I am obsessed with this luggage.
You see, I don't own luggage. Our condo is much too small. We are completely out of room. Even under our bed is stuffed with lots of stuff. So, we constantly borrow luggage from parents who live close by. Today I am day dreaming of -gasp- owning my own luggage. Not any luggage, but this beautiful steam line luggage. So what if its like 500 dollars. It's way more important to own beautiful luggage than to save for/own a house ....right? Who am I kidding, its not like I travel anywhere exotic and exciting enough to use it (cue the sad violins)

...someday

Our Valentines day this year was (supposed to be) relaxed. We had a special night planned for the next night, so Valentines day this year was spent cooking together and staying in. Everything was pretty easy going.

We even made each other homemade valentines day cards. Cody's made me cry.


I learned my overzealous lesson this year. In the morning I went to the grocery store, did 5 loads of laundry, got a hair cut, and folded those 5 loads of laundry before I even thought about starting to cook. Then around 1-ish I started making the rolls. I had to start over 4 times before I realized the reason my butter was turning into billions of crystals was because my milk was too cold. Bah.
Then I decided I wanted to make chocolate mouse, complete with chocolate bowls. So... I got a few water balloons and struggled horribly to blow them up. I can't even blow up regular balloons, so these were so near impossible. I nearly died. It took me and entire hour to blow up two balloons. I got so dizzy that I almost passed out, so I laid on the ground. Seriously. I am that cool.
So after the horribleness of blowing up the balloons.. I popped the first one instantly when it touched the chocolate because the chocolate was too hot. Great. So I let the chocolate cool forever and started in on the second one. this one was going better. This one popped too, but not before I almost entirely covered it in chocolate, resulting in chocolate EVERYWHERE.. including, but not limited to, my hair (freshly washed, cut, and styled) the floor, the celeing, and everywhere in between. Now I was back at square one, with no balloons and a dirty kitchen. ughh... needless to say I finally got it done, but it was an ordeal. All in all, the dinner was delicious, but I learned a lesson for future Valentines Days.
Don't be stupid. (partially kidding)

Ha ha, but seriously, even though it was so much fun to cook with Cody, I way overplanned and so we didn't get to spend as much time with one another because our dinner wasn't ready till 7:30 and afterward we were so so tired that we collapsed on the couch and watched the bachelor. HA .. I am so embarassed for myself.
Anyway, the food was excellent, so if you want the recipe for any of it I will link it.

Parker House Rolls. Bacon-cheese stuffed shells. Steamed artichokes with Julia child's Hollindase Sauce. ( I forgot to take a picture, but they looked similiar to this pic I found on the internet. and Chocolate mouse, in freaking chocolate bowls and rasberries. (no recipe)

I was so full by the time we were on the main course, I only ate one shell (which is why there is only one in the picture)

Overall I probably consumed a billion delicious calories.

Valentines Day Part 1

Valentines Day this year was great. Filled with much love. (and potential love) A few days before the big day Me and Whitney got these adorable kids together for some staged romance. Presley (Whitney's adorable baby/model) was loving herself some Mack time. Mack on the other hand wanted nothing to do with Presley ... or any of us. While Mrs. P struck glamorous poses in the grass Mack stared directly into the camera and screamed, only briefly stopping for chocolate bribes. I only got 3 pictures before my camera died.

Whitney, will you e-mail me some of the good ones you got? Love you.

Despite how beautiful these donuts look, they are not an add folks, they are the real deal!! My lovely sister Dee brought them over to me one afternoon and created instant happiness. Thanks Dee. They were heavenly.

Last month Me, Mack, Deanna, and Raegan ventured to Sandy, Utah to visit my mom and dad and see their new place. We had a really good time. Even though winter in Utah is Butt freaking cold.
I was nervous about the flight with two small children, pregnant Dee and Me, but it turned out really well thanks to the endless amounts candy and a portable DVD player with trusty ol' Baby Einstein playing.

This is the place my parents decided to go after they abandoned us. Yeah, yeah its big and beautiful with an amazing basement, but come on parents... really?


Watching Mack in the snow might have been the funniest thing I have ever seen. I bundled him up like CRAZY (minus the shoes) but he was pretty much traumatized by the horrible snow. When I put him in it he would stop moving and just scream. Ha ha.

Mom,
If you are reading this I think you are crazy. Seriously. As we unpacked box after box of children's toys, books, puzzles, legos, coloring books, and so so much more I realized that you are a hoarder of children's toys. You need to admit that you have a problem. Much love, Me, who had to unpack it all.

These pictures don't even do it justice. And I somehow didn't get a picture of the, not kidding, 10 - 15 e.x.t.r.e.m.e.l.y large stuffed animals that my dad used to use during counseling with kids that are now also added to the fun fest for the grandchildren.
I am pretty sure my mom loves her grandkids more than she ever loved any of us ;) Love you mom...

By the end of the week Mack started getting a little braver in the snow. He would stomp on it, as long as one foot rested safely on the sidewalk. And if any snow happened to land on his foot he would stop moving and scream until I went over and knocked it off. Raegan was a champ though. This little girl has no fear.

Mack loves pictures of snowmen so I thought I would try to make him one. ...but the thought of trampling through the snow myself didn't sound so appealing (like mother like son..) So I made a mini snowman on my balcony patio. Mack of course didn't help, but after I finished he would poke the snowman with a stick and grunt.

Our second night there my parents took us out to dinner at the garden room. It is a beautiful restaurant at the top of a building with lots of windows that offers an amazing view of Salt Lake City. I lost the pictures of that too, which I am bummed about. But when we got home these beautiful flowers were on the doorstep for me from my amazing husband. So sweet.

Mack loved being pampered by his Grandparents and Aunt Amy. We miss you guys already and can't wait to visit again.
...when it's warmer.

I don't even need to express how excited I am to eat these little bad boys this month. So cute... and they taste pretty good too. I hope that the KK located closest (but never close enough) to me is a 'participating location.' I love that I still get a free doughnut a day thanks to that crazy promotion last summer!! Totally worth it! Now everyone go show your love this month with a box of Krispy Kremes!! woo hoo

Despite my horrendous meal blogging, me and Cody have continued to cook together. I can only remember a few dishes that we made, and have no pictures, so I stole some from the internet.

The first one was Paula Deen's lasagna. Pure sweet heaven. Definitely the best lasagna I have ever eaten .. and I have eaten a lot of lasagna. We made it for our friends Pete, May, Mel, and Adam a couple months ago and they all agreed. Delicious. (not that they would tell me otherwise). Go here if you want the recipe. Then comment so we can agree that it is the best lasagna ever.

The one downfall is that because there are so many different cheeses used, it turns out to be pretty expensive. But it does make enough to feed you for a week.

Also, I have made this lasagna and I have used her marinara sauce recipe and it was really good, but I have also just made my own (in a lot less time) and it turned out good to.
I made a turkey and from there we had 'turkey week' because we had so much leftover turkey that I turned it into a week of meals. My favorite recipe was the dumplings and turkey soup filled with delicious veggies. I can't come up with the recipe right now but it looked similar to the picture below. delicious.
The last thing we made with the turkey leftovers was Emeril's Turkey Sandwiches with pesto mayonnaise and dried cranberries. Go here to behold the glorious recipe. They were pretty tasty. I also made an apple, sweet potato side dish to go with them, but I can't find that recipe either. Dang, why didn't I blog sooner. This post is turning out to be pretty lame. Oh well.

This is an old picture, but when I was going through my pictures I had to post it!

"Santa" (my dad) and Mack at my Dad's Christmas party. Of course my Dad dressed like Santa... typical. (and I say that not because my dad has a weird Santa fetish, rather he is just crazy and random)

Mack liked to look and and touch kevanta (Kevin + Santa), but once we put him on his lap he started getting nervous and wanted to get down ha ha.

My beautiful sister Deanna volunteered to watch Mack for us while we attended Grandpa Harris's funeral. What a sucker... :)

Because she is wonderful, she decided to take Mack, along with her little girl Raegan to the park to play. Mack, being the crazy little man that he is fell off the playground equipment and cut his lip open. Poor little guy.

He still tries to give me kisses all the time, and I have to claim 'the worst mother in the world' award because I try to avoid them. His lip grosses me out right now... it is covered in a big white scab-type thing. (I sparred you the picture)

but even with all that, he is still really really ridiculously good looking (zoolander)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

Dickens opening line from A Tale of Two Cities pretty much sums up my Christmas vacation. It was the very best, and also the very worst.

It has been a dream having Cody home for a month! I must admit it took me a while to get used to having him home, not that I don't absolutely adore him and love having him around, but when it is just me and Mack I get into a routine. When Cody is home all I ever want to do is hang out and relax instead of doing the dishes and vacuuming the floor. Today is the first day Cody is back to work/school and I am sad.

I didn't take hardly any pictures this season but I did snag some off Cody's phone so here are a couple highlights from our Christmas vacation:

-Cody took me the the Nutcracker!! I love going, but haven't gone in years so I was very happy. Cody is such a good sport:) He liked listening to Tchaikovsky, but wasn't 100% into the ballet :)

-Mack is adorable and hilarious

- I baked and ate much more than I care to admit, but here are some pictures of some cookies I made, coconut gumdrop cookies, peanut butter kiss cookies, and chocolate cookies with chocolate chips and a rollo baked into the center of them. And you wonder why Christmas is my favorite time of year?

-This year with the in-laws we did a lot of homemade presents. This is a Jones soda lamp that my little brother in law crafted for Cody. Genius Jaxon, pure genius. ...now where to put it ....

-This last picture took place earlier in the month. All us Jr High/High school friends got together for a Christmas party. I don't know why spouses were not included in this picture because they were there. ha ha. (and yes my hand is on Erica's behind...what can I say) It was lots of fun and so good to see everyone. Thanks Whit for having us all over... and Saije, you are going down next year, I am bringing my loaded dice.

Even though my Christmas holiday was filled with much joy it was also filled with;

-Me, Cody, and Mack each getting 2 colds... thats right, we were all sick over Christmas, we got better for a few days, and then we all caught another cold.

-My parents finally leaving. They are loving their new house, and doing good, but I am sad they will be living so far away.

-Grandpa Harris passed away. Ralph Harris was Cody's grandpa and lived just a few streets away. I like to think of him as my own grandpa though, seeing as how my one living grandfather probably doesn't know my name, and couldn't care less about me. .. but thats another story.

I will forever remember sitting outside with grandpa while he smoked his cigar and we talked.

We are all sad he is gone, but look forward to seeing him again someday.

My Christmas was filled with happiness and filled with sorrow, but mainly just filled. It was so busy that it went by in a rush. I wish I would have taken more time to focus on the birth of our Savior, and not so much worry about all the other things that "needed" to get done. Hopefully next year I will remember this lesson and lighten my to do list.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.. now on to 2011!!

I have a lot to catch up on, but all I can think about is how I tried to convince Cody to remake the Finoa Apple music video I had posted because it would be hilarious... but he refused, and then got his beautiful shaggy hair cut for his externship at the Goldwater institute that starts on Monday. So now it wouldn't be nearly as cool. Boo. Maybe in the summer? ... Cody???

Moving on...

I realized that I have neglected to write about my little Mack for quite some time now. I love this boy. Does he speak? No, no, he doesn't. But he did just add a word into his repertoire; UNCLE. (thank you uncle Jacoby) He doesn't just speak it, but he screams it. This is how our conversations go all day, every day..

Me: Mack, Say window.... w i i i n d o w w

Mack: UNCLE!!!!! *Screamed*

Me: Mack, say juice..... J e www c

Mack: UUUNCLE!!!!! *Screamed*

... we do this all day.

I'm not so much worried about his speech at this point, but if he hasn't improved any by his 2nd birthday I will get a speech therapist involved.

These pictures are tiny because they came off of Cody's Phone, but this is Mack's White suit that I found at a thrift store for 5 bones. Ha ha ha ha ha. He is quite a spectacle walking around church
Mack might not be talking yet, but I am pretty sure he is a genius who refuses to talk because it is beneath him. :) He is a champion at staking blocks. He does this all day. I think the one in the picture has 13 blocks, but that is not one of his biggest by a long shot.

He also knows all of his colors and has for over a month, he insists that I (because he will not ) name a color and then he will point to it. I put a 3ft Christmas tree in his room this year with multi-colored lights and he insisted that we played this game non-stop!! He also groups all of his colored blocks and stuff like that. ..to the point that it is borderline ocd.

He is also learning the alphabet. I am in no way shoving this stuff down his throat, he just non stop whines until I tell him which letter is which. He loves playing with the alphabet magnets on the refrigerator. So far he knows A, B, C, H, K, M, O, S, W and X.

He is also very ... funny, I guess I could call it. He just does things in a very exact way. He will NOT eat green candy... because green is his favorite color. The other day I gave him a little stack of M&M's and then a few minutes later I came back to find that he had eaten all of them except for the green ones. He refuses to eat them .. I find little uneaten green candies all over my house. (please feel free to lecture me on giving my child candy in the first place)

I love this boy!!! He is overall very good tempered and extremely easy to make laugh. He loves Little Einstein movies, family, the park, feeding ducks, reading books, water in any form, and eating candy (unless it is green). The older Mack gets the more and more I love him.