Storytime

So most of you will have to forgive me for this post. But I use my blog sort of as my journal and I wanted to include a couple of stories about my kids that have occurred over the last few months so that we remember these when we're older. First off, my Jacob.

A few months ago, Jacob was in primary during sharing time and the teacher was playing some sort of game and choosing kids to help with the game. Apparantly, Jacob was not getting chosen and he was very upset about it and making all kinds of loud comments about not getting picked. After not getting picked again, Jacob stood up, stomped his foot, and yelled, "That's it. I quit this church!" And then he proceeded to walk out of the primary room, down the hall and out the front door of the church with a row of primary teachers and leaders trying to catch him. I heard about this story from virtually every teacher in primary that day because they all thought it was hilarious! Yeah, hilarious is not the first word that came to MY mind when I heard that story. But moving on...

A few nights ago, I was tucking Aubrey into bed and I asked her if she wanted me to read her a book or tell her a story that night. She chose a story so I began the usual way:

Me: Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Princess Aubrey.

Aubrey: Mommy, make sure princess aubrey gets put in a castle by a witch.

Me: Okay, once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Princess Aubrey who was locked inside a castle by a wicked witch.

Aubrey: Mommy, make Princess Aubrey have a beautiful voice so she can sing.

Me: Okay, Princess Aubrey had a beautiful singing voice and all of the birds and butterflies in the forest liked to hear her sing.

Aubrey: Mommy, make the birdies love her singing.

Me: [starting to get frustrated by all of her 'interruptions,' which are preventing me from finishing the story and getting out of there]. Okay, the birdies in the forest loved Princess Aubrey's singing so much that they wanted to save her from the castle so they could hear her sing some more.

Aubrey: No, Mommy. The King has to save the princess.

Me: Oh, sorry. The birdies loved to hear Princess Aubrey sing. So one day, there was a king riding on a horse in the forest and he heard Princess Aubrey's voice from the castle and he rode to the castle and saved her from the wicked witch. The End.

Aubrey: Mommy, you forgot to say that they king married Princess Aubrey and they lived happily ever after.

Me: Oh, right, the king married Princess Aubrey and they lived happily ever after.

Aubrey: [a content smile crosses her face] I like that story

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Stories on demand.

And finally, Aubrey is a typical girl: moody, pouty, and likes to talk to me about the most random stuff. In fact, she likes to talk so much that I catch myself saying "uh-huh" every now and then because I'm not really paying attention. And she'll, of course, catch on and say, "Mommy, TALK to me!!"

Aubrey Turns 3!

Aubrey turned 3 yesterday. Where did all the time go? She was so excited about her birthday. She's been talking about it for the last 2 months. I would ask her what she wanted for her birthday and she would always say, "Starbursts and Smarties!" After she woke up yesterday, we made her a big pancake for breakfast. Then we painted her nails and toenails because that is one of her most favorite things to do. Then we headed over to her favorite restaurant where we ate lunch, opened gifts and the waiters brought out some ice cream and sang her "Happy Birthday." She had such a fun day.

Then on Sunday, we wanted to have a family party with cake and ice cream at home. So we invited our neighbors over because she adores them. She calls the neighbor girls her "sisters" which I think is so sweet. So they all came over to sing to her and have dessert. She was on cloud 9 the whole night.

Every girl deserves her own pancake on her birthday!

Giving big brother a taste of her dessert

The whole family at Red Robin

Aubrey with her "sisters" and neighbors

The NEW Love of My Life

When I was single, one of my roommates (aka "Bussie") would make 2 homemade loaves of bread every Sunday night. My other roommates and I would salivate in the kitchen anxiously awaiting the loaves' departure from the oven and into our watering mouths. I swore at the time that I would never make bread because even though she made it look effortless, it still looked like too much work for me. So I swore off bread making forever.... until last year. My friend Whitni loaned me her mother's BOSCH bread mixer over Thanksgiving. She came over a week before Turkey day and gave me a quick crash course on how to use it. (It wasn't that hard... it only really had one button to push). Anyway, I made the most delicious rolls using this Bosch machine. In fact, I held onto the Bosch mixer for a few extra days and made rolls several times because it was so easy to do with this thing. There was no kneading involved... at all. Who wants to mess around with a sticky ball of dough... no, not me.

So, for the last year, I have been on the hunt for the perfect Bosch machine for me. I didn't want one of the new ones with all of the bells and whistles (some of them come with blenders, and choppers and all kinds of other things). But I just wanted the same simple bread machine that my friend Whitni had. And today I found it. I bought it. And I cannot wait to use it!! It's a little pricey but if I end up making rolls and bread as much as I think I will, then I'm sure it will be worth every penny!

Happy Halloween

This Halloween was filled with all of the usual fun: carving pumpkins, going to our ward's halloween party, and of course trick or treating. Jacob wanted to be batman this year and he absolutely LOVED his costume. The second he put it on, he was "in character" -- and was running around the house pretend saving people from catastrophes. Aubrey wanted to be Cinderella this year. Like most girls, she's WAY into the princess thing right now. Her favorite thing about her costume? The MAKEUP! She was so excited to wear lipstick... she kept puckering up her lips and looking in the mirror. Iit was pretty funny. And finally, Evan got to be a lion and wear the much used costume that ALL of my children wear when they're almost 2. Personally, I LOVE this costume because the mane on this costume is great. I've never seen another one like it yet. So I'm holding onto it!

Batman giving his "mean face" to ward off any "bad people"

My favorite lion

Cinderella showing off her red lipstick

At the ward's halloween party


Carving and painting pumpkins