Yummy recipe!

I made this last night, served with homemade rolls, soooo good. Even better the second day!
Italian sausage and tortellini soup

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I used mild ground sausage)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
4 large tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta (I just used the dry tortellini in pasta aisle)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (Didn't use this, but threw in some chopped spinach)


DIRECTIONS
In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
Saute onions and garlic in drippings. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
Skim fat from the soup. Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

Why do I torture myself so?

We've been talking about getting new countertops for quite awhile now. We picked some out that we liked about a year ago. So we finally decided it was time to do it. But I couldn't stop at that could I? Our cabinets were in really bad shape, really worn down. So we debated refinishing them or painting them. I've always loved white cabinets. Brent was not sold on the idea...but I can be pretty persuasive. So we decided to just go for it. And let me tell you it has been a looongg 7 days. I've been up until 1:00, 2:00, (even 3:00 one night) trying to finish this kitchen. I used an oil based paint and it took forever to dry which didn't help things. Brent put up crown moulding which I love and it turned out great! Here's a before picture:

After we got the countertops on I was not happy with how the tile looked against it. So I decided to paint the tile. I googled painting tile and just went for it. I don't LOVE the tile and if we stay here maybe we'll change it eventually, but for now it's fine.

I do love how much brighter it is. I decided to use my cutter and make some Kitchen Decor...I looked all morning at a few different stores for some signs/decorations to put in the kitchen. I want some red containers to put on the counter. i could not find anything...the few that I did like were way overpriced. So I decided to do my own wall art. I'm still keeping my eye out for some red cannisters and i'll probably do red curtains. Overall I think it turned out really good, and i'm looking forward to some more sleep! ( Julia, should my sign say "too" instead of "to"?) I just noticed that....

Frustrated

Here's my problem. Over Christmas break a girl ordered a sign from me. I had made some stuff for her in the past and have had no problems. The problem now is that the check she gave me bounced. So the bank withdrew the $20 that I had cashed as well as charging me a $20 processing fee. So I called the girl and she said no problem, she would bring by the money. Well she didn't show, twice. On my third attempt to reach her I got voicemail. It's been about 3-4 weeks now and I haven't heard from her. So...do I continue to try and reach her. Do I just eat the $40? I'm so frustrated, $40 is a lot of money and I feel cheated. So what would you do?? Any advice?

Ode to Claire

Claire went in for her 18 mo well child check up yesterday. We were only four months late...she's now 22 months. That's what happens when you are a fourth child. She's really started talking lately and it's been so fun. I think being able to verbalize more has helped with the tantrums. We also learned last week that she had a double ear infection, so she's much happier now that that is gone. She weighed in at 23 lbs (20th percentile) and was at 50% height.
So she's still a little peanut. She's obsessed with meow meow's and wants to watch them on youtube all day long. She's a fun girl.

Here's claire singing her version of jingle bells. We heard this A LOT over Christmas.

Malia's happy birthday makeover

Here's some pictures of Malia's room makeover. I decided to change a few things in her room when I was looking at her curtains one day and noticed a nice two tone affect caused by the sun (and no blinds).


BEFORE: boring and bland


AFTER:
I have to say I was inspired by my sis-in-law Julia's fun design style. So we picked
out some fun fabric at ikea and made the wall art, the curtains and the lamp. I designed the
vinyl wall art and Brent made her desk. I found the comforter at target, I was excited that it fit the color scheme so perfectly. There are still a few little things I'd like to do, but overall i'm happy with how it turned out. The most important thing is that Malia loves it.

Our Christmas break

Our Christmas break started a week early because of snowy, icy weather. I have to admit it was pretty cool for the first few days. The kids loved playing in the snow and we drank hot chocolate and cozied up in blankets. We enjoyed a few extra days with Daddy at home. We took the kids sledding one day and had a blast. Malia was in a really bad mood that day (which is becoming more common) and refused to get dressed to go. So we made her stay in the car with claire. Well after we were there about 30 minutes she decided it looked pretty fun. So out she came in her flimsy pajamas ready to brave the hill. She loved it. She would have had more fun if she weren't so stubborn and had put on some warmer clothes. Hopefully she learned a little lesson.

This is what happened to our poor tree in our backyard. This picture was taken before even more branches broke off. We now have a HUGE pile of branches in our backyard waiting to go to the dump.

Christmas eve morning we woke up and made santa pancakes. The kids loved them. How could you not, all covered in whip cream! We spent the day playing games and watching movies. Christmas eve Brent went to pick up my sis and brother-in-law from the airport. We all drove down to Albany, but it was pretty late by the time we arrived. So Christmas eve consisted of the kids opening up their jammies, running around a bit and going to bed. I realize I have no pictures of Christmas morning. We took a lot of video and my dad took all of the pictures. And he made sure he got EVERYBODY with every gift! Love ya dad.
I had to include this picture, just because it was cute. Claire is soooo attached to her pacifier. I've tried to take it away, but she is seriously the loudest baby/toddler on the planet. So the paci goes back in. In this picture, Jacob has tied her paci to her stuffed dog so she wouldn't lose it.
After Christmas Brent's mom came to stay with us for a few days. After we picked her up from the airport (Brent's birthday) We went to Ikea, ate at the Portland city grill, went to deseret book and headed home. We left the kids with my mom, so we enjoyed taking our time. We also took a trip to OMSI (thanks Grandpa!) I haven't been there since I was little and the kids have never been. They loved it! They practically had to kick us out. After OMSI we headed over to Fuddruckers for an awesome dinner.


Sunday was Malia's birthday/baptism. We let Malia sleep in our room the night before her birthday. While she was asleep we gave her bedroom a makeover. Brent made her a new desk, we put up new curtains/bedspread, and fun vinyl on the wall. (I'll post before and after pics as soon as her room is clean enough for "after" pics) What a fun day it was for her. She loved being in the "spotlight" and having her own special day. She was lucky enough to have aunts, uncles,cousins, grandparents, and friends all be there for her. Our house was crazy that night, with kids everywhere. But they have so much fun together.
Malia was baptized by her Dad and I think it will be a day that she'll always remember.