Turkeys, Birds, and Babies

I made my very first turkey this year! Aside from a minor (or maybe not so minor) break down, where I was sobbing to my mother. . .all went well!

We had quite a few people invite us over for Thanksgiving dinner, but Ben and I wanted to have our own dinner with just our little family. So, of course, I had to pick a somewhat complicated turkey recipe. I googled "the best turkey recipe" and Emeril's brined herb roasted recipe was at the top. I looked at the reviews and every single person who gave a review gave it five stars.

I had to put the turkey in the brine the day before Thanksgiving, to give it enough time to soak. Now, keep in mind that I haven't ever cooked a turkey. . .I haven't even watched anyone do it. It's always cooked when I get to the party! I opened the turkey to wash it off before putting it in the brine, and it didn't look right. There was a thing sticking out of it. A thing that I had never seen before, and that made the turkey look different from any cooked turkey I've ever seen. So, I called my mom to ask her about it, and during the conversation I had a little break down. I didn't really want to make the turkey at that moment, and I wanted to be in Utah for Thanksgiving. She calmed me down a little bit and told me to leave the turkey how it was and whatever it was that was sticking out of the turkey wouldn't hurt it. So I should just put it in my brine and let Ben help me with it when I got it ready to cook. And that's what I did (after calling Ben and crying to him and him calling his mom and telling her about it, and his mom calling me on skype to see the turkey. . .it was fun. . .). Anyway, this is my turkey in the brine.
The next day when I took it out, I showed Ben my deformed turkey and he told me it was the neck. They just hadn't cut it off like they usually do. Ben cut it off for me and it looked normal. :)

Here is my turkey all cooked. It turned out sooooo yummy! I would definitely recommend this recipe. Also a picture of our yummy dinner.


I never realized how much work it is to cook everything, and then clean it all up. There has always been multiple people sharing the work. It was still kind of fun to have our own dinner and start some new family traditions! I'm going to make this turkey again when Ben's mom and dad and Collin come (in 11 days)!
I also made the yummiest banana cream pie from scratch! My first pie ever! That was super yummy too!
In other news, one of Nolan's birds died. We have no clue how. Nolan hasn't even had them for three weeks! I told Ben he has to go buy him another one. Nolan would be so sad if he knew his birdie died. He just loves them. . .I'm going to have to think up a reason why the bird isn't in it's cage. . .hmm? I'm hoping it's okay to lie to your kids in this type of situation. . .because that's what I'm going to do. :)

And last but not least, and certainly the most important news is that I had my ultrasound and we found out that we are having a girl! Her name is going to Malia. . .I just can't think of a middle name that goes well with it. Any ideas? This is a picture of a picture. . .sorry it's not that great.

Nolan is Four!

Our sweet Nolan turned four on Tuesday! We love our little Nolan so much. He is tons of fun to be around and makes Ben and I laugh and smile every day. He's also so very cute!
I kind of felt bad this year. Nolan thought that we were going to have a party where everyone he knows would come over and we would all sing happy birthday and he would get to open presents, "Like Simon and Bella got to do." Unfortunately that wasn't really possible. So, I tried to make his birthday a very very fun day for him.
First, Ben was helping clean the Columbia, SC temple, so Nolan, Bella and I tagged along. It takes about an hour and a half to get there. . .which is kind of a long trip, but while we were there, we walked around the temple (which is an incredibly small temple), visited Nephi's books across the street, and we went on a search for a McDonald's. We had to drive two and a half miles to get to one, but that's what Nolan wanted to do, so we did it! We spent a good amount of time playing on the play place and eating smoothies. They even gave Nolan a little book and pencil because it was his birthday.When we got home from the temple, Nolan and I baked his cake, he opened his presents that everyone sent to him, and then we went to dinner at Showmars. Nolan informed the waitress that it was his birthday, and she brought him a milkshake. He was thrilled!
Most of the presents were cards with money in them. Nolan has been wanting fish for a long time. . ."the kind that come to our house and that you don't eat." So, Ben and I thought it would be a fun birthday present if his family sent Nolan money instead of toys. Then he could use all the money to buy some fish. When we told Nolan our idea he was stoked! He could hardly wait until after dinner. My mom also got him some bakugan ball thingies that he loves. He wouldn't leave me alone until I opened them, and then was mad when I told him he couldn't take them to dinner. . .We went to the pet store and Nolan started picking out the fish that he wanted. Then Ben said "Nolan would you rather have a snake?" Um...no. No snakes. Mom nixed that idea. However, it did get the idea in Nolan's head that he could have a pet other than fish. He looked at dwarf hamsters and lizards but ended up with two birds. Lucky for us, birds are a lot less work than fish, so it worked out.
He got one green and yellow bird which he named Sprite, and one blue bird that he named Nimbus (Ben's mom thought of that one). He loves his little birds. He even helps change the water and give them their food. He watches them and talks to them, and they even talk back!I always thought birds were a mess, but they really aren't. They are actually pretty fun to have. They have to stay in the cage for the first week, to get used to their new home. We are also supposed to talk to them as much as possible so that they can get used to our voices. Next week, we will be able to let them out and hop around. Ben and I both learned how to clip their wings so they can't fly away. Nolan is excited to let them out. I'm kind of excited too. They really are cute little birds.
When we got home, we talked to Ben's parents and my mom on Skype, then had cake and superhero popsicles.
Aside from not having everyone over to celebrate with him, I think Nolan had a fun day. Happy Birthday sweet boy! We sure do love you. :)

My Buddy And Me

We have always called Simon "Buddy." I'm not sure where it started, but he's always been Buddy. Not anymore. Today I called him Buddy (like always) and he told me "The name's Simon."
I'm sad that he grew out of that. . .he's not my Buddy anymore. :(

Our Happy Halloween

We have always had family Halloween parties, dinners, and decorations to go to, until this year. So, I decided that I wanted to make it a fun Halloween for the kids. I must say, I was successful! On Thursday and Friday night and Saturday afternoon we had Halloween meals. My sister-in-law asked me if I had any good ideas for a Halloween dinner, so I went online and found some way cute ideas. . .

I called these sea monsters:

This one was my idea. We had "boo" sandwiches, mummy Cheetos and pumpkin shaped cheese
Then we had a pizza snake and eyeballs! Yummy!

On Friday night our neighborhood had a Halloween party. We went down to the clubhouse and the kids walked in a parade and got candy at the end, then we watched Monsters vs. Aliens outside. Yes, we watched it outside! It wasn't even cold! I don't remember ever having a Halloween that wasn't really cold. Such a nice change. We just sat on our blanket and had popcorn and drinks. The kids loved it.
As you can probably see, Bella dressed up as Tinker Bell. She loves anything Tinker Bell. She also gets mad at me when I take her costume off. Lucky for Ben (who hates spending money) Simon and Nolan decided (with no persuasion from parents I might add) that they wanted to be the same things they have been for three years now! Simon was Darth Vader and Nolan was Spiderman. Too bad next year the costumes won't fit them. . .and they will be so worn out that they probably won't work anyway! Poor Ben.

On Saturday, we had a block party for our little cul-de-sac. They had music and dinner and games for the kids. They also had a pinata, which was Simon's favorite part. My favorite part was that everyone brought their bowl of candy with them and when it was time to go trick-or-treating, we put them on a big table for the kids to walk around and grab from each bowl instead of going to each house. A few of the adults, that don't have little kids, stayed and monitored the amount of candy being picked up. That means I got to go trick-or-treating with the kids!

Bella had to be the cutest thing. She would walk up to the door with her pumpkin bucket and say "tick-teat". Everyone thought she was adorable so they would load her up with candy. Then Ben and I would say "What do you say Bella?" and she would say "Mo" (more). Then the people would give her more candy because they thought it was so cute. We would ask her again what she should say, and then she would say "tayou" (thank you) . She got way more candy than the boys. Simon and Nolan did even it out a little with the pinata. It rained quite a bit which didn't bother the kids at all and we all had a good time, even with the rain!

Simon wanted me to put a picture of their goodies:

. . .We only went down one street.

Curly-Q. . .Or Not.

I decided that since Princess Bella has such long hair, I would try putting curlers in. Worst case scenario, her head would be a poof ball and we would just wash out the curls. Best case, she would look super cute with all of her curls.

It's funny, because I remember, quite well, when my mom would put curlers in my hair. I loved that my hair was so curly when I woke up and took them all out, but I hated everything else about it. I hated sitting there while she put them in, and I definitely hated sleeping in them. They aren't comfortable at all, no matter what the package might say. I say it's funny because here I am, subjecting my daughter to the same torture that I had to go through! Ha!

She was so good while I put them in. She just sat there looking in the mirror smiling at herself. Here she is with her curlers in. Don't you think she looks so sweet and angelic in this picture?

Well, you are wrong.

When Ben and I were on our way to bed, I thought I'd go in Bella's room and see if the curlers were staying in while she slept. This is what I found. . .the little stinker.Three curlers made it through the night. Three. I'm pretty sure the only reason they made it was because she couldn't reach the top of her head to take them out.

The plan was to post a cute before and after picture. However, since none of my plans typically work out (especially when Bella is involved) I guess I'll settle with a cute before picture and a not-so-cute after. . .Dang Kid.

And this picture just because I think it's so funny. . .

So Cute

How could you not love these kids?!?

Our Little Chicken Nugget

Apparantly we haven't had enough changes in our life lately. . .because we are going to have another. I'm pregnant! I'm due April 3.
Because of the last miscarriage, I really wanted to wait until I was past the 12 week milestone to tell everyone. We didn't even tell Simon or Nolan. We knew they would spill the beans! So, when we finally did tell Simon he immediately wanted to know if he's going to have a new brother or sister. I told him that we won't find out for a few weeks and we'll just have to wait.
Then he wanted to know what the baby's name would be. I told him that if it's a girl she will be named Malia, and we don't really have a name picked out for a boy. He proceeded to tell me that if it's a boy he will be called Chicken Nugget.
We find out what the gender is next month. If it is a boy, Simon will be so sad that we aren't naming him Chicken Nugget. . .but it sure is a good nickname. :)

. . .and yes, this time I am excited!

BBQ's and Not-So-Great Ideas

There is a family in our ward, the Halls, that have adopted us. They are the nicest people, and our kids love them! They invited us over for dinner a while ago, and the kids just loved playing in their pool. Lucky for me the Halls have teenage boys who swam with the kids so I didn't have to get in a swimming suit! Other than Bella almost drowning and me almost jumping in the water fully dressed with my camera around my neck, it was really really fun! We roasted s'mores in their fire, and had a yummy BBQ dinner. They are just good people, and fun to be around.

Bella is in her toddler bed and she takes advantage (way to often) of the fact that she can get out whenever she wants. I am used to Simon and Nolan (and Bella when she was in a crib) taking 2-3 hour naps every day. Needless to say, I am entirely sick of her getting out of bed. She maybe takes a 30-45 min. nap now. For my sanity, that had to be fixed.
I was talking to my mom the other day, expressing my frustration, and I jokingly told her that I was so close to tying her door shut so that she can't get out. I never mentioned my idea to anyone else. I was a little hesitant to do that. If something were to happen, I didn't want to have to deal with untying a rope.
Last Sunday, we were all sick, and we all stayed home from church. Everyone needed a nap and Ben and I were all to aware of the fact that Bella wouldn't be taking a very good one. I was putting Bella in bed and Ben walked upstairs with a rope in his hands, ready to tie her door shut. To ease my concerns about an emergency we put a knife close by so we could just cut the rope. We had the best nap. . .a whole three hours! . . .and then I looked in Bella's room. . .

She had gotten out of her bed, and realized that she couldn't open her door, so she looked for other ways of entertaining herself. She pulled out every single toy and every item of clothing she owns. It was a mess. Not the greatest idea, but totally worth it.
I have since come across another idea. Ben is going to turn the door knobs around so that we can just lock her in from the outside. You just have to turn the knob to unlock it, so I think I will be a little more comfortable with that, I have resigned myself to the fact that her room will look like a bomb hit. . .and I'll get my two hours of quiet!! Problem solved.

I know! I know!....

I'm horrible. Everyone keeps asking me to put pictures of our house on here, and I keep finding other things to do. . .but first things first. . .
My poor little Bella was sort of forgotten on her birthday this year. It just happened to be in the thick of the move. Luckily, we had a little party for her before we left. . .so I'm not a totally hopeless mother. . .right?! My sweet Bella turned two at the beginning of August. . .and really she's not all that sweet. ;) She is always into everything. She will climb up on the counters and get whatever she can reach. (She bit open all of the bananas and took a bite of each of them. She has spilled the sugar everywhere, and also opened the chocolate milk mix and spread it all over, and she's always getting into my makeup, among many many other things). She keeps me busy, to say the least. However, she is so darn cute and I just love her to pieces! My mom says that I was exactly the same way when I was little so I deserve her. . .I'm not sure that's fair.

Also, Simon started kindergarten this year! He is so excited to go to school every day. He gets to ride the bus and he acts like that's the best thing that has ever happened to him. They have all day kindergarten here, and he is loving it. I'll have to tell you all about his school in another post but just so you know how great it is, it is one of the top seven elementary schools in North Carolina. I love it! Nolan seems to be a little lost without his buddy to play with. He is always asking me when Simon will get home. I'm looking forward to having some one-on-one time with him though. I just love that sweet Nolan boy.

And now, I'll include some pictures of the house. Keep in mind, the rooms aren't totally done, but good enough to show everyone. I'll put a before and after of each room. Some of the rooms I haven't painted yet, so you'll have to see those later! For now, we'll start at the top. . .
The Boys Room:

I still need Ben to hang the other curtains, and the walls need something on them but I'm not sure what to do yet. . .any ideas?

Bella's Room:

I need to get her some curtains. If you ever think you want to do stripes in a room, don't! They look awesome, and I love them, but they were so much work. I'm very particular so that probably didn't help, but I don't think I'll do stripes like that ever again! Yes, that's her new big girl bed. Oh how I wish I had the crib back. . .and that she couldn't climb out of it! She can get out so easily now, and she does.

Master Bedroom:

I haven't painted this room yet. I really don't have any idea what color to use (again. . .any ideas?). I'm going to have to think about that for a while. I'm having a hard time finding a color that looks good with our bedding. This is my new bedroom furniture, and I wanted to show it off, hence the picture. I also got a new comforter set!

The Bonus/Game Room:

We aren't painting in here, and the boxes in the middle of the floor won't be there, they just haven't found a home yet. I love this room. It keeps me sane! If the kids aren't outside, they are playing in here.

Upstairs we also have another bathroom an extra bedroom, and there is a little room off of the bonus room. Those haven't been painted yet. Oh, and there is the master bathroom, and I haven't taken a picture of that either.

Downstairs we have. . .
The Kitchen:

This hasn't been painted yet. It will be an olive green color. It doesn't look bad now, so I thought I'd include the picture.

The Living Room:

This isn't totally done. I am still going to paint the other two walls a light brown. I do love the rusty color of that wall. This is also my new furniture! I can't tell you how excited I am to not have the futon in the living room anymore!

The Laundry Room:

I love all the counter space, and the nice deep sink! It's connected to the garage and also has a door to the back yard, so I guess it's a mud room too.

The Bathroom:

I don't have a before picture.

There is also a dining room, a guest bedroom and an office on the main level.

Then we have the backyard.
This is the view from the deck:

And this is the view from the play house:

I'll have to include a picture of the garage later. It's still a work in progress! So, there are the pictures that I have so far. All of the rooms aren't completely done. They all need curtains, and I still have things to hang on some of the walls, but they are good enough for now. I'll post more pictures as I finish the rooms. I'm completely sick of painting right now, so I imagine it won't be for at least a few more weeks! I will, however, try to be better at updating this blog, and checking out all of your blogs too! We really love it here, but we also really miss everyone in Utah. It's different here. But it's a good different Everyone, everywhere is so nice and it is so beautiful. However, they don't even have cinnamon bears, or salt water taffy. And the Subway's haven't even heard of a seafood sub! I mean, really?! I guess we'll have to load up when we come visit! :)

P.S. Here is my new haircut!

One week later. . .

Well, it's been busy busy busy! We arrived here in North Carolina on July 26, and we haven't stopped working! It is so much fun to paint and decorate our new house, and yet very stressful. It sure looks nice when it's all put together though! We were so lucky to have Ben's mom come out and help us for a few days. She was a life saver! The kids were so happy to see her too. Now they call the room she was staying in Kai's (that's what they call her) room, and the bathroom is 'Kai's bathroom'. My mom will be coming this Friday to help out. I'm so excited! We are painting every room, so there's a lot of work to do! So far we love it here. I know it's only been a week, but it's been a good week. The kids love the big back yard, and go exploring often! We went to church yesterday (and had to drive 40 minutes to get there. . .yuck). Everyone was so kind and friendly. We really are having a great time! Sorry for the short little update. I don't have much time right now. I am going to take before and after pictures of the rooms, so I'll post those as I get them done. . .oh, and Ben bought me new furniture!! No more futon! Hooray!