I Love Snow..

..In the mountians,
and in the mountians only!

It is so pretty.. in the mountians.

There was a small snowstorm last night,

and it was NOT in the mountians..

it was down here. Uggg.

I'm pretty sure I live in the wrong state.

Pumpkins & Kitties

Gosh, don't you just love this cute face?

Well, this little cutie got to go pick pumpkins in the
pouring rain yesterday with our friends..

It was pouring & freezing cold, but made for a good memory.
The babies were in the wagon shivering.
Lisa was running/pulling the wagon.
I was holding the umbrella over the babies heads while trying to keep up with Lisa.
Hahaha.

The days not over yet though..
Later we go to the neighborhood Trunk or Treat.
Summy looooved it & she was the cutest kitty around.

A Mother's Love

What would you do without your little one?
Me? I wouldn't know what to do next, where would I go? What would my next step be? What on EARTH would I do without my sweet little Summer? With no degree, living paycheck to paycheck, still working, going to school, going INSANE, the only thing I have going for me is being a good mom. I can honestly say I never really knew what true happiness was until my little Summer was brought into this world.

It's rough, SO rough. As many of you know Summer was a honeymoon baby. It wasn't a real big surprise that we were having a baby though, we weren't too careful.. we didn't think much of the future. We both knew that we wanted to have kids.. just not right then. Heavenly Father had different plans for us though.. and we haven't looked back since. She has been nothing but a joy from the first time I held her in the hospital. Sure, there have been times I have picked up the phone, utterly stressed, begging my mom to take her for the night (she takes her of course!).. and then what happens? I wake up the next morning not knowing what to do next. I miss her so incredibly much. My heart aches.

I can't sleep tonight. I sat up thinking of the 1 million things that I need to do this weekend. Came downstairs, got on FB and then found this amazing blog.

patrickandashley.blogspot.com

Check them out. But be sure to grab a box full of tissues. Their story really hits home. She's 22 (I'm 22 in 2 days) and her daughter passed away at 18 months due to a accident (Summer's 17 months).

Anyways, I'm posting this to remind all you ladies, well mostly MYSELF, to cherish each and every moment. Every single one. I love my sweet Summer so much & want to slap myself in my face every time I get frustrated at her or when she gets hurt or when life gets so busy that I can't even read her a book.

My cherished moment of the day..
Summer has learned the word "cookie". She loves oreos. I hate Oreos. When she eats them she gets them ALL over. Anyways, today Summer fell and hit the front of her face on a metal bar really hard. I immediately picked her up & let her cry on my shoulder. She was so upset but I figured she would just cry it out. My sister took a peek at Summer to see if she had any bumps on her face and little did we know there was a huge stain of blood on my shoulder. SCARY! We immediately ran inside to check out what it was. When I lifted her off my shoulder she looked at me (still crying hysterically) and said "Cookieeee!" Ohhh my little pookie, I love her so much. Anyways, she hit her nose and mouth somehow and she is fine now. Sleeping away in her crib.

I hate it so much when Summer gets hurt. I wish more than anything I could take the pain away. But, the moments where she reaches out to me, when she wants nothing or nobody else in the world.. when everything depends on me letting her know that everything will be alright and reassuring her that the world will go back to normal in about 5 minutes.. it almost makes the owies worth it.

Summer has been pointing to her lip all night and saying "owie".
I think she just wants us to know she has a owie. Oh, she is so cute.

Is there anything better than being a mom?
I sure don' think so. Motherhood is the best thing to happen to me and has made me into a much better person.
Thank you, Summer.

This is a pic of our most recent adventures at the zoo.
Summer loves animals. We had so much fun.

Movie's & Books

SORRY! I know it's annoying to read posts where EVERYTHING is underlined.. but I don't know how to get it off. oops

Movies First:

1. Wall Street
Money Never Sleeps

I did not know there was a prequel to this movie.
But I don't think you missed anything by not seeing it.

Scott & I really liked it. I don't know a lot about Wall Street so it was fun watching it & learning some new stuff! And Shia LaBeouf was so cute in this movie.. I've always thought of him as the annoying brother in "Even Stevens".. but yes.. he was a cutie in this movie.







2. Life as we Know it

Love, love, LOVE this movie. It may be my new favorite movie. It was so tender, fun and sad.. all in ONE movie! I seriously thought I was going to pee my pants a few times.. and then there were parts I was sinking down in my seat so nobody would see me cry! If you're a mom you will think this movie is the best!.. and if not, you'll still love it! And of course it was nice seeing Fergies beau down to his undies. Go see it!

Books

1. I Am Number Four

I absolutely HATED this book, until I got to the end. It was way too slow for me. The ending made me want to call up the author and demand him to hurry up with the 2nd one. There is going to be a movie made of this book.. so it will be interesting to see how they do it. So if you don't mind super slow books.. you might like it. But I really don't reccomend it.









2. Grave Sight

I borrowed this from the library because the author of this series wrote the "Sookie Stackhouse" series (my fav. books of all time!) And I was very disappointed. I also checked out the 2nd book in this series and didn't even open it.
Bummer.
I guess I will just have to wait for the 11th Sookie Stackhouse book to be wowed by Charlaine again.. and yes, we are on a first name basis.

3. Mockingjay

Last but not least, those of you who did not like this book are CRAZY! I looooooved it. I thought it was a great ending to the series. I didn't see how it could end any other way. The first part was pretty slow, but the ending was fast paced and exciting! I'm so sad that the series is over, but I really enjoyed the book. Oh, and if you haven't read the first 2 in a while you might want to reread them. I wish someone had told me that. But, the book really doesn't go over bit by bit what happened in the first 2 and if you haven't read them in over a year (like me!) you might get confused at some parts. But yeah, Like I said, this series is just so great. They are one of my favorite series of all times. The books are SO powerful & you can really relate to the characters.

WARNING: MAJOR "MOCKINGJAY" SPOILER IN COMMENT SECTION AND BELOW!

I loved that Katniss ended up with Peeta. I didn't think that Gale could've taken care of Katniss the same way Peeta could. When I read the part where Peeta was brainwashed by the capitol I was seriously crushed. I love Peeta and always have!! He's my hero. I am so sad the book is over. I was sad that Prim died.. SO SAD. I thought Katniss was going to go crazy like Peeta had and then the book was just going to end there. But, I think we all knew that someone important in the book was going to have to die, right? But the end of the book made it all worth it. Great job Suzanne Collins!

If you've read Mockingjay post a comment. I want to hear your opinions!

Cheese!

I HATE buying cheese. Hate it, Hate it, Hate it! It's too expensive for me. Why? Isn't it just orange mold? Anyways, I almost always use coupons when going to the grocery store. But my friend just posted a very helpful couponing blog (Here's her post: http://bkjohnfamily.blogspot.com/2010/10/couponing.html) and on a coupon site she listed guess what I found..
A coupon for ANY brand cheese. So now I can go buy the cheap Western Family cheese, and get it for a dollar less.. and so can you because I'm going to give you the link. I'm so excited I'm probably going to make a trip to the store just for my cheese. But hurry and use it because it expires at the end of the month I think.

Here's the link to clip it:

http://www.utahdealdiva.com/2010/10/wahoo-save-1-on-any-brand-cheese.html

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Can you tell I love pumpkin?

I love fall & everything to do with it. The food, the leaves, Thanksgiving, the

(Thank goodness!) cool weather, Halloween and the food!

Here is a fun recipe for pumpkin cupcakes with

maple butter cream frosting.

Can you say "Yummy!"?

Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 1/2 C. Flour

1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

3/4 tsp. Baking Powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 Tsp. Ground Allspice

1/2 Tsp. Ground Nutmeg

1/4 Tsp. Salt

1 1/2 C. Sugar

1/2 C. Veg. Oil

2 Eggs

1 C. Canned pumpkin puree

(Not pumpkin pie filling)

2 TBS. Cream Sherry

1. Mix flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, nutmet and salt.

2. Then mix sugar, oil, eggs in a different bowl until they are smooth. Add pumpkin & sherry, beating well. Add mixture #1 then beat again until smooth.

3. Scoop batter into muffin pan (be sure to use muffin paperliners). Bake for 22-27 mins @ 350*. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Maple Butter Cream Frosting

2 C. Powder Sugar

3/4 C. unsalted butter

2 TBS Pure maple syrup

1/2 Tsp. Maple flavored extract

& a pinch of salt

Baby Pictures

I was determined to look for pictures of Summer
that looked like me when I was a baby..
I found one!
At least I think we look alike in these pics.


This is a newborn of Summer.

This is a newborn of me.


SEE!
Although Summer is Scott's little clone now..
she did look like me for at least 2 weeks of her life : )

Yummy Fall Breakfast

Here's the recipes you guys have asked for.
(and i'm posting this as I'm making my own pumpkin pancakes!)
WARNING:

They are the most delicious pancakes EVER!
I would double both recipes if you are serving more than 4 people.

Buttermilk Syrup:
In large saucepan:
1 cube butter
1 C. Buttermilk
1 TBS. Corn Syrup
2 C. Sugar
*Boil stirring 1-2 Mins.
Then, put on low heat and add 1 tsp
of vanilla & 1 tsp. baking soda

My Moms Pumpkin Pancakes
(actually, they are the internets, but my mom used to always make them!)
1 C. Flour
1. TBS. Sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs. SEPARATED
1 C. milk
1/2 C. cooked or canned pumpkin
2 tBS. Veg. oil
*Combine dry ingredients into bowl. In another bowl whisk the egg yolks, milk, pumpkin and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In mixing bowl beat the egg whites until soft peaks form into batter.

And WAAA LAAAA! You're done!
Enjoy!

Halloween

Welcome to my home..

I just love Halloween.. don't you?

I don't have a lot, but I thought I'd share some of my new decorations with you guys. Most of it is from Tai Pan.. gotta love that store!.. and my mom. My mom is queen decorator. She has the most decked out house for every holiday.. you should see it at Christmas! I'm so not the decorator that she is.. but I hope to be one day! : )

Halloween is my favorite holiday for decorating.

What's yours?

Baby Olympics

Let me set the mood:

1. Today, Summer had a horrible breakfast because I had to hurry to a Dr. appointment this morning. She had her "baba" and a couple bites of a banana.
2. When I get home I make her some scrambled eggs. Summer see's the eggs and points at her high chair.. (she wants to get in it to eat.)
3. I tell her the eggs are really hot and I pop them in the freezer to cool off. I go into the front room to clean up some toys, leaving a hungry Summer in the kitchen by herself.

Here's the kicker:

4. I have a feeling that I need to check on Summer. (Don't you just love those "feelings"). I come into the kitchen and Summer has pulled the chair from underneath the table, climbed onto the chair and then INTO HER HIGH CHAIR. She was hungry and just wasn't going to wait!

I think Summer is training for the baby olympics..

Lately, Summer will get bored while I am getting ready for the day and climb on top of the toilet seat, onto the toilet lid and then onto the counter and think she is so funny.

The other day I was outside spray painting some stuff and I look at the window and Summer has climbed up the very top of the couch and onto the window. (Scott was watching her.)