Chloe & Cavities

Last week when we had a family dentist appointment, I pointed out to the dentist that I thought Chloe had really, really bad plague or tarter on her teeth. After he started looking at it, he said that she was getting cavities. She was born with really weak teeth and even though we brush as often as we do and swish fluoride, she just has bad teeth. I feel so bad... she has 8 cavities and she is only 3 1/2 years old. He did give us some prescription toothpaste for her to use and that should help as time goes on. And here I thought Brayden had bad teeth because he got them so early, nope, not like Chloe's weak teeth. Maybe it's due to her poor diet since she is so picky, who knows.

We scheduled her for 4 dentist appointments to get them fixed, a little each time.

Today was her first dentist appointment to get them fixed. Today she got 3 of them fixed. They put her in the chair, put a movie on for her, and told her they were going to put a 'elephant nose' on her to help her relax. I was really thinking the nitrous gas (laughing gas) would make her silly like my other kids, but it just made her drowsy. After a while he came back, and they gave her shots. She was so drowsy or what not that she didn't even know she was getting shots, which is what I thought would cause a lot of problems, but she was perfect. She was actually perfect her entire appointment.

(bad pictures, they were taken from my cell phone.)

Now that we are home and she is numb, the problems are all coming out. lol. I thought I explained that she needed to be careful not to bite her cheeks or lips because they were numb but while I was upstairs taking care of Sadie, she was downstairs chewing on them. I came downstairs to see her entire face covered in blood. She has been chewing on her cheeks and lips. Her lip where she has been chewing is all swollen. I feel so bad. We have to do this 3 more times... hopefully this was a lesson learned. UG!

Did I mention that Brayden is getting braces Tuesday. Oh yeah, this outta be fun.

MY Gourmet Chicken Tacos Recipe

I was recently introduced to Rubio's by my husband and fell in LOVE! Who knew something so tasty would be something I would crave on a regular basis. But, it's true, it happened, I can't get enough. lol.

Now, if you know me, I HATE sharing my recipes, especially when I come up with a great copykat version of something. I have shared very little of those recipes because it usually takes me weeks to perfect them, in fact, I think I've only shared my Orange Chicken recipe (similar to Panda Express) with maybe 2 or 3 friends.

Well, you are all in luck, my husband loved this recipe so much that he told his friends at work and asked me to post it on my blog to share. So, I'm going to share with you all, my version of Rubio's Gourmet Chicken Tacos.

Ingredients Needed:
Corn Tortillas (the thicker the better)
Grilled Chicken (I purchase Tyson Grilled & Ready Fajita Chicken Strips from Walmart.)
Real Bacon Bits
Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
1 Avocado
1 Cup Mayonnaise (yes, it has to be mayonnaise)
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
6 Tablespoon Fresh Cilantro, cut fine
4-8 Teaspoon pureed Chipotle Chili depending on spiciness wanted. (I purchase Embasa Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, then I puree them.)
2 Tablespoon Lime Juice

Chipotle Cream Sauce
In a blender, mix the mayo, sour cream, garlic powder, cut up cilantro (leaves only), and lime juice until smooth. Then blend in the pureed chipotle chili's. I start at 4 tsp. and then taste it, and depending on how spicy I want it, I add more. I use 6 teaspoons pureed chipotle chili in my sauce for my family.

(Yes, you will have left over Chipotle Cream Sauce for another time. This made 4 total of those freezer jam containers. You can even freeze the left over sauce for another time.)

Directions:
Warm up chicken until hot. While that's cooking, coat a griddle with butter then put the corn tortillas on. Warm up on one side and flip. To keep the tortillas soft, I butter the griddle again before flipping. Top the warm tortillas with some mozzarella and parmesan cheese and some bacon bits. When the cheeses are melted, top with a few slices of chicken and how ever much chipotle sauce you wish. Then finish with a few slices of avocado and lime juice over the top.

I hope you enjoy them, and if you do make them, leave me a comment, I'd love to hear what you think. Next time I'll make them, which I'm sure will be soon, I'll post a picture. Delicious!

Oh, and for those who love their green salsa, here's a similar version...

Salsa Verde:

2 cans 28oz. whole tomatillos (drained)
7 oz. can of pickled/nacho jalapenos (drained)
½ cup sugar
1 bunch cilantro - leaves only
salt to taste
I also like to add lime juie to taste

Throw it all in the blender - and there you go. Yummy!

We're Moving Soon

I am so excited that everything is happening so quickly. Devin and I had been talking for years about moving, and we just kept putting it off. Then one day, I brought it up again, and he said the same thing he's always said... "If you can sell this house then sure, we can move." This time, I went for it. I called a friend who had a really great Realtor and one thing led to another...

I bought lots and lots of paint to touch up the inside of the house with fresh paint, I figured it always stages better that way. $300.00 later, done. lol. I moved boxes and boxes of things out of the house, 1 HUGE truck load later, done. I bought new blinds to replace the old ones, replaced burned out lights, and organized like crazy, done. It was time.

The Realtor came back, took pictures, we signed paper work, and the house went up for sale. The very next day, it sold! We didn't know it at the time, but a family in the ward was also looking at buying... I knew they had been looking but didn't know it was them who wanted our house until we signed the contract.

It was a crazy week after our house sold. I was planning on months to find a new home, not a week. I searched for homes of interest (at least 5 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, and 3000 sq. feet.) I found maybe a dozen. I went through all of them only to be disappointed in the location, setup of the floor plan, or condition of the home. I found 1 home that I did like the most, but it wasn't my 'dream home'.

It wasn't until I started thinking about ready to move in new homes. You know, homes built as examples of what home builders can do. I really wanted to leave Springville since I have lived here my entire life, but the home I found here was perfect, I couldn't be more excited, I could not have asked for a better location, view, and floor plan of the home. I fell in love. lol. There was just one thing that had to be done first, the basement needed to be finished. No problem they said. WOOHOO!

The outside our new home. LOVE all the browns.

The kitchen.

The cabinetry --->one of my favorite features. Love them!

The living room connects to the kitchen making it a great room. This view is from the entrance.

This will be Chloe's bedroom.

And this one Sadie's.

This is the full bathroom the 2 girls will share. There is also a half bath upstairs by the laundry room, near the kitchen.

Master bathroom - jetted tub and seperate shower.

Double sinks. Yep, a dream come true. rofl.

Walk-in closet through the bathroom.

Double doors lead to the master bedroom.

This will be the downstairs bathroom Brayden and Madison will share.

Brayden's bedroom. He'll have a small walk in closet. His room is the biggest of the kids.

Madison's bedroom. She'll have double doors for her closet. 2nd largest of the kids bedrooms.

This HUGE room is going to be left open, but split up. The closest side will be my home office, then the far side will be the family room with the entertainment center. To the right we'll have built in bookshelves. Love that we have a walk out backdoor.

View of the back of the house. The deck is from the kitchen.

Sadie's 6 month

Wow, my sweet little girl is getting so big, she's 6 months old! She is still my big girl and is still so friendly and happy. She is doing better at putting herself to sleep when I put her in her crib for nap times but she still likes to be loved and held at nighttime to fall asleep, I don't mind.

At her 6 month appointment she weighed 18 lbs 3 oz and was 28 1/2 inches long. That put her in the 90% for weight and over 100% (off the charts, again) in length. Of course she got a couple shots... she's always been a strong little girl. She cries when she gets the shots, but as soon as I pick her up and give her a love, she calms down right away.

Here were the other kids stats at 6 months of age.

Brayden 18 lbs 7 oz 27 inches long

Madison 17 lbs 8 oz 26 1/2 inches long

Chloe 15 lbs 14 oz 26 inches long

Sadie 18 lbs 3 oz 28 1/2 inches long

At her 6 month appointment the doctor said she didn't look like she was getting ready to teeth, but a few days later, she did. On February 28th she cut her 1st tooth, her bottom left one. Then the very next day on March 1st she cut her bottom right one.

Sadie still can't roll back from her stomach to her back, just her back to her stomach. Although, when she is on her stomach she can scoot around in a circle to look at things. She sits up all the time now and hardly falls. She started sitting last month, but would tip a few times, now she has great balance and can sit for as long as she wants.

Everyone loves Sadie.

5 Month's

Wow, I can't believe my sweet little baby girl is 5 months old. She is getting so big, and super chunky.

We were at Zumba the other day when I asked this other lady how old her baby was. She said she was 8 months old and proceeded to tell me she was HUGE. Then I showed her my baby and said, mine is 5 months old... Sadie was bigger than her little girl. lol.

I bet she weighs a good 16 lbs now. She's a big girl, and so cute. She is always happy, unless she is tired. I can now put her in her crib for nap time. She'll cry for a few minutes but then falls asleep. We cannot do this at bedtime yet though, although we've tried. She just gets worked up and cries way longer than my 5 minute maximum and keeps Chloe awake. lol. She loves to pull her socks off and grab at her toes. She grabs at all her toys and our glasses when we wear them. She loves blowing raspberries and drools like crazy although she still isn't teething. She laughs at Chico and finds him hilarious. She eats dinner everynight and loves it. She can drink from a sipper cup and doesn't like us to take it away. She rolls over from her back to her stomach, all the time. She loves bath time and splashes like crazy. She is definetly loved!

Blueberry Muffin French Toast

Have you ever watched Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and then thought to yourself, "wow, that looks really good, I want to make that?" Well, after watching this one particular episode, I did.

Here's my version of Blueberry Muffin French Toast.
So SUPER DUPER Yummy!
Just take a look at this blueberry goodness.

Makes your mouth water right? lol.

It's a lot of work, but it's the best breakfast ever... and leftovers... even better!

I actually made 2 separate loaves so we could have left overs. 1 loaf was for breakfast and cooked like french toast, the other was served cold and just a delicious - was more of a dessert this way. And don't emit the crumb toppings, that was my kids favorite part!

Blueberry Muffin French Toast:

BREAD
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

CRUMB TOPPINGS
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease loaf pan (or muffins if you are just making muffins).
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cups sugar, salt and baking powder.
3. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 egg and 1/3 cup milk. Fold in blueberries and pour into loaf pan and then top with crumb toppings.
4. To make crumb toppings: Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter cubed, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork and sprinkle over bread/muffins before baking.
5. If making loaf pan, bake for 45-50 minutes or until done. If making muffins bake for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Note: If you want to do Blueberry Muffin French Toast - bake the bread the night before and take out of pan and leave on counter over night. This way it's not super moist and easier to make french toast with.

FRENCH TOAST
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix the above ingredients together with a fork.
2. Cut bread loaf into THICK slices.
3. Dip the slices into the batter (do not dip the top with the crumbs, sides or bottom, just the insides from what you cut of the bread.)
4. Cook on sprayed pan until crispy like french toast on both sides.
5. Enjoy while hot with blueberry syrup or blueberry cream cheese mixture.

Now, since I had extra blueberries, I went the 'extra' mile.

BLUEBERRY SYRUP
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup water
2 cups fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS
Combine above ingredients in a sauce pan and cook until thick. Depending on your preference, just add more cornstarch. I wanted mine thick to put on top of the cream cheese mixture so I made it thick like pie topping.

BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE
8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup fresh blueberries

DIRECTIONS: Beat all ingredients until all mixed up and berries are mixed in. Take a taste, if it isn't sweet enough just add more sugar and blueberries.

Once your Blueberry Muffin French Toast is cooked and crispy, top with a helping spoonful of Blueberry Cream Cheese and then another spoonful of Blueberry Syrup. Enjoy!

Roll Baby

I can't believe how fast little babies grow up... not that I'm complaining, because I absolutly love this age! They find their toes, they grab at toys, and everything else their little hands can get at, and they learn new things, like rolling.

Sadie started rolling over New Years Eve... and hasn't stopped since. However, she can only roll from her back to her stomach, and then gets stuck on her stomach... she eventually gets rescued though because she doesn't want to be on her stomach very long. lol.

Can I just say... What. A. Doll!

Merry {late} Christmas to Us!

Devin has always wanted a HD TV, but we just kept putting it off because it wasn't really needed... but this year, since we didn't get each other Christmas presents, we got this (below) instead. A 42 inch LED LCD HD TV. - that's a lot of abbreviations. lol.

Not only did we get the TV, but we got this sweet setup from IKEA. You can't really tell from the picture, but the TV is hanging on the entertainment center, and those are book shelves on the sides with doors to help hide all the stuff we have in them. And since we upgraded to this, we also got a new Blue Ray DVD player too... all this is the perect pair to my popcorn machine (to the left of the entertainment center, barely in picture.) We're loving our new toy!

Sledding Fun

Wow, what a great winter we've had so far... so much snow. We are so lucky to live so close to the mountains.

We all headed up Jolly's Ranch Sunday and went sledding with the family. Mom and Brian brought chili, sloppy joes, rolls and hot chocolate and we played all day long in the snow sledding, making snow angels, and eating warm food. Yes, even Sadie went... but she slept the entire time in the warm van while Devin took little cat naps with her. lol.

Chloe really didn't want to go sledding, but I did make my mom take her once as well as Kim. She smiled, but after she went a couple times, she decided making snow angels is a lot more fun and a lot less scary.

Christmas 2010

Ok, so I am way behind on blogging, but this busy little momma is, well, busy.

Christmas was great this year, as always. Since we go to Disneyland for Christmas Santa only spends a hundred dollars on each kid, but for some strange reason, Santa was super nice (I guess he found some extra money.) Each kid made out like little bandits, even Sadie!

I always have to get a picture of the kids in front of the tree on Christmas, as well of just the tree with the presents. Santa is nice and makes finding presents easy... each kid has 1 or 2 unique wrapping paper for their presents.

When we were at Disneyland, Brayden wanted this dagger really, REALLY bad. I kept telling him he was to young to have it (it's a dull point), so he wasn't expecting it. (When he went on a ride and I stayed behind with Sadie, I ran over to the store and purchased it.)

And Chloe was extactic to have this gift of all the Disney fairies. She loved visiting with all the fairies at Disneyland, so this was the perfect gift for her!

Madison asked and asked and asked for the Microwave and Style baking kit, and she got it. Talk about excited. And sweet Sadie, she had no clue what was going on, but she really loved grabbing at the wrapping paper.

Christmas Piano Recital

I totally spaced blogging about my kids piano recital...

Brayden and Madison have been taking piano for a couple years now and every year they have a piano recital around Christmas time. This time, their recital was on December 22nd.

Both Brayden and Madison practiced like crazy so they could memorize their songs.

Brayden played Joy to the World and Oh Christmas Tree and Madison played TrePak and Little Town of Bethlehem.

I am so proud of them!

I think my favorite part was of Madison playing TrePak, it's a pretty fast paced song, and she just swung her legs back and fourth to the music as she played, it was seriously so cute!

The kids and their piano teacher, Jake.

Sadie, Sadie, Sadie...

Sweet Sadie is getting so big. Just recently (December 14th) she mastered blowing raspberries... as if she wasn't drooly enough, now it's even worse. Just look at her shirt. lol.

And I figured now that she is a little bigger, it's time to do her hair. I pulled it up in a little pony, and the next day did pig tails, so cute. This picture was of her first pony ever (December 16th)

And now she's 4 months old!

I cannot believe how fast time goes by. She is now 25 1/2 inches long and a whopping 15 lbs 8 oz. She is as long as Brayden was at this time, and 2 oz heavier. lol. I love comparing my kids stats, and yes, I know it doesn't mean anything when they are this young, but it's still fun.

She is such a strong baby. Although none of my kids like getting their shots, Sadie is by far the easiest to comfort. They give her the shots, she cries, I pick her up and hug her, and she stops crying and maybe whimpers. She is generally pretty sore the rest of the day, but she always is fine the next day like her regular self.

Oh, and because she is 4 months old, I am now giving her cereal and 1st baby foods. So far she has had rice cereal mixed with apple prune juice. She ate all 5 bites. Well, she spit it out and I gave it to her again and then she would slowly swallow it, but she did good.

What a fun baby girl, we all sure do love her.

4 month picture