Kendall and Melissa's Growing Clan

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Babyfood

This is a shout-out for homemade baby food. I have known lots of people who make all of their own babyfood. I always thought "That's great for them, but I just think it sounds like a lot of work." But lately, I've been making my own babyfood and it couldn't be easier! Here are the reasons I LOVE making my own:

1) Cheaper
2) Tastes better
3) Smells better
4) Looks better
5) Healthier
6) I KNOW what is in the food I'm giving my baby
7) Doesn't take any longer
8) Rigdon is eating the same foods as the rest of us

I wish that someone would have challenged me to make my own babyfood, even for one week, way back when I had Avri. I could have saved a small fortune, and felt good about what I was giving my kids. At least I have figured it out for my last. But for those of you mommies who read my blog, I challenge you to try it for just a week and see if you like it too!

(If you want tips or want to know how to get started leave me a message and I'll send you an email!)

Splurge

Happy Valentine's Day to us!

This camera does everything except make us look as skinny as we want to be. (But I'm sure we could find some software for that.) But for that, we have splurged on something else:

Memberships to Gold's Gym!

We said all the way through college that when we graduated we would get memberships to a gym. Well Kendall has been graduated for almost 3 years and me for almost 6! We have been trying to avoid the cost of the gym, but with 4 kids it just wasn't happening. Kendall and I have gone every day this week and intend to continue doing so. We are both incredibly sore and tired, but it is the most wonderful feeling! I know I'm not any skinnier than I was a few days ago, but I look at myself differently knowing that I am actually doing something about it. The step class that I went to this morning totally kicked my butt, and I can't wait to go back on Friday and do it again. But there was a fleeting moment when I wondered if they would have to just sweep my heap of a body off to the side after class. However, I made it through, still smiling and was even able to carry Rigdon to the van afterward. :) Here's to new beginnings!

We chose Gold's Gym because it was affordable, had the weights that Kendall wanted, the classes that I wanted, and most importantly free babysitting with good hours. The kids think it is a big treat to go to the gym and play and I feel like it's a great break to get away and work my heart out.

What would happen if...

Talmage has entered a phase that I remember my brother being in years ago. I call it the "What would happen if" phase. I think a lot of boys go through this, and for my brother it is a phase that produced a lot of funny stories and lasted a long time. So here are the two latest stories from Talmage. And I must apologize for the run-on sentences, but this is almost word-for-word how he said it.

Story #1: (Talmage coming inside after playing out in the snow.) "Mom. What would happen if a really big bird that had a really sharp beak came and it pecked at our roof and put a big hole in the roof and it came all the way through and then the bird got our family?" (Here he mimes a bird pecking someone on the top of the head.) I then reply "I don't know Talmage. What if that happened?" to which he responds with large eyes "I don't know. That would be weird."

Story #2: (Later on the same day, as I am doing dishes Talmage comes to me for a little visit.) "Mom, when I get older and then I go on a mission, and then I come back from my mission, can we go to the church and all of the girls will line up and I can pick one to marry?"
Me: (Trying desperately not to laugh) "You want ALL of the girls to line up? What about the ones who are already married?"
Talmage: "I will just pick somebody else."
Me: "That sounds like a pretty good idea. But what if you don't know one of them?
Talmage: "Then I will just go to the next girl. I will pick Aubrey. I will marry her.
Me: "What if she doesn't WANT to marry you?"
Talmage: "Then I will pick Maggie."
Me: "Okay Talmage. Sounds like you have it all planned out."

I am glad that he is using that big ole' brain of his.

Hair Experiment: Part I

For years, Kendall has wanted to shave his head completely bald on the first day of the year and see how long it grows in a year. He picked this year as the year to try this experiment. Here we are so far:

January 1: 0 cm

February 1: 1.2 cm

March 1: 2.3 cm

And here is where I admit that I am glad my husband has hair. This will be an interesting experiment. =P I think I've already talked him into keeping the back trimmed and leaving the top to grow. Or at least being open to the idea of cutting it if it gets out if control.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Ooops

It is now March. Kendall had a birthday in January. I had a birthday in February. I haven't blogged about either. :-( I just haven't been able to keep up with anything since Rigdon was born!

Kendall turned 28 on January 11th. We had a simple birthday celebration. We gave him gifts, made a special dinner for him, made Chocolate mousse with raspberries for dessert (he doesn't like cake) and did our best to make him feel special. For dinner we went for a summer theme: barbecue pulled pork sandwiches, jello, and homemade potato salad. Kendall and I went out to dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries the weekend before his birthday. It is brand new in the area and was VERY busy, but it was yummy.

I turned 28 on February 17th. Kendall spoiled me (as he always does) with lots of nice gifts, and we had my favorite, Chicken Pot Pie. I have a recipe that is to die for. I. LOVE. IT. But it is so time consuming to make that we hardly ever have it. So Kendall helped me the night before make a couple of pies, one to cook for my birthday and one to freeze for later. Does it get any better than that? He also made me Grasshopper Pie. It is my dear friend Chelsea's recipe and it is heavenly. We haven't had it for years. But it was fantastic.

On Valentine's Day we were supposed to have our swing dance class. However, the teacher ended up with the flu and class was canceled. So we had to think of some last minute plans. We went to Hickory River, which isn't terribly romantic, but delicious none-the-less. (I'm finding a very prominent food theme in this post.) After we had dinner we did some shopping. I know what you're thinking: Exciting Valentine's Day! But it is so nice to go somewhere and hold hands with each other instead of the kids while we shop. We decided to get a combined gift this year. Something that we've wanted for a long time but it was just too expensive. I won't tell now. That will be a different post. So to finish up our cheap Valentine's date we came home and watched a movie while the kids were sleeping. It was actually a very relaxing night.

On a more personal note, I am more in love with my wonderful husband every day that I am alive. I knew that I was in love with him way back in 2000 while we were still dating. And I was the happiest woman alive on the day that we were married in 2003. But now, in 2011, he has given me the world. We have 4 beautiful children a wonderful marriage and home and I am more in love with him than I could have possibly understood the day that we were married. Time, sacrifice and trials have made us stronger together and brought us closer together. I don't think that there has been a single day since I met Kendall that he has not made me laugh. I love you so much, Kendall. Thank you for being my eVeRyThInG!

Snowgirl

Avri made her first "Snowgirl" all by herself. She stands about as tall as Talmage. Her eyes and mouth are hard to find because they, too, are made from snow. Avri was very specific that this was a girl. Want proof?