
6 eggs
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or 1/4 cup whole wheat and 1/4 cup barley flour)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Pinch of salt
Dash of vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk

Blend or food process first six ingredients on high until smooth. Add milk slowly to reach batter consistency. Cook on a hot, nonstick griddle. Number of pancakes vary by size. Serves 6.

Nutritional Information: (per serving)Calories: 225 Protein: 13 g Fiber: 1.5 g
Carbs: 9 g Fat Total: 15 g Saturated Fat: 3 g

who made grace our political advisor?

Grace came running in after the bus dropped her off yesterday afternoon and said, "Mom! We HAVE to vote for Obama!". I told her that she was too young to vote but I would take her opinion into consideration. She said, "Well, whatever you do, DON'T vote for McCain!".

Sibling Dynamics

Rachel made an observation this morning. She said, "Mom, have you noticed that we don't fight over who gets to hold Jack anymore? ... Actually, Grace doesn't even like Jack". I turned to Grace and asked her if that was true. She said, "Well ... I like him ... we just don't hang out any more". I think Grace is grossed out by the whole breastfeeding thing. She told me that she is so glad that she is not a baby because she doesn't want to drink from "those things". I told her that someday maybe she will have a baby of her own and get to feed him with "those things". She got a very disturbed look on her face.

Ready to get fit???

John and I started our P90X fitness program on Monday. That means we are on day 5 of 90. It's time for me to shed the pounds that Jack gave me and John needs to shed a few for which he has no excuse. I will do everyone a favor and not post our "before" pictures. We are doing 6 days per week of intense workouts and low carb eating. In order for us to stick with it I have been searching for awsome recipes that fit our diet. I will post any really good ones that I find. Here are the favorites from this week ...

Sauteed Filet Mignon
(We were really needing a yummy treat on this diet and this was exactly what we were looking for! I bought 2 nice filets (the kids got leftover meatloaf) and served it with smashed cauliflower and green beans)

2 filet mignon steaks
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cut beef broth
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp butter (it's optional justin!!!)

-season the filets generously with salt and pepper. Saute in a heavy skillet over medium high heat with a little oil until steaks are medium/medium rare. Remove and cover to keep warm.
-pour off all but 1 tbsp of the fat, leaving any meat juices in the pan. reduce heat to medium and saute the garlic for 15 seconds. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits from the pan. Raise heat and reduce to a syrup. Pour in the stock, soy sauce and vinegar. Boil until the sauce just reduces to a syrup. Remove from heat and stir in butter, if you wish (it adds fat but gives the sauce a velvety texture. Taste for salt and pepper. Pour over the filets and serve. This was so yummy!!!


Chinese Chicken Salad
(This was pretty easy and the dressing was super yummy!I prefer the chicken shredded instead of chopped)

For Dressing
4 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp peanut butter
3 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp Asian chili paste
1 1/2 tsp ginger, grated
4 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

In a small bowl, combine, whisk and set aside.

For Salad
2-3 large cooked chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, shredded or chopped into chunks
Sesame seeds, toasted
1 Head Napa cabbage, chopped
1 Head Romaine, chopped
About 10 snap peas, ends snipped and julienned (optional)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and shredded or julienned
3/4 cup peanuts, chopped
1 bunch (about 8) green onions, white and light green parts chopped crosswise

In a really large salad bowl, combine cabbage, romaine, snap peas, cilantro and green onions and toss gently. Sprinkle in the sesame seeds and peanuts. Add the chicken. Pour in the dressing and toss. Serves 4.

jack has a lot to say

Halloween!

... and the award for Most Ironic Costume goes to ...

Grace dressed as an Angel

Tessa's Prayer

Tessa was asked to give the closing prayer in primary yesterday and she blessed that Julia and Rachel wouldn't fight anymore. The primary kids and teachers found that pretty amusing.

All Dressed Up

jack wants to be a rock star like uncle jamie ...

My Brother is a Rock Star!

Julia's New Haircut

General Conference

Rachel and Julia had an assignment from primary to glue the faces and names by the different topics that were addressed during conference. Jack had a good time helping out ...

Fat & Happy

Jack has a little crush on Julia's friend Amalie. She got a TON of smiles from him this afternoon!

mamma ... I think my cousin wants to eat me

Blessing Day

Jack received a beautiful blessing from his dad this morning.

Half Smiles

Jack is just starting to smile at people. Whenever we grab the camera though, he stops. Here are some lazy half smile attempts...

Jack Pictures

I have received multiple requests from certain family members living overseas to post some pictures of Jack...

Confessions of a Tired Mom ...

The poor kids are having to deal with having a constantly tired mom these days. Rachel had a lady say to her, "I bet your mom never gets angry" ... to which Rachel replied, "She only gets angry when she is tired. She is always tired though.".

A few days ago I told Tessa that I was up a lot in the night and I needed to take a nap. She said she would quietly play on the computer while I rested. It took forever to get Jack to sleep and when I was finally ready to lay down Tessa walked in and said she was done on the computer. I told her that I still needed to sleep and sent her out to find something else to do. She left and shut the door behind her. After I woke up, I opened my bedroom door to find her sitting on the step right outside my door. She had just quietly waited for me to sleep. It broke my heart!

Grace is suddenly the middle child and is really trying my patience. The other night we were butting heads and I took her into her room to get dressed for bed and told her that if she didn't start being nice to me that I'd put her to bed. She opened her pajama drawer and pulled out her t-shirt that says I LOVE MOM on it and said, "I won't be wearing this one tonight!"

Yippee! The First Day of School!!!

Grace was a little stressed about her first day of 1st grade today. She was all ready and spilled an entire bowl of cereal in her lap. She had a brief nervous break down but we managed to get her into a new outfit and out the door.