That Tangy Zip

I've started a new thing where I try to menu plan. It's worked out pretty good for me. Especially on the days when I can make a meal ahead of time during one of Eli's naps and then just pop it in the oven before Jeff gets home from work.

Last week I was craving enchiladas and it worked out great because it was a make ahead meal. I started it while Eli was asleep and then realized the recipe called for mayonnaise. I looked and looked through the house but we only had Miracle Whip. Those are interchangeable, right?

Wrong.

Wow. That looks good. But don't be fooled. One taste and I had Jeff saying things like:

"If I was served that on Fear Factor, I wouldn't be able to finish it."

"I have to go out to eat so I can remember what real food tastes like."

"This is the worst meal I've ever eaten. I'm going to throw up."

I think it will be a long time before Jeff and I will be able to eat anything with Miracle Whip in it again.

Eli's Antics

Remember when Eli was a sweet, innocent, precious, perfect little newborn baby?

Yeah. Neither do I.

Eli is more or less crazy these days. His latest obsession? Socks. My mom once called me "one of THOSE moms." You know. The kind of mom that doesn't put a jacket on her baby in the winter. The mom who forgets blankets, burp cloths and an extra set of clothes. The dreaded mother who doesn't put socks on her neglected baby's feet. 

But the truth is, I have a daily battle going on with Eli and his socks. I put them on. He rips them off. I try to outsmart him and put shoes over the socks, but he ends up outsmarting me and rips both off before I've even finished putting them on.

He even tries to rip other babies' socks off if he notices them.

He either loves a bare foot or my theory is he thinks socks are the best toy in the world. His favorite game is to grab a sock and then he heads straight for the stairs to throw the sock down them. I think he's testing to see what would happen to him if he threw himself down the stairs. Luckily he's only experimented with the socks.

And yes, I realize this picture only supports my mother's fears that I am, in fact, one of THOSE mothers because Eli is clothesless, blanketless and sockless. And no, I don't have a good explanation as to why he is clothesless and blanketless. We're dealing with my mothering issues one accessory at a time. Hmm...maybe I could start by viewing clothes and blankets as more than just "accessories?"

Anyway, enough about the socks and my bad mothering, onto more Eli:

We aren't sure exactly what goes on in his room after we say goodnight to him, but we usually have something cute to smile at when we go in to check on him.

He has recently begun an annoying stage -- throwing all his unwanted (and sometimes even wanted) food over the edge. It's not all bad though. If I leave the scraps on the floor long enough, he usually finds his way back to them for an afternoon snack.

I was sad after I tried to get Eli to sit in the grass a few weeks ago and it didn't go over too well. Turns out he likes the grass better when he has pants on. I guess I can't really blame him.

Future Farmer of America.

He's learning something new every day. He's looking more like a mischievous little boy and less like an innocent little baby.

Even with all his antics, I can't imagine spending my days without him.

If You Give a Wife a House

She's going to ask for a ginormous budget to buy new decorations to go with it.

When she gets her decorations, she'll have no choice but to update some of her old furniture.

Before: 

After:

                        

When she's updating her furniture she's going to have to buy a different fabric for each side of the cushions because she'll be indecisive at the fabric store.

Once she paints the chair and covers the cushions, she'll have to stand back and stare in awe at her incredible sewing skills.

After she stares in awe, she'll have to ask all her blog readers which of the two fabrics they like better.

Then she'll show off her new bedroom. Before:

After:

By this point, her ginormous budget has probably run out. So she'll ask you to envision the walls light yellow, the mirror white, the lampshades white and trim on top of the "headboard."

Whew. After all that hard work, your wife will probably ask for a cookie.

Things That Don't Change Stay the Same

The title of this post is a quote from my dad that I always thought was dumb. But as I've been welcoming my friend MacKenzie Inman back to the U.S. after her service in New Zealand on an LDS mission, that dumb quote keeps returning to my mind.

Why? Because even though Kenz now has a thick New Zealand accent, I was happy to see some things didn't change. When Kenz, Leslie and I got together, it felt like we were back at our college apartment being roommates again. We had so much fun laughing, catching up and of course taking pictures.

Leslie came to my house with her husband Saturday night to sleep over so they could make it to Kenz's talk in church Sunday morning. I feel so blessed to have become such good friends with Leslie. She just happened to be assigned to be my roommate Sophomore year of college, and ever since then we've had very similar experiences. We started dating our future husbands around the same time, got married within a couple weeks of each other, our husbands got jobs at the same time and our pregnancies overlapped. It's been fun to have someone who always seems to know exactly what I'm going through.

 Here's Leslie's baby Izzy. Eli couldn't stay away from her. He stepped on her several times. Sorry Izzy!

 Then Kenz came to see us on Saturday and that's when we reverted back to our college antics.

 Kenz brought home a souvenir for Leslie. A doll that, "Looks just like her..."

 Kenz loves flashing the peace sign in pictures. I can't help but get my peace sign going when she's around.

What are the former girls of Stadium Way #49 known for? Being awkward. We have come to embrace it. And come to love pictures that enhance our awkwardness:

Our first few months together we always put our fingers together when we were bonding. It was our favorite thing to do and it's lasted through the years.

It was fun to have a roommate reunion. I hope there are many more to come.

Cap and Gown

We spent a few days down in Cedar last weekend for Jeff's graduation. Eli warmed right up to Jeff's parents. I've never seen Eli sit more contently than when David is holding him.

We went to Jeff's commencement ceremony on Friday. Eli was kind of a stinker so I missed...the whole thing. But at least he was good at the restaurant afterwards!

Sadly this is the best picture we got of the three of us:

My parents came down for the big event.

You better believe we sat close enough to high five the new grad as he walked by us Saturday morning.

Luckily Eli cooperated just long enough to let everyone see Jeff walk. Congrats Jeffy!

Proud, happy parents but a tired grandpa. He was nice enough to wrestle Eli out in the hall for the last half of the ceremony.

Prime picture taking spot. Go T-birds!

Ha. I love this picture. Jeff's walking away from SUU. With his Master's Degree. Pushing a baby. With a wife. And a job. You were good to us SUU. We wanted Jeff to wave but he "refused to do an action shot."

And now on to me. I can't make this post all about Jeff and his great accomplishments can I? Sunday was my very first Mother's Day! It was such a great day for me. Jeff let me sleep in, he took Eli all during church and then I came home to a surprise gift from my sweet little baby (and husband):

Jeff had Eli draw me a picture. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. I loved it so much. Jeff got me some itunes gift certificates which was appropriate because I had just been reminded in church not to download music off the internet without paying for it. I've been dying to download new songs but I haven't been able to justify spending the money on it so I've been listening to the same songs for the last two years. Thanks for the perfect gifts family!

Jeff got his mom some chocolate and a card.

Eli and I got some quality time together on Mother's Day as the men fixed us dinner and cleaned up. We played outside. I was grateful for a few minutes to reflect on motherhood with him.

On the way home we saw one of the most beautiful rainbows I've ever seen. We had a really fun, relaxing time visiting Cedar City.