HB to Me!

On my b-day with the 3 best presents I've ever been given (I'm talking about the kids). Taken with the camera self-timer, hence the lack of focus, which is actually a good thing in my case.

I like to set out all my b-day stuff so I feel special.

Not to brag, but... I had a great birthday yesterday. Pretty much everyone else I know had a terrible day, but my first day of being 31 was pretty darn good. I feel like my 30th year came in like a lion and out like a lamb. I actually don't know what that means, but somewhere in the back of my head it seems like it applies to this time of year, or my birthday, or something. All I really know is that I have wonderful friends and family and it was a fun fun day. I went to lunch with my mother-in-law and 2 sisters-in law, had a lazy afternoon, then Jason took me to The Roof as a surprise, and he also got me a pair of Big Star capris and two very cute tops. AND, the boys spent the night at my in-law's so I could actually catch up on the last two weeks of American Idol! Talk about a good day! And to top it off, Chikezie got sent home finally (thank you!) and Brett Michaels gave what might possibly be my favorite quote of all time. If you have never watched VH1's Rock of Love, please don't start. It is a terrible show and you will be a worse person when you are done. I really only watch bits and pieces here and there. Having said that, I leave you with these words, spoken by a very heart-felt Brett about one of his girlfriends' ex-boyfriends: "He's like a conundrum... wrapped in an enigma... wrapped in a mystery." Kind of like myself.

Flashback Friday

This is my first Flashback Friday post. I love this idea because I have about 40 blog posts running around in my head, but they are all too complicated to sit down and capture at the moment, so this makes it easy. I took this picture (of a picture - very high-tech, I know) when I visited my sister Kristen in Kansas over the weekend. She is the little blond cutie in the red dress. I think she totally looks like my little Luke! Everyone says Luke is "such a Yates" but I'm here to prove that he just might have a little Price in him, too. He reminds me of Kristen in a lot of ways. His big wide smile, fluffy blond hair, and especially his crazy little personality. He always has me laughing, just like Kristen does. Not that you're crazy, KD, you are just fun, and I miss you so much already! Back to the picture. My cute parents are in the middle, obviously, and we'll just go clockwise from my dad: Me with the unfortunate brown horse hair, Kristen, Teresa, Alison and Ryan. This might seem like a lot of kids, but there were three more yet to come, and this picture seems so incomplete without them! That is why I will probably end up with 40 kids; what if my parents had only had 3? or 5? or 7? I would have missed out on some of my very favorite people in the whole entire world! So if I use this reasoning in my own family, I will definitely be in trouble... Anyway, I think I must have been about seven in the picture, but who really knows. The 80s are all just a big blur to me at this point. I've been trying to find a picture of Luke that looks like Kristen, but it is hard to find one where he doesn't look like he's on crack. I also think I'm guilty of having a permanently dirty-faced kid. What can I say, I grew up in the 80s.

A few diet-friendly recipes

Well, not really. But diets aren't any fun, and cookies are, so here are two of my favorite cookie recipes. I'm big on soft cookies and both of these are soft and stay that way, but they're not crumbly. I chill the dough on both of these recipes so they are easier to handle. I also think they are both better the next day, after they've had a day to set up and become the cookie they are destined to become.

Soft Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Caramel-Filled Chocolate Cookies (Rolo Cookies)

1 Chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Rolos
2 tablespoons white sugar

Mix cake mix, eggs and oil. Place about 1 tsp of dough in hand and flatten. Place 1 Rolo in the center and roll into a ball. Roll in sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 7-10 minutes at 350. Note: I use the small Pampered Chef scoop and it makes exactly 36 cookies. The dough is pretty thick so I use my bosch to mix it with the dough hook, but you can use your muscles if you are so inclined. And one more note: there are 8 rolos in each package, so you will need 4 1/2 packages for this recipe. What you do with the other 4 rolos is up to you. Or, you could just buy one of those big bags, but then you have to unwrap the little buggars.


So there you have it. Two reasons to bag your diet. Oh, and thank you to everyone for your nice comments on my last post about Abby. I have the nicest friends in the world! Maybe I should just make you all some cookies...

Perspective

Sometimes when life is getting just a little too overwhelming, I feel like I am blessed with a little perspective. Like yesterday, for example, I was taking Dallin to the pediatrician for his 5 year check up. I was feeling sorry for myself because I had to take Abby with me (I have to take her everywhere because she refuses to take a bottle so she is my little partner 24 hours a day. It gets exhausting). We stepped out of the elevator and there was a girl waiting there with 5 month old triplets! Wow. Abby times 3. I really honestly don't think I could do it. I was like, well, maybe my life isn't so hard. I mean, I know I would love my babies, but really. Triplets! 3 car seats strapped on one ginormous stroller... I am very grateful that my three children are different ages. Then today we took Abby up to Primary Children's for her appointment with the pediatric opthamologist (Her eyes aren't exactly on the same page most of the time. She's my little cross-eyed girl. I'm a little sensitive about it, so please don't make fun). The whole ordeal was kind of a production and when we finally got in to see the doctor he talked to us for a few minutes and then said he had to dilate her eyes and we'd need to go back out to the waiting room for at least 25 minutes before he could continue the exam. Grrrr! So I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.... why does my baby have to have crossed eyes, why do we have to spend the whole afternoon here, why why? But I decided that this might be a good time to take Abby for a walk and try to find my cousin. Her little boy has been at Primary Children's for a month because he's been having major seizures and they can't figure out why. I had the room number so I thought, I'll just wander around and if I find the room I'll stop in for a second and say hi. If you've never been there before, that hospital is crazy. I just started walking and somehow ended up on the other end of the hospital and I kept thinking, am I allowed to be here? This is nuts! I was walking through all kind of crazy places that I thought for sure only authorized people would be able to go. But somehow I ended up right where I needed to be and found the room with no trouble at all. And wow. That little boy was about the sweetest little thing I have ever seen, lying there so still with about a million tubes and wires hooked up to him. My cousin was the only one in the room with him, and I got to talk to her and give her a hug and get just a small taste of what she has been going through this last month. Oh, how my heart aches for her and her precious little boy! Suddenly, my little crossed-eyed girl didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. As I walked back through the labyrinth of hallways to the eye doctor's office I almost felt numb, I was so overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude. We waited a little longer, and then went back in and met with the doctor. The news was not what I had been hoping to hear: she needs to have surgery on both eyes. But somehow it doesn't seem so bad in light of other things. It's fixable. She doesn't even have to stay in the hospital overnight. She's perfectly fine otherwise, and I get to take her home and love her and not worry about what happens next. I feel so incredibly blessed! We'll take her back for one more appointment in April, she'll have the surgery in May, and then hopefully she'll start seeing with both eyes at the same time. In the meantime, my prayers are with my amazingly brave cousin Laura and her sweet little Samuel.

It's time... for the hottest party!

Sorry you haven't heard much from me lately. My very extremely lovely Internet has been down all week. I feel like I have broken leg or something. It's so debilitating. (I can't believe I spelled that word right on the first try. Yessss.) Also, I have a new hobby/addiction. It's Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii. I got it for Christmas, but I really only started playing it about a week ago... and I haven't done much else since. I'll be honest. I've quit going to aerobics. I really love this game and it is one of the few workouts that I can't get enough of. I have two mats, so please, join me for the hottest party. I promise you will love me for it, once you can walk again. I spent about 2 days last week where I could barely go up or down stairs because my calves were so sore. I mean, I'm not saying I'm like awesome at it or anything, but well, I can hold my own. Not really, but I still love it. So please come over and play with me. At least try. You owe it to yourself.