The I'm back edition of Sunday Sunshine

Today I'm grateful for:

1. Jon finally getting his thesis defense done and passing with flying colors! YAY for no more school or homework!

2. SLEEP. It seems I've slept like a rock every night since Thanksgiving, and concerning I'm almost 33 weeks pregnant I'd say that's pretty freakin' amazing

3. Andrew starts preschool tomorrow...sigh...tear my baby isn't a baby anymore

4. Christmas is in the air, the Christmas cards are out, and the shopping is done :)

5. Andrew turns 3 in 2 weeks and he's having a combined birthday party with his friend Mckenna this Saturday. It will be his first birthday party with friends and games and such. Fun stuff.

6. Christmas Parties

7.  Plans for New Year's parties

8. Flavored popcorn...I'm really craving some right now, might have to run to the store tomorrow and get some

***One thing I'm NOT grateful for right now: THE SNOW!***

Thanksgiving Weekend and Thesis Defense

So we got back from Provo on Wednesday where we spent the weekend visiting family, friends and finally getting Jon's thesis defense done.

Here are the highlights of our trip:

FRIDAY

-Left at 1AM to prevent Andrew from throwing up (he gets car sick pretty wasy)

-passed the home of Wonder Bread and arrived at our friends house in South Salt Lake around 10:30

-saw the movie The Blind Side....I highly recommend this movie, it was amazing!!

SATURDAY:

-Jon had to work on his thesis presentation all day and our friends were watching the BYU game, so I went to visit my old roommate Dochiny

Andrew hoading all the cars as usual

Michael (Dochiny's boy) and Andrew...I beleive they're just a month apart in age

Bianca, Dochiny's little girl

Me and Dochiny

Later that night, dinner at the Gateway mall, Z'Tejas...ignore Andrew's scowl believe it or not he's trying to smile! haha

Our awesome lawyer friends who let us crash their pad

SUNDAY:

-We went to our old Provo church ward and saw lots of old friends

-Went to our niece Katherine's musical fireside were she sang a solo and had dinner with Jon's sister and brother-in-law

MONDAY:

-Dropped Jon off at campus easy in the morning to prepare for his thesis defense

-Met Jon and his parents at the Cougareat for lunch

-browsed through the BYU Bookstore..a dangerous feat, bought a book entitled: The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home (a new hobby of mine :) )

-JON'S THESIS DEFENSE!!! He passed! :)

-Dinner at Ruby River Steakhouse..yum yum!

Jon's thesis title

THE MAN hard at work

It's time....

Jon and his advisor, Mike Goodrich

TUESDAY

-IKEA for new dishes :)

-lunch with my brother Everett

Everett and Andrew

Everett and I

Dinner at Diane and Brian's: Andrew, Allison and Jared aka the Tenney grandkids

A Sorta sick but feeling better edition of Sunday Sunshine

So as the title suggests we're still battling the stomach bug at our house, but it appears to be on it's way out, which is a good thing because we're headed to Utah this weekend!

Today I'm grateful for:

1. Jon's thesis defense FINALLY getting scheduled!!! That's right kids we are headed to Utah this Friday-Tuesday so Jon can defend and officially graduate! Woo-Hoo! Did we mention we're just a little bit excited about it? ;) (It's not like we've been waiting since July or anything....)

2. Andrew started singing Primary songs randomly around the house this week. It blows my mind how well he knows them.

3. Getting new cell phones, if you want our new number just shoot me an email

4. Getting Andrew signed up for preschool, hard to believe he'll be three in a few weeks

5. Gearing up for Thanksgiving...bring on the 6+ pies :)

6. Christmas decorating...no I haven't gotten around to it yet but even the thought of it makes me happy

30 week mugshot

A Sick Sunday Sunshine

Today I'm grateful for:

1. Robitussin PM, aka the only cold medicine a pregnant lady can take

2. Friends who feed you dinner when you're sick

3. Laughter, it really is the best medicine....for what else can you do when your son has 4 potty accidents while at a friend's house?

Crazy Cooking

So I've been doing a LOT of cooking from scratch lately, a new hoobby I guess. The following is a list of the cooking I hope to accomplish this week:

Quiche in a bag

Corn dog Muffins -I use the cornbread recipe found at the bottom of the post

Chicken Tetrazinni -Scroll down a little bit

Homemade Granola Bars I add in some flaxseed or wheat bran to make them healthier

Homemade Granola (the boys can't get enough of this stuff!)

Olive Garden Slad dressing

Freezer Spaghetti/Pasta Sauce

Cinnamon Butternut Squash Muffins

Homemade Bagels

Spinach dip

Hummus-Add extra spices for flavor

I made the spinach dip, hummus, salad dressing and Spaghetti Sauce this morning. When the sauce cools I plan on freezing it into several meal portions to have on hand for pasta, spaghetti, pizza, etc.

Cornbread Recipe

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

2 Tb. honey

1/4 cup melted butter

1 cup buttermilk

Stir together dry ingredients. Add eggs, honey, butter and buttermilk. Stir until just mixed. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups(I just spray the pan). Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Sunday Sunshine

Today I'm grateful for:

1. Having a consistent weekly babysitter

2. The fact that grocery stores here double coupons which equals free butter and almost free chocolate chips

3. That the end of potty training Andrew is in sight

4. the hoilday season approaching

5. Jon's job status improving

6. The new sage curtains in my bedroom

7. Having my baby doctor appointments every two weeks now instead of once a month....counting down!

8. The Amazing Race, that's right mom I now watch it every Sunday

9. Fall colors and fall cooking....hmmm pumpkin, squash, warm soup, etc.

10. Andrew's prayers, the prayers of a child are so sweet