The Petertammenson Clan

Product Endorsement

2012-01-30T07:25:00.002-06:00

We were given a Blendtec blender over the holidays and it has been a busy appliance; I think we've gone all of 2 days not using it since we received it in mid-December. Luke makes a mean "orange julius": a little bit of milk, 3 oranges, a clementine, vanilla, and occasionally some agave syrup if the oranges are too tart. The kids are adorable with their smoothie mustaches. I'm just thrilled that I can stick a whole peeled orange in the blender and it's pulverized, healthy pulp and all!

New Calling

2012-01-30T07:01:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was my first Sunday as the Primary Music Leader. I've felt this calling coming ever since we left Rhode Island - probably because I spent 2 presidencies substituting for our own music leader when she was frequently out of town. Just because I felt like it was coming doesn't mean that I was thrilled about accepting the call. Our time back East had me serving in every auxiliary a woman can - except for Relief Society. And since our move back to Utah about 18 months ago, I have relished being in Relief Society every Sunday.
But you know what? Primary is just the best! Those adorable kids - some of them are so bright! And I love coaxing a smile out of the ones that seem grumpy. My sister commented that this was her favorite calling, and I think I'm beginning to understand the appeal. I'm just grateful for the myriad blogs etc. that have creative resources for music leaders; I hate reinventing the wheel and goodness knows I'm not particularly crafty!

Sundays are Great Days

2012-01-17T19:47:00.003-06:00

1. I declared it paper plate day. Fewer dishes to wash! I can't quite stomach the idea of plastic utensils or cups though; maybe after I'm the mom of 3!

2. We moved FHE to Sunday afternoons. My kids are little and in bed early, and trying to squeeze Family Home Evening into Monday night and still have a relaxing evening with the hour or so between Luke getting home and bedtime was just monstrous. Our lives are so much less stressful now!

Christmas Morning

2012-01-11T12:05:00.003-06:00

Just some quick pics - my favorite is of Luke's Christmas morning pompadour. And yes, he LOVES that present! I never could bring myself to try them in Italy, but Luke has missed them for the past seven years!

Dinosaur Land

2012-01-11T11:59:00.002-06:00

Laurel achieved another milestone, and her reward was another trip to Dinosaur Land! We love this place - when the kids are older it will be worth buying a family pass to Thanksgiving Point.

20 Weeks

2012-01-11T11:57:00.001-06:00

Oh, we're having a girl! I finally get my Anne - we're very excited!

Pizza Hut Marketing Works 23 Years Later!

2011-12-09T07:09:00.003-06:00

Once the weather turns consistently cold, I crave carbs. Especially this year, since we found out in October that Luke has a raging sensitivity to wheat flour - so our homemade pizza parties aren't quite as much family fun. Sigh.
I've had a very specific craving for the last two weeks, so decided to finally indulge. Anyone else participate in those reading programs in elementary school or at the public library where the prize was a personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut? For whatever reason, my body wanted one BAD!! Of course, I knew the size of a personal pan pizza wouldn't cut it - so I was very pleased to see that you can order any size pizza with the pan pizza crust. Oh man oh man oh man!! People, I make a delicious homemade pizza, but sometimes you gotta cater to those childhood food memories. And wow, that was a good pizza - I tore through a medium one for lunch, trying to be fair in giving the kids their own slices. But it was bliss! And exactly like I remembered! Thank you Pizza Hut, and you can bet I'll be back when the next craving strikes!

Best Holiday Ever

2011-11-26T07:54:00.002-06:00

Well, at least for Luke; he loves Thanksgiving, and if at all possible he takes the entire week off from work. It's been warmer than usual, so the kids really enjoyed running around in the backyard while Luke finished removing sod for our three raised beds and putting the first 2 frames in. (Note: Husbands are very sexy when yielding pickaxes!) He composted some leaves to nourish the soil during the winter and Laurel can't figure out why we have to wait until spring to plant. We still need to clear our northeast corner of black plastic from the previous owners so that we can prep the ground for either raspberries or squash.

Although we weren't assigned to bring pies to Thanksgiving dinner, of course I had to make several. I have been craving chocolate cream pies, so I experimented with two chocolate recipes with meringue toppings, as well as my usual cranberry meringue, and a pecan pie that we left at home so that Luke could enjoy it all by himself. Luke spent Friday making "Thanksgiving 2" for our own family: mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, and the most amazing gravy. The kids really enjoyed their leftover Thanksgiving sandwiches with a bit of the cranberry from the pie thrown in for good measure. I'll make my favorite Dorie Greenspan pumpkin pie probably today.

I'm at 14 weeks and haven't had any issues for 2 weeks now, so I think the placenta is just about formed and we're all breathing easier around here.

Christmas is coming! All my neighbors have their Christmas decorations up but I refuse to pull out my Christmas box until December. Although I would normally wait until St. Nicholas Day to decorate (December 6th), I think I'll concede to the neighborhood peer pressure and do it on December 1st this year. Don't want the neighbors to think we're some sort of Mormon/Jehovah Witness blend that don't celebrate the holidays! Hah!

Humbling

2011-10-27T15:28:00.004-05:00

Warning: pregnancy details, a bit graphic:

So we had a scare last week when I woke up at 3am, soaked in bright red blood. And my heart broke - because at 9 and a half weeks, I was pretty sure what that meant. We had to wait three hours in the ER until we could get an ultrasound to see what the baby's status was. Amazing the little guy/gal was in there, kicking, with a strong heartbeat, but the doc put me on bedrest for a few days. When I was able to get in to see my ob, she said that it was likely overexertion that bruised the implanting placenta, which caused it to bleed, and the blood just had to drain, so out it came. After she cleared me from bedrest, she cautioned me to be careful, but I ended up with more spotting the next day, and so she told me in no uncertain terms that I had to take it much easier. Fortunately, our timing at moving a 5 minutes drive from my mother-in-law was impeccable, and the ward has been so kind.

I've heard from various sources that this isn't uncommon for many women in their first trimester, but I've never experienced it before. And the sentence of bedrest is terrifying for the mother of any young children.

Guys, I was steeling myself for a miscarriage. And oh, I've always had compassion for those of you who have dealt with them, but my empathy is much deeper now. Those first couple days, when the doc discharged me from the ER with instructions about a "possible miscarriage/abortion", hoping that the cramping didn't start and that I'd stop bleeding - it was just awful. That first night I clung to Luke in bed, afraid to go to sleep because I was afraid to wake up to more blood. It was an emotional rollercoaster that I feel like I still haven't quite recovered from, and thus far my prognosis is good! Blessings on the heads - and wombs - of all mothers and all mother hearts.

A cake that I didn't massacre!

2011-10-19T10:32:00.002-05:00

I pulled the recipe out of some ladies magazine - a from scratch pumpkin carrot cake with cream cheese frosting - delicious! It's a pastel cousin of the one in the magazine, but I just couldn't stand adding more food dye!

Amanda finally gets to go to a ball!

2011-10-19T10:22:00.003-05:00

Well, the UVU Presidential Scholarship Ball, that is. It's the university's fanciest annual event; this year they announced $4 million in new scholarship money. (Valet parking, red carpet, string quartet, cirque du soleil style acrobats, black tie - we're hoping to get Luke a tux next year...) A friend gave me this vintage gown with a train - although it may not be the most flattering style on my bloated first trimester body, it was fun to dress up.

Cold Wet Weekend

2011-10-19T10:08:00.003-05:00

We had a yucky weather Saturday recently, and we all needed to get out of the house. We made it to BYU's (free!) Bean Natural History Musuem at the end of the reptile show.

Afterwards we braved the Bombay House with the kids. Dean really took to the tamarind dipping sauce. And when the rice arrived to accompany our two entrees, Dean decided the serving bowl was his. We ended up having to order another round of rice because Dean wasn't sharing.

Mmmmm basmati! He wanted every last morsel!

(It must be in his genes; when Luke and I were dating/newlywed, if either of us were sick, the other would pick up an order of basmati rice and saag shorba soup from Bombay House.)

Dean's To-Do List for the Day

2011-10-19T10:06:00.000-05:00

It hasn't been a good day for Dean unless he gets to ride on Daddy's shoulders - even better if he gets to throw balls from great heights!

Interior House Photos

2011-10-05T17:04:00.010-05:00

Luke really wanted to do yellow in the living areas, so I colormatched Behr to Glidden's Lemon Ice. It's a beautiful yellow...I still prefer blue, but it's fun to let Luke have his way every once in a while...People, you know I don't clean up my house for photos!

We love the arched windows in the living room; bets are they will be particularly expensive when we replace all the windows; the same windows are in the kids' rooms. And yes, I'm really getting curtains for these windows, and yes, this house is absolutely in a state of still needing to be organized/decorated. And wow does it need new flooring! I haven't decided what to do about the front door. I don't love the style and its security vulnerabilities scream "Warning, warning" every time I look at it. Time will tell.

This little wall separates the living from the kitchen area - and I love how clever I was: the small abstract piece by LDS artist Leslie Graff (a friend gave me an original!) hides our thermostat!

Our cute little kitchen is cute and little but it's ours. I love that the cabinets go all the way up to the ceiling! And I love my little sink window that looks out to the juniper bushes on the back of our lot line. And isn't that colius plant fly? Look at that color! A friend of Cristie's that owns a greenhouse in town gave it to us as a housewarming present, and I've already taken a cutting to start another.

Okay, check out these lights. Luke and Cristie were talking about the stagecoach lights in the kitchen, and I thought it was some nickname for the style of light. Oh no, that is an actual stagecoach on the globe! And the globes have MULTIPLE different scenes of stagecoaches on them. Anyone with a Jane Austen BBC fetish want them? Because I have a matched set - one in the kitchen, and one in the dining area. Wow!

Fall Is a Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-05T16:54:00.002-05:00

I thought that an apple orchard's apple cider donuts were strictly a New England thing. Fortunately I found some in our backyard at the Big Red Barn in Santaquin. (Apple cider cake donuts being superior to any other cake donut, and any cake donut being superior to any yeast donut!) Laurel's preschool class had a field trip today, and it was a cool blustery hayride. Her preschool class seems enormous - but the field trip was combined with the morning and afternoon kids, the T/Th attendees, and there are 5 teachers and 2 classes at each preschool session on each day. (Sidenote: running a preschool is a great business, we pay a healthy tuition but love our return - enthusiastic teachers, the pledge and a patriotic song each morning, lots of learning...I salute my friends who homeschool but I sure couldn't do it!)

My Handyman

2011-09-23T16:37:00.002-05:00

Dean is addicted to the screwdriver. I was removing and installing hardware in the kitchen, and he got right in there with me. (It's the same hardware, I'm just spraypainting the metal.) You can see the original blah wood color as well as the crisp Behr "Decorator White" we've freshened it up with. And you can see my kitchen's industrial carpet. Sigh. You win some, you lose some!

Happy Birthday, Luke!

2011-09-23T16:32:00.003-05:00

I think he's pretty blessed, having scored home ownership and his dream job at his alma mater just before turning 31! And he loves his lawn mower - yes people, that is self-propulsion at its finest! I actually love this mower too - it gives you a great workout, and it ends up being rather relaxing without the blast of the motor disturbing the peace. Maybe strict HOAs will start requiring these to curb pesky noise pollution?

I love our little yard - it's just .24 of an acre, but the backyard is completely private thanks to our huge juniper trees. We've already planned next year's garden and I'm drying seeds in preparation!

Laurel's First Day of Preschool

2011-09-23T16:25:00.002-05:00

Wow, does she love it! I mean LOOVVE it! And I love the backpack I found for her - girly, without being cartoon-y! (Biz, I do love Lydia's zebra print!)

Red Nail Polish Takes A Manly Turn

2011-09-23T16:19:00.002-05:00

While staying at Zermatt, Dean wrangled my bright red nail polish from the counter and after banging repeatedly on the tile floor, it cascaded everywhere! I mean everywhere! I ended up throwing away his clothes and went through 2 bottles of nail polish remover attempting to get it off of both him and the floor. It wouldn't come out of his hair, and it gummed up the clippers, so we had to cut it out of his hair. The before photo is of a significantly cleaned up Dean. In the after, you'll see his fingernails remained a reddish hue for weeks!

Soldier Hollow Classic 2011

2011-09-23T16:12:00.002-05:00

I love the "sheepdog festival" a little bit more than Swiss Days - the kids love it, it's less crowded, and there are fantastic food options. You should have seen me kick up the pace when I saw this delight! (And yes, they were light and scrumptious and homemade and I ate an entire bag!)

Swiss Days 2011

2011-09-23T16:00:00.004-05:00

We so enjoyed our last Swiss Days as residents. I hadn't realized what cache that holds; Luke's job there over tourism and economic development always gave me a double excuse to chat people up, and after exchanging stats, visitors would always swoon, "You mean you actually LIVE here?!!?"

Laurel was so excited when she heard about the kids race during Swiss Days; that girl loves a good run. As we were between homes, I didn't have real running attire for her, but she did fine in her 100 yard dash in the shoes she was wearing.

Luke's oldest brother and his wife participate in craft fairs, and it was shocking that out of hundreds of vendors, Nick and Luke (his office participated) ended up in booths right across from each other.

Extreme Couponing

2011-09-06T22:43:00.005-05:00

So as we don't have television at our house, I have a love/hate relationship with the one at our resort. Luke was working late one night so I caught an episode of "Extreme Couponing" on TLC. Oh my.

I'm all for reducing expenses. But all I saw in these people's carts were piles of processed foods with artificial colors, bounteous amounts of sugar...It was just depressing. I love a good case lot sale so that I can stock up on canned pineapple (how else can I make Thai curry year round?), but man - I just don't know about having piles of Gatorade and sodium-rich soup at my beck and call. But to each his own.

Something Borrowed and Something Blue

2011-08-25T16:10:00.002-05:00

Mom unearthed this vintage dress and seeing Laurel in it took my breath away - and reminded me again how much she looks like her paternal grandmother!

Scenes from Oma and Opa's House

2011-08-25T16:05:00.006-05:00

My sisters and our families spent a week in Cincinnati together. It was so wonderful to be back home and see the cousins together. Dean particularly loved the new assortment of stuffed animals at bedtime! And I envied the summer sledding!

One More Move for our Family

2011-08-17T16:23:00.004-05:00

Luke has accepted an administrative position with UVU and will begin work in September. His dream has always been to work at his alma mater, and the icing on the cake is that he'll be working with their dynamic president. We LOVE living in Wasatch County, but have decided that cheaper home prices Utah County are in our family's best interests for the time being.

Our favorite things about Midway are its relaxed rural vibe and its fantastic air quality. Only south Utah County has decent air since the wind blows from the south as a general rule (those inversions in Provo/Orem and SLC are nasty!) We're closing on a 3 bedroom/2 bath home in Luke's rural-ish hometown of Payson and grandma is pinching herself because we'll be a 5 minute drive away. Seven years of marriage and eight moves later, I'm ready to be done for a while.

Slumming It

2011-08-07T16:17:00.005-05:00

Well, not really. Our lease ended in June, and we're in the process of buying a home, so we're currently subleasing a 2-bedroom condo at Zermatt Resort. (That's the Zermatt resort in Midway, Utah - not in Switzerland.) And it's less expensive than our house rental was, and we're not paying utilities either. Frankly, it's a much needed vacation and a financial blessing!

Laurel Believes It Takes a Village

2011-07-14T22:11:00.002-05:00

Had been at the playground yesterday for 10 minutes when another mom was trying to leave with her little girl. "Bella, it's time to go." "Bella, I mean right now." A pause. "Bella, I have cookies!"

Laurel's head pops up and she yells, "Okay, I'm coming!" and starts running across the park.

Good heavens.

Luke says she's very much my daughter. It's true that I'd do most anything for a baked good!

Beets!

2011-06-18T07:09:00.002-05:00

Our whole family polished off our neighbor Rosalee's gift of homemade beets in one sitting. Dean especially enjoyed them...and I especially enjoyed his diapers afterward!

Choo choo!

2011-06-12T10:01:00.004-05:00

Luke's been heavily involved with the Heber Valley Railroad; we were excited to meet Thomas the Train over a chilly Memorial Day weekend.

Keeping Busy

2011-06-12T09:48:00.004-05:00

Luke was gone during the first part of the month for a film industry conference (he's the County's Film Commissioner), so I kept the kids busy busy busy to keep us all out of trouble. Laurel loved playing with shaving cream while Dean mostly tried to climb into/onto things.

Laurel's First Primary Talk

2011-05-25T07:33:00.003-05:00

As a child, my parents made sure that we were comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people, and I think Luke is so sexy when he's expounding from a podium, so when Laurel came home from Primary with her talk assignment taped to her wrist (brilliant Primary leaders), we were completely stoked. Her topic was the Restoration of the Gospel. That night we watched the Joseph Smith church video, did a family home evening on it on Monday and Tuesday we had her "write" her talk. She told me eight things she remembered from the video/family discussion, and then I used the tried and true Tammen family pre-reading talk trick: Divided a piece of paper into 8 squares, wrote the short sentence on the bottom of each square, and used the rest of the space to draw a picture that described the sentence. Each night during scripture study Laurel gave her talk, and we were curious to see how Sunday would go. Can I just say that Laurel owned that podium! She hopped up there, realized that she was the center of attention, and gave her talk ten times better than she had practiced at home. We were so proud of her, and amazed that she had memorized so much of it! Granted, there are more important things in life than being able to give a good church talk, but we were a little smug that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree!

Field Trip

2011-05-14T07:31:00.003-05:00

We made the two hour trip down to Mount Pleasant for Luke's nephew's baptism. As it was at noon, we stopped at the local Wasatch Academy for a picnic lunch beforehand. (Wasatch Academy: a private college prep boarding school. Tuition for one year is $43,000! Yikes! As much as Luke's Harvard tuition, for which he was fortunately on scholarship!) It's a beautiful campus nestled in the middle of nowhere, Utah. At the family gathering afterwards, Dean was in heaven when he was actually allowed to play the piano. He's the todder who, during Relief Society, makes guerrilla end runs around me, trying to accompany the pianist. And a photo of Luke and his brothers.

2011-05-14T07:20:00.006-05:00

I've actively been trying to be more creative with Laurel, whether that be with crafts or baking. I found a box of frozen pie crusts that I had bought as a "just in case" over Thanksgiving and had never used. (I almost always do homemade crusts, unless I've failed to plan ahead well and run into a time crunch.) I knew I wasn't going to make pies with them, so I decided to turn them over to Laurel to make shapes out of and bake with cinnamon sugar. Laurel had a blast, and it reconfirmed for me why it's worth the effort to make homemade crusts...all I could taste was the vegetable shortening. Yuck!

April VT Message

2011-05-05T21:40:00.004-05:00

It seems that about every decade, there's a Visiting Teaching message in the Ensign that just hits me. I haven't been able to get April's out of my head, in particular Sister Beck's encouragement to "increase our offering". I confess my first reaction was "I have so much on my plate, what can I do more?". But of course this message comes from a place of love, and isn't an attempt to induce guilt-motivated behavior. So from this place of love, what offering can I increase? For me, at this time in my life, it's all about being more present with my children. There is so much to do! Sometimes I envy the simplicity of earlier times - yep, churning butter and cooking over a fire would be tremendously draining, but they didn't have to deal with essentially frivolous demands on their time. And they couldn't have done that much multi-tasking. I'm so good at multi-tasking, but as numerous scientific studies have shown, multi-tasking sacrifices quality in favor of perceived efficiency. And my kids are certainly quality. So I'm really trying to focus on being present with the kids and being more playful with them. When they want to play, of course I'm in the middle of doing dishes or cooking or...Last week, Laurel asked me to play with her while I was in the middle of doing the breakfast dishes. Normally I would have said "Let me take care of these dishes first", but by the time I finished she may have moved on to other things, and the opportunity would have been lost. So when she asked, I paused, pulled off my dish gloves and got down on the floor with her. It was the best! And I have to recommend Playful Parenting as a great resource for those of us who tend to be task-oriented in our relationships!

Create your own Mix

2011-05-05T21:38:00.002-05:00

Have you seen Grooveshark? Sooo much better than Pandora! Try it; it's free!

Easter 2011

2011-05-05T21:28:00.002-05:00

Gosh, I love Easter. I love living back in Utah, but my favorite holiday tradition by far is the one that we started back East of having people over for Easter. Although Luke's family made Easter Sunday plans, we weren't about to forego our tradition, so we moved it to Saturday night. Melt-in-your mouth pork loin, homemade rolls, and lamb cake. What's not to love? Btw, homemade rolls. People, I have been foolish enough to try to rely on Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson yeast roll recipes. They're good but just not...delectable enough. On a whim, I tried this recipe, and it's yummy! Next year I'm going to try the traditional butterhorn recipe that apparently every elderly Mormon woman uses. Thanks, Rosalee!

Really, one day I'm going to pull out my tips and actually decorate this beast. In the meantime, we love our puppy cake!

Wiggly Kids and Cameras....Sigh

2011-05-05T21:23:00.005-05:00

My parents visited in April and it was such fun to share our Alpine spring with them...in other words, it rained and was freezing while they were here. Isn't my mom so pretty?

Handsome Devil

2011-05-05T21:23:00.001-05:00

Cousins

2011-05-05T21:18:00.004-05:00

Cristie came up so that Luke and I could attend a UVU Alumni event, and she brought Luke's brother's children with her. It was so much fun! I took the kids to the local "department" store (King's, for any of you who live in rural Idaho) and picked up cheap Easter baskets and decorating supplies. Laurel and Sophie had a blast with ribbon and feathers!

More Play-doh Fun

2011-05-01T10:17:00.004-05:00

This time Laurel requested a plane sculpture with a squirrel pilot. Love a 3 year old's imagination!

Beautiful Poem

2011-04-13T20:30:00.001-05:00

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

-Naomi Shihab Nye

Sunday Dinner: Sweet Potato Pasta

2011-04-11T07:25:00.003-05:00

No no, not sweet potato-infused semolina, but actual sweet potato. Couldn't wait to try this recipe! It was delicious - although browned butter sauce is good in small measure, it quickly becomes cloying. I'll try a different sauce time. Any recommendations?
We actually multiplied the recipe by six because we wanted to make sure there would be enough...next time we'll just do three or four potatoes.

Dean on a Rampage

2011-04-10T10:35:00.004-05:00

Recorded a few weeks ago when he started walking. Initially he would keep his arms up in the air for balance which made Luke dub him "the orangutan".

Dean's First Haircut

2011-04-10T10:31:00.003-05:00

I've always wanted a little boy with a shorn head; I think he looks adorable! And he didn't mind the clippers at all.

Say that again?

2011-04-07T11:34:00.002-05:00

In the car we heard an advertisement for a local dentist: Dr. Deamon. Pronounced "demon".

Uh huh. Luke said, "That's just what I want, a minion from hell to work on my teeth."

Maybe his family should start using an alternate pronunciation.

It's a miracle I didn't gain 5 pounds

2011-04-07T11:33:00.001-05:00

Last week I put up strawberry jam, and I've been cutting slices of homemade bread, slathered in butter and jam. Oh sigh. There are few things better in life!

"Faith and Infertility"

2011-03-28T09:42:00.002-05:00

Have you all seen the excellent article in the April Ensign? I have a number of friends who struggle with this, and I've often felt that I've been an inadequate friend in this area. It's just such an unfair thing. We all have righteous desires, and sometimes those desires just are not met. It is one of the great ironies of life that some of the people who I know would be the best parents EVER (the V's, for example), don't get to have the blessing of children right now. And I remember going to lunch with them when I was barely pregnant with Dean, and almost wanting to apologize for my fecundity. Because I wanted them to have that happiness too. And I know that she would think that's silly, because she's such a compassionate, charitable person, that she is thrilled for our growing family. But as a friend, I didn't want my happiness to cause them even an iota of regret for that which was not theirs.
But you know, we all experience something of that. There are things that we all desire that we cannot yet have. When Luke was having his worst health problems, I remember pleading on my knees for some sort of resolution, and nothing happening - for years. I ached and cried and was sometimes resentful and often wondered what we could do better to have this taken away from us. But sometimes the Lord sees fit to allow His will to be done by not removing a burden. I really enjoyed the quote one sister shared in this article. "When someone has an ailment or an illness [or a trial] and they are healed [or the trial is lifted] as the result of a blessing, their faith is being strengthened. But for those who aren't healed but continue faithful, their faith is being perfected. The first is a faith-promoting experience. The second is faith-perfecting."
I wish that those I love could have all the desires of their hearts. I hope that those struggling with infertility are met with compassion on all sides. I hope I can be a better friend.

Happiest Mommy

2011-03-23T20:21:00.004-05:00

For some reason, I had it in my head that Laurel would be starting kindergarten in the fall of 2012. But per Utah law, she has to be 5 by September 1st to enroll, and her birthday isn't until October. Which means she cannot go to kindergarten until the fall of 2013!!!

I get an extra year with my little girl before she leaves home!!! This is the best mommy present ever!

Dinosaurland!

2011-03-20T08:03:00.001-05:00

Laurel asked me to do her hair in "fairytales"

2011-03-20T08:02:00.002-05:00

March Scavenging

2011-03-19T07:50:00.003-05:00

This is the only picture that turned out, but there were five deer outside our backyard. So much snow pushes them into downtown Midway for food sometimes.

Sometimes the floor is so far away

2011-03-19T07:48:00.000-05:00

The look of a man enjoying his meal

2011-03-18T07:32:00.002-05:00

Mommy's Shoes are Always More Interesting

2011-03-17T09:16:00.003-05:00

Dean's 1st Birthday

2011-03-16T13:15:00.003-05:00

I can't believe my baby is one already! Time flies, even though it seems that he's been with us forever. I asked Laurel what type of cake she thought we should make for Dean, and she said, "Coconut!" So I tried a Cook's Illustrated recipe that called for a traditional cook-the-eggs-and-sugar-over-boiling-water-using-a-candy-thermometer-then-take-off-the-heat-and-whisk-the-whites-until-they-reach-80-degrees frosting...I've always wanted to try a French/Swiss/Italian buttercream recipe, and I have to say that it is scrumptious! The inverse of my usual powdered sugar, little bit of butter frosting recipe; a traditional buttercream has more butter than sugar. The whole family was thrilled with how the cake turned out. And for once, this frosting spread like, well, butter. It was a gorgeous specimen.

Stats for the Grandparents

2011-03-15T09:15:00.003-05:00

Dean had his 12-month checkup yesterday. 20 pounds, 11 ounces, but built like a rock. And 30.5 inches long - that's 3/4" longer than Laurel was at the same age.

Sometimes I'm brilliant

2011-03-13T16:36:00.002-05:00

Monday night I made a from-scratch tomato soup recipe. It must be the third I've tried, and I still have yet to find something that beats Amy's Organic Cream of Tomato from a can. It was so blah...nothing exciting, nothing complex...I thought about serving it for dinner, but I knew I'd spend the whole meal apologizing for it. Then after some taste testing, I realized that it could be the base for a marvelous vegetable minestrone. So I created the most beautiful concoction with carrots and celery and onions and white beans...It was almost better than Luke's soups, and that's saying a lot!

Parent Humor

2011-03-08T16:03:00.004-06:00

We put the kids to bed at the same time once last week because Laurel had missed her nap (they share a room, and normally we put Laurel to bed 30 minutes later when Dean has fallen asleep).

They both cried.

After this went on for 10 minutes, Luke turns to me and remarks, "Ah, the wailing of the damned".

Maybe you had to be there, but it was hilarious!

Laurel Quotables

2011-03-01T20:58:00.003-06:00

We attended church in Payson on Sunday because Luke was blessing his nephew. At the lunch afterwards, Laurel enjoyed hanging out with the older cousins. She is a master storyteller, and proceeded to tell a story about a big monkey that "ate us all up". An older girl logically asked her, "If you were eaten, then how can you be here right now?" Laurel responded with an equally logical solution, "Because we were resurrected!"

Best Valentine's Present Ever!

2011-02-21T11:06:00.014-06:00

It's been almost 21 months since Luke and I were last able to get away for an overnighter sans children. Thank you so much, Cristie, for making this happen!
Luke took me to the St. Regis Deer Valley. Although it is a Park City hotel, it is actually located in Wasatch County. We were happy to keep it local!
Can I just say I've never had a more luxurious experience? The hotel is actually built on top of a mountain, so after leaving your car with the valet at the base, you ride a funicular (with heated leather seats) up the mountain to the actual hotel. The tracks almost reminded me of a roller coaster - but an infinitely smoother ride! The views were stunning.

We loved our room with its juliette balcony, fireplace, and gorgeous view. Keep in mind that a Park City hotel is going to have a slightly rustic, yet luxurious vibe - lots of leather, exotic skins, natural tones - whereas the St. Regis New York is more glamorous. They really design the aesthetic for the destination. See that little red dot in the center of the mirror? That's a 17" television (activated by remote), in case you don't want to miss the news during morning ablutions.

The heated outdoor pool was exquisite. (You can see it from our balcony.) We visited it after dinner, in the dark, while it was snowing, surrounded by flocked trees and twinkle lights. Truly amazing. We loved sitting in the hot tub, watching the snow fall, and feeling it turn into rain on our faces from the heat of the steam.

The J&G Grill carries the best-loved items from Jean-George Vongerichten's restaurants across the country. Luke and I shared the rack of pork for two - hands down the best meat I've had outside of bistecca fiorentina in Fiesole. The hotel library was stocked with beautifully bound books and board games. (We took Trivial Pursuit and a Zane Grey novel up to our room.) They served warm drinks (including divine hot chocolate) in the afternoon and we enjoyed their creme brulee oatmeal bar in the morning. How does that work? Well. You top creamy steel cut oats with brown sugar, and using the same torch that you would for dessert, you caramelize the sugar. Then add your choice of toppings: macerated fresh berries, dried apples, bananas, golden raisins, cinnamon, dark chocolate, dried cranberries and blueberries, maple syrup, cream or milk.

Dino loves pushing things around the house

2011-02-21T10:58:00.003-06:00

Insightful

2011-02-18T12:32:00.002-06:00

I walked into the kitchen, and Laurel was sitting at the table with a pen and piece of paper.

"What are you doing, Laurel?"

"Writing a thank-you note for you."

"Oh, that is so nice! What are you thanking me for?"

"For the service you do for me."

"Mommies do lots of service."

"You do too much service."

And that is why Luke is taking me out of town this weekend. Mommies and daddies need breaks!

My Top Parenting Books for 2010

2011-02-16T16:14:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to mention these forever.

1. Reading Magic by Mem Fox.

Great treatise by beloved children's author on how to get your child to LOVE reading. Such an easy read and really motivating too. Many thanks to Eliza for the recommendation.

2. How To Get Your Kid to Eat...but Not Too Much by Ellyn Satter

I received this book when Laurel was born, but hadn't read it until a few months ago. An excellent read on how to get your child to eat, without causing neuroses. Love this!

License to Wolverine

2011-02-13T09:47:00.003-06:00

I guess we're real Utah residents now. I need to get down to the Y to get a BYU license plate surround - then add on a Kennedy School window decal and one for UT too. We have too many institutions of higher ed between Luke and me. Oh, and the reason the UVU license plate won out over my alma mater: Luke is on the UVU alumni board, and there is a UVU campus in Wasatch County - all part of the economic development!
Speaking of college, I saw this shirt yesterday: "CTR - Choose the Red - Utah". Clever.

Laurel's Cowboy Antics

2011-02-13T09:39:00.002-06:00

Yes, Tennessee Ernie Ford's "man of mud" song is what Laurel requests when she's playing cowboy.

Laurel plays dress up with Dino.

2011-02-13T09:37:00.004-06:00

I'm sure not for the last time in his life. Bummer being the little brother.

Laurel Learns about Volcanoes

2011-02-13T09:34:00.001-06:00

We had a volcano lesson in January. Luke had a blast designing one and Laurel was flabbergasted by the baking soda/vinegar combination. The eruption scared Dino.

Our Little Southie

2011-02-13T09:28:00.004-06:00

What a bruiser - I'd hate to get mixed up with him on a day the Sox play the Yankees!

I don't feel like cooking today

2011-01-27T11:21:00.002-06:00

So am thrilled to have remembered the tuna in my pantry. People, I love me a good tuna sandwich. Not one of those boring slippery wet tuna sandwiches ensconced in mayo. (Seriously, what is mayo really good for??) My father's recipe is our tried and true favorite, thick and bulky with added ingredients, and perfect on a sandwich with melted cheese and tomato. Yes, there is some mayo, but not much. I used 4 cans of tuna this morning and about 4 tablespoons of mayo.

3 cans tuna
mayo
spicy brown mustard (a little)
hot sauce
sweet pickles, chopped
onion, diced
5 hardboiled eggs
celery, chopped (optional)
garlic powder
black pepper

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2011-01-15T07:08:00.002-06:00

Christmas is so exciting with little ones - I had so many projects I wanted to do and books I wanted to read and stories I wanted to tell, but Christmas came so quickly upon us, that it seemed I didn't get to do much of what I had planned. And then there was the matter of our beautiful little tree - any of the other years I've been anxious to get the Christmas decorations down and "move on" - but I so loved the ambiance in our home. So Luke and I decided to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas. (People, you know that they are actually the 12 days following Christmas, right?) We didn't do any of the "five geese a-laying" stuff, but we did do something Christmas-y on each day. For example, on the 2nd Day of Christmas we watched Mr. Kruger's Christmas together, another day we savored German chocolate Santas I had found in a post-Christmas reduced-candy sale at the grocery store. And I loved having the excuse to keep the Christmas decor out until Twelfth Night. I think this tradition is going to be a keeper!

Playdoh Masterpieces

2011-01-05T17:18:00.003-06:00

I've been trying to be more creative and build in more focused learning times for Laurel since preschool is beyond our budget this year. She found a pyramid book at the library and Luke thought creating pyramids with Playdoh would be fun. Kitchen implements cut great stairs! And check out their fly sarcophagus!
Note: Check out the rural/whimsical photo I picked up from a local photographer; the gang of cows always makes me smile when I walk by.

Dino's First Word

2011-01-02T21:45:00.002-06:00

A clear, emphatic "Mama" at 9 1/2 months.

Our little Sunbeam

2011-01-02T16:34:00.003-06:00

She's been in nursery since she was sixteen months old - this seems like a big milestone! This picture captures her "fists of excitement".

How did you celebrate the New Year?

2011-01-02T16:28:00.003-06:00

I took Laurel and my neighbor, Rosalee, to Heber's finest Championship Bullriding! Laurel was so stoked to see the daddy cows that jumped - she literally shook with excitement.

Our Winter Wonderland

2010-12-29T07:50:00.003-06:00

Laurel is a big helper

2010-12-29T07:45:00.003-06:00

Yes, those are mismatching mittens. Have no idea where the purple's mate is.

Merry Day After Christmas

2010-12-26T21:56:00.002-06:00

We went to church with Grandma today. And I realized that I had forgotten Dean's church pants. At least the pants I had with me were jeans and not the striped green and white knit ones I thought I had packed as extras!

Like father, like daughter

2010-12-26T21:53:00.004-06:00

We drove down to Payson for Christmas lunch, and while sitting around digesting, Laurel pulled Grandma into the other room. "Come on Grandma, come on Grandma, we're going to see a business." A business? We've heard some interesting things from her imaginary world, but a business??

And then Luke figured it out. "Laurel, are you playing Economic Development Director?"

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T09:26:00.001-06:00

Dino: 9 and a half months

2010-12-23T19:24:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-14T12:21:00.001-06:00

Luke's favorite secular Christmas song.

Irreverance

2010-12-13T21:53:00.005-06:00

During administration of the Sacrament yesterday, Laurel and Luke were quietly looking at illustrations in the Gospel Principles manual. Luke turned to a page that had small pictures of the prophets from this dispensation and Laurel started pointing to the mostly bearded men: "Sneezy, Dopey, Grumpy, Doc, Meany..." I think Meany was Joseph F. Smith.

I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud that I snorted. I only think half the chapel heard me.

It may be the most awful/funniest thing she's ever done.

She knows who Joseph Smith is, and she recognizes the current First Presidency. Obviously we need to spend some FHEs with the older prophets.

How every mommy wants to start her weekend.

2010-12-13T14:22:00.004-06:00

Friday, as I was putting the finishing touches on dinner, Laurel disappeared into her bathroom with an Ikea toy pot. I heard the water running, and figured she was filling her pot up with water, dumping it out, filling it up, dumping it out... When she closed the bathroom door and didn't emerge after a while, I ran to check on her. I opened the door, and she's in the process of pulling up her underpants. "Good job going potty by yourself, Laurel!"

And then I saw the pot on the floor. With urine in it.

Mercifully she didn't pee on the floor.

I think she got the idea from watching me clean out the car earlier in the day - she's fascinated by the travel potty I keep in the car "just in case".

The sounds of winter in the mountains

2010-12-11T10:45:00.001-06:00

Howitzers being fired to prevent avalanches.

St. Nicholas Day 2010

2010-12-11T10:41:00.002-06:00

What the picture failed to capture was the Kinder Chocolate Santa Clauses I put into our shoes. Delicious!

Why mommies shouldn't wear black shirts

2010-12-11T10:39:00.001-06:00

Especially when their baby is learning to eat solid foods

My kid can do that too!

2010-12-07T15:54:00.003-06:00

Well, that was my mommy train of thought when I walked into the grocery store a few weeks ago and saw some preschoolers on a tour. So of course I had to set up my own tour for some ward kids.
I think the adults had more fun peeking into the produce refrigerator and the bakery's huge ovens - but with a frosted cookie at the end, the kids were in heaven. And my poor child's hat head. I really do brush her hair, but that wavy hair of hers is something else! This was also the day that Laurel refused to change out of her pajama top before putting on her play clothes.

What's Better Than Flowers?

2010-12-07T15:45:00.004-06:00

Duh! Good bread! The innkeeper at the Blue Boar stopped by Luke's office with this, as well as a menu for their fancy schmancy 7 course New Year's Eve dinner. When Luke came home I thought it was flowers, but a hearty European baguette wins over roses any day!

Brilliant Thanksgiving Pie Rule

2010-12-04T07:15:00.002-06:00

My sister's in-laws are geniuses. Their rule is that there must be at least one pie per adult present at Thanksgiving dinner!

Favorite Color?

2010-12-04T07:13:00.004-06:00

Laurel loves the girly colors pink and purple, and one day I asked "What color would you want to paint the walls in your room?" She paused and than said "Blackish."
And 4 months later, that's still the response she gives. Too weird. I'm pretty sure I haven't shared the Stones' Paint it Black with her yet...

Christmas at our House

2010-12-02T20:21:00.003-06:00

I'm a fan of little table-top trees when the baby is at the "pull everything down" stage. And Whole Foods sells live ones, so I picked one up today and did my best at decorating it..I know my mother-in-law will see this and think, "Okay, Amanda, got to teach you about draping garlands!" Oh well.
I have so much Christmas cheer this year. Part of it is just due to the magical place we live - Midway's Swiss Christmas is this weekend and I'm stoked! Part of it is that we're back in Utah, where we belong, and Luke has a great job. Part of it is that I have two adorable little children and feel that the future is bright. We are so blessed. There's still things I could worry about, but worrying never fixed anything. Our cup truly runneth over.

Sheepish Chocolate Pudding Face

2010-12-02T20:20:00.000-06:00

The Mormon Women Project

2010-12-01T20:47:00.002-06:00

I've been following this site for almost a year now, and realized I hadn't shared it with my favorite people yet! It's a wonderful project that always causes me to reflect on my role as a daughter of God here on this earth. And I love the stories of Mormon women, in all their different shapes, sizes, numbers of children or lack thereof, political views, marital situations, ages...Enjoy!

Dean enjoyed his vacation too

2010-11-29T14:47:00.003-06:00

Staycation

2010-11-29T14:42:00.005-06:00

Luke took Thanksgiving week off from work, and it was a wonderful stay-cation. Lots of library books and good food and sleeping and more good food...I snapped this picture of Luke's frozen eyebrows and lashes when he came inside from putting the second layer of bricks on his snow fort. You'd be wearing a balaclava too if it were negative 15 degrees outside!

Happy Turkey on Turkey Day

2010-11-29T07:16:00.003-06:00

I volunteered to roast the turkey this year, even though turkey doesn't even make it on my list of favorite meats. I brined it in a salt water bath for a full 24 hours prior to roasting, and this extra step made for a deliciously moist bird. That, and rubbing the skin with a stick of butter of course!

Cranberry Meringue Pie Recipe

2010-11-29T07:14:00.002-06:00

Truly my favorite holiday pie - make it the day before (at least the filling and curd) and then serve. This mellows the tartness a bit, although it is still a tart pie.

Reading Hour

2010-11-25T08:09:00.003-06:00

I walked into the living room Sunday evening after putting Dean to bed and was greeted with this site.

Note: Luke had to bring back red silk pajamas from Italy. Purrrr!

Breakfast of Champions

2010-11-25T08:07:00.003-06:00

I couldn't wait until Thanksgiving to make my favorite pie. Cranberry meringue - be still my heart! It's one of those pies that is better the next day - and what a way to start the day!

Up Close with the New Haircut

2010-11-21T16:52:00.000-06:00