Delicious Dinner!

Here is something you may not have known about me: I have a thing with rice. I also have a thing with Cream of Chicken soup. Both entirely unrelated, but also both kind of a big deal to me.

I think the Rice Thing started back when I had Hailey and we were still receiving dinners from the neighbors. This one sister made her famous curry and I don't know if it was because anything at that point that I didn't have to make tasted amazing or if it really was that good (which I don't doubt!), but that was probably the best dish of curry I had ever eaten in my entire life. Besides the fact that the curry sauce itself tasted so wonderful, the sticky rice inside was cooked perfect and soft. Ever since that day, I made a goal to make rice just like hers.

I did have a few issues. That included I have a BUNCH of long grain rice, which makes for horrible sticky rice. I didn't want to go out and buy special rice because I really had that much long grain rice in my storage. I felt sort of guilty, like I was betraying the rice I already had. Number two, my rice cooker has a mind of its own. More often than not, the rice still comes out crunchy (eww!!). I tried the stove method over a dozen times, each with a new recipe from the internet, but they all failed. My quest for perfect rice continued.

And the Cream of Chicken Soup Thing, it's just fake. That's the only way I can describe it. It doesn't matter which brand I get, it still tastes fake. You can mix it with mayo or sour cream or milk or cheese...and it still tastes fake. I hate it and I avoid it at all possible.

This brings me to my delicious meal tonight. We had a ton of leftover chicken, so Scott said Why not Hawaiian Haystacks? I sort of groaned inside, knowing that I'd have to face the rice AND the cream of chicken for another unsuccessful dinner. But I turned positive and started my search online for a SCRATCH recipe. And guess what? I found it!!

No Cream Of Soup Hawaiian Haystacks

Real Mom Kitchen is the bomb-dot-com. And you know what is so great about this recipe? It uses everything one would usually have as a staple in their kitchen anyway. That is why I like these white-sauce/roux/milk or cream sauce things so much! They are SO versatile and you don't realize how much the "quick and easy" world has pushed it aside and made their own canned version to make dinner time come faster. But this scratch recipe (along with many others that I already use this same method for) is SO worth that extra 20 minutes.

So Cream of Chicken Soup Thing was checked off my list. I had finally conquered the soup!

Next was the issue with rice. I had remembered once seeing a quick "recipe" for rice in a cookbook that we got for our wedding.  "Mormon Pantry: Cooking for Two" by Debbie G Harman is the name and I have actually taken a few recipes from that book and already dubbed them as "family favorites." I decided to give this rice a try.

1 cup long-grain rice (me me me!)

2 cups water

1 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp salt

Bring the two cups water to a boil. Add rice, salt, and butter and stir well. 

Reduce temperature to medium-low and place a tight-fitting lid on pan. Simmer 20 minutes. 

Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Serve while still warm.

I wonder if the salt helped do the trick because I had never added salt before. Whatever it was, I liked it! The rice actually came out SOFT. Did you hear that? S-O-F-T. Even my husband was surprised (poor guy having to endure all that crunchy half-cooked rice). Would you blame me if I told you I sat down and ate the left over rice straight out of the pan? Yum!

Combine these two elements together, plus some delicious toppings like pineapple, celery, cheese, and who can forget chow mein noodles, this was probably THE best Hawaiian Haystacks I have ever had.

The End!

The Good News!

The Good News is...my computer is back! Healthy and fast as ever. I am so, so very happy. It feels like the very first day I turned it on.

But that's the bad news. It's because it IS like the very first day I turned it on. Wiped the whole thing...and factory reset it. We backed it all up on my external hard drive, but I know that is going to take a good, long time to upload everything back onto my computer.

You know what, though? It feels really good, this starting new thing. True, it may take some work to get things back to where they were before (re-install the printer, put all my pictures and files back on, get all my settings the way I like it) but it is totally worth it.

Sort of feels like baptism, or the Atonement, wiping this all clean. Love it!

Anyway, I thought I would start a new thing. Try to write every Friday or Saturday to tell you about our week. Today is Tuesday, but this is making up for last week. And sadly, no pictures right now.

Last Monday, school started for Scotty and my mom. It also meant Hailey started at her new babysitter. She loved it!! The new sitter has 2 kids, one Hailey's age, and she came home happy as ever!

We are still trying to adjust to Scott's new schedule at work. It keeps him away til 8pm, which we are very much not used to. For two years we've had our evenings together, every evening! But I feel like this is good to shake things up a bit and get us working on our toes again. I think this will also encourage us to go to the temple more since before, we felt like we could go anytime, and thus, didn't. Now, we really have to plan it and stick with the plan. I think I am going to like this.

Friday was Scott's cousin's wedding. It was in Manti and it was beautiful. They both have such great families and I was very pleased to be in the their presence all day. We spent the afternoon/evening in Richfield for the luncheon and reception. I like Richfield! Small enough that it's in the middle of nowhere, but big enough for a Walmart! It was a great, but long, day.

Saturday, I went to my sweet little piano student's baptism. She got baptized with her two best friends. What a wonderful moment that was. It was crazy to see these young girls getting baptized. They were so little when we moved into the ward 3 1/2 years ago!

Sunday was our nephew's baby blessing. We spent more time with Scott's family and had a nice breakfast/luncheon. We spent dinner at my family's house where my tech-savy brother helped clean my computer.

Monday was great because my dear sister Oy decided to watch Hailey for me while I deep cleaned my house!! I did the kitchen/fridge and the storage room and it feels SO sososo great to be able to have space in the storage room again. I love that everything is organized again. I am happy.

And so that brings us to today, where I am yelling at my daughter to stay out of the garbage and stop eating those old carrot peals, and to stop climbing up on the rocking chair and tipping it over backwards, and, oh yeah, where I am avoiding the DISASTER in my bathroom where the toilet may or may not have flooded the floor...I am going to have fun cleaning tonight. Oy vay.

That is all! Hope you enjoyed!

I Should Explain.

My computer is on the verge of death unless he gets this life-saving procedure done by two surgeons named Dad and Brother. In the meantime, I can't post on my iPad (lame) and I never think about it at work! Also....the iPad is just so easy for internet access that we haven't even opened our poor computer all summer long! No wonder he's almost dead. Lack of love and nurturing. Anyway, that is why I haven't kept you up to date on all our fun summer adventures.

So let me sum up, minus pictures (sorry!)
1. Seven Peaks!!! I am SO glad we got a Pass of All Passes. On sale...totally worth the $20.
2. Hailey is walking...FINALLY!
3. Hailey is a jabbering-jabber-er.
4. Hot. Hot hot hot. Bought a fan. Still hot.
5. Hailey is walking...FINALLY!
6. Lazy. House bum. I seriously do nothing. I've been wasting my summer!
7. Flight to Logan!
8. Still working on Instrument Rating...
9. Fun trip to Nampa, ID.
10. Hailey is walking...FINALLY!

Haha so that's mostly the gist of our summer so far. I've also been reading a bit and crocheting a lot. I also still work and teach piano. I read in a book that "Good times make for poor stories" so I guess that's us in a nutshell. Good times, folks! :)

A Couple Things I Have Learned As A Mother - The Hard Way.

A Couple Things I Have Learned As A Mother - The Hard Way
by a mother who is currently beating herself over the head.

I say this all in good nature, but seriously! There are just those things in life that you apparently just have to learn yourself, and also that people are never, ever going to let you live down.

So we begin with Number One:
Never, ever think you are good enough to cut your own child's hair.
No matter how many YouTube videos you watch (or, don't watch...) you just have to face the fact that you were never meant to cut hair. You already have no sense of fashion or style, so don't trick yourself into thinking you were born to also cut hair. By yourself. With no one to help or guide you.

It just doesn't work out.

Thankfully, hair grows fast and we'll be over this fiasco in about 2 weeks. In the meantime, I'll just put paper bag over my daughter's head, and mine.

Number Two:
The good sippies are expensive. The cheap sippies don't last.
As much as I hate it, I have bought waaaay more sippies for my one child than I ever care to think. But that's because I bought the cheap ones first, and they all started leaking. Not to mention, you have to go back and buy a different one for their age (not really, but I've noticed that Hailey likes the new sippies I bought better because they have a higher flow than the other sippies we wasted money on). Also, the better sippies that don't break (ahem) and don't leak (double ahem) and don't clog or whatever else, a) cost at least $2 more than the average sippy and b) are NOT gender neutral! Those darn companies knew what they were doing when they started making sippies only for girls or only for boys. You're gonna bet my future sons (if any) are going to be drinking from flowered/pink/purple sippies. It's just ridiculous to have to buy new sippies for each child.

Anyway, I'm done with my rant. Some things are just frustrating, and sometimes I just want to go lay down and cry. But I know wallowing in my own pity isn't going to change what has happened (I'm mostly talking about the hair) and we just have to accept it and laugh about it and move on.

And maybe eventually get over myself and post a picture. In a couple weeks...after her hair has grown back.

Crafting?!?!

I have been in a major crafting mood. Like, hu-jah! And I don't mean crocheting. I always want to crochet. I mean things like sewing and gluing and cutting and just non-normal things that I don't ever usually do! But I want to do it and I'm going to do it while I've still got the motivation!

So here's what I really really really want to do:

Plastic-Grocery-Bag Crochet-Bag

Sewing a swimsuit cover-up dress out of....an old sheet??

DIY Reusable sandwich baggies!

Fun Gerber Cloth Diaper Burp Cloths

Sippy Straps (attaches sippy to stroller, high chair, etc.)

DIY Lip Balm/Lip Gloss

Sounds like a lot...but I've already got 3/7 underway and the other 4 are not far behind.

I can't wait to show you pictures!

Catch Up

I've only allotted myself 30 minutes to work on blog stuff. That means I have to hurry pronto because it's already taken me 15 minutes just to sort out all the pictures that I want to use.

Prepare for a photo bomb. Oh, and a word bomb.

I don't know if I will catch everything, or keep you caught up on everything, but we'll just try.

This morning, Hailey ate her cereal with a big girl spoon. No pictures, sorry. My big girl is just growing up!
Yesterday, we went to Seven Peaks with our BRAND NEW Pass of All Passes. Hailey LOVED the water. Again, no pictures. We were too busy having fun!
Back in April, I cleared a small space and planted myself a little garden.

Hailey helped, of course.

I did peas and spinach.

Look, a couple weeks later - sprouts!

As the weather has been getting warmer, we have been taking Hailey to the park. She loves the swings!

She also loves her sunglasses.

Summertime has been good so far. Isn't she adorable??

Also, there is an awesome splash pad just a few blocks away at the city center. It is designed like a stream and flows a lazy "S" through some boulders. I think it is awesome! And free!
In February or maybe January, some of Mrs. Mathews' past students decided to throw her a surprise concert because she is retiring this year. I unwittingly volunteered to be in charge of my year. Talk about stressful!!! But we made it work out and the concert really was beautiful. My group sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel, a musical that is special because she was in that once upon a time. She talked about it all the time.
This is Deb, Mrs. Mathews' daughter. She was really the mastermind behind the whole thing and was able to get this concert even happening. She flew out from Colorado just for this. She is truly amazing. She and I got to know each other a few years back (2007) when I did the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices with Dolora Zajick. I really like Deb and was happy to see her again!

I will always look up to Mrs Mathews as my mentor and the one who helped me discover not just my voice, but the music in everything. Thank you, Mrs Mathews, for everything you have ever done for me!

Mrs Mathews invited us alumni to come to her last choir concert the following week and sing "Come Thou Fount" with the choir. Kates and I stood together, and all the memories of us singing together so many times up on stage came rushing back. I'm not going to lie, I did cry a little. I'm grateful for best friends that I still keep in touch with from high school!
Speaking of best friends, we had a fun baby shower for Whitney, who is due in June with Baby Girl! We did a "Bee is for Baby" theme. Katie and I had lots of fun putting together the decorations and yummy food. It was so great to see everybody!

And coming up to Memorial Day, we had a great weekend. I am sad Scotty had to work yesterday, but we were able to spend time with my family in the evening eating outside and roasting marshmallows. It was relaxing and very nice to sit and talk and laugh.

I hope you had fun reading this and I hope you had a fun Memorial Day as well! Remember all those who came before you, as well as all those, past and present, who have fought for you. I am grateful!

Also, I will try harder to keep updated on the blog. We got our iPad mini's and we never turn on the laptop anymore. But today I have hidden the iPad mini and I am going to be better about not being on it so much.

Have a nice Tuesday!

It's a Beautiful Morning!

It is a beautiful Saturday morning! It is sunny, warm, there are sprouts in my garden, the planes are flying overhead, Hailey's "Kushies" swim diaper came in the mail, the house is semi-decently clean, I did the dishes(!), and Hailey helped me make Banana-Strawberry Muffins that are making the house smell amazing. Yes. I am very happy this morning.

And speaking of planes flying overhead...did I ever tell you that one story about the Winder guy??

I didn't? Well, even if I did, I'm going to tell it again. As I was listening to those planes droning around the valley, I just chuckled to myself because it's such a fun story!

So one nice evening last summer, I was home with Hailey and Scott was out taking a buddy of his flying. I heard a knock at the door and a Winder guy was there trying to get me to sign up for Winder. As he was telling me about the deals and cool things about Winder, my next-door-neighbor who happened to be working in his yard right next to mine came up and started saying how awesome Winder is and that they get it and love it. The Winder guy, Nate, was like, "Oh, I thought that was your husband!" We laughed, no, no, we're just neighbors!

Anyway, Nate and I kept talking and I decided to sign up and whatever. I was filling out some forms in the house (with the front door open) when I heard a familiar droning overhead, and it was close. I knew that had to be Scotty, so I rushed outside past the Winder Guy and, pointing up into the sky, I said, "That's my husband!" And he's just standing there like, "Ohhhhh...!!"

That's all.

Ok, it may not be that funny to you, but it was funny to me!

Happy BEAUTIFUL Saturday!!

Who wants to go fishing???????

Jumbles

Oh man, oh man, my amigos, where have I been?? Definitely not on the computer...blogging...or anything.

Ok, so how's life been for the Benson household since Hailey's turned one. Well, for starters, I LOVE watching Hailey's personality come out! That's been really, really fun. She says more words (like moooo, pronounced like noooo, it's supposed to mean no) and she will definitely let you know when she doesn't like something. She is a firecracker. I can't leave her sight at home, yet at church it's exact opposite and more often than not we are taking her out into the foyer because she screams her head off because she can't crawl up and down the aisle. Embarrassing? Yes. Take control of your child, sheesh....

No really, though, she's been great. I just love her and I think that every time I look at her beautiful face. I love when she smiles at me, and dances with me during breakfast or lunch or dinner. I love pulling out the Harlem shake in the middle of the kitchen and watching her laugh at me while I make a fool of myself. It's so great.

We also got some more Dr Who episodes from an unnamed friend, and we are grateful. We watched 5 episodes, can't wait to see the next few with Clara!!

Scott is hating school (what's new?). He's hating UVU's aviation program (what's new?). But he is still always and forever LOVING flying. That will never change.

I had a really neat experience in the temple today while waiting for the youth to do baptisms. I just saw a YW leader from another ward and I thought, "Someday I'll be her. I'm going to live in a neighborhood where I will be the mom with her kids in YM/YW and we'll be established in a house (I hope!), and we'll be doing grown-up, adult things." Not that we don't already, but it changes as your family gets bigger and your kids get older.

Ok, the secret is out. I have been working out and eating better (well, yeah sort of better!) and drum roll....I've lost 7lbs and 8.5" so far!! I really wanted to keep it a secret and thought that if I shared too early, that everyone would know and it would be bad and jinxy and stuff. But it's actually good to have that community of support, so there. I said it.

No pictures for today, mainly because I really don't want to have to go through the effort of finding what pictures I want to put up. Too many to choose from.

Easter with Hailey was fun. I loved making a basket for her. General Conference was amazing as ever! I made golden rod eggs on toast (a family tradition!) and I loved staying at home with my family. I went to this really cool meeting for DoTerra Essential Oils and learned so many neat things and got some great samples and have been loving it. Now I just have to decide which one I want to buy! Again, too many to choose from!

I don't really have any recipes to share with you or take you through a step-by-step on my do-it-yourself throw pillow covers, mainly because I don't have a do-it-yourself throw pillow cover. I guess I'll just leave you with this update and hope you didn't get too bored waiting for me to post ;-)

Ta-ta for now!

Hailey is ONE! Stats

I can't believe Hailey is one.

Scratch that. I CAN believe Hailey is one and I LOVE that Hailey is one. I do miss that little baby stage, but I can tell you that I have enjoyed every. single. second with Hailey. Every moment of watching her learn something new and grow a little bigger. I don't regret how fast this year has flown. In fact, I think it has gone by just right and I am glad to have a happy little toddler in my home now.

Well, toddling...not quite. But it'll come!

So here it is!

Weight: 17lbs < 5%
Height: 27" <10 b="">

Love my petite girl!

She isn't standing on her own yet, but I don't think it's because she can't, I just think it's because she won't.
She does walk along the furniture.
She dances to music.
She sings to songs.
She sings with mommy.
She says "momma", "daddy" (la-lee), "light" and points to it, "Jesus" and points to Him, and a bunch of other ramble jumble bumble.
She loves lights.
She loves to fly daddy's toy plane and say "vrrrr".
She loves to "rub" lotion on her arms and face.
She still loves her fruits and veggies, and she loves pretzels and cheese tortillas and tuna sandwiches and scrambled eggs and pancakes and bananas.
She is starting to wear shoes now because they actually fit her!
Her hair is sooo long. It really needs a haircut.
She folds her arms to pray.
She still sleeps wonderfully.
She has 6 teeth.
She LOVES stuffed animals. She loves to hug them and hold them tight. She even loves to kiss them.
She loves to wave.
She leans her forehead in when we ask for a kiss.
She loves to laugh.
She loves music. She loves playing the piano.
She got a big girl car seat, but is still rear-facing.
Anything else that I forgot??

I love Hailey and I'm so happy to have her in our family!

Hailey's Bday Party!

Hailey turned ONE!! And I am about 2 weeks late posting about it! Never mind, though. At least I'm getting to it eventually!

We chose a Minnie Mouse theme. Partly because she went to Disneyland in November and got her very own Minnie Mouse, and partly because that theme is waaay easy (I mean, come on, pink, polka dots, how hard can it be, right??). It turned out GREAT! Auntie Oy got her a super cute Minnie Mouse outfit to wear, and Hailey was as happy as can be for the party. I couldn't have asked for anything better!

I can't forget to mention that thanks to amazing technology, we were able to have my dad and Heather there right along with us! I couldn't have asked for better. I know they loved being able to be there with Hailey.

And yes, I did make the cake, and let's just say that yes, it ended up looking alright. It was delicious and altogether perfect!

Cake in progress.

The finished product!

We got these ear-clippies at Disneyland!

Skyping Dad and Heather.

She was a hoot opening presents. Lots of clothes and fun toys!

She was hesitant at first, but after I showed her the ropes, she
 dug right in!

She would not let go of her money. I hope that's not a sign of
 how she'll be when she's older!

More cake pictures.

The attempted smash cake.

We added the banner in the last 2 minutes before everyone came.
Thanks Jenn for helping it turn out so cute!

Family Pics

Here's just a little bit of our fun family pics at Camera Shy! They were SO great, as always. Thanks to Jenn for letting me borrow some clothes, to Hailey for at least not breaking down in front of everyone (we know how tired you were! :( ) and for at least smiling a few times, and to my husband for putting up with the silly things we do, as always!

Poor little girl was so tired!

She LOVES to hug stuffed animals.

Lots-o-Posts!

Be prepared! Lots-o-posts coming your way!

Coming up...
Family Pics
Hailey's Bday Party
Hailey Is One!! Stats

Gardening!

Instead of uploading Hailey's pictures and posting about her birthday and her stats and see how much she's grown in her car seat since she was a newborn, I'm going to tell you about how much I want to plant a garden.

Flowers, ok. But vegetables, yes!

Every summer since we have been married, I have wanted to plant a vegetable garden. And I never got around to it and suddenly it was July and way to late to start anything. Not to mention we really didn't have any space to plant a vegetable garden anyway.

I did some minor research last year about growing a garden in containers.

This year, I am actually going to do it. I've already picked out a spot in the yard that I want to have my container garden (that is, if my landlord won't let me use the spot that I've actually really picked out in the yard!). I know what containers I'm going to buy ($5 storage totes - big and cheap!), I know what soil I'm going to use (Miracle Gro Soil Vegetable and Flower), and I know what vegetables I'm going to plant (green beans - a must - , maybe peas, lettuce or spinach?, we'll also try red potatoes. We're keeping it simple)!

Plus, I've already started imaging the warm sunny days of Spring and Summer out pulling weeds and Hailey playing in the yard. We're going to have so much fun, Hailey and I. She even told me she wants to help me plant a garden. Well, at least she could have, if she could have talked.

I've pinned lots of things on Pinterest to help me get started, and I'm really doing my research this year. I am really going to do this! Plus, if I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll plant some flowers out front in the flower beds. If I had it my way, I would rip out those rose bushes and put in some nice normal bushes instead, but we'll just have to tolerate them for another year or horrid, 5-foot-tall roses...

I'm also really excited to water my garden! And I might even buy a green watering bucket. Who knows? I'm going to love this summer!

Coming Soon!

Hailey had a birthday, and a birthday party, and I can't wait to tell you all about it!!!

Feeling just a bit stressed today.

Tomorrow morning is pictures, much to do in preparation for that.
Need to go grocery shopping.
Need to buy cake mixes.
Need to make Hailey's cake.
Need to buy birthday party stuff.

And why does today have to be the day that I absolutely do not want to do anything?? Not even crochet or read, which is strange!

I only have 1/2 hr left of Hailey's nap, if I'm lucky, and I'm no where near to accomplishing today what I was supposed to.

Today is just that day that I don't want to do anything. Ya know??

Current Obsessions

P.L.L.....

...and nail polish. Painting my nails. Every color. Smooth and pretty.

Two completely uncommon things for me, especially the finger nail polish. But sometimes it's nice to feel like a girl once in a while.

3 Reasons Why You Should Buy a Magic Eraser...

...And other great cleaning products!

1. The Disgusting Toilet Bowl

Ok, don't think I never, ever clean my toilet bowl! I actually clean my toilet bowl every single week, but this incredibly disgusting mold still managed to build up over the last 3 years we've been here. I tried everything I could think of, including an old-fashioned toothbrush (shh - don't tell Scotty!) over the years, but nothing seemed to work.

I did my research online and thanks to Pinterest and Yahoo answers and I came up with this solution...

...and ended with this beautiful result:

Cost: Under $5

2. The Soapy-Scummy Showerhead

(This one I actually used another cleaning product that the previous renters left in the house, but I forgot to take a picture of it). I also scrubbed with the Magic Eraser.

Still not perfect, but definitely a lot better!

Cost: Under $2

3. The Window of Horror

When we moved in, we were faced with the dirtiest, filthiest window I had ever seen. It's located in the shower, high up, and was full of dead flies, dirt, and...who knows what else.

I had meant to sit down and really clean it, but every time I thought about it, I knew the task would be really great. Three years later...well, thanks again to Pinterest, I finally got my nerve up and cleaned it!

Half of roll of paper towels and a Magic Eraser later...

It's still not completely how I want it to be but it is definitely a huge bound in the right direction! I even spared you some of the worst photos.

Cost: Under $5

In addition to the wonderful Magic Eraser (or off-brand - it still works the same!), I want to make a SHOUT OUT to one of my new favorite cleaning products!

I use this baby for everything, including the window that I just cleaned. Vinegar is great at killing mold, and I spray this on my bathroom ceilings to keep mold from growing. Ever since I started doing that, I haven't seen any mold. I love this stuff!

So anyway, that was my fun President's Day. Now I am going to shower, maybe finish the dishes and start some laundry (???), and then relax and crochet and maybe even hang out with my sister and mommy!

Hope your President's Day was just as successful!

Valentine's Day

Today, we shall reminisce back to our younger days. I was still in high school, he had just graduated the year before. It was a busy day for me and I had a lot of singing and traveling to do ("A Valentune....We bring to you....From Mt. View....And you're loved one toooo-oo-oo!"). Still, I'll never forget when we pulled up and I saw that bag on my parent's porch, the GIANT kiss inside, and a note that said "Love, Your Future Husband" (literally - it said that!).

That was 6 years ago today. Now I have been married to him for 3 years and I love him still and even more than I did that day.

Sometimes we write big long posts to tell the world of our unconditional love for our significant other, or family member, or friend, but today I'll just keep it simple.

I love you, Scotty!

I love you, Hailey!

And I love all of you who read this and more!

Happy Valentine's Day, everybody!

The Joy's of Star Trek on Netflix...

...plus subtitles.

I mean, I know subtitles aren't perfect, but really??

I'm actually glad we're not the only ones who caught this!

In other news, Warf got hurt in one of the last episodes we watched. As he lay lying on the floor, Scott yelled out,

"Cling on to life, Warf!"

I love my husband!

Word to the Wise...

So, if you have a young daughter who has incredibly long hair and you are anything like me who can't stand hair in the face...YOU MUST RESIST THE URGE TO PUT IT UP IN A PONY TAIL EVERY DAY!

I learned this the hard way :( Hailey is starting to lose a lot of hair and I totally didn't even realize it was from those dopey little rubber hair bands!

When I was in 6th grade, I started to pull my hair back in a very tight ponytail every day. 10+ years later, I sit and wonder why my hair is so thin on the top. I mean, I knew it was because I pull my hair back, but I guess I never really wanted to admit it and was too lazy to really try to make wearing my hair down work.

Marie Antoinette also pulled her hair back very tightly every day. She has an incredibly huge receding hairline.

Get the picture? 

So anyway, after sitting down last night and really beating myself up about it, I decided to give myself a challenge.

30 Day Hair Challenge

in which I must wear my hair down every day for 30 days unless I am working up a sweat (meaning exercise).

Today marks Day 1. Cheese!

11 Months

I can't believe this little girl is 11 months old. I really can't believe she is going to be a year next month! (meaning this month...)

This month has brought so many exciting things. It is hard to pinpoint exactly where some things started, but I'm pretty sure most of these things I will mention were refined in this last month, so that is why I will just say she started this month.

So! On to the sharing!

How big is Hailey?
She is...old. And developing normally. But how big is she is kind of a bad question. I'm sure she has gained weight, but I'm not even going to guess because the last several times I've guessed, I've been waaay off. But my hope is that she will be 16lbs by the time she is one.

She is long though! Her little feet just dangle out of the edge of her carseat and it's embarrassing, I know. But we are waiting until her bday party to give her her new carseat, so I guess I'm just going to have to deal for a little while longer. She also strains in her 9m footsies - her poor little feet are so squished in there!

And to all you momma's of fat babies out there, Hailey is still in size 2 diapers!!! But I really think it depends on the brand that we get. The Parent's Choice brand has stretchier tabs, so I still have to overlap those. However I've noticed with Western Family and Up and Up that the tabs don't overlap nearly as much. I haven't even tried the Luvs, Pampers, or Huggies recently to even tell you how those fit right now. But one thing I have been grateful of is that when you buy a big box of 2's, you get more for your money still! Woot! I guess not many people can say they can get almost a hundred diapers for 13 bucks when their baby is almost one. So I am really grateful about that.

She mainly wears 9m clothes, and the occasional 12m, which is really good! She also wears a lot of t-shirts (instead of just onesies and pants)! We bought her some shoes....and she never wears them. That doesn't mean I don't put them on! It just means that her feet/ankles are so tiny and skinny that the shoes still fall off. Or she pulls them off. One of the two.

She still can't stand up on her own, but she's gotten really good and pulling herself up really fast with something. She can also walk herself along the edge of the couch and go from one object to the next while still holding on. She's still kind of wobbly, though, and I think with how small her feet are, just like her bum, it might take her a little while yet to have enough platform to stand on by herself!

What does Hailey eat?
Hailey is mainly table foods now. She will eat what we eat and she LOVES it. My only problem is how to give her fruit that she likes, and she still will only really do the puree kind. I really like the pouches that you can buy!
Her favorite foods include:
P.E.A.S. (need I say more?)
Goldfish
cheese tortilla
Chicken nuggets
Fruit (but NOT peaches, heaven forbid)
Tuna sandwich

We started her on whole milk a couple weeks ago. At first she was hesitant, but now she is fine for the most part. We finished up our last canister of formula and I decided I'm not buying anymore and she can just have milk. She hasn't shown any reactions to it and the doctor said milk is OK at this point, so she is now bottle free for....one day!

She also eats any small objects she finds on the floor that will fit in her mouth.

Other
She cut another tooth on the top finally! 4 months later, sheesh. I think another top one is coming in, though, as well as the two next bottom ones. She is chewing a lot lately, so that's what I'm thinking/hoping for.

She LOVES music. She will pull herself up to any piano and just play and play and play.
She LOVES to sing. She will sing when we have music playing, or will sing with me!
She LOVES to dance. Every time I start dancing in the kitchen, she'll bounce up and down in her high chair.
She LOVES to read. I'm not kidding! She will pick up anything that has print on it and start to blabber and babble like it's the greatest thing in the world! She also loves her fuzzy book with the baby animals.
She LOVES to put things in other things. She will take something out...just to be able to put it back in. Examples include taking the little finger puppets in and out of the bag, putting small objects in bowls, or boxes, or baskets, or her carseat. Which, speaking of...
She LOVES her carseat. She could be entertained for hours playing in it. One night Scott took her out and she got right back in to play. She just loves that thing.

She can clap, blow raspberries, click her tongue, say "Uh-oh!" and "Huh?", make Indian noises with her hand over her mouth, and clasp her hands together like praying.

I didn't realize this post was so long, but one last thing! The picture! (Don't mind the last two, because she was tired and that was the only time I could get a good picture of her in the carseat!)

Foh-to's

Ok, so here's the dilemma:

Hailey is poopy. I know she is, I can smell it. But I also know because she is happy and content and perfectly fine playing by herself right now and I can even walk out of the room for a second and she doesn't even notice! How do I know that means she's poopy? Because that's how it is every morning.

So the dilemma....I know I'm an awful mom, but if I change her, I just know she's going to hate me and get clingy again. Do I revel in this peace and quiet for just a little bit longer while I let her sit in her filth? Or do I sacrifice my "Me" time and her happiness and just change the darn diaper??

I know what the obvious answer is, but it still doesn't mean I want to do it...

Anyway! Foh-to's! Aka Photographs, which, by the way, one of the greatest stories I've ever heard about naivety, or something, was back in the day when photographs were still new and obscure. This young man was traveling to Utah. He was stopped at the border of somewhere and was asked if he had any pornography. The young man immediately replied, "How could I? I don't even own a pornograph!" Don't we wish our boys could be as unexposed to pornography as this sweet boy was?

And now to the photos!

Birthday!

Camera settings were wacky, so picture is blurry.

My dad's been gone on the road a lot, so with Jenn's new iPad mini(!) we Facetimed and even took a picture together!

I love birthday cakes, but I especially love Hailey's face in this!

I saw this on Pinterest...

Homemade lunchable. I loved it!