Fun Things Elijah Learned to do in May

Elijah vs. Crib

Who's the baby on the camera?

How to eat like his Daddy and Big Brother - watch for the piece of donut that falls.

Up you go...

Scrapbooking Weekend

May 23-26, 2008

Seriously this was so much fun. I kid you not. I mean take how much fun you think it might be and then multiply it by two. Together Renae and Marlane set the whole thing up and got 12 of us to leave our families for Memorial Day Weekend and go to a cabin in California that was stocked with Scrapbooking supplies. The cabin was great even if I froze my hiney off. But I made up for it by eating all the junk food everyone brought. We talked a lot, we laughed a lot, we ate a lot. The earliest I got to bed for three nights was 3am. Wow I needed a major nap!


Renae, Me, and Amy (Renae's sister) Thanks Renae for inviting me. Let's do it again.

Marlane eating a cupcake someone brought up. Thanks Marlane for setting the whole thing up! This girl is the sweetest cutest nicest person! There is no way you couldn't like Marlane.
The girls from the weekend. Left to right are Amy, Michelle, Carrie, Wendy and baby, Marlane, Me, Andra, Angela, and Renae. Okay seriously I'm not that tall. Where are all the tall girls? These shrimpy ladies make me look like an Amazon Queen. Thanks Wendy and Michelle for hangin' in there with me. Three of our group left early and so they aren't in this group picture.


But as it turns out I left my camera on the kitchen counter and they took their own group photo before they headed out. Meet Sarah, Renee, and Rachael.

These were the girls I rode with out to California. A five hour trip is no fun with three kids. A five hour road trip with four other women was a breeze and so much fun. Andra and Michelle are from my ward. I didn't know much more than their names before we went. It was so fun to get to know them. Andra and I shared a room and one night we thought we would go to bed early - 2:15am. We ended up talking in the dark until four! She was so much fun to room with.

Wow I painted a lot of toes that weekend. Marlane had the idea for a favorite things giveaway and we each brought 12 of a small favorite thing. My giveaway was fingernail polish because I love to paint my toes. Turns out others love me to paint their toes too.

So surprisingly I actually got a lot of scrapbooking done too. Watching the others work gave me some great ideas. There were some seriously talented girls in the bunch. Some of their pages or cards looked like works of art. Michelle made jewelry across the table from me the whole weekend and Andra had her computer and did digital scrapbooking. It was fun to see how that is done and made me consider giving up the paper crafting for good. It looked much cleaner then the mess I usually have to drag out in order to get anything done. I need to be more organized. I made my first cards this weekend as well. It was all so much fun. I will totally do that again.

Tender Mercies

Renae called me at 11am to ask if I was bringing my kids over. We had talked about her watching them for a couple hours while I went to a scrapbook store in order to pick up some things for this weekend (a girls' scrapbooking weekend in CA). I wasn't really sure I wanted to go because let's face it, I already own a mini store, and who needs another errand to run? But what scrapbooker couldn't use a few more stickers or paper? Besides it was a few hours to myself so I hopped in the car and dropped the boys off at her house.


At this time I think it is fair to point out that when I got into my van I noticed the rear tire on the drivers side was low - very low, and I knew my husband had an air compressor right there in the garage. But since I was running late getting to Renae's and I knew I had to get gas soon, I figured I would just air it up at the gas station. So I'm off. I'm headed for a store on Lindsay and University - a good half hour drive through town. I totally keep my mirror focused on the tire and check it constantly. Just as I pass through the light at Guadalupe my van starts driving funny. I immediately check the tire to see if it has lost all air. No, it's still limping along. Then what the...? Oh no...oh crap...I'm such a dork...I'm out of gas. Huh... Hmmm... Didn't see that one coming. So okay I've pulled off to the side of the busy street now.

What to do? What to do?

Darren works at Honeywell up by the airport. That's a no go. I could call Renae - but then she would have to pile all of our kids into her van and come up here. That is at least a half hour wait. Jackie lives nearby - like Greenfield and something close - wait, I don't have her number in my cell. Okay, I'll call Darren and get Tyler and Jackie's number and then call her. Ring ring... "Hello, you've reached the desk of Darren Stewart. I'm not able to answer my phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you." He's in training - I forgot. I leave him a message telling him I need Jackie's number, nothing else though because really what could he do for me?

I guess that leaves me. Well I was telling Parker how beautiful the weather was today with it all cloudy and threatening rain. Time to get out in it and book it to the next gas station - where ever that may be. It turned out to only be about a half mile up the road. The first station wasn't selling gas - the pumps were being worked on. So I crossed the street to the next one, went in and bought a gas can, and headed out to fill it. Only it wouldn't let me select a grade. I canceled the transaction and tried again. Same thing. I pushed the help button - no answer.

At this point a man in a big white truck pulled up to the other side of the pump. "Did you run out of gas back on Lindsay?" "Yes, that's me." "I saw you walking and then saw the van with blinking lights and put two and two together. Do you need a ride back to your car?" "That would be great." He came around and checked the machine. "This one is locked up. Let's try the other side." He put his card into the machine. I tried to stop him saying I could pay for it myself, that there wasn't anything wrong with my card. "Oh that's the beauty of having my own business - company gas card." I must say I was gracious about it, but inside I was dying with embarrassment because I think he thought I couldn't afford the gas. "Please See Cashier" The pump won't work for him either so he heads inside. While he is in there I run my card again but the transaction is cancelled. He buys a water and comes out. Turns out the computers on their pumps aren't working and he had prepaid $5 worth of gas. Again I am gracious but mortified. So I fill the tank. I know he wants to do this for me but I am an able bodied female and not a damsel in distress. At least not total distress. He gave me the water and we hopped in his truck and headed back to my van.

"You got up there fast." "What was that?" "You walked up to the gas station fast. I saw you walking and by the time I had turned around you were already up there." "Yeah, it is definately one of those times I am grateful I didn't bring my kids while running errands." He flips a u-ey and parks behind me. "I'll put the gas in for you. Now hop in your car and turn the key. Okay it should start now. Do you want me to follow you to the gas station?" I told him that I'd make it just fine and then watched as he put the gas can (that I'd just paid for) into the back of his truck. Now this next part felt like it happened in slow motion and warp speed at the same time. "Let me buy the gas can from you." He slipped some money into my hand. My brain was actually trying to send a message to my mouth to say "You keep it for paying for my gas and we'll be even." But what I mumbled was, "No, you don't need to do that. It's just fine. Here take your money." At that point he was in his truck waving goodbye. I look down at the money he put into my hand and it's a $20. He gave me $20 for the $5.12 gas can plus paid for the gas. Yes, I'm mortified, but how nice! What a nice thing to do for someone.

As I drove up to the gas station tears started rolling down my cheeks. I couldn't help it. I can't remember the last time I was on the recieving end of such kindness from a total stranger. This afternoon was such a reminder to me of how much the Lord loves me, how he is watching out for me. When I first started walking to the station I heard the thunder and just prayed that I'd make it to a station before the rain came. When I walked out after buying the gas can the thought popped into my head that if someone offered me a ride back while I was walking, I ought to take it.

It was only 12:14pm. Plenty of time left to finish my task and get back to Renae's by 2 o'clock.
When I got home from picking up the boys I told Parker this story. I asked him if he thought Heavenly Father sends us angels to help us when we need it. "Well, I fink Hevanwy Fawder sent that man." Yep, me too babe, me too.


PS. I'm a dork and forgot to air up the tire at the gas station but made it home just fine.

Rollin' With My Homie

Hey. My name is Lijah, Lijah Cole.

This is my home boy Jex. We go way back. Like 10 months old. I can say his name...but not my brother or sister's. He's my pal. He's my bro. He is my partner in crime. He and his brother and sister came and stayed at my house this weekend. His mom and dad ditched him for grown up time in D.C. That's okay - I'm cool with that.

So here we are after our second bath of the day on Saturday. The first one took place after we both "allegedly"woke up and dug into our messy diapers. Look, there are no pictures, you can't prove a thing.

Anyway we agreed to this picture to show how hot we both look with spiked hair. We did not, I repeat, we did not both plaster ourselves with a tube of vasoline that I pilfered when I snuck out of the crib mom put us in while she made sandwiches. I did not run to the office, push the rolling chair back into my room, grab the tube off the top of the dresser and then push the chair to my crib in order to get back in and "share" my findings with my best bro.

You know Jex may or may not have been caught red handed with the tube in his hand and both of us covered head to toe in the stuff. We'll never turn on each other - we've got each other's back. Psst...between you and me, it was his idea but I'll never tell.

Nah nah nah nah nah! You can't prove a thing!

This is Jex after a bit of lunch. Waking up at 5:15am and terrorizing my mom with me is hard work for a home boy. This homie had already hit the sack by then.

So it's Sunday here in this picture and Jex is doing some time for pulling flowers out of pots. I decided to keep him company. LOOK! YOU NEVER DESERT A BRUTHUH! Besides, doin' time is better with a friend.

We heard the big kids got to play a game that night. We didn't get to play -we're too naughty to be around all of those little pieces. Oh sure, bring out the fun stuff as soon as the homies are in bed. We see how you are.

Yay for Preschool!

Parker's Preschool Graduation

I was really good with Lexi. I taught her all she needed to know before going to Kindergarten. She was reading basic books on her own and I sent her off proudly. I was a bit of an over-achiever. I hear it is a common ailment among moms in regard to their firstborn children. When I realized Parker was 4 and still didn't know the ABC's, colors, or how to write his name (Lexi knew all this at age 2) I knew professional help was needed. I decided to bring on the preschool. Besides with Lijah around I needed some R&R and for two and a half hours two days a week I lapped it up.

This is Parker on his first day of Preschool. He looked so grown up and cute here. He had his best friend Carter in his class and the carpooling with three other moms made this a breeze.

Some highlights of his preschool days were:

• Meeting "Woren"
• Field trips to the police station and Bashas
• Making strawberry jam
• Being scared to death of Mother Goose
• Water Day
• Making a rainbow, a flower for mom, and other projects
• Learning the Alphabet song "A is for apple and B is for bear..."

Graduation was cute. The kids sang a couple of songs for us and we watched a DVD their teacher put together for them. Notice the arm around Parker's best friend Carter. Parker is such a touchy feely little boy. He thinks any situation can be fixed with a hug or a kiss. I'm afraid for what this will translate into later in his life. I love the 'wink' that all the kids do in this video.

Mrs. Keesler was his teacher and he had a great time learning with her this year. Parker, What did you like about Mrs. Keesler? "She was so nice. She teaches us great things." Parker was in awe of her husband. He's a big guy and was around a lot and one day he told me that his teacher's "honey" told them not to walk on the grass because it had been replanted with the winter grass. I thought the title of HONEY was so cute for a four year old to pick up on. He never called him anything other than Mrs. Keesler's Honey.

Look at this cutie Patootie. This is "Woren." After the first day of school I asked Parker how his day went and what he did. He told me it was fun and then preceeded to tell me all about this little girl. "Mom there was this prettiest girl and she wore this prettiest dress and she was bootiful and I sat by her." He couldn't remember much else from his day. I kept hearing about his new friend Warren and was so glad that he had met a new buddy at school. A couple of weeks went by and one day when I went to pick him up I saw him purposefully go and tell this cute little girl goodbye. When he got in the van I asked him what her name was. "That's Woren." Warren? "No mom, Woren." Oh yeah W=L in Parker Speak. His new buddy Warren was actually Loren the girl from the first day of school. His crush lasted the whole year. Sounds like it might not be one sided. Last week I saw her mom at girls camp and we talked for a minute. She told me that Loren was trying to decide who she should marry. She told her mom that she can't marry Parker because she doesn't know where he lives. Ah, young love!

Mother's Day Bounty

Okay Mother's Day is just so much more fun when you have kids old enough to make their own creations for you. Their cards and letters are just so fun to get. But I have a big black plastic dumpster filing system so I thought I would document before "filing" a few of these items.

Lexi actually ended up writing me three notes/cards for my special day. I love her sweet sentiments.







This one says:


My mom is wonderful! She has light stin. She stays at houme and takes care of us. She loves flowers, she lives in a house with me. My mom has brown hair and is a great cook! Her favorite color is red. She is very tall. She loves speditty. I love my mom. I love you!




This one says:

Dear Mom, Happy Mother's day to you! Thank you for all you do for me. You are a great cook and I love how you are. You are so kind, sweet, nice, a great cook, and are ausome. I love you so much.

Love, Alexia







And this one says:
Mom, Thank you for all you do. I hope you have a great Mother's day. You are the best. I love you so much!
Love, Alexia

This one was made at school and accompanied the tile she drew of the two of us together.



She also helped Parker write one for me...

Dear Mom, I hope you have a good day. Happy Mother's day. I love you so much.

Love, PARKER

I'm not sure whether the drawing is of me or him. I'm just glad he drew it smiling.



Don't you love the recipe card holder from Parker?
This is one of those preschool projects.

Which Disney Princess are You?

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement

http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354

Which Disney Princess Are You?

HA! Kristina...doesn't this make you giggle? :)

Dinner Swappin'

My friend Renae and I swap dinners. On Monday she makes enough of one meal to feed both of our families and brings half of it to my house. On Thursday I do the same for her. It works out great. We both enjoy the night off. I'm pretty sure we'll be doing it for a while. So a few weeks ago I decided to make Chicken Noodle Soup. Let me just say that this is one of my absolute favorite things to make and eat because it is total nostalgic comfort food for me. But it is a labor of love. Chicken noodle soup done the right way is a commitment and takes some time, but luckily I had already cooked and deboned a chicken and kept the broth so the time consuming ingredients were in my freezer waiting for me. However, the noodles were not. I don't remember my mother making this soup for us because homemade noodles are a Thanksgiving/Christmas tradition eaten over potatoes alongside our turkey and cranberry sauce and we never had them any other time. My husband told me early on that he loved them and it was a crying shame they weren't gracing our table more often. I sort of took that as a hint.

So I make the noodles myself. They aren't hard to do, only taking about 20 minutes tops, but they aren't easy either (easy = opening a bag from the store - not that I am against store bought pasta for other things). If I invite you over and make this soup for you, you should feel loved. If I bring a meal to you and it is this soup, you should know that I think you are fabulous. However that Thursday this soup almost didn't make it to Renae's family. You see, as much as I love this soup, I'm not great at sharing it. I usually make a big pot and then hoard it over the next few days for my own lunch. I have been known to hide the leftovers and make Darren a sandwich to take to work the next day. You know how you have your favorite recipes and sometimes the planets align and whatever you are cooking turns out perfect? Okay this was one of those times. I was sorely tempted to make them something else for dinner. I checked the clock a few times to determine whether or not I had enough time for that. I know, shame on me. In the end I decided to not cave in to two of the seven deadly sins (greed and gluttony) and I took half (okay almost half) of it to the Steere's house that night. Then I scooped tiny-ish portions into each of my kids' bowls, gave them each an extra roll, and proceeded to eat two bowls of it myself.
Anyway the rolls in the background are a recipe that a few of you have been asking for. These are my back up, don't take more than 5 minutes to make, only have to raise once, done in an hour start to finish rolls. This recipe is perfect for me because sometimes I'll make dinner and realize that I need something else yummy to go with it last minute...to show that I care. I know that for most it doesn't get easier than Rhodes, but I'm sorta into homemade and besides with Rhodes I would have to remember to buy them, remember to get them out of the freezer in advance, remember to cover them and not let them dry out, go back to the freezer to figure out how long to cook them and at what temperature. You get the picture. These are just easier for me. These rolls do come with a warning though. Because they only have to raise once they are best straight from the oven. They are not light and airy the next day. They make better bread and gravy then dinner roll for left overs. They are just really dense unless they are hot from the oven. One of these days I should let them raise twice and see if that takes care of it, but if I'm being honest these rarely last in my house more than a day anyway. That said, they are still my favorite in a pinch and the reason I gained seven pounds through the holidays. I must have made them at least three times a week. Here's the recipe:


Basic Roll Dough


2 TBL instant dry yeast (bread machine type, fast acting)
1 cup lukewarm water


Combine these two in your large mixing bowl. I usually sprinkle in a little sugar just to get the process started. Yeast + sugar = True Love. Grab a liquid measuring cup and combine the following:


3/4 cup HOT water (in AZ hot from the tap does the trick)
3 TBL butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 TBL salt


Now let this cool for a minute while you crack one egg in a small bowl and beat the heck out of it. Add it to the stuff in the liquid measuring cup (will help in the cooling) and then pour the whole thing into the yeast mixture. Now add 2 cups flour and stir with a fork. Time to get your hands dirty. Set the fork aside and work in 2 more cups of flour. This recipe originally called for another cup of flour but the biggest mistake people make when making bread is adding too much flour. The dough should be slightly sticky, but nothing a little PAM on the hands while shaping into rolls won't take care of.


Let this rise until doubled (about 1/2 an hour) on top of your warm preheating oven (350 degrees). Pop into the oven and bake for about 18 minutes or until golden. This recipe makes about 24 rolls. When you get them out, get in your car and head to my house and we'll sit down with a container of my strawberry freezer jam and eat the whole pan together okay?

New Temple

I know most of you AZ peeps have seen this so this post is really for my family. We are getting a new temple here in Gilbert. It will be built about seven minutes from my home. What a blessing! This is an artist rendition of what it will look like. Katie...does it look a lot like the Rexburg temple?

I'm so excited that our family will be a part of this temple. We are excited to be able to contribute to the fund and watch it be built. What wonderful and meaningful memories this will make for our children. Plus it will take a few years to be built and perhaps both Parker and Lexi will be old enough to attend the dedication. How exciting! I feel a little bit of the pioneer spirit about the whole thing.

Wuv One Anudder

Today at church a teacher came to tell me that Parker, my four year old, had been in the way when a little girl in his class threw up. She told me that he was still in his class but had big tears rolling down his cheeks. I rushed off to find him and he was gone from the classroom when I got there. One of his teachers told me that my friend Sister Steere had taken him to clean up. I found him after a few minutes and we headed home.

Parker told Lexi all about it in the van and for the next couple of minutes all we heard was, "Ewww gross!", "That's disgusting!", "Yuck she barfed on you!" I finally told her that was enough. Sister Steer had been nice and helped clean him up so it wasn't a big deal anymore. Parker finished the conversation this way...

"Sides Lexi, today we learned about wuvin' one anudder and Sister Steere was just wuvin' me up one anudder."

Man, that is why I'm in love with this kid.

Okay Camille...I'm on it!

So Camille tagged me with a request for six unique/quirky things about myself. Do I really want to own up to these...?

1. This one probably falls under the category of OCD but here goes. You know that tiny seam on pillowcases and sheets where it is the smallest fold ever and maybe a centimeter to the stitching? Okay for as long as I can remember I have run my fingernails along that seam or made it snap as I pull my fingernail across it. I used to fall asleep doing this as a little girl. I distinctly remember my sister Alena one night (we shared a room) say to me, "Will you stop that?" One of the first nights after I got married when Darren and I were falling asleep he asked me what that noise was. I sheepishly explained and the sweetheart has never said a word about it since. I can't even fold a sheet or pillowcase or make a bed without doing it. I just have to. I know...weird.

2. I'm sorta vain about my ankles and feet. I have a good three inches on the next tallest girl (there are four of us) in my family and they just get shorter from there. They always say that I stole the tall genes allotted to the girls and left them with "cankles." (For real that is a huge exaggeration on their part, but it made my ankles seem special.) Also I do have long skinny feet that look fabulous in shoes.

3. Another weird foot fact. Since the time I could polish my own toes I think I have had polish on them every day that I can remember, except for about two weeks when I made myself go that long without color just to prove to myself that I could do it.

4. I almost never like a haircut right away and I never let them style it at the salon. My hair is big, curly, thick and coarse. Hair like this must be treated like topiary - shaped in it's natural state. I once had a girl straighten my hair first and then cut it. It was a beautiful haircut straight (but I rarely straighten my hair - takes too long) which ended up being retarded looking when curly because not all curls on the same head are created equal. I had a rat tail until I finally took the scissors to it myself. I'm lucky now to have a neighbor who cuts hair and she does a great job. I really am a big chicken when it comes to getting my hair cut.

5. Babysitting is easy for me. I will almost always say yes if someone asks me to watch their kids. It is just an easy way for me to help out my friends. Twice now I've babysat for two different families whose moms needed to go to work everyday and really as far as I'm concerned the more the merrier. It gives my kids someone to play with and me a cure for being baby hungry. If you are having a baby I'll gladly take your kids - just don't ask me for a meal - it stresses me out trying to figure out what other people will eat.

6. Barf is no big deal for me. I'm a barfer myself so I understand the need to and how much better a person feels afterwards. My husband will do anything to keep it down. Not me - I'd just rather do it and get it over with. I'm also the designated barf cleaner-uper. For some reason I can turn off my sense of smell and so it has never bothered me to clean it up. I remember coming home from cheering at a game and my oldest brother had all of the rest of the kids in the living room (the one without the TV) while my parents were in town. I thought it was strange until he told me that my little sister Becca had barfed red koolaid in the family room and they were waiting for me to get home and clean it up before the reentered the room. Silly memory.

Okay that's it. Now I tag Renae, Kristin H, Crystal, Kristina, and Terri.

April 24th, 2008

This is Alexia...dang she's cute! On the 24th of April she was seven years old. Wow! I can't believe it. Where has the time gone? This is my baby...my real one...the one I had the most brain cells around for. I remember her as a baby more than I do the boys - their babyhood is sort of a blur. And what a great baby! Lexi came into this world with a pound or two headstart on most babies and she slept like a champ. I remember her doctor telling me I needed to wake her up at night to feed her. Well I was a first time mom, but not an idiot. She was hanging on to her chub just fine and the 7 hours uninterrupted sleep helped me hang on to my sanity.

I know there are a million other Lexi's right now in the world, but when Darren and I picked it I had only heard of one. I had a friend named Alexis Brooke and she went by Brooke so I really hadn't heard it used. You see he and I were in love at 17. And one day standing outside by his car in front of my house he told me if we ever got married and had a daughter, that he would want her name to be Alexia. He didn't remember where he had heard it. He just loved it. Alexa and Alexis are everywhere now and I actually love to correct people when they call her one of those names because they usually say, "Alex ee uh...oh that's pretty." Yes...it is, and so is she...inside and out.
This is her on her "Birth" day. It was love at first sight for Darren. He thought she was beautiful. I thought...I thought...hmmm...well I thought she sorta resembled a little woodland creature, but that's neither here nor there.

Alexia's 1st Birthday April 24, 2002. Would you look at that cake? For a one year old? Man I used to be an overachiever.

Her 2nd Birthday April 24, 2003. I made her that dress she has on. The above comment applies here too.

For her 3rd Birthday I think Darren was in charge of pictures, because there isn't a single good one of her looking at the camera. Just kidding babe! -ish. But this picture was taken shortly after she turned three.
Her 4th Birthday, April 24, 2005 was celebrated with family. Oh my did she LOVE this cake!
For birthday #5 she had a friend party with the little girls in the neighborhood. This picture was taken April 22nd, 2006.
Birthday #6 was celebrated Tinkerbell style with a few friends from church and Kindergarten. Grandma Stewart and Aunt Rachelle were here to help with this one.And that leads us to April 24, 2008. She celebrated with the cousins in NM earlier this month over conference weekend. I waited to give her the gifts from us (dress-up suitcase, journal and video) until her actual big day. She was excitedabout them, but if I am being honest the $$ in cards and the PINK Leapster were the hits of the day.

Alexia babe you just remember that your momma loves you - and I thank you for your willingness to help me, your kindness to your family and your sweet smiles and hugs. Happy 7th baby! Love, Mom