Spaghetti Sauce

I did it! I made spaghetti sauce from scratch!!! We did fairly well with our garden this year (who knew neglect reaped success?) anyway we're winding down and I still had a bunch of red tomatoes. I figured I'd pick them and give them away again like I did last time, but my sister suggested we try to make spaghetti sauce. Lasagna was on the menu anyway, so we went for it. I always make my own sauce, but I used canned crushed tomatoes. This time I picked a nice bushel of tomatoes, skinned them, scooped the seeds and cooked it down, added spices, fresh basil, fresh garlic, onion, sausage and wha-la! Freshly made sauce... Cooked the noodles and put it all together for some lasagna and we had dinner. Man, it was not bad... took most of the afternoon, but not bad at all. I'm actually VERY excited to see what it tastes like tomorrow. Everyone knows lasagna is better the next day and I could already tell this one would be no exception. :)

First day of school

My baby started school (officially) today. He was so excited. This was actually a fun day for him. We went walking and he got to play at the park, he had a dentist appt this morning - which is what he wants to be when he grows up, AND he got to go to kindergarten for the first time. I know, I am an awesome Mom and just happened to plan that... (not!)





Doesn't he look so excited????? Wow, contain it a little Eli... ;) So lets see, its 2:55 and what did I get done while he was away and Nathan was sleeping...
-mopped the kitchen floor
-mopped the downstairs bathroom floor
-cleaned the downstairs bathroom
-put away the laundry
-took a shower
-blogged
And no, I will not be this productive every day. My sister is coming up to stay with me tonight, so I had to make sure everything was ready.

My own ped egg testimonial

So my feet are disgusting. Have been since high school and probably before that. When we were in Chicago, a bunch of us were watching Billy Mays and we were talking about the Ped Egg. They all said that it worked, but I had my doubts. I mean, seriously... that stuff started as "As Seen on TV". Well, when we got back I kept thinking about it and FINALLY ordered one on Amazon. I spent 2 hours yesterday scraping away my feet with this little mini cheese grater shaped like a cadbury easter egg. I did take before shots, but I am going to spare you because someone might be reading this while eating. (and yes, they were that bad) Holy crap this thing works. These shots weren't even taken right after I finished and lotioned and all that. It was about an hour (and one trip to work) later. Not bad - eh? They aren't 'perfect' yet as it was only my first time but if I keep it up through the winter, by next sandal season next spring I am going to have... well, still ugly... but dead skin free feet!! Yeah!! LOL!

-This is probably my grossest post to date. Sorry about that.

Layton Interchange is coming!!!!

I went to the open house they had for this new interchange and I am seriously excited! They're constructing a brand new road from Fort Lane to Flint Street called 750 South. The new interchange will be on this road. Its through the fields just south of Kings to Flint Street (obviously) just north of 900 South. But our bridge is officially gone. I drove past it today and it was already closed. Not that I use it all that often, but its the bridge to get into Kaysville - like if you were driving past Doug and Emmys going to Dairy Queen. Its closed forever and come Monday morning it will not even exist. Too bad it'll be 18 months to 2 years before this baby is open.

Here is UDOTs website for the project. You can take the survey for it to let them know your concerns or how you use the area. http://www.udot.utah.gov/laytoninterchange/home.aspx
I signed up for the email updates (they come from my company). They tell me when I need to stay HOME!

Just a warning though, they're narrowing up the freeway in the evenings and closing it at night from 11-4am. I am just going to avoid I-15 at all costs this weekend and call it good.

LIAR!

I am such a liar! I said that I would post when I got back from my vacation. Well, I didn't. Nor did I post after my next vacation, or my next! I missed Eli's 5th birthday, 2 camping trips, Chicago, and our numerous outings swimming, playing and enjoying the summer. I am so bad. I'm not sure whether to post about them now or just say 'oops' and move on starting with the present. Maybe I'll just post a few pictures and say that I had a good summer. I am not looking forward to the fall at all because that means that winter is right around the corner. I love the summer and the warm weather. ho-hum.

Ok, so here is the start of our summer... or should I say where I left off in my blogging world. Eli's 5th birthday was at Chuck E Cheese and he wanted his cousin Canon. Eli had fun even though it was stressful for me. We had our table and our pizza and cake and everything laid out, but since we were off playing games, they assumed we left and cleared our area. Yeah, we tons of leftover pizza, hadn't touched the cake or opened gifts or anything. Why would we have left???? They compensated and fixed everything, but it was a pain. This was also the day that brought "Lego Star Wars" into my life. LOL! Thanks Sara...

Camping trip to Bear Lake. I'm making popcorn over the fire.


We made our summer vacation to Chicago this year for a family reunion with Chris' family. This picture however is my family. Since Chicago is a bit closer than Utah, they decided to come out and say hi. It was so good to see them!

Hannah and Eli

Box fun...

4th of July at the Layton park as always. Thanks Sara for this picture.

Camping trip #2 to Rockport, Utah
Just a cute picture of my baby.
Ok, next is Eli's first day of kindergarten. It won't be till next week though. So that gives me a whole week before I need to post again. ;)

I have initials!

My name is officially Mary E. Porter, P.E.

I passed my test. WOOHOO!!!!!

(now forgive me for not posting. I'll do so when I get back from vacation)

Last one - the WORM!

I guess Nathan did this all the way across the floor the other day and we've been trying to get a video. This is just a short one, but you get the idea.

Tomorrow is Eli's birthday!! He will be 5 yrs old. I can't believe it. He is going to Chuck E Cheese with one of his cousins and he can't wait. Don't tell him, but he'll be getting a bike. Finally. Then the weekend after, we're going up to Rexburg for a wedding reception (Chris' niece) and then we're off to Bear Lake for a day or two camping. We've never been camping as a family before, and I'm kind of excited! Hopefully it won't take me 3 weeks to post those pictures.

The poor little picked on one.

Sunday morning while I'm sleeping in...


I know big sisters like to dress up their little bros/sisters. I guess this is Eli's version of dressing up his brother... I can't tell whether they're Star Wars or Spiderman underwear...

Nathan did this one. I honestly thought his eyes were covered at first. He ran all the way across the kitchen to the garage door and I thought he was going to bang into it. He didn't thank goodness. And no, he doesn't usually have his pacifier. I just took his crib bumper pads out and now he can just reach in through the slats and get it whenever he likes. Darn it!

Memorial Day

We never usually do anything fun for Memorial Day, but this time we actually did. Well, Chris and I did. His sister watched the kids while we hiked up to a waterfall. Don't ask me the name of the trail or waterfall, but it was fun. And hard. It has been a LONG time since I've hiked, and I found myself missing the trees, and the rocks, and streams, and everything. It was very nice. There were also a ton of people on the trail being a holiday and all - we even saw some neighbors. Anyway, about 3/4 of the way up was the first waterfall

And if you keep going up and up and up - you come to the 2nd waterfall.

Oh my heavens - look at my hair!!! LOL! I'm also soaked up to my knees. Just to the right of the right side of the picture is the trail, so you have to cross the water to actually see anything. And there is no crossing it without getting soaked. I was worried the trip home would be awful with wet shoes, but it was actually ok. There were a few spots on the way up close to the water - or crossing it where you tried your hardest to stay dry. On the way back though it was no big deal because you were already wet. So if you fell - who cares! :)
Anyway, thank you Sara for watching the kids and thank you Chris for taking me.

Soccer

Eli has finished his first year of soccer. He had a lot of fun I think. He was very much a follow-on-the-outskirts of the action type person, but he kicked it when it came to him and made a goal or two throughout the year. He wanted to do it again next year, so we signed him up. Can't wait to see if he makes any progress. ;)
Here is his cute little team. Very cute kids!



(And Windy, I just realized we didn't get a picture with YOU in it! You were the coach!!)

What to blog first...

Well, I have a few things that need to go up on the blog today, but overall we're all doing very well. The boys just go their shots today. It was Eli's 5yr check up (and shots for kindergarten) but Nathan wasn't able to get his shots at his 18 month checkup last month - so he got some too. Family Fun!! Nathan is now sleeping t off with an early nap. Yeah!

Fishing

Last night Chris took Eli fishing! Here are the 2 fish that Eli caught. Evidently Daddy only caught 1 fish, so Eli thought that was pretty neat. They didn't get home until almost 9:30 and the poor kid was dead on his feet, but they brought a pizza home so he had to have a slice. I think he almost fell asleep in his plate. Oh well. He had a blast.


(and I'm up to date on my blog) Hopefully it won't be another month before I stop by again.

Eating in the Porter household

Dinner in this house is a you eat what you get. I do my best to serve food that I know will be eaten by my kids and if it's not, you can have something similar. (ie when Eli was too little for fajitas, he'd get a quesadilla so we're all eating tortillas) Things don't always get eaten, which is fine with me and foods that were once loved will get a snubbed nose the next time (and vice versa). Case in point - Sweet potatoes. Eli can't seem to decide if he likes sweet potatoes. There was a few months where he didn't want me to make 'white' potatoes at all and only wanted 'orange'. Then a few months later he refuses to eat them. He'll eat them again thank goodness and we just go in our normal cycles that I'm sure every family deals with.

Nathan is no different. He has good nights and he has bad nights. Tonight he ate some strawberries from our strawberry salad and one slice of potato... not much. But other times (such as the photo below) we have a very definite good night with the sweet potatoes. LOL!

Faces of the Men in my life

How long has it been?

Oh my... It has been weeks. Yes, I am still alive though I have my days where I wonder if I am or not. The last thing I blogged about was my test. No, I don't know how I did yet, but I'm thinking not well. The morning part was good, but the afternoon was really really hard. There isn't much I can do about it at this point but wait. So that's what I'm doing. waiting...

Today is Mothers Day and I just want to thank my Men/Boys for giving me a wonderful day. Couldn't have asked for better day (I guess I could have asked my headache to go away) but we won't go there. Work has kept my very busy lately and I love it, but I miss my boys at night. It's fun when I can look on the camera though and see they were having a good time with Daddy. Man they love pudding... LOL

Random thought before Friday

It dawned on me that Friday is laundry day so nothing is going to get clean on time... But that also means that I have to do a load of cold tomorrow or Thursday so that Eli's soccer uniform is clean and ready for Saturday morning.
Why was this not included in the list for PE preparation they print inside my manual? Do these people not realize I have a life???? They mention bringing a lunch, ear plugs and extra batteries for your calculator... but not to launder your childs uniform before the big game. Priorities PEOPLE!!!!
And yes, my brain is officially fried. (is it obvious??) ;)

I do love you all

But I just haven't had a moment to say hi. I have 75 blog posts on my Google Reader that I just haven't found a moment to read. I WILL get to them. Maybe next week... I haven't posted to my own blog (except for this one) and its just a quick one because I'm at work and I'm waiting for my documents to print. So quick run down on us...
-Its GORGEOUS outside this week, so during the day we'll be outside. Come find us. ;)
-Nathan continues to wake up at 6am. There are no words...
-At night I'm at work furiously trying to finish my project by Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I'm taking off because the PE is all day Friday. Lucky me! But it'll be over after that and thats all I care about!!
-Saturday is my hair appointment. I can't wait to sit in a chair for 2 1/2 hours rotting my brain with Vanity Fair magazine instead of the Civil Engineering Reference Manual.
-Chris has been a saint, never complaining when I need to leave the second he walks through the door
-I'm tired. Is it Saturday yet?

I'm an AUNT again!!

My sister Erin just had her baby!!! I didn't ask, but she has been calling him Edward her whole pregnancy, so I assume his name is Edward was born at 9:14am CST. 8lbs!! Considering Erins first baby was 5 1/2lbs, this is pretty serious. ;) She did it all by herself again with no needles and I am so happy for her. She was 2 weeks overdue and the doctor was anxiously trying to get her to be induced. She has a serious phobia of needles, so she kept putting it off trusting that her body would do what it needed to do when it needed to do it. Tomorrow was her last appt and they would have sent her to the hospital, so YEAH!! She was able to do it on her own. She said she woke up in labor at 4am and the baby came 5 hours later. When she got to the hospital she was already 8cm (same as her first).
Sorry no pictures as the baby was JUST born like an hour ago.
When Erin called, she was so calm when she asked 'guess where I am?'. With her tone of voice I would have guessed the grocery store not the hospital where she just delivered a baby like 30 minutes before. WOW. Anyway, all is well. Mom and baby are happy and healthy, and I have a nephew!!

18 months

Thats him in there... he gets stuck about once a day and/or tries to stand up and hits his head on the corner. Nathan is officially 18 months as of today. We had his doctors appointment and he is perfectly healthy... and hefty as well, coming in just over 24 lbs. whoa. The good news is that he is finally on the chart for his height! 8th percentile. Excellent news. Other than the fact that he isn't talking yet, the doctor really didn't say much. His legs are a little twisted as well as his feet causing a fairly noticeable pigeon-toed/bow legged walk, but he hopes that it will straighten out on its own with time. The umbilical hernia is still large. Large enough that he is pretty sure he'll need it repaired, but we'll cover that more at his 2 yr checkup.

This little guy can be so stubborn sometimes. He wants to do everything himself, doesn't ever want help or to hold your hand. He cries and throws fits quite a bit more than Eli did at this age and he CLIMBS! Just little things so far, like step stools, kids chairs and the drum but thats only because his legs are too short. One of these days he is going to figure out how to get on the counter and completely freak me out. It was strange enough to come downstairs and find him sitting on the couch... by himself. He had moved the drum over to the couch and used it as a step stool.

He loves his shoes and brings them to me several times a day for me to put them on... even when he is wearing his footed pajamas. He is just like his brother in his eating habits wanting to eat fruit all day long and turning his nose up at any type of meat. He loves brushing his teeth and will spit into the sink just like his brother does. He doesn't get toothpaste yet, but he does it anyway - so cute (oh, and 3 new teeth just poked through so he is up to 11 now). He gets mad when anyone closes the door on him. I thought it was just when Chris or I leave, but he does it now when someone comes to our front door or when the doctor left the little room today. He freaked! so strange...

He hates sitting still for reading, for eating, for watching, anything. He does not like to sit in your lap and stay. Church is lots of fun. He wants to be like his big brother in so many ways. I love watching them play together and even fight. Eli is becoming a little more short tempered with Nathan because Nathan is starting to show his stubborn will (and death grip on toys). It makes for interesting days. Anyway, thats a little bit about my youngest. He is the sweetest little infuriating terror and I love every minute of being his mom.

Getting NERVOUS!!!

My exam is in 3 weeks. 3 weeks from today and I am seriously getting nervous. I feel like I have so much more to study! The main problem is now that I've started working, my evenings are gone. And I still have to find someone to lend me out their transportation manuals... and I have to find someone to watch my kids all day starting at 6:45 am... and I have to finish a trail project with plans, specs and estimate for work... the stress has only just begun. I feel bad when my husband asks what I'm planning to do and my answer is always work or study. I guess the study part will be over a few weeks and the trail project should be mostly finished by the end of the month, but still. April is the start of spring! You're supposed to get out and enjoy yourself. For now though, every spare hour I have is going to be spent busy. Oh, how I've enjoyed the last few months of relaxation and no stress. Why did it all have to pile on at once? I'm seriously going to have this pit in my stomach for the next 3 weeks.

Okay, deep breath. Its not going to be that bad. (...eeek!...)