conference weekend

this weekend is general conference for our church.  i listened to both sessions today, all the way through (which might be a first, i'm ashamed to admit.)

i really needed it this year, and it's been so neat to listen to the inspiring messages given to us by the prophet and apostles.

i was taking notes.

and then desmond drew on them.

after the second session was over (which was during the boys' nap--WIN), we went on a walk.

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before.  obviously the boys couldn't contain their excitement.

every time we see these the boys freak out and yell, "FOWOW!  FOWOW!"  they're obsessed with flowers.

after.  only slightly worse for the wear.  let it be known that it was 90 degrees out though.

summer, y u come so soon?

quick friday post

my mom and i went shopping again today.  (to get a baby gift for a friend, BUUUUUUT we didn't actually find said gift...oops)

i bought 2 shirts and 3 skirts for $45.  but i SAVED $121, which is the important part.  now i have to think of something to do with all that money i just saved us...  ;)

maybe buy more lipstick.  just sayin.

we went into a cupcake shop and the boy there asked why i didn't have school today.

i told him i was 23.  he looked quite shocked.

tell me.  does this face look 15 to you?

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oh.

well.

and here is tesla this morning after finding the see's chocolate that silas so sweetly got me last night.

he was pretty happy.  even though he kind of looks like he's in pain.

things that are working for me

lo and behold!  after i wrote yesterday's post, i did in fact have a chance to try out one of my new cleaning tips!  silas was clipping sirius' nails and he bled on the carpet (in about 15 different spots...), so i got to try out this magic carpet cleaning solution and voila!  clean.  worked beautifully.

unrelated picture from last summer of desmond and his buddy eli.  look at how CHUBBY d's cheeks are and how wispy his hair is.  hahaha.  and eli looks adorable, of course.

decided to try the advice of a friend and took the boys on a walk this morning.  supposedly it will help burn off energy so they will sleep better/get into less trouble the rest of the day.  (kind of exactly like puppies.  same theory.)

it was...an experience.  good thing i prayed for "an extra measure of patience" this morning.  we were gone for an hour and went less than .01 miles, i'd estimate.  it was a wee bit frustrating because for the first twenty minutes (it took us 15 minutes to get out of the parking lot I'M NOT JOKING) tesla was whining and wanting to be carried, and desmond kept going dead weight while i was holding his hand so i was carrying T and half-dragging little D...

then they didn't want to hold my hands even though we were walking alongside A BUSY STREET.  so that part was fun.  when we finally got into a neighborhood, i was able to relax a little and let them play.  except for when they went into people's yards or wanted to go "knock knock knock?" on someone's door, or picked up broken glass (4 times), or touched dog poop, or found an empty chewing tobacco tin.

but we made it.  and i'm determined to try again!

unrelated picture from two summers ago.  me (pregnant with desmond), tesla (SO BALD), and my brother michael (check out those abs!)

toothbrushing--if you don't know our history with toothbrushing, let me sum it up simply for you:

the boys hate it.

i literally have to pin them to the floor, sit on them, and then hold their flailing arms down and their heads still as i attempt to beat cavities away.  they are screaming the whole time.  (which actually makes it easier to brush their teeth once they're in lockdown position--at least their mouths are open.)

so you can see why i avoid it.

well, i was complaining about this very chore and asking for advice from everyone i knew.  one friend (i can't remember who, but if this was your brilliant idea feel free to claim it) suggested i use electric toothbrushes.

my first thought?  "please.  then all they'll want to do is hold it and they'll freak out and still won't let me brush their teeth."

but i decided to give it a go.

so i bought the cheapest ones i could find (they're not really spin toothbrushes, they just vibrate), and...

IT WORKED.

you guys.  this is huge.

they let me brush their teeth!  no fighting!  (of course i sill have to distract them with a video but they're not fighting me anymore.)

we have two regular toothbrushes that they're welcome to use if they want to brush their own teeth.  but only mommy is allowed to use the super cool toothbrush.

it's only been a few days so we'll see how things progress, but right now, i am loving it.

and maybe i won't be too embarrassed to bring them to the dentist.



and you know what?  i'm not cooking today.

i just made an executive decision.  we're having leftovers tonight.

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what now, playa??

lipstick

i've been pinning a bunch of deep cleaning tips/strategies on pinterest.  i feel so productive!  even though i haven't done any actual deep cleaning yet...

maybe i'll make a list.  then i'll feel even more productive.

(the other day i found a list i'd made who knows how long ago of our Top Ten Clutter Spots.  at least i'd tackled one of them before the list was lost in oblivion...)

but we're not here to talk about my inadequacies as a homemaker.  we're here to talk about lipstick.

so...i've never been a lipstick person.  never ever.

mascara?  always.  some eyeliner, occasionally a little blush?  sure.

but as we venture into eyeshadow/lipstick territory, i begin to look like the little girl who got into mommy's makeup bag.

or fizbo the clown.  i'd say that's pretty accurate, as well.

so, anyways, that's my 23 year history of not wearing lipstick.  until today.  (dun-DUN!)

i was in a good mood so i grabbed two cheap lipsticks while grocery shopping with the boys (those last three words were unnecessary....grocery shopping, of necessity, will always include the boys).

and...i kind of like them.   (although the pictures really don't do them justice.  they're MUCH brighter than they look.  the red is a bright orange-red and the pink is very neon.)

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i always thought my lips were too thin to wear lipstick.  what do you think?  can i pull of brightly colored lipstick or should i stick to clear gloss?

aaaaaaaaaaaand....do you want to see a really strange picture of me?

something's off about this, am i right?  every time i look at it it's just...weird.

in other news...the boys are obsessed with this video:

which is nice.  it's a really happy song.


and here's an example of how the boys respond when i pull out the camera:

tesla looks like he's over it.  (and you can't really see it but he's wearing eyeliner, applied by himself)



and since i forgot to take a picture yesterday (shame shame), i'm doubling up today.

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this is desmond crawling through my legs as i was standing in front of the window, trying to use the light to take a picture.  love his fuzzy little head.

tomorrow's thursday, lovers!

things that are awesome tuesday

i'm having to reach down deep to find some awesome things for today.  because, to be honest, things have not been as awesome as they could be recently.

but dang it i'm going to MAKE some awesome things happen!  

notice how positive i'm being.  i want an extra sticker for that.


and also tesla woke up with a 103 degree fever last night.  even worse, desmond (who was not sick) took the liberty of screaming his head off intermittently for over 2 hours.  it's a good thing i went to bed at 9 last night, so i had some extra reserves when they woke up a little before 11.

...and right now those of you with newborns are like SHUT UP ALREADY YOU HAVE NO IDEA.

perspective.  i know.  :)  sorry guys.  keep on keepin on, your babies are super cute.

enough talking.  let's get to it.

1.  sprouts employees who help me out to the car (even though i lied and said i didn't need it) and make easy conversation and then compliment me on my nice skin ARE AWESOME.

2.  barnes and noble employees who settle on shooting me disapproving looks rather than kicking me out while i try to corral two crazies and find JUST ONE THING GUYS SO STAY WITH ME FOR A MINUTE are awesome.

3.  this little face is awesome.  i forgive him for last night.

4.  being able to look forward to watching psych on thursday is awesome.  no i will not stop talking about it.  gus is my homeboy.

5.  perfectly ripe avocados are awesome.  especially when they're about 70 cents each instead of like 2 bucks a pop.

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p.s. this also counts as yesterday's picture.  my hand is in it.

6.  cupcakes. are. awesome.  in fact, i just ate two of them in front of the computer while writing this post.  mindful eating what?

7.  frosting cupcakes with tesla was sooo messy awesome.

see, i'm being the cool mom who doesn't care about messes.  watch me be cool.

and then...

come on, you knew it was coming.  that huge chunk of frosting never had a chance against gravity.

i am spartacus

i got some sweet sandals yesterday.

i thought they were gladiator sandals at first, but now i'm not sure.  maybe they're just a t-strap?

fashion is not really my forte.  in case you couldn't tell.

but anyway.

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i like them.

[recipe] whole wheat flax bread

we love bread around here.

like, really love it.


did you know that when silas and i were first married, we used to bake a loaf of bread each day and then when it was done we would stand over the sink and eat warm slices slathered with butter?  or sometimes just chunks of it dipped in butter.  (stop gagging.)


and did you know that we would eat the entire loaf in one sitting 9 out of 10 times?


ah.  the good old days.


well, we still like bread.  and we have since added two little beasties who might just love bread even more than we do.

as in, they ask for bread every single meal.  as in, tesla will only eat things that resemble bread (pasta, cake, cookies, muffins, pancakes...boy likes his carbs).

so here is the one we make.






Whole Wheat Flax Bread

3/4 TBS yeast
2 TBS molasses (or honey)
1 1/2 c warm water
4 (+/-) c flour--you can use whole wheat, white whole wheat, all-purpose, or a mixture.  i like white whole wheat (start around 3 1/2 c and add as you see fit.  it should be slightly sticky but not really wet)
1 TBS olive oil
3/4 TBS salt
1/2 c flax meal
2 TBS vital wheat gluten*


Add ingredients to bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer.  Set for dough cycle and press start.


When it has finished, take the dough out, knead it a couple times and form into a loaf.  Place into greased loaf pan and let rise for about 30 mins.  


Bake @ 350 degrees for about 35 mins (again, use your judgment).




*the vital wheat gluten is important, especially if you are using whole wheat flour.  to my understanding, whole wheat flour has a lower gluten content than, say, all-purpose flour, which is one of the reasons ww loaves are often dense and lack that springy, sandwich-bread quality.  adding vital wheat gluten helps with this.  you can usually find it at health food stores (and possibly regular grocery stores, though i haven't looked).  it will last you a long time.

it's okay if the kids eat the end off before you get a picture of it.  just so you know.


you should also know that it is really hard for me to write a recipe down.  even though this is technically the recipe i go off of, i don't measure very well (i. e. i just pour however much olive oil i feel like, drip a little molasses in, etc.  precision is not my strong point).  


however, this turns out for me pretty much every time.  i've been experimenting with other ww bread recipes lately, but i always end up going back to this.  if i improve on it (and i can remember what exactly i did) i'll post updates.


and, because i didn't post it...yesterday's picture:

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this tiny handful is exactly the amount of cadbury mini-eggs i ate.  of course.  no, the bag is not almost gone right now.  and no, i didn't stop eating them only because i remembered that today is silas' birthday and he might want some.

and today's:

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nekkid face.  although it's kind of cheating since it's a slightly edited picture.  ;)

BUT.  it is a picture.  and this means i've stuck with something for 12 whole days!  celebrations are in order.