San Francisco

Did I mention that I went with my good friend Anne to San Fran...in December. Okay, so I am a little slow in posting, but better late than never. We left early Thursday morning and came back Saturday afternoon so it was a short trip, but it was very fun and eventful as well as relaxing. One afternoon we just went back to the hotel and watched a movie and napped. When does that ever happen in my day to day life?? So here is a list of the things we did:
Chinatown
Trolley Ride
Cable Car ride
Shopping
Eating (lots of it...seafood, Italian, American, Asian, Chocolate, Sourdough, Cream Puffs...YUM)
Alcatraz (very interesting...we got with a really good guide who told us all sorts of interesting facts and stories. Very Cool)
Pier 39
Giradelli Square
The Place with the big Christmas tree (can't remember the name)


We had a fantastic time and I am hoping to make this an annual trip! Here are a few pics of, well, us. Really. what else did we have to photograph?


Chinatown...a junk heaven. We saw the most random items for sale here.






The big Christmas tree. Sidenote, the hugest Williams Sonoma is located right by it. It was a cooking toy heaven!



The cells at Alcatraz

A shot of the Golden Gate Bridge

I had to take a picture of Jackson street for obvious reasons.

We ate at this seafood restaurant which I wasn't totally impressed with. I love that they serve their water without ice though!

Can you hear that??

It is the sound of SWEET SILENCE!! It has been a LONG (I repeat LONG) three weeks since J-man went away for preschool which means it has been a LONG time since I have been in sheer, utter silence and let me tell you, it IS golden.

So, I have a big glass of water and a bowl of popcorn and I am going to enjoy.

This little girl makes my life so happy!

I mean, come on, look at that little face and smile. How could that not brighten my day. Lately, however, she has been such a total joy to me. Everything she says and does (minus the running away from me when I call and the tantrums, which actually are even kinda cute) is just so cute/funny/lovable. I love her snuggles and kisses (complete with a "mmmmmwhah"), her animal noises and raspy voice, her fat little thighs and cute nakie bum, her obsession with milk and "puffs", the way she will body slam me and say "boink", her crooked smile, her love for anything girlie, the fact that she will just sit while I style her hair, her love of shoes, that she asks me "go park" or "fly kite" about 20 times a day, her prayers that consist of "fadder, jesus" repeated until you stop her, that she whispers whenever she talks on the phone, that she loves my rubber kitchen gloves, that she LOVES to go to the "chikoop" and visit her "gams". I could go on and on. I just find her truly delightful and adorable.









and it is a good thing because lately this child:





has given me a run for my money. Really, I never realized how hard parenting would be. J is such a challenge right now. I feel bad saying this after going on and on about Miss P, and I recognize that J has so many great qualities, but unfortunately they are overshadowed by the challenges right now. I just don't know how to parent him. I feel like our days are so negative with me punishing him all day long for lying, disobeying or being disrespectful. I would love any advice that any of you have because frankly, I am stumped and I want the atmosphere in our home to be more positive.


It is a good thing he is so dang cute and funny or I really don't think I would survive.

I need a little help!!

I want to take advantage of an awesome special and have some newborn portraits printed for a dr.s office. The problem is, I am so totally indecisive, so I am putting it out there for all of you. I have to order tonight, so please respond soon!! Pick your favorite three in order of most to second most to third most. Thanks!!

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Just a few of the great things J did in the last week...

cut paige's hair (could have been worse thank heavens)

Peed on the floor of his closet

taught P to say "hate"

poured cereal ALL over the car


And I will add to this as I remember more because believe me, there are more.

J and P

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

If the slightest breeze appears Jackson is begging me to go fly the kite.

Once Upon a Time...

there was a husband and wife who were a little crazy. They thought that, even though they lived in a city, this:


would be a good idea.

Luckily they have some friends almost as crazy as they are and so, "City Slicker Chickens" was born.

The chicks arrived in October. There were 24 sweet, little, fuzzy things and they grew at an alarming rate. City Slicker Chicken knew that they couldn't live in a box in the garage forever so this:

was built.

It didn't take long for these chickens to make themselves at home. They were so comfortable in fact that after a little more growing and maturing these:

gifted us with some of these:


and so this couple, their children and friends enjoy farm fresh eggs every day. And, in another 6 years their "investment" will pay for itself.

The end.

Crock Pot Steel Cut Oats

I will post this here and on my food blog. We are big breakfast eaters here at the Shaw house and my kids especially LOVE oatmeal. I like oatmeal as well, but only if it is cooked right and the microwave method does not do it for me. So, I discovered how great it is to cook in the crockpot. I have two crockpots...one is long and flatter and the other is the round variety. I usually use the smaller and for some reason this works better. I just put a ratio of 1 part old fashioned oats to 2 parts (plus an extra splash) of water. Put it in the night before and in the morning you have nice, delicious, hot oatmeal. Top it with blueberries, granola and a little sugar and it is delicious. I also have an apple cinnamon recipe, but I will post that on the food blog another time.

Anyway, I decided to also try this with my steel cut oats and it was a burnt, sick disaster. So, after some research I discovered the way to do it. I use my larger crock pot for this. I remover the crock part and find the biggest pyrex bowl that I have that will fit inside the pot and still fit the lid on top. Put the bowl inside and fill the pot to about half way up the side of the bowl (the bowl is still empty at this point). Take the bowl out and fill with 1c. steel cut oat and 4 cups water. Place the bowl back in the crock pot (you have a double boiler type thing). Put the lid on, turn the crock pot on low, go to bed and you will wake to perfectly cooked steel cut oats. Easy as that.

need to clarify...

My not me monday needs to include, "unused diapers and clothes strewn around." Really that would be even too sick for me if they were dirty. FYI.

Not Me Monday!

I definitely am not letting the kids eat as many Lucky Charms as they want so that I can update my blog this morning. Everyone knows I am kind of a stickler about what I let my kids eat so I would NEVER let them eat endless bowls of a sugary cereal.

My house definitely does not look like a bomb went off in it, with diapers and clothes strewn all over the upstairs. I was spring cleaning last week and I always follow through with the tasks at hand and would never let a project like that drag on for days. That would be an embarrassment any time someone came into my house, and I would not do it!

I definitely did not go too many days last week without washing my hair. Gross. I wouldn't do that.

My kitchen floor most definitely does not feel like a sandy beach right now, so much so that I will only walk on it with shoes on. Everyone knows that I vacuum daily so that would never happen.

and...I am NOT eating cookies for breakfast as I type this. We have discussed this before and I am too healthy to do that.

Mr. J

Just two funny anecdotes from the life of Mr. J...neither politically correct.

The other day we passed a black man while walking in Target. Jackson chuckled to himself and said, "people aren't supposed to have black faces."

Oh man, I know St. George isn't racially diverse, but really...don't want to know what he will say when we go to Georgia!!

J got it into his head that he was going to play soccer with the 13 year old neighbor kid. So, the neighbor kid and one of his friends came over to play and they ended up playing with his rocket launcher that has a little pouchy thing you jump on to launch the rockets in the air. One of the kids is a little plump and I guess Jackson decided he was the best to have jump on it. D overheard Jackson saying:
"jump on it, yeah big fatty, jump on it."

Nice.

I've been sewing!

Thanks to my friend Lori (who by the way is a FANTASTIC designer if you are ever in need of logos or design work), I decided to try out some dresses for P. I love the Matilda Jane line, but really just can't bring myself to pay that much for an outfit, so figured I would try my hand at it. Making clothing is much different than quilting and I am really glad you can't see this up close (semi shoddy craftsmanship), but none the less I am happy with how it turned out and excited to try another. I wish I had a serger (any one want to sell me theirs??), but alas I do not and so I will resort to the old fashion style of finishing off clothing.

Here is my girl, who I must say I think is the cutest little thing with the funniest, cutest smile. She is a pill right now, but so, so fun at the same time. She is talking up a storm and my favorite right now is, "I'm fooffy"...which translated means, I'm filthy. She loves her blankie (guankie), rules the roost and her "gwudder" (brother)and is all around such a sweet, naughty little thing.

And what makes it all okay?? She is the best little snuggler around (or at least a close tie to her brother). I feel lucky to have such snuggly kids.

Now, her not wanting to nap more than an hour a day...that is a post for another day.

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I so need to update this thing and I have the pics all ready to go...maybe tomorrow. But for now I need that Pay it Forward post to go away.

Pay It Forward

{The Rules}
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along.

Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay It Forward!