So You Think You Can Dance

So was anyone else bummed when Will got voted off the show? I totally thought it was obvious who the final 3 guys would be- Will, Twitch, and Joshua. Mark??? Hello, people who voted. You are crazy! (I never vote so technically I shouldn't be mad but I still am!)

Duck Feet

The other day I took Emily swimming. When we were getting her all ready to go into the pool, she saw my swimming fins in the pool bag. She pointed to them and said,"duck feet." I repeated, "duck feet?" and she said, "yea." I thought that was so cute. They sure do look like duck feet.

Bike Rides

A couple of weeks ago, I bought a beach cruiser and a toddler seat to take Emily on bike rides. She loves going on the bike. She gets to wear her "pink hat" and loves to sing songs while riding. I don't love my "hat" as much as she does- but I'm trying to be safe.
Yesterday, Brian and I (with Emily) rode from our house to Newport, it was a really fun day.

Cleaned Pics Off Cell Phone

So, today while I was a passenger in the car, I was bored and decided to email myself all the photos I had on my cell phone. Enjoy!

Mom- These are for you...

Emily loves the cute outfit you sent!

Jaybird

A funny thing happened tonight. Emily was taking a bath, and when we were done washing, I unplugged the drain to let the water out. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. It was just me and Emily, Brian was gone, so I ran to answer the door as there wasn't much water left. It was one of the missionaries serving in our ward, along with a ward member as a companion doing splits. I explained that Brian was gone, and that my daughter was in the bath, and they were about to leave, when here comes a wet naked Emily, running at full speed toward the elder! The expression on the missionary's face was priceless. He left very quickly!

Emily Accessorizing

Little Gangsta'

Fast Cash

I just added "Craigslist" to my Grateful For: column. Why, you might ask. Well, over the past couple of weeks, Brian and I have combed our house for items that we do not need anymore, which someone else might want. And we are moving to a different house, and certain things aren't going to work in the new house, so we added these to our list also - and have sold almost everything we posted! Right now, even after making a few purchases (off the same site), I counted the money in the piggy bank (yes, for real) and could not believe that we made so much. And decluttering our house at the same time! It is great!

Name That Tune

Every night after prayers, I (or Brian) rock Emily and sing to her. Tonight, as soon as the prayer was over, she looked at me and said, " Tinkle Tinkle." It took me a minute to realize that she wanted me to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her. When I finally figured it out, she was happy, and laid her head on my shoulder while I sang it to her. When I was done, I asked her what she wanted me to sing next. She said, "Beam!" This one was harder. But after thinking long and hard (ok not that long) I said, "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam?" The answer was a definite yes. So I sang that one, and asked for one more. "I Am!" Ok... I was able to figure it out, as we sing the same songs (basically) every night. "I Am" is I Am a Child of God. When that one was done, she said, "I Am again!" So we sang it again. I love how her words are developing, and she knows her own mind. She is definitely her own person, growing and getting smarter and smarter. This is one of my favorite times of the day. No matter how cranky she has been during the day, bedtime is always sweet.

Future American Idol

Freedom, Freedom, Freedom!!

This morning Brian took Emily up to Lake Arrowhead to see Grandma and Grandpa while he did some work around the house with his dad. I had so much to do around here, that I wasn't able to go. (We are moving into a different house in a month, and there is sooo much to do)
So for the first time, except for a couple of hours, I am toddler-less! For two whole days! It is so quiet. And peaceful. And I got so much done today. And I miss her.

Pizza

Four days on my own with Emily has been rough. She has been quite the handful. So I was thrilled when Brian, who got home late last night, announced that he had a work function to go to all evening. Anyone who has toddlers knows that 5pm till bedtime is the crankiest time of day, so I decided to take Emily out to dinner. She will usually eat pizza, and there is a great restaurant called Stonefire Grill that we love, so off we went.

Well, not much pizza was eaten by the munchkin, but at least I enjoyed my salad. On our way home, she must have realized what she missed, because she began shouting, "Pizza, Pizza, where are you?" "Pizza, Pizza, where are you?" Then it turned into, (and these are her three little buddies) "Mika, Mika, where are you? Jake! Jake! Saxon, Saxon, Saxon..."
Did this cuteness erase all of the tantrums/drama of the last few days? No. But it did cheer me up.

Great Easy Meal Idea

When was the last time you ate ramen noodles? For me, it had been years, since I am always trying to eat Weight Watchers, and those little guys are full of calories and fat. But I have to admit, I love them. So lucky me, I was on a fun food site (for weight watchers) called greenlitebites.com and discovered a very cool little meal.
Traditionally, ramen noodles are deep fried. Thus all the calories and fat. But there are now ramen noodles that are not fried, called Choice Ramen. I bought some, and this is the recipe:

1 Package Choice Ramen Noodles
Frozen Broccoli
5 Frozen Shrimp (3 oz)

Boil 1 1/2 C water. Add ramen. Cook till almost done. Add seasoning, frozen broccoli, and frozen cooked shrimp. Stir. Cover and cook till broccoli and shrimp are hot, about 3 mins.
7 Weight Watchers Points.

So I have had this 3 times this week. It may have more sodium than is ideal, but boy is it good, filling, and easy! The ramen tastes just as good as the original.

Cool Invention

OK- I am a sucker for kitchen gadgets. I have bought (and thrown away) more than my fair share of them. But I found a winner the other day at the grocery store. It is a winner because:
1. Useful
2. Cheap
3. Easy
4. Small
So, what is it, you are wondering? It is a vacuum sealer from Reynolds. Unlike the monstrous machines that are over $100.00, this one is just this little hand-held vacuum, and they sell special zip lock bags that you use it with. The thing was on sale for around $7.00. + the bags, which were around $3 something a box. Our family is not big, so we freeze a lot of leftovers, and I love to have things on hand in the freezer. This little device eliminates freezer burn, and you can reseal it as many times as you want! I love it.

Socks On

I had laundry out the other day and Emily decided that it would be fun to wear some of the clean socks. So she picked two out of the pile. One of daddy's and one of mommy's. She thought it was great and I thought it was funny. She roamed around for about an hour like this.