The other day we got our gas bill, and we about had a heartattack. Yesterday I decided to turn the heat off and just use our portable heater, and move it around the house through out the day. We borrowed a small heater from ryan's parents last night and set that up in our room and put the bigger heater in ethans room. Ethan woke up around 5:30 and it was just way too cold! Ethan's room was fine, but ours was freezing- well at least to me. I hate being cold, i don't have much endurance when it comes to that. So I turned the heat back on, and decided that we definately would have to buy several heaters to place around the house.

Ethan is the proud owner of two new teeth, so now he has four on top and four on bottom. :), I'm trying to get him to say something, but he just looks at me like i'm silly, and continues to make his cute noises...

This is ethan being cute one day. he had been sick and throwing up, so there are towels on the floor to protect the carpet. He was so cute for being sick. I don't like my voice when it's recorded...I think I sound dorky. I mostly wanted to upload these videos so my mom can see ethan.

President Hinkley

When I learned that President Hinkley had passed away I was sad and happy. Of the four prophets that I have been alive for, I knew him the most. I've thought for a long time now about how he missed his wife, and knew that it would be a happy day when he died, because he would be able to see her again. I was thinking about death, and how it's hard to mourn for someone like President Hinkley. He led such an exemplary life, he was so loving and such a good person. He worked so hard. From my point of view there was nothing to regret. I wish I could have seen the moment he saw his wife again.

changing my blog

Please excuse my blog, it is undergoing re-construction. I'm trying to chnge the template, and i'm having trouble finding one that I like. so, my blog may go through several different ones before i find the one i like the most.

Dancing with the girls

Ethan had a lot of fun dancing with a bunch of the cousins at the family christmas eve party. It was at kimberly's house, and Marci was teaching the girls a dance.

Protesting Eating

My Cute Jeans

Yesterday I discovered two holes in the knee of my only cute pair of jeans. I bought them a year ago from Old Navy. Ryan told me that he always found that the jeans from Old Navy tend to be thinner and wear out sooner than other jeans he's had. Faced with the problem of buying a new pair of jeans, I remember how little I know about where to shop. I honestly do not know much when it comes to buying clothes and accessories. I don't know where to go to buy good jeans, make-up, nylons... growing up in a big family we always got our clothes at places like target or walmart. I'm not embarassed about it- not everyone can always afford to out fit their kids in the latest trends and most expensive clothes. I was thinking about it and I figured I like the clothes at Bananna Republic, so I thought that maybe that would be a good place to find a good pair of cute jeans... so if anyone has any opinions on the topic of wear to shop for clothes, accesories, and make-up I would much appreciate it.

Ethan is being really sweet today. we spent the morning chasing each other around the apartment, and when I fed him his breakfast he thought everything i did was funny. I ended up jumping around the kitchen dancing all silly just to get him to laugh. One of the best things about having a baby is that you don't feel self-conscious when you are around them. You can be care-free and silly as much as you want and you don't care if you look dumb, cause they think it's funny and that's all that matters.
Ryan is skiing today, so it's just me and Ethan. He woke up at 5 or so this morning, and finally when back to sleep around 7 but woke up an hour later, so i'm pretty tired. I like to sleep in which of course is really hard when you have a kid. Lucky for me, Ethan normally sleeps in until 9, but not today... oh well.
So we have figured out that Ethan's favourite character on Shrek is donkey. When donkey comes on the scene Ethan gets this cute smile on his face, and will even giggle when donkey is talking. It's really cute. It's funny to watch him when we put the movie on, because he will be walking around the room and he won't take his eyes off the tv. He'll start to leave the room and then he will stop and just stand there watching. He doesn't do that with any other movie or tv show (which i'm glad about, because I don't want him watching that much tv).

My fun plans

So Brandon, Tonya, Jessica (I assume), and Don are going skiing to Targhi..targee.. I have no idea how to spell that. In any case, if Ryan can he will go with them. He loves skiing. I loved it when I was younger, but since then I have had a lot of knee problems, in that my knee's dislocate very easily. It is hard to go skiing and not worry about plumeting down the mountain with a dislocated knee. Part of me still wants to go though, when I think about how much fun I used to have. However someone needs to watch Ethan, and since it will be an over-night trip Ryan doesn't like the idea of abandoning Ethan for that long on his poor mom to take care of. I'm trying to think of something to do for the weekend that will be fun, but honestly there really isn't anything to do. I had started crocheting a bleanket, but my sweet little boy took off with the hook when I wasn't looking and now we can't find it (that and the remote to the tv). I had this great ide for a painting, but unfortunately i need some men to model for it (it's much easier to draw from life then to make i up). So, I really don't know how to go about getting someone to model for me. Ryan won't do it, he's self consious or something. :). Anyways, that's my fun life at the moment. I need to find some new hobbies or something... that don't cost money- which of course really limits what you can do...lol. (Art is already an expensive hobbie).

Levi's coming home

My brother Levi is being honorably released from his mission this week, and is coming home to have surgery on both of his feet. Once he is able, he will go back on his mission. He is serving in The Richmond Virginia Mission. I feel sad for him because he really loves being a missionary, and it would be hard to come home and not know exactly when you will be able to go back. He left for his mission last March, so he's been out for almost a year. We are hoping that all will go well with the surgeries, that he will be able to have them both at the same time, and be able to walk again by March or April. We will see.

No Sleep

Ethan woke up crying at 1:30 this morning. I groaned and waited for a minute or so, hoping he would go back to sleep, but he didn't so i got out of bed and went into the kitchen to make him a bottle. i put the milk in the microwave and went to his room to get him. Unfortunately when i walked in the room i smelled it, and sure enough he had thrown up all over his bed. yay. so i called ryan to come get him and I cleaned the bed, put new sheets and blankets in it, and scrubbed the carpet as best as i could. Ryan had cleaned ethan up and they were watching Shrek 2, which for some reason is Ethan's favorite movie- it calms him down instantly every time. I took him from him, and ryan went back to bed while i started to feed him, hoping he would fall asleep quickly and not throw up again. No such luck. He threw up all over me and the couch. So, I called ryan out again to take Ethan, while i had to take off my sopping pajamas, jump into the shower, and then get dressed and clean up the mess on the carpet and couch. Ryan put ethan into the bath tub- the poor little guy had gotten it all over his face and in his eyes. So, once i was ready, again, I took Ethan, and Ryan went back to bed, and Ethan and I settled on the couch to watch shrek. after about an hour, when ethan was still awake and refusing to go back to bed, i decided to attempt to feed him again, but I was afraid to give him too much, so I think he maybe got about 4 oz or so. FINALLY around 4:45 he fell asleep, and I went to bed. 5:30- he wakes up screaming. He didn't want to be held, but he didn't want to get down, he didn't want me to sit down but he didn't want me to stand either- he just kept crying. ryan came out to try to help calm him but he wouldn't calm down. so, i put shrek in again, and he calmed down some. Ryan went back to bed, and I laid back down on the couch with Ethan sitting on top of me. He would wiggle and fuss every couple of seconds, and I was beginning to think he wasn't going to goback to sleep, when he finally laid his head down on my chest and fell asleep. Right in time for ryans alarm to go off (6:30). Luckily, though, ethan didn't hear the alarm, and I was able to get him into bed and get back to bed myself. So, i'm tired. Brandon is coming to visit tonight, so I need to straighten up my house (it's actually pretty clean, except the kitchen, and some general straightening up to do around the house) but i'm tired, and I need to wash another load of towels and clothes- courtesy of ethan throwing up....and clean the guest bathroom where all the nasty stuff from last night is piled- and i just want to lay down and watch a movie and go to sleep. You haven't lived i guess untill you have a kid throw up on you.... or something. :)

Creamy Spinach (or Broccoli) and Tortellini

I liked the idea Margie had of posting a recipe on her blog, and so I thought it would be fun to borrow that idea and put favorite recipes I have onto my blog every once in a while.

This is one of my favorite recipes, I got it from a friend when I was living in Centerville Utah. It's really easy, and kids seem to really like it, even though it is strong in flavor.

Creamy Spinach and Tortellini

I use my wok to cook this dish, as it tends to make less of a mess, but a skillet works fine.

1lb. uncooked fresh or frozen cheese tortellini
2 Tb. Olive oil or vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (9 oz) package spinach in a pouch, thawed or 1/2 to 1 package (9 oz) of broccoli
1 cup cubed, seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup greated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Substituions:
spinach seems to give a creamier taste to the dish, however I'm not a spinach fan, so I use broccoli instead-not as creamy, but I like it.
of course you can substitute garlic powder for fresh garlic if you don't have the fresh garlic.
Ryan doesn't like tomatoes, so i normally leave that out, but it tastes better with the tomato.
Youcan use fresh parmesan cheese or you can use the kind that comes pre-grated in the can (the normal kind you use for spaghetti).

Instructions:
Cook tortellini to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain; keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook until tender and lightly browned, about four minutes (stir frequently so you don't burn the garlic- i suggest cooking the onion for a while before adding the garlic). Add spinach (or broccoli), tomato, basil, salt, and pepper; cook 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in whipping cream and parmesan cheese; cook until mixture comes to a boil. do not stir a great deal or else parmesan cheese will start to clump together. Reduce heat to low; stir in cooked tortellini (stir only enough to coat all of the tortellini). Cook an additional 4-5 minutes (without stirring so cheese won't clump) until thoroughly heated. Serve with additional parmesan cheese, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings

Goes great with baguette bread!

so, Ethan and I are both sick. He was really fussy last week, and on sunday started throwing up. I think it might be teething, but I don't know. I think that he is almost better from that, but now he has a cold. and he gave it it to me. I hate being sick, it saps your energy and makes me grumpy. Plus, I get to clean up baby throw up every once in a while. I hope he is done throwing up, but you never know. He hasn't been able to keep down any solids, other than yogurt, so i'm ready for him to get better so we can go back to our routine of getting him to eat more solids.