My Kids Think This is HILARIOUS

My Kids think this is SOOOO funny that they have to share it (even if it is a few days late). Snowball fight: Little guy and Pip-squeak Vs. Mom, Dad, and Uncle Randy

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Un-documented Christmas Fun

Last Thursday Jon and I took the kids with us to deliver several food boxes for the Utah Food Bank. In true "Taddei" fashion I forgot my camera, but it was such a nice experience I had to write a little something. On Thursday we bundled up the kids and drove up to the Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City. Collecting a weeks worth of groceries for three elderly ladies almost filled the trunk of our little compact car, but we got it in, turkeys and all, without smashing a single egg. All three ladies were in a senior living center. From the moment we parked the car we were greeted by some of the nicest "old people" the little guy had ever talked to. They all loved the kids. It was so nice to see my two little ones having a great time delivering groceries and Christmas turkeys to these sweet ladies who hardly ever get visitors. My little guy asked questions, said "Merry Christmas", and carried the milk into every apartment. The pip-squeak smiled and said "Merry Christmas" in her most angelic voice possible. It was such a nice experience and we won't be waiting until next Christmas rolls around to do it again. In fact, I've decided to set up a schedule with the food bank to do it once a month.

On Saturday my little guy went with my parents to "A Christmas Carol" preformance at the Hale Center Theater in Orem. I read the book to him the week before and he was SO excited to go. He thought it was amazing that several people played more than one part in the play. He also loved when the carolers came out between scene changes and sang Christmas carols. He's been singing "I Saw Three Ships" ever since. In true "Taddei" fashion, my parents also forgot the camera so another Christmas activity has gone by with out documentation. The little guy absolutely loved it though and told me he has the best grandma and grandpa in the world. (That might have something to do with a trip to McDonalds afterwards which has been on mine and Jon's boycott list for years.)

We also did our annual Christmas Light Drive. The kids loved looking at lights and this year we popped popcorn to bring with us. I've since decided popcorn will not be joining us for any other Christmas Light Drives. By the time we got home it looked like a movie theater had exploded in the back of our car. It's been all vacuumed out and I'm still finding pop-corn. Our car is just too small to hide that much popcorn, and yet it's managed somehow.

So three Christmas activities without any pictures to show, but wonderful experiences that have really brought the spirit into our home and into our lives. Add to that making Christmas treats for neighbors and delivering them with the kids, and we've had a very successful Christmas season thus far. Four days to go and here I sit as excited as the kids.

A Little White Stuff

We've had snow for a couple weeks now but the first week it was so cold we weren't able to pack the snow enough to make a snowman. Last Saturday was the perfect day so Jon and the kiddo's bundled up and headed out to create the neighborhood's first snowman.

Finally "Captain rock-eye" (thus named for his eye made of rock) was complete.

He also has an eye patch and some "scary teeth". He was a scraggly pirate snowman, but you can't really blame us, we didn't have any carrots, and none of our trees are big enough to sacrifice arm-branches yet.

Apparently our little guy has quite a snowball-throwing arm. He hit me at least ten times. I'm not too shabby myself, and I learned there is an odd sense of satisfaction when you hit your 6-year-old in the back with a nicely formed ball of snow.

Jon learned you have to watch out for 2-year-olds in a snow ball fight. They are just the right height to cause some serious pain.

They were so warm and snuggly in their snow clothes they stayed out much longer than I did. Awww. . . just look how cute they are. I love them SO MUCH!

And here's just one more picture (are you still reading? Did you make it this far?)
My little pip-squeak loved the snow! Last winter I had a broken foot (poor me) so she really didn't spend any time outside at all (poor her). She's been out in the snow every single day since the fluffy white stuff first started to fall. I think we have a snow bunny on our hands.

He Said/She Said

Since the inception of my blog I've quoted funny things my kids have said. I've collected them all. And here they are (I know you're excited), a recap from March to December. My kids keep me laughing with their great one-liners. Hopefully some of them will make you smile too. Enjoy.

Not so much fun in the water

Regarding play food: "This tastes hard."
-Pip-squeak (March 2009)

"Mommy, yo 'tinky, go take a shower!" (Isn't she sweet?)
-Pip-squeak (April 2009)

"I wouldn't want the curse of deadness."

-Little Guy (April 2009)

Little Guy: "Mom, you can't eat a cantaloupe.
They need to live in the wild."
Mom: "What are you talking about? Cantaloupe is yummy like watermelon."
Little Guy: "Oh, I thought you were going to eat an animal."
Mom: "That would be an ANTELOPE. I will be eating a CANTALOUPE. Big difference."
(May 2009)

"I love you TOO much."
-pip-squeak (June 2009)
mmm...his first green olive
"I almost always love you."
-Little Guy (July 2009)

"Mom, can I watch Snow White and the Hi-Hos?"
-pip-squeak (July 2009)

"Bein' naked is the best!"
-pip-squeak (August 2009)

"Mom, makeup is to make you beautiful . . . you might want to try this."

-Little Guy (August. 2009)

"Are you listening to me? Or do you have muffins for ears?"
-Little Guy (August 2009)

Auditioning for the circus??

"I won't take a nap! Blah, blah, blah..."
-Pip-squeak (August 2009)

"Knowing you is a dream come true."
-Pip-squeak (Sept. 2009)

"Mom, I sorry I just hit you. It's OK, I'm not hurt."
-Pip-squeak (Sept. 2009)

"Fake Spanish is the easiest language to learn"
-Little Guy (Sept. 2009)

"Sometimes you just gotta barf it all up."
-Little Guy (October 2009)

"If I was tired I'd already be asleep."
-Pip-squeak (November 2009)

After groggily waking up: "I can't believe you made me leave the party. I want to go back." Then he went back to bed.
-Little Guy (November 2009)

"Mom, can I wipe my boogers on your shirt?"
-Pip-squeak (November 2009)

The antithesis of a good hair day

Pointing to her farmer's hat: "Do you like my hammer's fart?"
-Pip-squeak (November 2009)

"It's so dark in here I can't see my eyebrows."
-Pip-squeak (December 2009)


It's hard to believe that it's already December and another year is almost here. Last year at this time my sweet, little pip-squeak was barely talking at all. Now we can't get her to stop. She is so funny and smiley and happy. I LOVE it! My little guy is now quite the thinker. So the quotes we get from him are very deep and mysterious. We'll have to see where that takes him in life. . .
Here's to another year full of laughter and "Did he just say that?"

I enjoy a nice bath now and then, but not so much when I get pushed in.
Isn't my hubs a sweet guy?

The Start of a Little Christmas Cheer

Another Christmas season is here and for the first time in a LONG time we have enough room for a big tree! It was a lot of fun to watch the pip-squeak pull out the decorations and strategically place them on the tree. (Did I mention she strategically placed them all in a row?) This picture was taken after some rearranging, but before I finished it all. If the tree looks a little sparse it's because we now have a 7 1/2 ft. tree, with decorations for a 4 ft. one. I was actually really impressed that the decorations filled it out as much as it did.

The finishing touch

Check it out! For the very first time, our stockings are hung by a chimney with care. The kids are so excited but wonder how Santa is going to get through the glass. I told the Little Guy that if Santa can fit down a chimney a little thing like glass won't stop him. Isn't magic awesome?!

Christmas is like a wonderful new adventure for the pip-squeak. I love watching her look through books, play with the tree decorations and love our Fisher-price Little People nativity. I need to take a picture of her playing with the nativity. It is so cute and she loves to bring baby Jesus and Mary around the house where ever she goes.
We've had this nativity for several years and I still love it! It's the perfect "decoration" to keep little ones away from all the pretty breakables.

My Thanksmas Epiphany

I love Thanksgiving and have to admit that I was bugged when about a week ago I saw my neighbors jumping ahead; some putting out their Christmas wreath and others setting up the outside Christmas tree forest. Then something hit me: If they love Christmas then LET them love it. I'm grateful there are people who love celebrating the birth and life of Christ so much that they want to start months in advance. Good for them, and I know they'll enjoy every second of it. I focus on Thanksgiving during November and all the wonderful things the Lord has blessed my life with. But as I bring Christ into my Thanksgiving I realize I, too, am celebrating the life and birth of Jesus Christ. I guess you could say, I've had a change of heart. . .

. . .Well, kind of. No, I'm not going to set up my Christmas tree this afternoon. Or turn on our Christmas lights this weekend. However, I also won't post my list of "How To Know It's Too Early To Decorate for Christmas", or tell all who may suffer from ECDD (Early Christmas Decorating Disorder) just where they can find a cure. What I WILL do is appreciate the outward presentation of love that others choose to display, no matter how early it may come. So Merry Thanksgiving and bring on the Turkey and the mistletoe.

Scroll down for a really yummy cookie recipe. . .yes, another one. What can I say I'm a recovering fatty, and cookies are my drug of choice.

Sugar-Addicts Unite

Psst...you are now finding out a dirty little secret that I don't like to share with anyone. When I get bored I bake...and eat. OK, so it's not really a secret, and by the fit of my pants one could assume I've been quite bored lately. My last post was about cookies, and this one is too. (SHOCKER, I know!) Around the holidays I bake a lot of cookies and pies; during the rest of the year, not so much. So, here is a delicious (if I do say so myself) adapted recipe for a cool item I found at the store: Cinnamon Chips. I found Hershey's Cinnamon Chips just down the baking isle and thought I'd give them a try. The recipe on the bag sounded a bit ho-hum so I "improved" it, and they were goooood.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies
1/2 c. butter
1. packed light brown sugar
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/2 c. OLD-FASHIONED oats
1 c. cinnamon chips

Heat oven to 350. Beat butter and sugars in bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour, baking soda & cinnamon; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats and cinnamon chips.

Drop by rounded TABLESPOONS (no one likes a tiny cookie) onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minutes then remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Makes about 3 dozen.

My recipe varies from the original by using less butter, old fashioned oats instead of quick oats, adding cinnamon to the dough, and using less cinnamon chips. No offense to the Hershey's people (if it was my product I'd tell you to use the whole bag too) but adding the entire bag would make for one super sweet cookie. I think one cup was just the right amount. I also decided not to add the raisins, because raisins are nasty, but if you are a left-on-the-vine-for-too-long, shriveled fruit lover I bet raisins adding 3/4 c. raisins might appeal to your palette.

So if you trust me, try these cookies and let me know what you think.

Cookies for Breakfast

Everyone knows I love to make (and eat) cookies. So, I just have to give a shout out to this cookie recipe. I've never found a "cookie mix" cookie that tastes soooo good. I am not of fan of "usual" pumpkin cookies. They're just to cake-y. When I eat a cookie it better be chewy, sweet goodness and this one fits the bill. It is delicious and really easy, so what's not to love? I haven't been able to find this in smaller boxes at the grocery store, but you can find it at Costco and Sams during the holidays. Seeing as it is the holidays I suggest you all go get this and try these delicious cookies!! (Oh, too bad to all you who don't live in the west...not sure if you can get this anywhere else.)


Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
1, 15 oz package Krusteaz Pumpkin Spice Quick
Bread Mix
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons water
sugar (optional). . .This should not be optional. These cookies taste even better rolled in sugar.

I'm thinking about looking for another pumpkin bread mix to see if it can be made with another mix. They also make really REALLY good ice cream sandwiches. We used butter pecan ice cream. Delicious!!

If One Little Witch Meets One Little Jedi That Makes...

. . .Two Little Trick-or-Treaters Going Trick-or-Treating

The costumes are put away. The candy has been looked over. Another successful Halloween has gone into the playbook and here I sit with two kids already telling me what they'll be dressing up as next year. That's right, my little guy has his heart set on being a "bloody mummy." I haven't explained to him yet that mummies are never "bloody." The pip-squeak wants to be a cowgirl. Yee-haw!

My little pip-squeak made just about the cutest witch you've ever seen.

To say that my little Jedi knight was excited to go trick-or-treating is the understatement of the century. He could not wait to get out there. But showing the control of a true Jedi he slowed down enough to keep the pace of his little sister. We stayed out for two hours. The pip-squeak didn't want to go in either. They both finally conceded when I suggested we hit grandma's house one more time for another "giant" candy bar! He came home with quite the haul. The best part: He gave me all his Milky Ways. I'd like to say it was pure generosity that moved him to share. The truth is he doesn't like them. (I know. . . CRAZY!)




We visited my grandparents and parents (which is pretty easy as they live around the corner). I love that their such great sports with Halloween.

I just love this picture. My pip-squeak was
thrilled to see grandma
(or as she called her today, grammy)
dressed up as a witch too.

The kids at my grandparents house

I'm dressed up as a doctor...can't you tell?

Check out Jon's tats. Coolest fake
tattoos in the world!!

Scroll down there's another post below.

The First Snow

The first snow came early this year. And although it wasn't even enough to count as a real snow storm my pip-squeak was thrilled. I love that snow seems like magic to kids. The first snow fall was fun, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the winter quite yet.

Tasting the snow_Dancing in the snow_ Discovering the snow

The Big Top

Last Thursday we took the kids to the circus. Both of them had been talking about it for weeks before. Again, I have to remind myself to keep my mouth shut unless I want to hear, "mom, are we going to the circus yet?" a hundred times a day until the day actually comes. Anyway, the day finally did come and both the kids, and the husband were super excited. We went out to dinner and did a little shopping before the show started.

It was fun to be able to walk down to the arena floor before the show started.

The delta center people...excuse me. I mean the Energy-Solutions-Arena people didn't plan the exit strategy very well. It took FOREVER to clear the arena floor so that the show could start! Good thing they didn't mind. I love when they love eachother.

The little guy was thinking that clowns are funny. . .and creepy all wrapped up in one brightly colored costume. Are you thinking the same thing as me? Who is that weird guy with the hawaiian shirt smiling at my camera?

We spent way to much money on cotton candy and snow cones especially because neither one tasted especially tasty. It was so much fun to watch the pip-squeak get SO excited over every little thing. The elephants and the clowns were her favorite. She was laughing so hard and kept saying, "Look! Mommy! Look!" She also kept grabbing Jon's face to direct him toward the awesome things that were happening around the arena.

It's really hard to get good pictures at a circus. Who really cares to see pictures of the trapeze guy or the dude who almost fell off the swinging pendulum. It's hard to get a good picture of the tigers, especially the tiger that kept getting off it's stand and trying to swat at the tamer. Who needs another picture of a clown falling down. The pictures I love the most are of my kids with wide eyes and goofy grins. It's too bad I can't get the goofy grins and the goofy things they were grinning at.

We brought the little guy to the circus in 2005 when he was just about the same age as my pip-squeak is now. He loved the cotton candy then, and apparently he still does.

Did he get bigger? Or did the bag get smaller?

They were hopped up on sugar enough to make it through the whole show without getting too tired. The next morning was a nightmare though. Which lovingly reminds me why we don't do these things more often.

Project Complete

When we moved into our house the kitchen was just one big blah. Everything was washed out and it totally lacked any color or character. So...





...we spiced it up a little bit. Here was the game plan: Break up the light counters from the light cabinets; bring in some darker colors; and give it a little personality.
I really like the way it turned out. Tiling was a lot easier than I expected it to be. Just don't look too closely... I guess I can't really say "Project Complete" because we still need to get the rest of the appliances to match our nice new fridge. That may happen sooner than expected though, as Jon just broke the dish washer. Good one, babe.
(Ignore the dishes on the counter. That's what people have to do when they don't have working dishwashers...Jon.)

First of First

The Little Guy woke up early this morning. I thought he might, since he seemed so excited for school to start yesterday. But, when he woke up he was crying. "I feel like I'm going to throw up." He told me. We've just gotten over a stomach bug here, and for a second I thought we were starting a second round. Then I took a good look at him. He was a full-blown nervous wreck! I helped him get ready, eat breakfast, and brush his teeth. By the time he was ready to grab his shoes and backpack I could tell the nerves had settled down and excitement was mounting. By the time we got to the bus stop he was almost giddy, and when he realized he had a buddy to ride the bus with it didn't even matter that I was there. He let me take a few pictures, and he remembered to give me a hug before jumping on the bus. Tomorrow he'll be making the trek (to the end of our street) by himself.

One day soon our dirt patch will have grass, and our sidewalk will be clean . . .

If you would have asked me mid-summer if I was ready for him to go to 1st grade I would have shouted "YES!" But, somehow as the end of summer vacation grew closer I started dreading sending my little buddy off to school. I've realized I'm going to be one of "those moms" who never thinks anything is good enough for her son. Hopefully I can learn to calm down a little bit, but I really wish I could just keep him here with me for a little bit longer. He is ready to "grow up", ready to eat lunch in the cafeteria, and ready to use the coveted hall-pass to use the school's bathroom. (Don't ask me about that one. He was super excited to find out there wasn't a bathroom in his class and that he'd have to walk down the hall if he had to go.) He is a cool kid. I don't know how much I had to do with that, but I'm excited to see what this new year brings. Still . . . I miss him already.

Nine Years: One day at a time

Jon and I have now been married 9 years! Last night we were trying to remember the different things we've done for our anniversary. We could both remember the first three, then it was all a guess! Sad? No. We realized that when you're first married it's important to really celebrate the little accomplishments. Now we just celebrate the fact that we haven't killed each other yet! Not really, but it just seems like spending some time together is fun enough. Don't get me wrong though. We're totally taking killer vacations for anniversaries as soon as we can. In the mean time here are some of the "little accomplishments" that I'm so happy to have shared with my man.

~ We survived 10 months of renting from his brother. (Jon's idea of course.) I figure if we survived those first 10 months of our marriage then the rest should be a breeze.

~ School. Seven years of schooling for Jon. This isn't a "little accomplishment" it's more of a freakin' huge accomplishment. between the two of us we now hold three undergraduate degrees and two masters. That's a lot of class time!

~ Two of our smallest (in size only) accomplishments were 7 lb. 4 oz and 7 lb. 12 oz. respectively. Our two favorite people on this planet and the best buddies anyone could ask for.

~Before celebrating the kids I guess we should be celebrating that fact that Jon survived two pregnancies with the crankiest pregnant woman in the world. He should count that as a pretty big accomplishment. I was completely terrible, anti-depressants, therapy, the whole deal. And he took it like a champ! I'm pretty sure it's not that two kids are his limit, but two pregnancies are!

~Driving in the car for 11 hours to take ornery kids to Disneyland (twice). The whole time telling ourselves, "They'll have fun when we get there. They'll have fun when we get there..." Which, of course, they did.

~How 'bout the time I surprised him by buying a motorcycle for him? Yah, that was pretty awesome. No wonder he wants to be married to me!

~ Finishing a sprinkler system. Hallelujah! And next time, we are SOOO hiring someone else to do it for us!

Pretty much I married the perfect man for me. He is a sarcastic, hard-working, best guy in the world type of guy. And I LOOOOOOVE HIM!!! I wanted to get a picture of us yesterday. We never take pictures on anniversaries, plus I actually looked moderately cute last night. I brought my camera and everything. Then...I forgot I had it! So enjoy a little blast from the past.

Our engagement picture May 2000
We look like babies! Which we were really. And WHAT is up with my eyebrows?? Someone really should have told me to shape those suckers!