my new apron!

Isn't this the most beautiful apron you've ever seen???  My incredibly talented friend Amber made this for me! And it's even cuter on!

I absolutely love the fabric and the design is so adorable. Now when I answer the door rather than seeing me still in my pajamas they'll think I'm wearing a fabulously stylish dress ;)

4 months old!

my fat little baby is growing so fast!

knock. knock.

"who's there?
boo.
boo who?
don't cry it's just a joke!
HA HA HA"

This is what we hear constantly at our house. Ethan is totally obsessed with jokes lately. His other favorites are

"Why did the banana go to the doctor?
He wasn't peeling well!"

"Knock. knock. who's there. police. police who? police turn off the lights when you leave the room!"

And he will start laughing hysterically before he even finishes the joke. It's so funny to see him gain a sense of humor!

and great was the soreness thereof...

So I've been running ever since I had Grant and have lost all but 2 pounds of his baby weight, but I'm trying to lose the 5lbs from Joshua and 5lbs from Ethan (I've been either pregnant or breastfeeding since 2006 so it's not going to come off easily).

But I'm starting to lose my motivation (and heaven knows I will not give up my sweets) so I thought I'd try one of the OnDemand fitness workouts for a little break from running. Most of them were pretty boring- if after the first 5 minutes they're still walking in place or stepping side to side I know it's going to be a waste of time.

Then I saw this Jackie Warner circuit training- I'd just read an article in Health magazine that said those who did circuits in 3- 20 minute sessions lost weight faster than those who did double that time of just regular cardio. So thought I'd give it a try.

Let's just say it works. really well. I can barely walk. I don't think I've been this sore in years. It feels awesome. She works every muscle of your body and doesn't waste time with useless filler exercises. This is my new favorite workout dvd. It's equal to the Firm Tough Tape series (just not as cheesy). So if you're feeling the need to get your butt kicked, check it out on OnDemand or Netflix.

Chinese New Year!

We had a Chinese New Year party last night! When we were in China (I can't believe it's been 6 years!) we bought all these fun dishes and things and planned on breaking them out everytime we had Chinese food. I think this is the second time we've used them ;) I made some of the foods we ate while there, we listened to some Chinese music, made Chinese lanterns and dragons and the boys dressed up in the little Chinese outfits we bought while there long before we ever had kids (I still have a little girl dress that will probably never be worn). It was a ton of fun. We're going to start a tradition of cultural theme nights, it's fun to dress up, listen to music and eat different foods. You can view our Chinese recipes on my food blog.

  

 

Valentine's Cards

 

Ethan has been so excited about Valentine's Day, every day he says "today is Valentine's day!" And yesterday we woke up to about 4 inches of snow, work got cancelled so we played in the snow all morning then made Valentine's day cards in the afternoon.

He had lots of fun coloring each one and there's a little wheel that spins to show different v-day sayings.

I made a template for this card you can download here.

stinky feet time

Whenever baby Grant has bare feet, Ethan takes off his socks and says "it's stinky feet time!" and puts his feet on baby's feet. It's so silly and cute. He loves having "Ethan & Grant time".

 

chunky monkey

I just love this little butterball!
   

Yummy!

I'm kind of a recipe addict. I love trying new recipes, and I'm always trying new ones until I find one that actually works every time you make it. Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours in the kitchen and not having the recipe turn out (I usually try my new recipes on dinner guests so if it turns out bad, I don't have to eat it all by myself!)

So...I'm starting a food blog where I will post recipes that I've tried and that actually work and taste good! All important criteria. If you have recipes you'd like to share, please post a link to your blog site so we can all enjoy! (be sure to check out my link to Joann's Recipes, I get a lot of great recipes from her) I'm doing a cooking class for our R.S. activity each month so I'll be posting those recipes here as well, http://ldsbaker.blogspot.com/