Happy Febtober!

January has been a lovely month for us but gave us only one day of snow. Jason and Adri made the most of it by rushing out to make a snowman before it all melted. I got to shovel our sidewalk – one of my favorite things to do. You may think I’m kidding but I’m not; it’s a favorite past time for all the women in my family. Maybe it’s a Utah thing . . . or maybe it’s just a crazy thing. I’m not really sure. Anyhoo, the snow is all melted now and it’s about 60 degrees outside this evening. We are enjoying this weather and hope it only gets warmer from here.





I have had a busy month putting my new car to good use. I drove to my mother-in-law's house so we could take all the grandkids to the Please Touch Museum in Philly. I took the girls to the mall one day when they decided not to take naps. I took the girls to story time at the library when Jason worked late. I even drove to the movie theater to see a movie by myself. It’s a good thing I went alone because the movie was Cloverfield and, as you may already know, this movie tends to make people get motion sickness. Unfortunately for me I was munching on some treats during the show and got so sick that I actually threw up . . . in the theater. Gross? Yes. Yes, it was. It’s okay though, I just used the popcorn bag I had been eating out of. It was a pretty fun movie so the night wasn’t a total loss. Later that week though, Jason brought home a cold that quickly spread through our family. Juliet and I even missed a day of church to stay home and heal. Jason absolutely loves our new primary class and gladly volunteered to teach. He realized that this particular age group of girls always seems to like him, no matter if he’s teaching primary or being the coach of a swim team. It’s a nice thing to look forward to since he is the father of two girls who will one day be that age (yikes!). The girls and I have finally recovered from our colds which is good since we are nearly out of tissues.

Juliet's favorite place to sit (referring to the bouncer, not the closet)

Jason has been excelling in his new position at work. He was put in charge of a presentation for some managers and everyone is very impressed with what he is putting together. He finishes his work quickly and is constantly asking for more to do. When he runs out of things, he rents computer programs from the library so he can study other systems they use in his company. He certainly can keep himself busy. When he gets home he plays with the girls until they go to bed and then he gets a chance to relax.



Besides driving around and throwing up in movie theaters, I got a job this month! I am doing some data entry for a friend of ours and Jason and I are really excited about having a little extra income. I also got a new cook book that I LOVE (The New Best Recipe) and have been reading it in my spare time and trying out some new recipes on Jason. He certainly does not mind being my test subject. I have started making baby food again and Juliet seems to like it just fine (mmmmmm. . . . butternut squash!). I even think I perfected my salsa recipe:

1 medium tomato, diced
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 T diced jalapenos (I use the jarred kind but fresh are great too)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 can diced green chilis
4 medium Serrano peppers, do NOT remove seeds
1 medium red bell pepper, seeds removed
¼ C fresh cilantro, minced
a few shakes of cayenne pepper
approx 2 T red wine vinegar
½ t sugar
1 t cumin
¼ t garlic powder
¼ t salt

I like my salsa to have more of a smooth texture so I throw the whole thing in the blender once I’m done adding ingredients. I also don’t like to dice things by hand anymore so I use a food processor that works great; it's also good to use if you like your salsa chunkier than I do. It’s got a good flavor and is pretty hot, at least for me. If you like salsa you should try it out and let me know what you think.

At the Please Touch Museum

Gingerbread houses


Adri still insists on wearing a princess dress every day. She loves pink and even asked me for pink oatmeal last week. I snagged some food coloring out of the pantry and gave it a shot. It turned out great and now she asks for colored yogurt and milk as well. Our potty training has regressed for some reason so we are taking a break before we try again. I’m hoping we’ll be done before we go on our Disney cruise in April, but I’m sure I’ll be bringing plenty of pull ups just in case.



Juliet is rolling like it’s going out of style. She can spin to get to anything she needs and people constantly tell me that she’ll be crawling soon. I’m not so sure about that but she has become quite adept at holding her own bottle. She loves her jumper and is currently using it for a highchair as well, which can make things quite difficult at meal time – just ask Jason. She is doing very well with eating baby foods and is much more pleasant now that her cold is gone. Well, at least she’s pleasant to me. It appears that she is becoming a Mommy’s girl. Sometimes Jason will be holding her while I get a bottle and she will get distressed just watching me leave the room. I’m hoping she won’t be as shy as Adri has ended up but, like my potty training hopes, I’ll prepare myself in case things don’t happen the way I would like.