4 years later...

...it's time to say goodbye to Pinky. I've never much cared for him/her. As far as pets go, he/she's as low maintenance as they come. For that, I am grateful. But that is the only thing I ever really liked about him/her. The worst part? The POOP. Enormous piles of nastiness, and his owner (aka my beloved husband) doesn't like to clean up the nastiness until it's no longer, ahem, goopy. (Excuse me while I go puke.)

Corban bought Pinky 4 years ago on the day of our first date, so he's been part of our family before we were even a family. I should probably be a little sad he's on his way to a new home (soon, hopefully!), but I'm not. Pets are not my thing--they never have been, they never will be. Sorry future children... no pets for you. (Ok maybe fish... as long as I'm not the one cleaning their poopy tanks.) But at least you'll have Aunt Sierra to commiserate with.

See our classified ad for Pinky here. Price is very negotiable:)

BYU Homecoming

I was sick Saturday morning, but Pepper and Corban went with my mom and sisters to get free BLUE pancakes and to watch the BYU homecoming parade. Needless to say it was COLD. Thank goodness for generous, doting grandmas who bring very full suitcases of 18 month sized goodies when they come!!

Kitchen (mis)Adventures

In the 16 months since I became a stay at home mom, I've tried more new recipes than I have the rest of my life combined. I really enjoy cooking, and am always on the lookout for nutritious, fun, and easy meals. Most new recipes I use come from food.com. My favorite part about that website is that so many people leave reviews, thus many recipes have been tried and tested. These are some of the new things I've tried!

Perfect Brown Rice: I've been trying to incorporate brown rice into our diet more. Why? Well, that is the same thing Corban asks me every time I serve it. Instead of getting on a soap box, I will just tell you to read this and you can do your own research from there. Cooking brown rice takes a lot longer than white rice, but it's worth it! To help my picky-pants husband not starve, I often cook the rice in reduced sodium chicken broth and/or lime juice. It helps him choke it down:) After many failed attempts at cooking the rice stove-top, I found this recipe and have used it many, many times. I usually half it.
Brown Rice with Spinach and Feta: This was yummy. It turned out a lot like a quiche.
Roasted Tomato Soup: YUM! Homemade tomato soup straight from heaven... and doesn't include cream!
Spicy Sweet Potatoes: Another food I've been trying to incorporate more into our diets. Why? Again, Corban also wants to know that. "Why eat sweet potatoes when I like white ones so much more? And they're both potatoes?" Through my awesome googling skills, I found out that not only are sweet potatoes super healthy but they are a completely different vegetable (and family of vegetables) than white potatoes. I liked this recipe for sweet potatoes... Corban has yet to be convinced of their value and deliciousness.
Peach Cobbler: I've had better... definitely have had better. Corban said it's the best he's ever had. Wtc?
Applesauce Brownies: Surprisingly good. I added a little cinnamon and I really like them. Corban told me he didn't really care for them, but ate almost as many as I did.... ???
Whole Wheat Tortillas: They were ok... a little too thick for our tastes even though I thinned them out as much as I could. I really only made them in an effort to meet Corban's "need" for carbohydrates at every meal.
Herb Salad with Feta, Roasted Red Peppers, and Toasted Nuts: Oh, YUM!!! Thanks to Chelsea for sharing this recipe with me. Yum, yum YUM!
Bourbon Chicken: Another yum! So yummy, it can almost mask the taste of brown rice! (My husband was grateful:)
Sweet and Sour Meatballs: Yummy... too much vinegar though. I made it again with 1/2 vinegar and it didn't burn our nostrils with every bite.
Dutch Apple Pie: Oh this is DIVINE!! Such an easy and yummy dessert that won't kill your cholesterol/heart/veins/etc. (Or maybe I just like to think that because there's fruit in it...) I reduce the amount of sugar it calls for by about 1/2.
Simply Sour Cream Enchiladas: Yum!! Delish!! I always use this recipe for the sauce part of enchiladas.
Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese: Yes, Mom, I made a recipe that called for CREAM CHEESE for DINNER! Gasp!! It was good. I don't know that I'd make it again though... Corban didn't care for it, and that's big meal to eat by myself.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert: This was basically death in a Pyrex dish. It sure was delish, but man is it FATTY. The good thing is that it's so rich you can't eat a ton. Probably wouldn't make it again.
Marinade for Grilled Vegetables: Yum! I would make this again.
Southeastern NC Pulled Pork: Mediocre.
Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa with Tomatillo Dressing: Best. Recipe. Ever. The first time we made this, we were having friends over and wanted a nice dinner, but didn't want to go out... after we tallied it up, however, we realized it wouldn't been cheaper for the 4 of us to actually eat at Costa Vida or Cafe Rio than to make all this at home. Hahaha... silly us. That hasn't kept us from making it again and again though! (We prefer the cilantro lime rice recipe below to the one on the link above.)
Cilantro Lime Rice: Always yummy!
Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup: Super easy, healthy, yummy! I make this a lot in the winter.
Bacon Parmesan Brussels Sprouts: Yeah, these were a little deadly... but oh man, were they GOOD.
Supreme Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Corban liked these! Hooray!!
Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas: Yum! We add more stuff than the recipe calls for, like beans, corn, green peppers, etc. I really like this recipe.
Spinach and Mushroom Pasta: I liked this... next time I would do something different with the sauce. It would probably be better with some cream (instead of just milk) in it, but I really try not to cook with cream. The milk in the sauce was just so.... milky. Blah.
Easy Cinnamon Brunch Cake: Oh YUM! So easy, so yummy. One time I made this and forgot to add the cinnamon, and cinnamon is a MAJOR ingredient, so I made a new one. I was going to throw the messed up one out, but Corban said he'd take it to work to "feed to the guys." He said they really like it, and one actually said, "This is really good the way it is. I think it'd be gross with cinnamon." Really? Boys are weird.
Buttery Bread Machine Rolls: Mmmmm yum. These will melt in your mouth. I recently started to cut down the butter by 1/3... it really doesn't need as much as the recipe calls for.
Spinach Artichoke Whole-Wheat Penne: Yikes. I LOVE artichokes, spinach, and whole wheat pasta, but this was a failure, and I blame it on the mint. Gross.
Vegetarian Meatloaf: Surprisingly tasty! I made this for an elderly woman in our ward going through chemo. She loves healthy stuff and I was happy to have excuse to make this.
Low Fat Peanut Butter Cookies: These were surprisingly good. I skipped the ground flax seed.

For the first time in 16 months

I am excited to say that all 60 tenants paid their rent on time. Hear that? On time. No really. This will possibly be the only time this happens during our 2+ years as managers, so I am just going to enjoy it and remember October 2010 as the one time I did not have to knock on any doors and hound tenants for their rent.

Hallelujah!

Whatever it takes to keep them quiet in church...

I am making a quiet book and I am EXCITED! Shocking I know... anyone who knows me well knows I am no crafty woman. I might even venture to say that I don't like doing crafts. (GASP! And I call myself a married, mormon mother living in Provo??? GASP!) I recently went to a few different stores looking to buy a quiet book and was really disappointed that I couldn't find one anywhere:(

People kept saying, "Just make one!" but as I mentioned above, I don't have the skills or desire for such a huge undertaking. Then my sister-in-law Micah invited me to be part of a group she put together to make quiet books. There are 9 women in the group, and each person will make the same 2 pages 9 times, and then we all swap pages and end up with a complete book! We're doing a book similar to the one found here. I am in charge of the car pages. I'm a little intimidated, but super excited at the same time. This will be my very first craft project as a mommy. Go me!!


A million thanks to Micah for including me!

I'll fold my arms when I FEEL like it, MOM!

We've been trying to teach Pepper the basics of prayer recently. As long as the prayer isn't very long, she's usually good about sitting quietly through it. She doesn't always fold her arms when we pray, which is fine... I don't expect her to do that at just 15 months old. The funny thing is that she will fold her arms at random times, ready for prayer, and look at me like I'm supposed to do it to. She will often fold her arms when we put her in her highchair, in preparation to bless the food... but when it's actually time to pray, her arms have a mind of their own:) I finally got some pics and short video of the hilarity of it.







Also-- today is the first time she has worn overalls and noticed that she is wearing something other than regular pants. All morning she was really confused by her overalls, and kept tugging at the hardware on them... and getting a little mad at them too. She brings so much laughter to my life:)

Doctor visit and a Soapbox

Pepper had her 15 month check up yesterday. Her weight went from 8% (three months ago) to 41%... and her height went from 60% to 25%. Her pediatrician joked about how she's growing horizontally but not much vertically (notice the beginnings of her arms rolls in the above photo:)... but all in all, a pretty average baby! I really like Pepper's doctor. He's the same doc who checked her out when she was born, and I'm so glad we stuck with him.

She received 4 shots while we were there:( One flu shot, and 3 standard immunizations. After she calmed down, we drove home and she seemed okay. But after we got home she started freaking out off and on. She was wearing a skirt and every few minutes she would pull her skirt up, look at the glittery-silver band-aids on both legs, and re-live the whole nightmare of getting shots. Each time she would start wailing inconsolably all over again. We finally got smart and took the band aids off , and she calmed down. It was really sad... also a little funny, but mostly sad. My poor baby!

A word about immunizations: I was on the fence about them when I was pregnant. I heard and read about the possibility of immunizations being THE cause of autism, and like any parent, I wanted to do what was best for my child. I did a lot of research, read a ton, and talked to a lot of people. Pepper's pediatrician was really helpful... he never tried to persuade me one way or the other, but just gave me the facts as he knew them and some reading material. I decided to immunize my child, and will do it for all of my future kids. The debate regarding the cause of autism rages on, but I personally do not believe it is the cause. Parents need to make informed decisions with everything in their children's lives, and especially with immunizations.