The Joys of Post-Partum

I really love this description of birthing and post-partum. http://bostonshumways.blogspot.com/2011/04/reality.html and http://bostonshumways.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-birth-story.html.  Yay for women!

Boys are disgusting…

 

 

Dennis, Jamen, Eli

Mom:  Eli, what do you want for breakfast?

Eli:  Poop

 

Eli praying:  Dear Heavenly Father, Please bless the poop.  We’re thankful for our food…..

 

Eli:  Knock, Knock

Anyone:  Who’s there?

Eli:  Poop.

Anyone:  Poop who?

Eli:  Clean me up. 

 

(In case you can’t tell, Eli’s obsessed with poop.  For this reason and a few others, I’ve banned the Captain Underpants series.) 

 

Jamen B.:  Once in our old apartments there was some grey stuff on the wall.  I picked it off and ate it.  It tasted disgusting. 

Mom:  Gross!  It was probably a booger.  (Comment made to warn him not to eat anything unidentifiable that’s stuck on walls.)

Jamen B.:  It wasn’t a booger because boogers taste good. 

 

Recently I found Dennis in the extra bathroom using a big wooden spoon to stir the water in the toilet.  He knows it’s a toilet “bowl”, alright!

 

In other news, I’m mostly busy with work…  Slower due to the tax season and Spring has sprung.  I’ve been planting perenials in the flower garden in our fron ward and poppies (at least I think that’s what they are) are coming up everywhere.  We’re getting the vegetable garden ready to plant.  Eventually, I’d like to have a raised bed, but I think it will take a few years to build it up.   I splurged and bought some raspberry plants.  It’ll probably be a year before they grow. 

 

Jamen has been busy with the kids.  He’s a good dad and not much of a house keeper.  Oh well…  At least I have someone I trust to be with the boys while I’m at work. 

Spring Vacation Fun!

Eli at Monkey Business.

Jamen B. on the climbing wall.

 

Superslide at Monkey Business.

 

Dennis at Monkey Business. March 30, 2011

 

Reading with Granny

We had a fun “stay-cation” for Spring Vacation.   The most exciting for the boys was that Granny, Grandma and Grandpa Underwood visited.

The boys and what we do for fun.

Eli riding the Red Fire Truck.

Dennis on the Red Fire Truck.

 

Dad reading to the boys. End of February 2011.

 

Getting them to smile at the same tim can be a challenge!

The 3 stooges… End of February 2010

 

Dennis cheesing it. End of February 2011.

 It’s been too long since I’ve taken a picture of my boys, so I gathered them together and this is the result.  Love you my 3 little boys and my 1 big boy!

 

Eli’s Birthday

 

The Boys

My boys are adorable!  I really need to post more pics…  They’re such a source of entertainment for Big J and me. 

Dennis blowing kisses. 

Dennis lifting weights. February 2011

 

The 3 stooges. February 2011

And just to prove we’re here:

Hello! Big J and L. February 2011

Eli’s birthday

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More pics to come…  He had a birthday party with friends, but we had to put it off ’cause our family had colds.

One of our favourite recipes

Last night we had Cabbage Roll Casserole… It amazes me that both Eli and Jamen B. love it. So do the adults. Here’s the original recipe:

Cabbage Roll Casserole
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 small head cabbage, shredded
1 (14 ounce) can canned tomato sauce
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Brown ground beef and onion, drain. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in tomato sauce, water, rice, parsley.
2. Put 1/2 of the shredded cabbage in a 9×13″ pan.
3. Layer 1/2 of the ground beef mixture over the cabbage.
4. Repeat and cover the pan with foil.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Remove from oven and serve.

My interpretation:
INGREDIENTS:
2 c. cooked black, red, or white beans
1 onion, diced
1 c. cooked brown rice or millet
1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce + 1 can water
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 small head of cabbage, shredded

1. Saute onions, beans and rice.
2. When onions are tender add tomato sauce, water and seasonings. Mix well
3. Layer cabbage and bean mixture in a 9×13″ pan or casserole.
4. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
5. Enjoy.
It’s super and the cabbage is crisp tender! You can prepare it in advance and throw it in the oven. I’m going to try it as a freezer casserole.

You can also dump everything in a crock pot in the morning and cook on low. Just add another can of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes. The cabbage will be soft. The boys don’t mind that, either. (Surprisingly.)

Busy Week

Lately I’ve felt crazy busy due to the holidays.  We’ve had a fun holiday season so far and kept pretty busy. 

Jamen D. has been busy with the kids.  He also meets with two networking groups.  He sings with the (Church) ward choir, and got to sing on Sunday in the Christmas program. 

I’ve been working and stressing out about not being busy.  I’ve also been meeting once a week with three of my friends who are teaching me to sew.  I’ve had fun completing some projects that will be showcased after Christmas.  In the last month, I’ve played my flute 4 times in public.  Yay!  It’s good to be back doing that. 

Dennis is nearly walking.  Though, my boys are “nearly walking” for a while.  He gets into everything.  It’s so fun to see his ingenuity. 

     

  

Eli is expressing himself more and more.  He’s such a good big brother and love to hug and kiss and sing to Dennis.  He loves drawing and conducting music.

      

    He has a great smile and is constantly running.  He’s usually some kind of super hero that he makes up….  I can’t think of specific names right now. 

Live Nativity

The young women and young men in our Church ward (congregation) put on a live Nativity every year.  Last year we didn’t go to it because it was four degrees below zero.   This year we made it, and it was fun and gave us all warm fuzzies.  Sadly, there aren’t pictures.  The Nativity is set up on the lawn behind the Church building.  First, Roman soldiers welcomed us to Bethlehem.  And there was a real camel that Jamen was hesitant to pet, Eli loved, and Dennis fussed at.  We went to an inn and met an inn keeper, then to some shepherd with their live goats.  Next we listened to a choir of angels and then we went to the stable and saw Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus Christ.  The path was lit with luminaries and shepherds guided us on our tour of Bethlehem.  I’m thankful for this time of year when we pay extra attention to the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.  His birth, life, Atonement,death, and resurrection are miraculous.   I witness that Jesus Christ is our Savior.  I witness that Heavenly Father has a plan of happiness for us, His children.  I know that Jesus Christ’s Atonement is central to the great plan of salvation.