The Ward Christmas Party

The Primary Christmas Pageant.

When I told Amari it was time to get her angel costume on, she had a complete meltdown. She DID NOT want to be and angel. SHE WANTED to be MARY.
So after a couple mintues of arguing and crying, I finally relented and told her that she could be a white-dress Mary with a crown on her head. She was super-happy with that, and I spent the whole pageant wondering if she was going to break from her spot with the angel choir and go grab for the baby in the manger. Luckily, she was happy with her place.

Zander was a handsome shepherd, and Drake was the handsome innkeeper number one. They all did fabulously, including some really loud, deep-voice singing on Drake's part, (and we all know how well he sings!) Zander only did a few silly faces at Jason; there was no punching noses this year.

Then at the end, Santa came. Jovi is my first baby to NOT CRY when she sat on Santa's lap. She actually loved him, and cried when we took her off.

So fun.

For your viewing pleasure . . . JOVI the ADORABLE!

I always feel so bad for those of you who don't get to see Jovi as much as I do . . . which is all of you. Because she's SO DANG CUTE, that's why! Here are a few gems for your viewing pleasure.

So here we have smooches for the mama. I daresay she knows how adorable she is; note the satisfied - no - thrilled - smiles afterwards.

Smile and say goodbye!

Peekaboo! Never gets old. Shrieks of pure joy.

Aptly named: Jovial - I mean - Jovianne - is the joy of our lives.

Baby Jovi Walks!

I knew that the first steps were imminent, with Jovi's great balance and coordination. She had taken maybe a couple here and there, almost by accident, but somehow, last night, she was ready. All it took was a favorite thing to walk towards. Thanks, Auntie, Megan!

Zander is seven

Zander is one of my very favorite people on the planet. And today, he is seven years old.

I still remember him as a baby - he cried so much that I was awake many nights with him. I clearly recall one night, as I was sitting in the brown rocking chair in our old house in my bedroom by the bay window; it was probably in the wee hours, and he had just quieted down. Relieved that he had stopped crying, I sat and took the opportunity to snuggle with him, feeling I was so blessed to have this little child, and if I got less sleep, I didn't care, because it let me spend more time with him, and babies grow up way too fast. . .

I think I still feel that way about him. He's super-naughty, and I have to work hard to keep things in line with him, but I don't even mind, because he's such a cool dude - full of enthusiasm, ideas, and passion. I'm glad this sweetie is part of our family.

My baby is four!

Okay. So she's not my BABY baby, but she was GOING to be my baby, and we've sort of always treated her like that . . . AND NOW SHE'S FOUR.

We had a rainbow birthday party.

We made rainbow capes and rainbow wands and painted super-hero masks on their faces so that they could save the world after they ate their cupcakes.

My cute sister Camie shaved some ice and we also had rainbow snow cones. Those were super yummy. (I made all the syrup with extra concentrated Kool-Aid. It worked quite well.)

And then we had rainbow Jello Jigglers.

Irelynd was the true hero of the day, however.

She played with the kids the whole time. As they arrived, she helped them draw with sidewalk chalk.
Then she narrated a treacherous, yet ultimately triumphant adventure on Amari's new airplane/teeter-totter.

She demonstrated the mixing of primary colors of playdough to make secondary colors and assisted the kids in doing their own.

Not to mention the full day of preparation that went into the party, with which she helped extensively, right down to the painting of the rainbow pet rocks with googly eyes. Thank you, Irie!

Irelynd and Amari have a special relationship. Amari would rather be with Irelynd than do anything. Here's how they greet each other: "Who's my best friend?" "Me!" "Who's your best friend?" "You!" (Hugs and giggles at this point.) It does my heart good, as did this fabulous rainbow party. It was a success, all around.

Daddy is YUMMY!

If she could talk, I'm sure that's what she'd say. True happiness, I tell you!

Loves . . .

Yum yum!

I found this super-delicious enchilada recipe and felt like sharing:

Enchiladas de Ropas Viejas


Prep Time: about 2 1/2 hours
Baking time: about 25 minutes

Shredded Beef Filling: Trim and discard most of fat from a 2-pound boneless beef chuck. Place in a 5- to 6- quart pan with 1/4 c. water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook, turning as needed, until liquid has evaporated and meat is well-browned (about 10 minutes).

In a bowl, combine 3 T. red wine vinegar, 1 1/2 c. beef broth, 2 T. chili powder, and 1 t. cumin; pour over meat. Cover and cook until meat pulls apart easily (about 2 more hours on low heat). Let cool; then shred and mix with pan juices.

Sauce recipe:
salad oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 large cans (7 oz. each) diced green chiles
1/2 t. ground cumin
1 T. flour
2 c. sour cream
3 c. shredded Monterey jack cheese
salt
12 corn tortillas

In an 8- to 10-inch frying pan, combine 2 T. oil, onion, chiles, and cumin. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is sift (about 5 minutes). Stir in flour; blend in 1 c. of the cour cream and stir until simmering. Remove from heat and blend in 1 c. of the cheese. Season to taste with salt. Set sauce aside.

Cook tortillas in oil. (Pour oil to a depth of 1/4 inch into an 8- to 10- inch frying pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, cook each tortilla, turning once, just until limp and slightly blistered. (about 10 seconds per side). Add more oil as needed. Drain on paper towels.

While tortillas are warm, spoon about 1/3 cup of the sauce and 1/4 cup of the shredded beef down center of each. Roll tortilla around filling. Place enchiladas, seam sides down, in a 10X15 inch baking pan. (At thispoint, you may refrigerate until next day.)

Bake, uncovered, in a 375* oven until hot in center (about 20 minutes; 30 minutes if refrigerated). Sprinkle remaining 2 cups cheese evenly on top. Continue baking until cheese is melted (about 5 more minutes).

Offer remaining 1 cup sour cream to spoon on individual servings. Makes 6 servings (2 enchildas each).

I froze half of it and baked it the next week, and it was great. My kids really liked it, too - that's the best thing of all.

Good Luck Omens

I think I may start a new series of posts titled: "Good Luck Omens," as there are so many things that happen to me on a day-to-day basis that mean this day is going to be good. Some people say that seeing a porpoise is good luck, or a flock of geese flying in a V. . . but has anyone ever publicized the good luck omens for a suburban family of seven? We all know what they are, so now is the time to share them with the world. For example, here is my first: I walked into the kitchen to see my seven-month-old with two lizards on her head. If that doesn't predict a fantastic day, I don't know what does.

LOVE FEST 2010

Daddy's girls

Who ever thought that Jason, from a family of SEVEN boys, would end up with three daughters? But they have him wrapped around their tiny fingers.

Jason still carries Irelynd in to her bed when she's too tired, plays ring-around-the-rosie with Amari during half time of his basketball games, and takes breaks during a busy work day just to hold Jovi and play with her. They are lucky to have such a loving daddy. And in turn, the girls repay him by giving him fantastic backrubs.

Amari loves ketchup

The plate on the counter is blue, but all the ketchup makes it blend in with the granite. And in case you're wondering, the mess doesn't end there.

I like this picture lately.

We got a digital picture frame from my mom for Christmas this year, and I love it. I didn't know how much I liked this picture until I saw it a few times on my new frame. So I thought I'd share. Jovi's 2 weeks old and Amari is three and not so sure about this new stranger.

Late-night ramblings

Difficult night for Jovi. Awake, asleep, awake, asleep . . . crying, hungry, tummy aches? So now, it's 2:25am. I'm tired. I can feel her warm little body finally relax on my shoulder; her breath on my neck is even; time to put her down. So why am I still standing by her bassinet, arms wrapped around her, swaying back and forth, unable to release her?

It's because, of the hundreds of little things I've done today, flitting around the house and town, being "useful" doing all I had to get done, this is the first thing - and it took me until a few hours into the next day - that I've done that is actually time well spent.

My little beauty

I walked into the kitchen today to see this:Look at the way she's sitting. She cracks me up - she's such a little lady.What a beautiful face. Don'tcha just wanna squish her cheeks and smooch her right on the lips?!

The kids love Jovi

There are few things in life that give me greater pleasure than seeing my kids love each other. I love it when they play together, and this is an especially good time, with them being off track for a bit.

They have been having fun with their new Christmas toys, but I think the favorite new toy is BABY SISTER JOVI!

Here, we have Zander dressing Jovi up in blocks as battle armor.

Irelynd loves to snuggle with her baby sister. And everything else. They adore each other.

Even Amari takes a turn with her "Sist-oh." She has warmed up over the last few weeks.

Drake has a game he likes to play with Jovi that makes her laugh. At this age, Jovi's laughs are not easy to come by, so this is especially cool. (To see a full video, visit Drake's blog.)