Elliott family recipes

Ok, so I guess Zac is feeling a little homesick, because he requested some of "Meemaw's food." This translates into roast beef, homemade mashed potatoes and beef gravy. So I e-mailed Meemaw for instruction. I added the cake with Granny Odle's icing because I wanted it. :)

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Here's the cake. Yellow cake, nothing special...yet!

Here is Granny Odle's icing in the works. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law last night. Thanks, Sheila!



The beef sirloin roast. Awaiting its oven time...



One step closer to the oven...



I peeled way more potatoes than I ever want to peel again!

Abby woke up just in time to help me make rolls. She LOVES to cook with me. Another post about that coming soon.

Don't get me started on how hard I worked on the corn and green beans. HA!

The yummy yeast rolls that Abby helped me make!

Finished product: Mashed potatoes and gravy!

This icing rocks. So good.

I didn't get a picture of the (YUMMY) finished roast. Zac and Chris (the warehouse guy at the store) were waiting for dinner, so I didn't get a chance to snap one. But there is some left so maybe I can get one tomorrow. If I remember....

But dinner went well. Zac said it made him feel at home and that my roast was "as good as Meemaw's." WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!! Thanks for the great instruction! :) The potatoes weren't as creamy as I wanted, but they were good. And we all got great sugar highs from the cake. :)

Let's go fly a kite...

Awhile back, we bought Abby a $1 Barbie kite at Wal-Mart. And put it in her closet....last week, we finally decided to do something with it. The tree-less Utah landscape comes in handy for kite flying. Arkansas doesn't have much open space for kite; but the park where we go here has a huge field that is awesome for kites.

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Some assembly required. :)

"Wet's go Daddy!! I wanna fwhy my kite!"



Trying to get the kite in the air...



Letting Abby try it on her own
Do you see how long her hair is? Oh geez...




It's trying to fly!!

YEA! We finally got it all straightened out and flying high!

"Are you showing yet?"

That's the question I get the most when I talked to family and friends in Arkansas. So I finally had Zac take some pictures tonight. Not the best ever -- I'm exhausted after cooking all day -- but it proves that I am showing at only 16.5 wks. EEEIIIK!!! I'm not sucking my belly in, but not pushing it out at all, either -- this is just me and the babies!

The hand draped over the top of the belly is always good for some added definition!

I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday. An ultrasound isn't scheduled, but I'm hoping that he'll decide to do one. I doubt it - but still hoping! I want to know what color(s) to buy!! Make sure all of you guys are still praying for at least one boy!! That way I at least have the option of calling it quits. ;)

What we've been doing

Is it just me, or did February fly by? I realize it's a short month, but geez! I wanted to catch everybody up with some pictures and a video. And I promise to try and get better at posting pictures; I know our Arkansas family is more concerned with seeing Abby than listening to me. ;)


I took this picture mostly for Grampa - he made Abby this step stool and I wanted to make sure he knew we use it all the time! Abby has been using it to wash her hands and brush her teeth since she got it at Christmas. And I've just started showing her how to scoot it over and use it to get on the potty by herself. She's still wobbly - she doesn't trust her balance - but the stool gives her a little more independence on the potty and has allowed me to get rid of the yucky toddler toilet. YEA!!




Aunt Hopey flew back with us and stayed to visit for a couple of days. Of course, we went to the outlet mall in Park City and Hope shopped AAAAALLLLL DAY!!! KB Toys is going out of business and they had some awesome deals. We got this makeup set for Abby for $1.25!!! I was hoping for something a little more 'pretend' but she is having a lot of fun with it. (Daddy wasn't thrilled, but I don't think any Daddy enjoys seeing his girl do grown up stuff!) But it keeps her out of my makeup!





Speaking of Daddy, I got this picture of him and Abby cuddling and doing their favorite thing--TV! I'm not sure if they were watching Abby's favorite (Finding Nemo) or Daddy's favorites (Fox News/Travel Channel) but they were enjoying it anyway.





We've been working on our ABCs, thanks to her toy from Nana and Pawpaw and various kids shows. You'll also get to see that she's working on "Twinkle, twinkle little star..." We have some work to do, but it's a pretty cute video!

Five years ago today....

I can't believe it's been five years since Zac & I got married!! Sometimes that seems like a short amount of time, but sometimes I feel like we've been together forever (in a good way!)!! Amazing what five years can do - we now have a 2 yr old, twins on the way, and live in freakin' Utah!! EIK!!!! In blogging honor of our fifth anniversary, I decided I would fill out this little 'wedding survey' that I found on my sister's Facebook....

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1) When was your wedding day? February 28, 2004
2) What day of the week was it? Saturday
3) Did you get married in a church? We got married in our Church's temple in Memphis, TN and had a big ring ceremony/reception at our church building in North Little Rock, AR
4) How many in your wedding party? 2 groomsmen, 3 bridesmaids, 1 flower girl and 2 ringbearers
5) Where was your reception? At our church
6) How many guests were invited to your wedding? A whole lot...more than actually showed up, of course, but we still had a crowd
7) How long did you wait to Tie The Knot after your proposal? Three months :)
8) Who did you hire as your photographer & videographer? Kat, a friend of Zac's, was our excellent photographer. A guy from church videotaped it but I don't think we ever got it...
9) Did you have a DJ or a band? Jeff Cook's amazing string quartet for the ceremony and then a CD we compiled for the dancing/reception music
10) Did your father walk you down the aisle? No; we were already technically married, so we walked in together at the ring ceremony
11) What color were the bridesmaid dresses & groomsmen vests? Burgandy dresses for the ladies; no tuxes for the guys - they wore suits with silver ties
12) Who was your Maid Of Honor/Best Man? Sherry/Eli
13) Did you have a Bridal Shower? Yup, I was a lucky lady and had three
14) What type of limo did you get? My 1996 Honda Accord :)
15) Where did you go for your Bachelorette/Bachelor Party? Mom's house, Chellie's house, and the church
16) What type of wedding gown/tux did you two wear? Mom made my wedding gown and Zac wore his black suit
17) How was the weather? Gorgeous!! Blue skies and hardly any clouds, it was beautiful!
18) Where did you go on your Honeymoon? We stayed in Little Rock the first night and then went to Eureka Springs
19) What was your favorite part of your wedding day? There were lots of favorites, of course!! :)
20) How long have you been married? FIVE YEARS TODAY!!

Reading scriptures

We try to read a few scripture verses with Abby every night, just before we say prayers. Most nights it's just the two of us, since Zac works so late. Earlier this week, I told her we were going to read scriptures and she ran to the bookshelf and grabbed my Bible. She said, "I read skipures, Mommy." I almost got teary eyed as I proudly watched her flip pages and say, "Jesus wuv you," over and over. Toooo precious and I started to feel like we were doing at least a few things right with our parenting.

The next day was one of Zac's days off and so we were all together that night. I told Abby again that it was time for scriptures and asked if she wanted to read first. So she grabbed "the skipures" (I think it was actually the Book of Mormon this time) and sat down to read to us. Zac and I smiled at each other as she started again to tell us, "Jesus wuv you." And it all came crashing down when she looked at Zac and said, "PANCAKES!" Zac laughed so hard he almost cried and now, every night since, Abby tells us that the scriptures talk about pancakes. Greeeeaaaatttt....

I guess maybe you had to be there...but I thought it was a cute story that I should share with you guys. :)

Another $5 Dinner giveaway...

We could ALL use $25 at Wal-Mart, right? Check this out and enter to win one of the two gift cards being given away!!

Top 15 Valentine's Day "Sins"

I found this list on this Yahoo website and was amused by some of them....granted, most of them apply more to dating couples than married couples. But it's still good for a laugh...

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1. Saying he doesn't believe in hokey commercial holidays two seconds after you've given him a cute card.

2. Telling you, "We're never going to be able to get a dinner reservation tonight because it's stupid Valentine's Day."

3. Giving you supermarket flowers. (Me personally, I don't care where the flowers come from - I just like to get them. Some of the best flowers Zac ever got me were carnations from WalMart - they lasted FOREVER!!)

4. Emailing you the morning of the 14th to say, "Hey, so what are you up to tonight?" He's not asking you out, just wondering if you'll be out with someone else.

5. Taking you to a fast-food drive-through, then renting "Basic Instinct" and inviting you back to his dorm room/shady apartment to watch it with his roommate. (This makes me glad that I'm Zac's 'roommate' so we don't have this problem. lol)

6. Making you a lame heart-shaped card cut from notebook paper with "IOU one gift" written on it. (I could handle the heart-shaped handmade card, that would be cute)

7. Insisting on treating you to a lavish dinner and ordering tons of appetizers, and the priciest entrees. Then when the bill comes, Loverboy asks if you can throw in, say, 80 bucks or so.

8. Setting tentative plans but not telling you exactly what time he's picking you up or where you're going. Then -- surprise! -- at 9:45, he tells you he's stuck at work, then says, "You're not mad, are you?"

9. Then telling you before he hangs up, "Look, I really wanna make it up to you," but not bothering to nail down a date.

10. Dumping you the day before because he didn't want to torment you by going through the motions.....At least you could've gotten one last fancy meal out of the deal.

11. Buying you chocolates the day after V-Day because the prices were slashed. (THIS one cracks me up because Zac and I don't buy each other V-day stuff UNTIL the 15th purely because of the lower prices...hahahahaha)

12. Giving you ghastly mall-rat jewelry that you saw on his sister the week before.

13. Waiting until February 13 to make plans with you.

14. Taking you anywhere that serves two-for-one meals.

15. Inviting you out for an evening with him... and his mother.

Abby's first pedi/mani

While we were in Arkansas, I painted Abby's toenails. She had seen me painting mine and wanted hers done, too. We went with a nice, light pink that wasn't too much for a little girl. Cute, huh?




Later that day, Kirsten came over to my parents and painted her fingernails. Apparently Abby liked the color she chose because that night, I discovered Abby giving herself a manicure. THANKFULLY, the polish was only on her, not my Mom's recliner! Here are some pictures of the beauty treatment...

She did a really good job of sitting still through her nail polish remover bath. :/ I guess I'm grateful that it was just fingernail polish, not scissors to her hair or something...I think I'd still be in tears if that were the case.

Let this be a lesson to you all...keep nail polish lids tightly closed!! :)

Bed switching

Abby hasn't been sleeping well in her toddler bed and we've been trying to figure out why. After three weeks of her sleeping on a palette on the floor in AR, I've decided that she moves too much for such a small bed. This, along with the visitors we will be hosting in the next few months, have led us to a decision.

We're getting a new bed! woo hooo Zac and I need something a little firmer and he was able to get something nice for cheap at work. So we are going to put our current bed in Abby's room. Yes, I think it's ridiculous that a two-year-old will have a queen size bed. But, it was only about $80 more to go this route than it would have been to get her a clearance full size. So that's what we're gonna do.

Now I want to find a cute bedding set for her. We can't afford one right now, but I can dream. lol I found a really reasonably priced one at Wal-Mart...isn't it cute?


I think the bright colors are awesome. I guess they're not very little girl-ish, but that's ok. Brighter is better, right? ;)

Hope's visit to Utah

My sister, Hope, flew back with Abby and me on Tuesday and went back home to AR this morning. She got some good pictures while she was here and I thought I'd share some of them...



This was taken while we were driving through Park City trying to find dinner because I was STARVING after following Hope around the Tanger Outlet mall all day. We ended up eating at Davanza's, a cool little pizza place in downtown Park City.


A cool mountain shot headed into Park City...Hope was going nuts over the mountains, just like we did when we got here. We still do, actually...

This is the Salt Lake City temple. She took this picture from an observation area on the tenth floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial building. Cool, huh?

The amazing Christus inside the Visitors Center. It's HUGE!

Zac came home Thursday night and announced that we were going to go driving in the mountains so Hope could see the valley. The skies had FINALLY cleared up and the drive was gorgeous!

This is the still-under-construction Oquirrh (pron. like "acre" with with an "O") Mountain Temple in South Jordan. We've heard that the Open House for this one will be in August. We just went to the Open House for the Draper Temple and it was awesome!

A cool view of the Jordan River Temple against the mountains. This is one of Hope's favorite temples.

We had a really fun visit! Abby likes when people come to visit our house, but all afternoon she's been telling me that she wants to ride a plane and "go home." Lucky for her, she'll get to see some more relatives next month. If anybody else gets a wild hair, come visit us!!!

How do I love thee...

I had a fun trip in Arkansas, but I am so glad to be back in Utah. Our move away from family has really strengthened our relationship...I've realized that my "home" is wherever my husband is. If I have him and our children, that's what I need. I absolutely love our families - but the scripture telling us that a married couple "shall cleave unto [each other] and they shall be one flesh" (Gen 2:24) has come to mean a lot more to me in the last few months. Zac is truly my biggest support group. When I feel like I've hit rock bottom, he can always bring me back up.

Ok, so now my eyes are so full of tears that I can't see the computer screen anymore. I guess as long as my pregnancy hormones are around, I'll have to do short sentimental posts.

I love you, Zac!!!

NCAA Basketball

Most of you know that I enjoy sports, especially watching football and basketball. But check this crap out....

Aubrey Coleman, this kid that plays for Houston STEPPED ON THE FACE of Chase Buddinger, a player from Arizona. He almost looks smug as he does it and I wish they'd let Buddinger get a few good punches in. This Coleman guy should be knocked off the team, in my opinion. You can read the article and see the video here.

Despicable.

I WON!!!

Do you remember awhile back when I posted about the ModMum baby sling giveaway? Well, I just got an e-mail and I WON the December giveaway!!! WOOO HOOO I am going to get a FREE Lily sling - isn't it cute?? It was a tough call between that one and the Bella...but I went with Lily!

Hooray for free stuff!

BabieS

So, for those of you who don't have Facebook or haven't heard.....we're PREGNANT! And to make the news bigger...it's with TWO BABIES! AHHHH!!! I must say, my first thought was a very not nice word. But I'm getting excited as I get over the nervous feelings!!

Most of you probably know about our NICU stay with Abby. As wonderful as the LR Baptist NICU is, any stay there is not fun. As a new mom you expect to have your precious little one go home with you and if that doesn't happen, it really messes with your psyche. Not cool at all.

And so, between my blood sugar problems and the twin situation, I will be seeing perinatologists (high-risk OBs) for this pregnancy. I will try to keep you updated on my doctors appointments and how they go. For now, here are some pictures of my precious babies. We were SHOCKED at how good the picture of "Baby A" came out. He/she is closer to the front, so we got a clearer shot than we did of "Baby B." Although both shots are better than any I got with Abby at this stage of the game (these were at 8 1/2 wks). Even on "Baby B" you can distinguish head from rear and see the arm/leg buds starting to show. Abby looked like a lima bean.

I still can't believe that Heavenly Father has entrusted us with these two sweet spirits. Now my prayer is that He will help us to do our part to get them here safely and without any health problems. All prayers are appreciated!!!



There are TWO babies in there:

This is "Baby B" hanging out in the back.

And this is "Baby A" playing the part of the front runner.

Getting to knoooooow you...

Another one of those goofy getting to know you things that I love!!


1. What is your occupation right now? Zac's wife and Abby's mommy....and I LOVE my work! :)

2. What color are your socks right now? Pink with little presents on them

3. What are you listening to right now? The Iron Chef on TV and Abby rustling around in her sleep

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Chicken quesadilla at Casa Mexicana

5. Can you drive a stick shift? If my life depended on it, I could manage

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My wonderful hubby who I MISS A LOT right now

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yup, it's my father-in-law...he bought my dinner! lol

8. How old are you today? 26

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Football or basketball

I guess #10 got lost...

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Oh, YES!

12. Favorite Food? Sushi! Haven't had any in awhile...

13. What is the last movie you watched? Because I Said So

14. Favorite day of the year? I can think of a lot...but these days, any day that Zac's at home with me and Abby is great

15. How do you vent anger? These days, I usually cry

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Probably my Barbies

17. What is your favorite season? It used to be winter - but that might change now! :)

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Strawberries :)

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Sure - or post it on your blog or Facebook

20. Who is the most likely to respond? I hate this question...

21. Who is least likely to respond? See previous answer

22. Living arrangements? Zac, Abby and me

23. When was the last time you cried? Wednesday at the airport when I left my hubby :(

24. What is on the floor of your closet? A buncha junk

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Christine will read it on here...

26. What did you do last night? Waited for Abby to finally go to sleep!

27. What are you most afraid of? Losing my family

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Plain with cheese :) And bacon is always good, too.

29. Favorite dog breed? One that doesn't live at my house....although the Rott/Lab mix I had was a pretty cool dog

30. Favorite day of the week? Monday or Tuesday - Zac's days off!

31. How many states have you lived in? Five - Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Utah

32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

33. Trees or concrete? I'm getting really fond of my mountains :)

34. Comedy or Drama? Comedy

35. Worst thing about getting older? More bills :)

36. Best thing about getting older? Wisdom gained from experience

Kids say...

Today Abby was pushing one her babies around in a "buggy" - actually an infant push toy that she shoved it into - and I asked her where they were going. Her usual answer is "Wal-Mart" or "the store."

But today she said, "Going to the doctor to get his face fixed."

I almost fell over I was laughing so hard.

Abby's "bo-bo"

Yeah, make sure you pronounce that right - it's not "boo boo," it's "bo-bo." That's how Megan has always said it and, all of a sudden, Abby started saying it. Kinda funny. Anyway, for those of you who haven't heard it yet, here's the long version of how today went at the Elliott house.

I was babysitting for Tate and Lexi today. Zac works half days on Wednesday, so he was here this morning. Which was a good thing - I got bottom braces yesterday and wasn't exactly feeling up to par.

One of Tate's favorite things to do is "build a house" with the couch cushions. It's generally a good thing to keep them occupied. Easy to clean up and a soft landing place. But today they decided to stand the cushions up and were getting a little rough. After Abby got tossed to the floor and started crying, we put a stop to the house building and put the cushions back. A little while later I was making lunch and saw, out of the corner of my eye, the big couch cushion going up in the air. In the split second that I was saying, "No more playing with the couch cushions..." Abby climbed on top of it right as Tate got under it and jumped up to 'throw' Abby off. My immediate reaction was to just pick her up, figuring she just "bonka-ed" her head, as she says. Then I heard Zac say, "Oh no!" and I saw the blood all over the right side of her face.

We took her into our bathroom and put her on the counter so we could clean her up. After wiping off the blood and trying to keep a wet cloth on her eyebrow, we got the bleeding to pretty much stop. We examined the cut - it was about as long as my pinky nail and about an 1/8" deep and wide. This being our first accident, we tried to figure out if the ER was necessary. One of those times you wish a grandma was closer...

We called Sarah White, Tate and Lexi's mom, but she was working and unable to answer. (She's a nurse, FYI). Then I called a friend from church who is also a nurse, but she wasn't home. (She called us back, but we were at the doctor's office by then - thanks, Mary!) So Zac called his Mom on my cell phone while he sent her pictures with his cell phone. She gave us the advice I was thinking - since the blood was pretty much stopped and it hadn't knocked her out, called the pediatrician's office. Of course, we didn't have a doctor here before today! I had e-mailed some ladies from church about doctor referrals, so I pulled up the e-mail and called the office. The nurse was super nice and told me to come on in and they would see her. Their main concern was her age - if she fought too hard about having it cleaned, we would have to go to the hospital so they could sedate her. (Enter prayers here!)






Zac stayed with Tate and Lexi, called Jake about what was going on, and Abby and I were off to the doctor. They took us right back and the doctor came in. He basically said that this was the "perfect accident." It was a linear cut, which meant it closed cleanly. And because it was still in her eyebrow (barely), it wasn't so close to her eye that they would have to sedate her.

The nurse cleaned the wound with a saline solution. This was the worst part because the water running down her face kinda freaked Abby out. I held her head against mine and it went pretty well, especially after the nurse promised her a sucker! :) The doctor came in and we decided to put a pillow (actually a roll of hospital chucks) under her neck to tilt her head back. Then I held a piece of gauze over her eye while the doctor glued her shut. Lots of pediatricians here are putting TVs in their ceilings - a blessing for this situation! Abby ate her sucker and watched Finding Nemo while Dr. Clayton glued her shut. I held her, although she only wiggled a few times. I was SO PROUD of her. She did amazingly well! The doctor said that he glue was a new kind they'd just started using because it dries a lot faster - and it did!

Overall, not as terrible of an experience as I thought it would be. If this is our worst accident (haha) I'll be happy. :) Hopefully the last one for awhile...

Arkansas schedule

Abby and I are leaving next week for another Arkansas visit. This one is based around Christine's wedding!!! We'll be gone for almost three weeks - it'll be a fun visit, but I'm not excited to leave my hubby for that long. :o/

Anyway, here's what I have going on while I'm in Arkansas:

Wednesday, Jan 14
Arrive around 7:30pm
Sheila's birthday!

Thursday, Jan 15
Celebrate Sheila's birthday with Elliotts

Friday, Jan 16
Craft Night at church!!

Saturday, Jan 17
Christine's bachelorette PAR-TAY!!!

Monday, Jan 19
Hang out with my sisters

Some empty time - I'm open for suggestions! :)

Friday, Jan 30
Rehearsal dinner in Dallas

Saturday, Jan 31
THE WEDDING!!!

Tuesday, Feb 3
We fly back to SLC with Hope

$5 dinner giveaway

If you've browsed through my blog links, you've noticed the $5 dinner page. Erin is amazing at breaking down the cost of her dinners and keeping the prices low and nutrition high. It's even more amazing considering her boys' food allergies that she deals with! It makes Abby's little temporary allergies looks very miniscule! Anyway, she's having a giveaway for a $25 Kroger giftcard on her blog through Wednesday. Head on over and enter! And if you decide that you don't need to save money on groceries, you can enter and give it to me when you win! lol!!!

Olympic Park

We drove to Park City Monday to show Sherry the outlet malls and to check out some of the ski areas. Then we discovered that you can check out the Olympic Park for free. Lots of activities you can pay for, but a free museum and lots of fun stuff to see!

Zac being a goober with the huge pile of snow that had been cleared off the parking lot...

Abby wasn't happy about her booty getting cold while she sat on the snow.

One of the fancy, authentic bobsleds.




Then there was this older bobsled that people could get in. The girls had a BLAST and they kept saying that they were going to see Grams and Grampa.

Playing on the sled/luge things.

While in Park City, we all became champion skiiers. :)

Some of the museum stuff. This is one of the eskimo-type costumes that some of the people wore in the opening ceremonies. I believe they were called Children of Light during the program.

We thought these guys were pretty cool.

Another part of the opening ceremonies....people carried this around during the program so it "flew" around the stadium.

This cool buffalo/bison had autographs of lots of Olympians. Here's Brian Boitano's autograph!

Gotta get the touristy posing photos! :)

One of the practice jumps. The bottom of this jump ends in a pool, so they can practice in the summer.

And this concludes our tour of Olympic Park. They have lots of other fun stuff you can do if you want to pay (we didn't). You can run the world's steepest zipline for about $25, do an Olympic bobsled run for $200 (we really wanted to - but money doesn't grow on trees, you know), and they have a sledding place that is only $5/person. If the snow is still around (I'm sure it will be) when Hope comes to visit, we want to go there.

Blog problems

I can't get the spacing right on my blog posts. I have it right when I type it, but then it gets all jacked up when I publish the post. If you know me and how obsessive I am with that kind of stuff, you know it's driving me crazy...