The Aquarium

Hannah had a field trip to the aquarium today. =) We all had so much fun together.

We watched a show about turtles. The lady had several different kinds that are found in North Carolina that she showed us and talked about. Afterwards, the kids could go up and touch them (with the exception of the snapping turtle of course). I was a little surprised that Hannah and Nikki wanted to. I sure didn't.

There was also a 1/2 mile nature walk that we enjoyed. It was such a beautiful day. We saw some birds, a couple of squirrels, and we even identified some poison ivy.
This bridge didn't bother the girls walking across it, but there was one bridge that was a floating bridge that I wasn't sure they were going to get over. If they would have gone on by themselves it would have been fine, but they got a little nervous that the boards moved around when they stepped on them. And when I came and added my weight to the mix the water started seeping up over some of the boards. It wasn't a big deal. It was just marshy land, so it's not like we would have been swimming out, but they were sure glad when we finally got to the other side.
This tank was neat because they had quite a few sharks in it. A couple of them were a pretty good size.

A very fun day. Hannah said her favorite part was seeing the jellyfish, and Nikki said her favorite was ... I can't remember. I'm tired and very glad to be home.

Yes! It's Over!

I did it! This morning was my appointment at the skin center to finish getting the mole on my back removed. Nate came with me, which was very comforting to not have to worry about driving myself. It ended up that I was okay, though. No fainting spells this time. On the way home afterwards I was telling Nate how relieved I was to have it done, and he just started laughing at me. He said, "I can't believe you had a baby naturally and you were all stressed out over that." I had to laugh, too. It really was so simple of a procedure. In fact, Nate missed it. He had a magazine out when the doctor came in, and by the time he looked up the doctor was done. I don't care how silly it is, I really am glad it's over!

So the chocolate background wasn't cutting it for me anymore. I'm a woman and I'm pregnant and I can change my mind as much as I want. Nate usually just nods his head when we get to that point in the conversation. He's a good man.

Nikki keeps coming up to me and kissing my tummy. She is so sweet. She also asks all the time how big the baby is right now or if the baby is hungry or if he's making my tummy feel sick. I think it's adorable how interested she is about it.

Hannah told me that next year she doesn't want to take piano lessons. I have always thought that I would require my kids to take at least one year of lessons and then let them decide if they wanted to continue. But she wants to take gymnastics and art lessons. That's a physical sport along with something cultural, so I think that is enough. And she loves art so much that I would really be excited for her to do that. But then I think will it be too late in a few more years for her to get a good start if she wanted to do piano later? I'm feeling a little torn because I think gaining a beginning understanding of music is so important. I also feel bad because I ruined her excitement about piano this year when I gave her a few lessons but never pushed her to practice. I shouldn't have even attempted that. I knew better to start with. Well, I guess we'll see if we can even find art lessons.

I played the organ for a funeral yesterday. I went to church Monday and practised for the first time in a very long time. I was reminded of how much I really enjoy it. That was the best class that I took, and I have felt tempted to just continue studying the organ rather than work on my bachelor's degree. I don't have the time or money to do both. I even went as far as to look online for practice organs that have a full pedal board that would fit in a home. I have an old Hammond organ that was given to me, but it only has one octave of toe pedals which are basically worthless if you're trying to learn to play correctly. I could find one that's nice enough for about $3500, which I thought was pretty good. If we had $3500 to throw into an organ. Just a crazy dream.

Every day Hannah asks me what we have for lunch, and every day I tell her the same things, and every day she says she doesn't want that. She says she doesn't like sandwiches, but she will eat peanut butter and jelly when she has to. She actually really likes them, but won't admit it. She won't try any kind of sandwich meat. This past week I told her that she would have to decide what she wanted for lunch on her own because I'm tired of the routine, and there were at least two days where she didn't eat at all. So that didn't work. What do your kids eat for lunch? She would choose macaroni and cheese everyday if I let her, but I won't let her.

CINNAMON ROLLS

Last Sunday while I was taking a nap I dreamed that we had some cinnamon rolls and Nikki and I each ate two. We were going to save the others for Nate and Hannah, but I wanted to eat the others before they got there. Then I woke up really hungry. I've wanted cinnamon rolls all week, and yesterday I finally made some. These are not just ordinary cinnamon rolls. These are CINNAMON ROLLS!

This is what they looked like when I put them in the pan. The recipe said to let them rise for another 45 minutes, but I decided my pan wouldn't hold them if I did that and went ahead and cooked them. Notice the butter being squished up between them? Oh my goodness.

And here they are fresh out of the oven and smelling oh so good. I actually had to cook them for about an extra 20 minutes after this to get the middle cooked. I wonder if I had used two 9" cake pans if they would have cooked through easier?

And with the frosting, drum roll please.... the biggest and yummiest and most time-consuming cinnamon roll I have ever made.

A friend of mine when we were living in South Carolina gave me this recipe, and I've never made it before because of the intense amount of butter and sugar and work that go into them. But when you have a week-long desire for cinnamon rolls, you're a little more willing to try something extreme. I'll post the recipe and you'll see what I mean.

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Mix together sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

• 2 packets active dry yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 cup 110 degree water

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water; set aside.

• 1 cup warm milk
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 2/3 cups melted butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• up to 8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup melted butter

Mix together milk, sugar, butter, salt, and eggs; add yeast mixture and 4 cups of flour to mixture; beat until smooth; stir in enough flour to form a slightly stiff dough. Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8 minutes.

Place dough into a large greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes. Roll dough out onto a floured surface into a 15" X 20" rectangle. Brush 1/2 cup melted butter over dough; sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over dough.

Tightly roll up dough and pinch edges together to seal; cut the roll into 12 - 15 slices using dental floss or thread.

• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar

Coat the bottom of a 13 X 9 pan with melted butter; sprinkle sugar evenly in the bottom of the pan. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the prepared pan; cover pan and allow to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the frosting (this is a maple icing, which is good, but I think I prefer just the regular white icing for cinnamon rolls):

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup melted butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp maple extract
• up to 6 Tbsp hot water

Stir together powdered sugar, 2/3 cup melted butter, and extracts; stir in hot water 1 Tbsp at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Can you believe I did all that and used all that butter?! Oh, but they are good.

Rambling on ...

So I thought the chocolate theme for the blog was a little appropriate since I feel like my days revolve around food, and of course chocolate is the king of all foods. Before I go anywhere I have to think about the last time I ate and try to figure out how much longer I have before I'll need something else to eat. I can't seem to make it through church without a snack. Nikki is loving that, and I let her share with me so that it looks like I brought it for her instead of myself. I think I have been craving lasagna and oranges the most -- not at the same time. Lasagna, spaghetti, BBQ chicken, burritos, mmm.... they all sound good. There really hasn't been any kind of food that makes me sick, I just want to eat it all. Just about every night after the girls go to bed I'll eat an orange. I love the smell of oranges. It's funny how any strong smell makes me gag except for oranges. What is the medical reason for pregnant women having an increased sense of smell, anyway? I've had to buy a new kind of hand soap and laundry detergent because the kinds we had been using were making me sick. I also got Nate a different kind of shampoo and deoderant that just didn't have as strong of a scent. I remember my band director in high school mentioning that he didn't wear cologne. When I asked him why, he went off about how we already have so many scents on us from our soap, to deoderant, to shampoo, to hair gel, to laundry detergent, to lotion, etc. He didn't want to add cologne on top of that mix. At the time I thought he was crazy, but now I think he was a really smart man. Why do so many women feel like dressing up for church includes adding an extra dose of perfume to the mix? Last Sunday I almost spent Sacrament meeting in the foyer except when I went out there, there were too many loud kids to hear the sound from the speakers. So, I went back in the chapel and Nate passed me some cinnamon candy, which helped while it lasted, but I was just being bombarded by the scent of the people in front of me. Anyway, I think those leftovers in the fridge are calling my name about now.

Hula Nate

Nate's work has started an activity group on Fridays during lunch. They have gone roller blading and on a hike, and then last week they broke out the hula hoops and jump ropes. I think Nate might get a hoola hoop for Father's Day because I would just love to see this action in person. Go Nate!

So polite

Mom: Do you want to help make your bed?
Nikki: No, thank you.

I know, my fault for asking.

Anger

Our Relief Society lesson today was based on President Hinckley's talk from the last conference about anger. One scripture that the teacher shared has stayed with me. It's Proverbs 27:4, "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous." You know most of the stories we hear about people doing crazy things are done when they are angry. Road rage or crazy parents on the sidelines of their kids ball games. Those are outrageous actions.

Unfortunately, my own conscience was pricked this morning. Well, it was pricked yesterday when I was outrageous, but I was reminded of it today. I had asked Nate to touch up a little paint in our living room where a picture had fallen and scratched the wall a little bit. So he did it, and I was grateful, and then I looked at it, and then I acted outrageously. They were small knicks that could have been touched up just using the tip of a brush or even a finger, but he had used a whole brush stroke to cover it up and the paint was drying a different color than the rest of the wall. So I said not very nicely, "Nate, you might as well bring the whole can of paint back in here because you have to paint the whole wall now. This is going to be awful when it dries." My husband said not one word. He got a wet rag and came in and started rubbing off all the extra new paint which hadn't completely dried yet. He was so calm and came up with such a simple solution. I felt so sheepish. Maybe if I hadn't been upset I could have thought of a good solution, too. If nothing else, I certainly didn't need to make him feel bad for doing something for me. He made me think of another scripture. Proverbs 15:1 "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." His response showed me how ridiculous mine had been, and I wasn't angry anymore. I just felt sorry for acting so outrageously. I'm glad he is so calm and quick to forgive, and I'm looking forward to us having many more years together for him to keep teaching me how to behave.

I actually think of myself as a pretty calm and easygoing person, but I realized in church this morning that this really was a good message even for me. I may not fly off the handle very much but we all have times where things annoy us, and we have the choice to act in anger or not.

A couple of things

Have I mentioned lately that my husband is an angel? He was cleaning the bathroom earlier today and I walked by and saw him taking a break to paint Nikki's fingernails. The whole time he was talking about how he wasn't very good at this because he is a boy, boys don't usually do fingernail polish, it might be a while before he tried to do this again, etc. It was so funny and so cute. I'm so thankful that my husband will not only clean the bathroom but also paint our daughter's fingernails.

We took our house off the market last month and have just been doing a little for sale by owner. We wanted to give it a little break from the MLS since it had been listed for almost a year, and we also had to figure out what realtor to go with next time. Such a frustrating decision. It has been so nice to be able to walk out the front door without making sure everything was clean in case someone came to look at the house. Especially since I was feeling so crappy for the past couple of months. Anyway, we have decided to go with the realtor who sold us this house, which we should have done in the first place. I gave him a call today, and he's going to come by Monday morning. I'm excited to get things moving, but my goodness I'm going to have to start doing the breakfast dishes right after breakfast again. Yes, feel free to join my pity party with me. =) I'm feeling so much better now that it really needs to go ahead and sell before I get too big to move around and pack. So, we'll see what happens.

When will my kids realize that I'm really not that bad of a cook? Whenever I tell Nikki what I'm cooking for supper, she usually says she wants cereal instead. Tonight was no different, and even Hannah was complaining about having to eat steak. Steak! Come on! So I did take a little pity on them and also added mac and cheese to the menu (I'll admit that the fact that it's a lot less work to cook than mashed potatoes had a lot to do with that decision). When Hannah took her first bite of steak, her eyes popped wide open and she said, "Mmm!" like she was so surprised. Nikki was a little harder to convince. She took a bite, said it was okay, but she didn't want anymore. Next thing we know, she is so proud of herself for clearing her entire plate. So supper actually turned out really well tonight, but I'm sure tomorrow will still bring more requests for cheerios.

Nikki still doesn't care too much for boys. She is so sure we couldn't possibly get a baby boy. Whenever we ask her what we should name the baby, she says Rebekah. She can't think of anything for a boy. Since she has been so against boys, the other day I said very seriously to her that we just might have a boy. She said, "Well, we'll just have to learn him good things."

Hannah's Birthday

Here are a few pictures from Hannah's birthday party last week. It's taken me a while to get them posted. Here is my best artistic attempt at cake decorating this year. Hannah was pleased, so I guess that's all that counts. Can you guess how old she is?

Opening presents with cousins. Nikki now wants a pink poodle webkins for her birthday, but Hannah is pretty adamant that she can't have that because Hannah already has one. Nikki doesn't care that there are other kinds, she wants the pink poodle. Funny girls.

It was a little mean to spread the candles all around the whole cake, but she did a good job anyway. And I know I look 8 months pregnant in this picture. Definitely not my best side.

Is there a cuter baby out there? Brenna is so adorable.