Our Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent our Thanksgiving at home this year. We ate our meal with most of Troy's mom's family. There were about 45 there. I was so sad when I realized that I had forgotten our camera, so there are not any photos to display. We had a laid back weekend, and I am happy to report that on Saturday, BYU won their game against the University of Utah, their best rival.
Another event I was sad not to have the camera along for was Spencer's first swimming excursion. We went to one of our hotels and had a swim. (It may seem like a strange winter activity for some of you, but the pools and the pool building are heated, so it is quite fun.) It took nearly 30 minutes to coerce Timmy into the "big pool." He much preferred sitting with his feet in the hot tub. We are looking forward to a mini-vacation this week. We are spending 4 days with Nicole's parents in warm country and 3 days in California as tag-alongs to Troy's business meeting. I have planned some activities for me and the boys while dad is in meetings, but you'll have to wait until next week to see pictures and hear what the adventures will be! (I already packed my camera.)

The In-Laws and the Outlaws

It may seem like I am reverse-chronology displaying these, but there were some big things that some of you may have missed out on. These are (obviously) graduation pictures. I am 8 months pregnant and was soooooo excited to finally finish. It took just less than 6 years to complete my BS degree. Whew! You can see the the Y on the mountain in the background- BYU is the best!

My Major was Marriage, Family, and Human Development. I like to joke that it should be called "How to be a mommy." I had to take classes like Family Finances, Language Development, Cognitive Development, Infant Development, Parenting, Marriage Enhancement, and similar classes. I can't say that it properly prepared me for motherhood. I was never offered a class in "How to function on 2 hours of sleep," "What to do when 1 year-old kicks 1 month-old in the head," or "How to wash, fold, and put away 20 loads of laundry a week." In spite of this, I think I am managing just fine. I have found that the easiest fix-all is to load the kids in the stroller and walk. My neighbors can attest to this: we are always wandering around the neighborhood.

Those who came to commencement to hear Vice-President Cheny speak were Brad, Melissa, Troy, Timmy, Spencer (kinda) and me. Those who came to see my walk were: left to right Grandma Marilyn, Brad, Melissa, Troy, Me, Garrett, Jill, Richard, Kirby, Timmy and Shannon. We then had a big BBQ at our house to celebrate and lots of friends and family came. There are not pictures of everyone. Sorry!

Nicole's Not-So-New 'Do

About 6 weeks before Spencer was born, I cut off the majority of my hair and donated it to Pantene's Great Lengths program. They provide real-hair wigs to women have lost their hair to cancer treatments. My donation was in loving memory of my grandma, Mommer, who lost her hair and her life in her battle with cancer. My ponytail was 14" long. I haven't had my hair this short since 9th grade! I can't decide if I should keep my hair short or grow it out and do it all over again. Cast your vote in my poll!

Things I like about my new hair:

1. I feel sassy and in style.
   
2. Troy plays with my hair more since his fingers don't get tangled in it.
   
3. People compliment me about my hair.
4. It feels good to know my hair went to a good cause.
5. It doesn't take a long time to style it.
6. I lost about 3 pounds of hair!
   

Things I miss about long hair:

1. Being able to put it in a ponytail or messy bun when I'm in a rush.
2. Sometimes I feel naked.
3. Being able to tuck it behind my ear to keep it out of my face
4. My neck gets sunburned!
5. Being able to absentmindedly twirl it around my finger.

I put a link to the Pantene Great Lengths website if you want to join the million-inch chain, read the requirements for donations, or see other pictures like these.

Yum! Yum! Baby Food

Our adventure this week: Spencer's first "solid" food- baby oatmeal. He was smeared, oops, I mean fed by a willing daddy and carefully observed by an attentive older brother. (If this bald Troy picture is a surprise to you, you haven't heard the "I shaved my head while you were out of town, Nicole" story, but we'll save that for another day.) When we get into the more colorful foods: green beans, carrots, plums, peas, we'll post some more pictures. Ever since this first meal, Spencer gets very vocal any time we sit down to the table to eat. He watches every bite, from plate to mouth, with extreme interest and grabs for a taste at every opportunity! Luckily, Timmy hasn't made an attempt to pawn his leftovers off on his brother, but I'm sure the day will come when I find an unexplained chunk of food that cannot be "gummed" in Spencer's mouth and an innocent-pleading brother to blame.

Meet our Adventurers

I realized that some of you have never seen our boys, so I thought I should put a picture of them looking like their normal selves so you know who we are. Timmy is 2 and loves his little Spencer. He wants Spencer to be a part of everything we do, so Spencer plays catch, reads books, rides in Timmy's big Tonka dump truck, gets his hands traced (and colored on) with markers, and laughs with Timmy about things that only they know. Spencer's picture was taken yesterday, he's wearing a hat Emily crocheted. Timmy's was taken about 2 weeks ago when we read about Captain Moroni in our picture scriptures. There was a picture of Captain Moroni on a horse holding the Title of Liberty, so here is Timmy holding his flag riding on the horse Great Grams and Gramps gave him.

Previous Recipes, Quotes and Items of the week

Items of the Week:

1. Clorox Disinfecting wipes- I heard about these from my Tiff, who cleans a dentist's office every week. Now that Tim is potty training, we knows that if he drips on the toilet or has an accident on the floor, that we get a Clorox wipe and clean it up. I also keep a stash of these in our baby bag to use on public toilet seats, changing tables, shopping cart handles and other "germy" places. I purchase a 4 pack at Sam's Club. My favorite is the green bottle- fresh scent.
2. Scotch Tape Runner- I love to wrap presents!! I also enjoy scrapbooking, even though I don't have as much spare time as I used to. This double stick tape runner is amazing! It is acid-free so it is safe for photos and archival work. It is also easy to dispense. I bought a 4-pack, but am still on the first roll. It lasts a long time.
   I also like it for wrapping presents. I use it in place of regular tape. It is easy to do 1-handed, and it doesn't show when the present is wrapped.
   
   I have also seen teachers in Relief Society classes us it for putting quotes, pictures and visual aides on the board. It is quick, and sooo much faster than folding tape bubbles.
   
   I got a 4-pack from Sam's Club for about $10.00.

3. One Touch UltraSmart Blood Glucose meter from Lifescan

   I have been diabetic since I was in kindergarten, and have seen the evolution of blood glucose meters. Lifescan has always been my favorite brand. I have been using the One Touch UltraSmart for almost 3 years and it has serviced me through 2 pregnancies and many other diabetic challenges. A few things I love about the UltraSmart:

   1. It is accurate- I had a hospital lab test my blood sugar and I used my UltraSmart to test the same sample and the results were identical.

   2. It has a website, www.carelink.minimed.com, that you can download your logbook to and analyze the information so detect trends and patterns and to visualize graphs, and tables. There is also software that you can use to do the same thing, without the Internet.

   3. There are Quick buttons across the bottom of the meter that allow you to store information like medications, doctors visits, A1c results, exercise, food, and other information, all in one place.

   4. I like the backlight for when I check my blood sugar in the middle of the night, and don’t want to turn on the overhead light.

   5. It uses 2 AAA batteries, and they rarely need to be replaced.

   6. The One Touch Test Strips are affordable and comparable and competitive to other brands’ prices.

   7. There is a toll-free 24-hour help line to answer any questions or troubleshoot any problems that may arise.

   8. It is simple enough for anyone to use. My grandpa used this meter until he died, and my grandma uses it, too.

   9. My endocrinologist (diabetes doctor) recommends it. (He got me one for free!)

   This is something I literally could not live without, I test my blood sugar with my One Touch UltraSmart an average of 6 times per day, and double that when I was pregnant.

Recipes:

1. Chicken Pillows

   Ingredients:

   2- 8 oz. pkg PHILADELPHIA cream cheese

   4 T. butter or margarine

   1/8 t. pepper

   1 small can GREEN GIANT mushrooms

   2 c. cooked chicken, shredded or chopped

   2 cans PILLSBURY croissant roll dough

   PROGRESSO Seasoned bread crumbs

   Mix together all ingredients except roll dough and bread crumbs. Set aside. Flatten roll dough with fingers or rolling pin. Spoon filling into center. Fold up edges and seal. Roll pillows in bread crumbs. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes at 375® F. Serves well with steamed green beans, mashed potatoes and chicken gravy. Yeild: 16 pillows

Marbled Chocolate Treats

9 KEEBLER graham crackers

6 oz. TOLL HOUSE semi-sweet chocolate chips (abt. 1 cup)

½ cup SKIPPY creamy peanut butter

3 oz. TOLL HOUSE white chocolate chips (abt. ½ cup)

LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Arrange grahams on bottom of pan, cutting as needed to completely cover bottom of pan; set aside.

MICROWAVE semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is completely melted when stirred, stirring every 30 sec. (don’t burn or it will be grainy). Stir until well blended. Pour over grahams; spread with spatula to cover completely.

REPEAT microwave melting steps with the white chocolate. Drop spoonfuls of the white chocolate over chocolate-covered grahams. Immediately cut through the chocolate mixtures with knife several times for a marbled effect.

REFRIGERATE at least 1 hour or until firm. Use foil “handles” to remove dessert from pan. Peel off foil. Cut dessert into bars. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Bread

½ c. canola oil

1 ½ c. sugar

4 eggs

16 oz. LIBBY'S pumpkin

1 c. water

2 c. wheat flour

1 ½ c. flour

2 tsp. ARM & HAMMER baking soda

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. CLABBER GIRL baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

CREAM together oil and sugar until fluffy. Stir in eggs, pumpkin, and water.

BLEND in flours, soda, salt, baking powder, and spices.

POUR into 3 greased 9x5x3”pans.

BAKE at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes. Cool before slicing or wrapping in foil. Serve with butter or cream cheese.

Quotes

1. You don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now.
   -Joan Baez

2. To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of others.

   -Pope John Paul II

3. "Children are the anchors that hold a mother to life."

   -Sophocles

Trick or Treat!

For Halloween this year, Timmy was Chicken Licken and Spencer was a puppy. Tim did not like wearing his costume and when we went to a party, he insisted on carrying his chicken around with him, but refused to put it on. He has a stubborn streak! Tim loved to flap his wings and show off his tail. When we went trick or treating, he was determined to wear his snow boots and mittens, and wasn't able to hold his loot bag. You can't see them here, but the boots are shown in another picture. Spencer was his usual easygoing self and after bundling him up, we hit the streets. He promptly fell asleep and began drooling like a proper puppy. Tim quickly learned that stopping at the houses without lights was a waste of time and he dictated which house to visit next. He passed by the houses that had scary-faced jack-o-lanterns.