Pink is my signature color...

Macy Marie Tidwell

Our household has been taken over by all things girlie.  Everywhere you look there are tiny purple socks, large hair bows and flowers, pink bouncers and swings, floral burp rags etc etc etc!  And we are loving every minute of it.  Macy Marie graced us with her presence in a wild manner August 5th about 9:30 am.  She was a "healthy" sized little girl (nearly 21 inches, 9lb 3oz).  I went in to be induced at 12:30am, received my much desired epidural about 6am, they paged the dr about 9am and suddenly the nurse found herself shouting at Scott to pull the emergency cord, put gloves on her hands and yell out the door that "nurse Carrie needs immediate assistance"!  Apparently Macy didn't want to wait for dear Dr. Harter and decided to show up unannounced.  Sooo, nurse Carrie did a fantastic job delivering her, the peds nurses whisked Macy away for checking and cleaning and Dr. Harter came to visit and check up on us a few hours later!  We joked with the nurses that they deserved a bonus for doing the M.D.s job :-)

She is a beautiful little girl--mild mannered, fantastic eater, and has been sleeping 5-6 hours at a time for the last few nights.  I don't even mind the occasional throw up--it's just an excuse to try on a new outfit!  The boys can't get enough of her and neither can Grandma or Aunt Mimi (both came down for a visit right after Macy was born.)  My mom is a SAINT--I don't know where she gets all her patience or energy from (years of practice I suppose) but I hope when the tables are turned and it is me doing this with my "little" girl, that I can be just as selfless, energetic, helpful, patient and on and on, as she is!

When Scott asked if there was anything special I wanted for my birthday, the only thing I could think of was a hot fudge sundae (with extra hot fudge of course!)  I have everything else I could desire and am feeling very blessed!  We love this little girlie and have waited A LONG TIME for her--she's the best birthday present EVER!



The boys paying us a visit at the hospital




Big brother Ryan




Jason--who also LOVES to help Macy accessorize!




My beautiful Mom--she's not old enough to have 5 grand kids, right?



Easters...

Every time I say the word Easter I think of Nacho Libre and start giggling to myself.  Anyway...just a quick post about our Easter weekend (and no it didn't involve diarrhea).  It was nice to focus on the "bunny" side of things Saturday and the Gospel truths on Sunday.  My mom even mailed us the BEST FHE lesson that went along with the Crucifixion and Resurrection stories from the Bible.  Thank goodness for Grandmas with a little time and love on their hands! 

One of my favorite parts of Easter is making Grandma Ahlstrom's famous Cream Cookies and letting the kids go crazy with the frosting, sprinkles, green grass coconut etc!  They were on a sugar high for several hours!

We had a campfire in the backyard and roasted marshmallows with their new camp chairs.  The boys built bird feeders at Home Depot and had a blast--the Easter bunny even visited and brought a few goodies! I always received a book in my basket so we've kept that tradition too!

We even did the traditional egg hunt in the backyard with friends--but had to put all their eggs in the freezer for a few minutes before they could enjoy the goodies inside--everything had MELTED!

   Hope you enjoyed your Easter as much as we did! 

Birthday Fun!

Jason turned 6--seems a little unreal but it happened just the same.  No sense in trying to stop time, better just enjoy it right?  He wanted a "sports" themed party where everyone could earn trophies so what better way to celebrate than take 12 five and six year olds to the park, play games, eat treats and run wild!

Jason kept insisting on a little bling for his cupcakes--the ring suckers on top were a HUGE HIT!

They all got to make their own jerseys--I ironed on numbers before hand, let them go to town with fabric markers and viola!  Our good friend Kim stayed with her 2 boys to help manage the chaos.  I think I need six arms instead of just 2!

His friends were very generous and managed to guess all the things a little 6 year old could possibly desire!

Then, being 96 stinkin' degrees outside, it was water gun time!  Even Scott got in on the action.  Pretty soon they were just dumping bottles of water on each other--and random kids at the park--we had to reign 'em in a few times!

All in all--a blast of a day but boy were mom and dad tired when it was over.  Kids have no idea what their parents go through to put on things like this.  I think I should be calling my mother to say thanks too!  Happy 6th Birthday Jason!

What were they thinking...???

We are in a mad search for baby girl names.  It is crazy that I can still come up with more boy names I LOVE than a single girl name that I even remotely enjoy--it is like a 4/1 ratio!  Hunter, Travis, Dylan, Jake--LOVE EM but girl names are where I'm drawing a total blank.  While perusing for baby names I came across an article published annually in Rexburg all about the "worst baby names" of 2011 and my mind was BLOWN.  Now you know that I LOVE Idaho--I'm a die hard Idaho girl but I'm always willing to admit that you can find a few weirdos no matter where you look--even in good ole Idaho.  Take a look at the list and tell me I'm wrong for wondering WHAT WERE THE PARENTS THINKING??? 

*just a side note--I got the following from this blog post and have to totally give the author credit for her witty commentary!  (before you read--just a brief caveat, I have heard a few of the more "original" names out there and really liked them, they aren't all goofy--so just know this isn't a personal attack on any family or friends that may or may not have chosen a more "unique" baby name--I still love you immensely!)  And I quote:

"Up first, as always, is the Mix-N-Match category. Choose a first syllable that suits your fancy and pair it with an incompatible second syllable! It keeps people guessing! Everyone will admire your ability to string together random sounds!


Rhyelle

Taylee

Brenley

Lynlee

Braedyn

Raylee

Ryken

Maeleigh

Next, the Sound-it-Outs. Do these resemble real names (or cities) phonetically? You'll have to sound-it-out, and sometimes bend pronunciation rules, to see!
Aydyn

Izibele

Lyncoln

Ayva

Gavyn

Gracee

Londynn

Maddilyn

Wiliam

Lynzee

Arryana

Ella Jaculyn (Jack-ewe-lynn?)

Invasion of the Ks (continued from last year):

Kellen

Kaimen

Kasten

Kayson/Kasyn/Kasen

Kayrie

Kenadee

Kimbree

Kaydee

Khloe LoAnn

Her mom's a 'Bachelor' fan!

Tenley/Tenely (yep, two)

Hopefully just a typo:

Sebastain

Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose:

Riggins (middle name Klyde)

HEE-HAW!!!!!!!!!!11

Brayah

Aaaaaaaand, the "What the *%# ??????s"

KeiseLyn

Tytan

Reggie Tayzlie

Zavan

Acelyn

Skylee

Auree

Razdyn

Jenikka

Paizli

Loey

Jerrick

Arkadian

Point 1: One of my favorite parts of doing this each year are the anonymous comments I get from disappointed people outing their friends and family members as terrible namers. Keep doing that.

Point 2: I just thought of a possible inherent perk of invented naming - in five years, when little Razdyn wonders the meaning of his name, his mom gets to make THAT up, too!

Point 3: I feel sorry for the grandparents. A few months ago I sat in front of an older woman on a flight who was cheerfully explaining to her seatmate that she was on her way to visit her new grandson. When the lady asked what the sweet little dear's name was, the grandma clammed up and replied reservedly, "Slate". To some degree, his name diminished her joy. (It came out later that Slate was the younger sibling of Crimson, Indigo, and Sage.)"

End quote--this is me again.  I just have to add that I just met a few little boys/girls that I'd like to add to the list, namely: Diesel, Dax, Braecy (Bray-C), Kaizen, Brantley among others.  So when I search for baby names and think, I really like Alice Jane, Ava or Megan---don't judge me for being totally ordinary.  At least my kid will know how to spell & pronounce their own name, won't get called the wrong thing at the beginning, middle, end and everywhere in between of each school year and their name will actually have a meaning and hopefully sentimental thought behind it.  So to all the Tommys, Brittanys, Mathews and Emilys out there--I salute your parents for maintaining some semblance of normalcy and sanity amidst a world of "originalists for the sake of being original (i.e. weird, stubborn, uneducated, sporadic, down right crazy etc).  Cheers to all the common baby namers out there!

And the winner is....drum roll please...

Thanks to everyone who participated in March's recipe contest.  We had a WIDE variety of CINNAMON ROLL recipes submitted, everything from caramel pecan rolls to some made with whole wheat flour.  This month was telling--for me anyway--of how cooking usually goes.  I liked certain aspects of A LOT of the recipes and so there is a TIE.  The winners are...Roma Tidwell (my adorable sister in law who didn't even know her recipe was entered) for the roll/dough portion and my cousin Amanda Reynolds for the filling & frosting portions.  They will each be receiving a gift card to Cold Stone.  I will post the new category for the month of April in a few days.  If you ever have a topic suggestion, let me know!

The hybrid recipe is as follows:

2 C warm water, 2 1/2 Tbs yeast, 3/4 c sugar--allow to proof for 10 min.

Add 1/3 c oil, 1 1/2 tsp salt , 2 beaten eggs--mix well and slowly add 1 small pkg vanilla pudding and 7 C flour.  Allow to knead for 7-10 min with dough hook & rise until double. 

While rising, mix 1 C softened butter, 1 1/2 C brown sugar, 6 Tbs cinnamon, 3 tsp cornstarch.

Roll out about 1/4 inch thickness and spread with filling leaving a 1 inch unfilled portion at the bottom of the dough.  Roll tightly, brushing the clean strip of dough with a little water to help seal the edges.  Using floss or string, cut rolls about 1 1/2 - 2 inches thick.  Starting in the center of a cookie sheet, arrange the rolls so that once risen, the edges will be touching--keeping them thick and fluffy during baking.  Allow to rise until almost double (approx 30 min).  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 min.  Cover with tin foil if they begin to brown too quickly.

Frosting: 1/3 C butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract (pure Mexican vanilla works best), 1/8 tsp lemon extract, 2 C pwd sugar (or until you reach desired consistency).  Whip and frost warm rolls. 

Happy eating & thanks again for all your submissions!

Baby Names

Me: Ryan, what do you think we should name your new sister?
Ryan: (finger tapping on the side of his mouth/chin) Hmmm, let me think.
Me: (2 mins later) Come up with anything?
Ryan: (finger pointing into the air with excitement) I gots it.  Her name is Mrs. Underwear!

we're having a...

Conversations with Boys

The other night while tucking the boys in bed...

Ryan: Mom, I'm a little scared.
Me: Scared of what?
Ryan: The big bad wolfe!
Jason: Ryan, don't be scared.  Dad owns a gun and he will shoot that wolfe!
Ryan: Thanks Jason, I'm not scared anymore!

Monthly Recipe Contest. It's CINNAMON ROLL TIME!

It is a well known fact that I love to cook, especially bake, and OBVIOUSLY EAT!  Soooo, I've decided to do a monthly recipe contest.  For the month of March I'm searching for an AMAZING, FINGER LICKING, MOUTHWATERING cinnamon roll recipe.  I am especially interested in ones that are chewy--more like Cinnabon or danishes--less dry/bready than typical rolls out there.  Also, there will be a gift card in it for the winner--or if you live in Vegas, I'll just bake you something tasty myself!  Have the recipes to me by the 15th and I'll announce the winner by the end of the month.  Can't wait to see what is out there.  Happy baking everyone!

Time Marches On

Thanksgiving & Christmas have come and gone and frankly I don't have the time or energy to go back and chronicle those--maybe pics later but no words. At least we're alive & happy and will keep posting future events. I'm finding that whether I blog or not, the clock keeps ticking so here's a little summary. Jason is 5 turning 6 in April. He's missing 2 teeth and each day he comes up with a new idea for his birthday party--pirates digging for buried treasure, cowboys at a rodeo, he wants to go ice skating, bowling, to chuck e cheese, and even wants a pokemon party. At least we have a few months! Ryan is 4 1/2 and loving school--bus bus picks him up each morning, he bops off not a care in the world, and bops back a couple hours later. His bus driver is a loud black  lady who cracks up every time she sees him--and greets him with a "honey, climb on up here and give me some sugar" which pretty much interprets to a high five or little hug before they take off! Collin is every day of 18 months, is cute as possibly imaginable, and has a streak to him that could scare off the toughest bully! Don't let his smile fool you, he is always planning his next move--just waiting till you let your guard down before he grabs a step stool, scoots it over to the counter and dumps the Costco sized tub of nestle chocolate powder all over himself--just to give you an example! Life wouldn't be the same without them (not by a long shot i.e. lots more money, freedom, less stress & definitely less mess :-) but we can't complain!

I'll just end with a favorite quote as of late: Sometimes courage is that little voice at the end of the day that says 'I'll try again tomorrow'. Thomas S. Monson

I think that pretty much sums it up for us in this phase of life. Do the best you can today and try to get better tomorrow. xoxo--Nats