Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas here at the Brown home, and here are just a few pictures to share our joy with you. We are up one family member because Kylee Chandler is staying with us for a few months while she has a school break from BYU Idaho. Of course there are none of the momma, she was to busy being the photographer!

Lydia and the Whoopie Cushion

Noah has had a few whoopie cushions and loved playing with them. Until they popped or until his mommy got tired of blowing them up over and over and over. So Santa brought him a whoopie cushion that is self inflating and will not pop! Yeah! Little did we know how fast his baby sister would pick up on the fun...

Surgery

Thanks to the comments of my adoring blog fans : ), I realized that I have given no details regarding my recent surgery. So I will give a short version and a long version. Short version: after delivering 3 very large babies I had to have some repair work done down south. Long version:

Be warned! Unless you are looking for all these juicy details, if you keep reading you will probably come across a bold case of TMI!

In case you didn't know the story of my sweet Lydia Belle she was an accident baby. Jason and I were done having children (so we thought) and I went into the GYN at Fort Huachuca and set up for a Mirena IUD placement. And much to my surprise when I went in for my appointment a month later I was already pregnant. Needless to say, no IUD for Ariel. So it took a few months and a lot of tears and I finally got over the shock. And of course we just LOVE Lydia! And she is perfect for our family, and we just don't know what our life would be without her. So now that we are moved and settled here at Fort Carson I went into my GYN and said I think I have a cystecel (sp? my bladder was falling out). And the doctor checked and said well, yes you do. But you also have a prolapsed uterus and a bulging urethra that needs to be fixed as well. So after lots of talking to Jason, a ton of research and family history to learn more about this, and a few prayers we decided to go with the surgeon's recommendations for the repair work. And on Dec. 3rd I had a hysterectomy for my prolapse, a cystecel repair for my sagging bladder, and a monarch sling put in to help my bulging urethra. I was in the hospital for three days and had great nurses and a very supportive room mate that had almost the same procedure done. And my recovery is a long six weeks of no lifting and lots of bed rest. Which the lifting is the hardest part because of Lydia being 14 months and not quite walking yet. She really misses my contact the most. Luckily I have had the help of so much family and friends that are doing their very best to love my kids and take care of my house like I do. And that is where I am right now, coming up on three weeks since my surgery, and doing my best to stay in bed. Who would have thought it would be so hard to rest?

Elke!

I need you to send me an invite to your blog...we have been missing out on you and your family! ariel.brown@us.army.mil Thanks!

Noah's 3rd Birthday

A few years ago I did a teenage mutant ninja turtle birthday cake for my friends little boy. So I figured we would "recycle" the cake pan and do a ninja turtle cake for Noah. And that was the plan all along, I even had Noah on board with it. Until...I went to the party supply store and there is not a ninja turtle to be found! So last minute we switched to Batman. Luckily he loved it! And I sure was second guessing myself for taking on this huge task of a homemade cake when I should still be in bed! But I had total guilt trip because last year he had a store bought kung fu panda cake. Blah blah blah, I survived and it turned out perfect!

Poppi

When I had my surgery at the beginning of the month my sister Corinna flew out with her 10 month old son, Gage, and did SO much to help me and my kids and all the work in my house for two weeks! And even my sister in law Lucia was able to fly out for 10 days in the middle and do an awesome job, especially with Lydia! I was so blessed to have my sister's help and to be able to rest so much. But, nobody can compare to Poppi! My dad just walked into my house on Sunday (the day Lucia was scheduled to fly home) and surprised us all! He got word of the girls needing to go home and me still needing to rest. So he went to his WTU in Fort Sam Houston and got an airplane ticket to my house for the week! And to top it all off, Jason's grandpa Hiett passed away the day before my dad flew in. So because my dad was there to save the day, Jason was able to fly to Opi's funeral and I was able to stay in bed and rest. And let me tell you, he did it all! Cooking, dishes, sweeping and moping, laundry, diapers, chauffeur to preschool, playground, car maintenance, shopping, installing child latches on the cabinets, baths and bedtimes! We LOVE you Poppi! You are the BEST!

Painting Pumpkins

Better late than never...This mother has too much anxiety to carve messy pumpkins. So we just paint and make a huge mess that way! And I LOVE the sound Lydia makes when she tastes the paint!

Halloween

My brother Jacob is getting ready to serve a mission in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  So we are driving to Arkansas next week to go with him to the temple and church before he heads to the MTC.  Well, my Memaw was able to fly out one way and have Halloween night with us.  And on Tuesday when we head home she is going to help us drive down south.  And let me tell you, if you can't tell from the pictures, my kids are LOVING every minute of Memaw time!

Lydia's Birthday

Lydia's first birthday was about three weeks ago, but I lost my memory card.  And then found it in the bottom of the washing machine...yes, after running a complete wash cycle!  So, needless to say, I am happy to still be able to post these pictures, even if it is so late!

Scentsy Candles

Elina and Noah's preschool is doing a fundraiser by selling Scentsy Candles.  This is my first exposure to this brand of wickless candles, and I think I am in love!  So if you don't know what the heck I am talking about, you can go to the website for the lady at school that is the consultant.  www.scentsy.com/brandypair

She is donating all 20% of her commission to the school.  Just click the link on the left that says "A Fundraiser".  Don't feel obligated to buy anything, I just thought a blog post would be easier on everyone that us going door to door (gag me!)  But if you see something you like, have a blast!  Your order will ship directly to you, and just let me know if you do place an order so I can tell Brandy to count you towards Elina's totals!

Above All Others! Peanut Butter Cookies!

1/2 C. Butter

1/2 C. Peanut Butter

1/2 C. White Sugar

1/2 C. Brown Sugar

1 Egg

1 Tsp. Vanilla

2 Tbls. Milk

1/2 Tsp. Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 + 3/4 C. Flour

You know how to do it...cream the creamy stuff, add the wet ingredients and then the dry ones.  Roll into 36 ping pong size balls.  Bake on flat ungreased cookie sheet at 375* for 8 minutes.  The cookies don't look done, but trust me, they are perfect!  Remove from oven and press a Miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cup into the center of each cookie.  Carefully remove from pan and allow to cool before you rub your face in them!  P.S.- we ran out of Reeses, so used some Hershey Hugs for the last dozen, and they were delicious too.  Matter of fact, Jason liked them better!

Markers

This is the first time we have ever just handed a marker to Lydia and I think she did just fine!  Better than her brother, who thinks that once he has scratched out enough random lines on his piece of paper he can move onto his face, hands, and clothes!  And Elina is so proud of her new skill: drawing hearts!  We sure had fun making your letters, Mummi!

Doritos

In TRUE Burnside fashion, Lydia crawled over to my tupperware cabinet and sniffed out the Doritos!  For those of you who don't know my Dad, his family and all of his children, we LOVE Doritos!  The best is with plain ole sour cream, but we will take them any way we can get them.  Heck, we even make a casserole with cheese, chicken, rotel, rice and doritos just so we can eat them for dinner.  And when I ask my husband what vegetable should I make to go with said casserole to make it a more wholesome dinner Jason's response is: There's corn in the chips, right?  Hhhhhh, guess I am going to have to move my chip stash up to higher grounds!

Poppi's Birthday

Going with Angie's great idea to do birthday cakes for our family members that live across the country, we made an apple pie for my dad's birthday last week.  Homemade everything, even the crust (sorry Pillsbury) and we used the apples we picked from the orchard too.








Then we called him on Skype, sang happy birthday and showed him his birthday pie.  It was so yummy!  (Now, Angie, my dads only request was to figure out how to mail our family members a piece of their cake!)   

Apple Orchard

On Saturday we tracked down an apple orchard about a half hour south of us with my neighbor Lisa and her little girl.  And it was awesome!  We have been to orchards before and I just have to say: Apple Annies, eat your heart out!  This was by far the most friendly and enjoyable experience we have had.  The owners, a husband and wife, were so easy going and personable.  They had over a dozen different varieties of apple trees, pumpkins, rasperries, grapes, chickens and all the different homemade type things to sell in their shop.  We went on a tractor ride first that took us down into the orchard.

Then, on the way back up we stopped in the pumpkin patch and took some pictures and got a couple of pumpkins.  As happy as Lydia was to get a break from the stroller, I don't think she liked all the weeds and grass all over her.

Last was the raspberry bushes, and that was my favorite part.  We caught the bush at the end of the season, so we really had to dig for fresh berries, but my kids loved it.  We got a ton, nearly filled the bowl, and the man only charged me $2.00, since it was the end of the season!  The best part was watching Lydia and even Noah chow on them.

I'm supposed to be doing better...

About posting on my blog.  And wouldn't you know, the week after I get my new computer I misplace my card reader.  And what is a blog post without pictures, right?  So I hemmed and hawed and searched for my card reader, to no avail.  Come the weekly diaper run to Walmart I decided to look and see about a new one, because my SD cards are almost full.  What do you know...$9.00 for a new one...seriously!  I fretted for nearly a month and could have bought a new card reader all along.  So does that mean I am spoiled?  That it makes more sense to just buy a new one than work to find the old one?  

Soldier Noah

Jason just got in today from a week long field rotation, and you can guess the first thing Noah picked up from his gear...

Swimming at Breckenridge

We recently attended an army sponsored marriage retreat at the Ski Resort in Breckenridge Colorado.  And we had a blast!  This was the first one where everything has worked out for us to go, and I would totally recommend it to any army couple who has the opportunity!  So thanks to Angie for letting me in on the Picasa secret, I have a wonderful collage of the pool pictures we took at the hotel.

Fun with Uncle Wade

Lydia had a blast with Wade this day playing in the grass.  Wade had a ton of fun too, until he had to walk around the next day!

Birthday Cake!

So every year for my birthday, since we were first married, Jason has taken it upon himself to make my birthday cake.  Well, this year he was sick with strep throat and in bed the three days surrounding my birthday.  But as soon as he was better he and Elina went right to work! And this is the end result this year: a butter pecan cake mix, buttercream icing, and toasted pecans throughout and decorating!  It was delicious, especially with vanilla ice cream!

Happy Birthday To ME!!!

Jason surprised me with a MacBook Aluminum for my birthday today!  And I am beyond stoked!  I will definitely do more posting and picture work now.  And it is just so much fun to play with...I just hope that I don't neglect my children too much over my new toy!

Fun with the KitchenAid

Fun with Noah

While waiting for Jason to get home one day, Noah and I had a fun photo shoot! Noah just loves to play with the camera, so I took a few minutes and let him take a few shots. And also showed him the pictures on the camera screen after each picture was taken. We had a blast!

Hail Storm in Colorado

So this hail storm is the reason we were in the kitchen getting crazy with the cookies last week! If you listen closely you can hear my kids yelling "Snow, Snow" about seeing the hail bounce around. But we sure do love the mild weather and green grass the summer storms bring to Colorado!

Pina Colada Smoothies

Jason's momma (Nana) makes the most yummy Pina Colada Smoothies. So the other night after making Chicken Coconut Curry, we had leftover coconut milk and pineapple. And there is only one thing to make with that...Smoothies! Well Lydia really liked them, especially when I gave her her own cup. It was very entertaining to watch her drink it down and even more sad when she started crying because it was all gone!

Making Cookies

Inspired by my good friend Angie, I got a very brave and let the big kids help with the chocolate chip cookies yesterday!




Everybody needs a little cookie dough once in a while,

But where are the Chandlers when you need help eating it?!

After washing out the bowl and finishing up in the kitchen, this is what I found in the living room! One of my big kids decided their little sister needed a chocolate chip cookies too. Darn the stinkin builder for putting white carpet in my spec house!

Luckily, I had just bought a Little Green steam cleaner. So I got to try my hand at it with the chocolate mess!

Kinder Eggs!

Yeah for KinderEggs! And Yeah! for my brother marrying a sweet sweet German Girl last month so I always have the hook up! We Love you Lucia!