Ready for Spring!

Today, the girls and I went to the mall to hang out while Ron played magic and in typical girl fashion, we did some shopping! It all started because Emi spilled an entire cup of lemonade all over herself and so I had to go buy her a new outfit (sorry didn't take any pictures of those) and since Emi was getting a new outfit, Annie, of course, had to have one too! There were lots of fun sales at the mall today. Here's the pretty spring dresses we found.

Emi and Annie picked out their own dresses but I got to pick Eden's little outfit.

Oh, and the coolest thing about the dresses is that they both came with a coupon for a free sitting and 8x10 photo from JC Penny! How cool is that!? Family photos are long over due.

Puff the magic steam mop

I woke up this morning to an entire bottle of teriyaki sauce broken on my kitchen floor, I just bought it last night.

Luckily, last night I also bought a steam mop. Ahhh, such a wonderful thing, I'm in love! I don't know why I waited so long to get one. There are a couple of things that I don't like about it, like it dosn't have a swivel head, it just goes back and forth and not side to side and I really wish that the water tank was larger. Other than that I think it's pretty great!

I think it's funny that almost everything Emi says these days includes the fact that she's now 5. "It's just me, your 5 year old daughter" and she's always wondering if everyone knows that she's 5. It's her most important news these days.

Today is the lottery drawing for the Charter School I'm hoping to get Emi into. They'll be posting the list on Monday. Fingers crossed!

I've been bribing my children to help me clean. I know it's bad, but you gotta do what works right and bribery sure does work! I bought a box set of 5 Strawberry Shortcake movies and every time they help me clean I give them a movie. It makes things so much easier for me, I just don't have the patience to stand over them all day long getting them to clean.

Ron sent me a link yesterday that said that EA the game studio is opening a studio in Salt Lake to work on some secret project and are recruiting. I told him to send in his resume, I'm sure they have amazing benefits! The health insurance offered through Wahoo is a joke, it's ridiculously expensive and sucky we'd be better off getting our own. Unfortunately, this means we're most likely going to have to pay for the birth of this baby out of pocket :(.

Today was nice, it actually got up into the 40's and there was sun...I'm anxious for spring. Winter lasts so long.

I love stocking up on all the leftover Valentines candy, 50-75% off is my favorite!

I just bought Eden her very own little seahorse night light, she's so cute with it. I don't know why we didn't get her one much sooner. And wow, it's really expensive on Amazon, I just got it at Walmart for like $12. Huge savings!

32 weeks and counting...it's getting harder and harder to function everyday. Contractions, siatica pain and pelvic pain, some days I can hardly walk. This pregnancy can't be over soon enough for me.

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Ok, I just made these today and they're fabulous and super easy to make. They even taste like peanut butter cups. I think this is going to be my new favorite dessert for awhile. I crave peanut butter like crazy when I'm pregnant and nursing!

1 1/2 c crushed graham cracker crumbs (you can buy them already crushed)

3 1/2 c powdered sugar

1 3/4 c smooth peanut butter

1 c butter, melted (2 sticks)

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter and melted butter until well mixed.

Line a 9x13 pan with wax paper and spread mixture evenly in bottom of pan. (the woman I got the recipe from used a metal baking pan, I used pyrex so I skipped the lining with wax paper step) Spread mixture evenly in bottom of the pan.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave until smooth. Spread over peanut butter layer. Refridgerate for half an hour until chocolate is almost set. Remove and set on counter for a few hours before cutting. Enjoy!

Rough Start

Ok, so yesterday I made a vow to myself that I was going to get my house in order starting today...I'm not off to such a good start. My motivation really sucks today. All 3 girls are sick and Eden had a fever last night and was up and down all night miserable. In my defense I really didn't get very much sleep last night and I woke up with a raging headache.

I'm hoping to get to the store tonight, after Ron gets home from playing magic, and pick up some organizational stuff. I'm hoping that this will be helpful tomorrow.

Wish me luck, I really need it!

Pictures from the Marin trip

Here are the pictures that I took from our trip to Marin over Valentines weekend. Ron went to go play in a Magic tournament in Oakland and the girls and I went to visit my mom and sister in Marin.

We left on Thursday night and before we left we went to BYU so Ron could play in another Magic tournament.

Emi with chocolate muffin on her face

Beeba just looking cute

Ron playing magic

The girls cuddled up sleeping at the hotel in Oakland

Eden being tired, just woke up grumpy girl and grandmas house

Ginny and Eden

Beeba on the swings at Pioneer Park in Novato

My 2 sisters

Eden swinging

Reyna taking Eden down the slide

Noely and Emi on the swings

Fireflies

This song makes me feel happy

Pancakes!

I LOVE pancakes and this is one of the best recipes for them that I've found. I'm so excited about them that I'm sharing them with all of you :)

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes

3 TBL all purpose flour

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 c ricotta cheese

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ozs fresh blueberries

In a bowl combine flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in eggs and ricotta until well blended. Gently fold in blueberries.

Pour 1/4 c batter onto hot griddle or pan for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on the top, then flip to brown the other side. Serve immediately with your choice of toppings. Enjoy!

addendum: after making these I have a few revisions to make. First you're definitely going to want to double the recipe because using the 1/4 c measure the pancakes were really small and it only barely served 5. Second I ended up adding a bit more sugar, about another TBL just to make them a bit sweeter and another tsp of vanilla. Other than that these were awesome and I can't wait to try it with other berries!