New Blog Address

I decided to go ahead and start a new blog.

When I started this blog I didn't really know what I was doing or what I wanted from a blog. It has become something that I really enjoy. 

The new site is HERE

The web address is: jessicanewmanca.blogspot.com

Here I go again.....

This and That

1. How would everyone feel if I started a new blog? This one is out of space for pictures.

2. I took some great pictures of my pies and my table. I am sure you can see them in your mind :)

3. I am so thankful for this season of Thanksgiving! What a wonderful time to count and enjoy our blessings. I am thankful for:

family

friends

food

home

the gospel

the Savior

the Plan

my kind, loving, and forgiving husband

sweet children

kind words

music

transportation

work

health

forgiveness

agency

joy

4. I am making THIS casserole for Thanksgiving breakfast tomorrow. I have everything on hand minus the pancetta, but I do have bacon!

5. I am very blessed!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day!

The day before

It's the day before Thanksgiving!

Today is all about prep. First thing this morning I pulled my ENORMOUS turkey out of the fridge. I got it all cleaned up and trimmed and then smeared a nice salt brine all over it. Tomorrow it will have a nice butter bath before I roast it.

Now I am working on the desserts!

I am making a raspberry crumb pie and this...

Dark Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache

I am not usually a cheesecake person, but I saw the recipe on Ambitious Kitchen, and I had to make it.

The crust is made from oreo cookies, hazelnuts, and butter. In the words of Ina Garten, "How bad can that be?"

After dessert is finished I will be moving on to my table. The kids have been helping me with decorations. We cut out fall colored leaves and made some turkeys. I love having an excuse to pull out my china!

Happy turkey prep day!

The wrap-up

 

1. Our weekend trip to Utah is quickly coming to an end. Sadly it is ending with a sinus infection.

 

2. I am thankful for antibiotics.

 

3. I am thankful for muddy buddies :)

 

4. I had a lot of fun with my sister in laws this weekend. They are awesome ladies.

 

5. I had a great time in Provo with Ty this weekend! I do love BYU.

 

Going home tomorrow! Happy Sunday!

 

me vs. snow = gym

 

I woke up this morning at 6:30. I was planning on going for a run. It had rained all night and the snow had turned into slush. It was still dark, but I could tell the country roads were going to be a mess. So I did what any determined southern California girl would do. I pulled on my running shoes and drove to the nearest gym....30 miles away.

 

This and That

1. Packing is going well! The kids clothes are done, the snacks are packed, and the diaper bag is ready to go. I need to pack for myself and at some point before we leave....clean out the car.

2. I saw this today:

It's coconut hot chocolate made in the crock pot!

(Recipe: HERE at How Sweet Eats)

I think it needs to make an appearance at Thanksgiving next week!

3. I need this:

Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery cookbook

4. I am making fettucini alfredo for dinner tonight. Ty loves alfredo sauce and the kids love pasta. It should be a win. I am using PW's recipe HERE.

5. Zoey likes pancakes. She and Zackary will be great friends :)

6. Have a nice day. Think of me as I head to the frozen tundra.....aka Utah tomorrow!

Speech Therapy and Michael Buble

1. After almost a year of applications and evaluations it looks like we will finally be getting some help regarding Zackary's speech delays. Hooray :)

2. We are almost out of Halloween candy. I really don't know how it happened. A few lunchbox treats, a batch of monster cookies, and a snickers salad......all that's left are the butterfingers. 

3. My parent-teacher conference with Max's teachers (yes, he has 2 teachers) went well this morning. The conference with Mia's teacher is scheduled for this evening. I am hoping to hear good things there as well.

4. I have barely begun to pack for our trip on Thursday and I already want to take a nap.

5. I think we will make these:

Chocolate Cookies from How Sweet Eats

It seems like the right thing to do.

6. I love listening to Michael Buble sing Christmas carols. His voice is delightful. (Thanks Pandora)

Have a delightful week!

A To-Do List

I found this list in Max's room while I was doing some cleaning.

It says:

need to get done

See Wreck It Ralph

Play with Ian

Computer

Clean Room

Draw

Jump

TV

Ninjago

I love that boy so much :)

Zackary's Train Day

 Zackary loves trains!

He has a train table in his room that he is constantly using to build all sorts of train track creations. On Saturday my parents took him out for a special train day with Thomas.

Zackary was in heaven! It was a day catered just to him :) 

That doesn't happen too often!

 My mom said the highlight of the day was the actual Thomas train ride.

They rode all around town and whenever they came to a railroad crossing Zackary hung out the window and waved to all of the waiting cars!

Zack came home with a new Thomas train toy car for his table. (Thanks Grandparents!)

He has been playing with it ever since.

Cold

The high today is supposed to be 68 degrees! That means, we in southern California, are freezing!

I have the heaters on and we started the morning with a fire in the fireplace. I went to the store this morning and everyone was dressed in winter coats and boots (myself included!)

It all of a sudden made me very nervous to visit Utah this weekend. I have lived in Utah. I have lived in Tennessee. Both places had cold and snowy winters. I know what to expect; myself wearing flannel underwear, myself cuddling next to the fireplace and space heater, avoiding the outside as much as possible, and the constant dressing and undressing of children that like to go out and play in the snow until they are freezing 5 minutes later.

There are nice things about the frozen winters I suppose. Snow covered earth looks lovely from the inside of a warm house. Hot chocolate is delicious and Christmas carols seem a bit more magical when the world is white.

I guess I can deal with a little cold for a little while.

Remember:

Keep Calm and Cozy Up!

Busy Ty and Sweet Potatoes

1. Ty made it home last night, but he was called back in around midnight and he is still busy at work. 

2. In the church bag today; notepads, pencils, crayons, magnet boards, chocolate chip cookies, and cheerios.

3. We are learning the song, "Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus" in primary. I think it is a beautiful Christmas song!

4. I have 3 sweet potatoes in the oven right now, but I still don't know for sure what I am doing with them for dinner. It will either be sweet potato gnocchi or sweet potato soup. 

5. We are driving to Utah on Thursday afternoon. I am not worried about the older 3 kids. They love movies and snacks, and they are old enough to understand the whole driving thing. I AM worried about Zoey. I would really hate for her to be miserable and scream the whole time. Any tips for traveling with a busy 1 year old?

Saturday

I love weekends!

I love waking up on Saturday mornings and not having to get everyone ready for school. It is so lovely :)

Today Ty was on call and I was at home with the kids. We spent the morning crafting and listening to Christmas music.

After crafts we watched "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl". I recorded it when it was on earlier this week. Max and Mia liked it so much that we had to watch it again!

 When all the movie watching was through we made some cookies.

I saw these Soft Gingersnaps with Butterscotch Chips on Sally's Baking Addiction a few days ago. We have been waiting for a good time to make them.

We actually left out the butterscotch chips so that Zoey could eat the cookies too. They were super yummy. Mia loved the dough and I stopped myself at 3 cookies.

I sent the kids out for a little bit of sunshine before it got too dark to play. We had a wonderful Saturday!

Thanksgiving Table

I have very few seasonal decorations. It was not a priority while Ty was in school and we had very little money and even now I find it hard to buy decorations, but I do love how festive they can make a room feel!

Our dining room is a bit more colorful today!

(I especially like Mia's kindergarten turkey!)

 I hung our Thankful chain from the chandelier.

I love fall colors. I have always been a fan of red, orange, and yellow. In my wedding bouquet I had red and yellow daisies.

This is Zoey with 2 bruises on her forehead. Learning to walk is hard.

She was playing under the table while I was working:)

Do you go all out for holiday decorations?

Swings, Falls, and Cocoa

Mia has been participating in her school choir, the Sundance Singers. Rehearsals are on Thursday afternoons after school. I typically bring the last of Max's homework for the week and have him work on it so that when Mia is done we can head home to a homework free few days!

Today I decided not to bring any homework and I took the boys and Zoey out to the playground while the choir sang. I took Zoey on the swings with me. I haven't been on a swing in years. I don't know if it was because I was wearing heavy boots or because I was holding Zoey in my lap, but it was hardcore exercise and by the time I was done my thighs were hurting. I guess I should spend a bit more time hanging out on the playground!

When there were just a few minutes left of rehearsal I took everyone back into the multi-purpose room to wait for Mia. We were probably there 30 seconds when Zack fell flat on his face and came up screaming and covered in blood. I rushed to pick him up. Another mom that I know was there and she said she could watch Zoey for me. I ran Zack to the bathroom to have a look. Luckily it was nothing serious, just 2 fat bloody lips, a bloody, nose, and a sad face.

I cleaned him up as best I could and we came back out to collect everyone. I decided to take all of the kids out for hot cocoa. Zackary especially loves hot cocoa and I wanted to give him a happy treat. We walked into Starbucks, with Zackary's face covered in dried blood, and I ordered all of the drinks. We were a happy little group drinking our cocoa and warming up. I am sure we looked ridiculous but sometimes that's okay!

I am very thankful that tomorrow is Friday and that Monday is a holiday.

Hurray for surviving the week and for 3 day weekends!

Thursday Things

1. Last night I was asked how many children I had and how old they were. I heard myself say that I had four children ages; 7, 5, 3, and almost 1. I felt blessed and very old!

2. It is a sweater and boots day. Yay!

3. This Monday is a holiday from school for the kids and a day off for Ty. I am thinking a day trip sounds perfect :)

4. Zoey had chocolate milk for the first time this morning. It was a huge hit!

5. I think cake-pops are gross. (random, I know, but people were talking about them this morning...)

6. Thanksgiving is almost here and I have been getting my menu plan together. I have several pumpkin pie recipes to try. What do you think?

There's this Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Pie from Sally's Baking Addiction

A more traditional Pumpkin Pie from Cooking with the Big Dogs

 and this Candied Pecan Pumpkin Pie from the Primlani Kitchen

I think Ty would prefer a traditional pumpkin pie, but I love recipes that take an old idea and give it a new twist. I may end up making more than one.

Happy Thursday!

Bows and More Boys

 Mia has started to be quite particular about her hair. She has ideas and thoughts about the styling process. We had talked about cutting it, but she told me we couldn't cut it because then she would be unable to put it into a bun for ballet.

 Wednesdays are dance days and Mia always wears her hair in a bun to school in preparation for ballet later. I am very much enjoying all this girly-ness!

On the other end of the spectrum I have Zackary. He is all boy and not concerned at all with his hair.

Today his friend Jonas is here to play. Both boys are wearing their own packs filled with "gear".

 They are busy constructing train tracks....

....and demanding quesadillas :)

Boys

Max spent yesterday afternoon with his friend, Ian.

They went to the park and got seriously muddy. They had a great time exploring. Ian's mom sent me some pictures of the fun.

 (Max, Ian, other friend....sorry I don't know who he is!)

I am so glad that Max has some great friends. I am so glad that they can get together and be boys.

Little boys are messy and loud, but I am thankful for them in my life!

Hope

I went to bed last night feeling discouraged. I was worried and concerned for our world and for my own family. My thoughts quickly turned to my God and my Savior. How blessed we are to know that our Redeemer lives. I found hope and strength in the knowledge that it is only through our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we can be saved. It is time to be the best we can be. We can fortify our homes with strength by reading the scriptures and sharing them with our children and our friends. We can prepare to make good choices and difficult choices. We can be obedient to the Lord's commands and live so that we can be prompted by the spirit to do His will.

I have hope. I have faith.

"The future is as bright as your faith."

-Thomas S. Monson

Election Day and Jam

1. I Voted! 

Several weeks ago, by mail, but still....Happy Election Day!

2. It is a mini muffin baking day at my house. I bought 200 mini muffin liners covered in gingerbread men and reindeer to delight my little people.  There will be chocolate muffins, blueberry muffins, and some peanut butter chocolate chip muffins. Yay!

3. Zoey took a few steps this morning. I just weaned her and now she is starting to walk. I am thrilled to see her grow and develop, but sad to say goodbye to the teeny squishy baby she was. Thank goodness other people keep having babies so that I can continue to enjoy the squishiness.

4. I love southern California, but sometimes, in November, I start to wish that it was slightly less....HOT!

5. Have you tried this jam: Bonne Maman'?

It is the best jam! I typically buy the raspberry, because it is Ty's favorite, but the Pioneer Woman recommended the Blueberry so I gave it a try. I spread it on hot bread with butter and it was the best thing ever. You should buy some :)

Happy Tuesday!

Thankful For....

My Children!

I love these kids so much :)

I am so thankful for the opportunity to love them. They are the best. They give me so much! I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for sending them to me!

My boys!

Zackary and Max are great brothers and friends.

They are hilarious. Just ask them. They think so too!

 Miss Mia who has decided that she would like to be a pop-star, after watching the Barbie, "Princess and the Pop-Star" movie.

She has been making up her own songs and singing them into a homeade microphone. I'm not ready to recommend her for American Idol yet, but maybe soon :)

 and "Princess Pea", as Ty likes to call our Zoey.

(because she is the smallest!)

She is our darling and we love her!

I love them.

I always will.

Mr. Darcy

Thankful For

Siblings!

 I really like having 3 brothers.

I like that they are always willing to listen and always give me something to smile about!

 Joel, we love you, but even now as a grown man, you ruin family pictures on purpose :)

(I zoomed in on Joel in this picture. It was a picture of the entire family, and Joel....and now it's just Joel.)

 Josh, you are old and wise.

You live in Texas and we like your wife Stephanie.

We also like that she likes you :)

 Jamison,

You are always looking for opportunities to show off how amazingly good looking you are.

I am sure women everywhere are thankful.

In all seriousness. I love my brothers and I am thankful for them.

Fellin' Nice?

I just read THIS study about how the aroma of freshly baked bread can actually make people feel better and act nicer.

It came as little surprise to me. Nothing smells better than bread baking in the oven!

I have a whole board on pinterest dedicated to BREAD.

Theses are some of my favorites:

This Whole Grain Basil Bread from The Diva Dish.

 It's totally delicious with lots of butter and honey.

I have decided that muffins fall into the "bread" category as well.

My kids love mini muffins. I like to bake large batches and freeze them for breakfast and lunch snacks.

This recipe for Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins looks like something the little people in my house will love. I haven't made them yet, but I did buy several bunches of bananas this morning in the hopes of making them soon.

 And this Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread is my favorite banana bread recipe ever.

Whenever Ty works late nights I like to bake bread for the kids and I to eat for dinner.

Last week we had a loaf of pumpkin bread and I have a big loaf of crusty bread rising for dinner tonight. Fresh baked bread is fun and turns a meal into something special.

And now it can make you and everyone around you nicer! Win-Win-Win.

Go bake some bread and get happy :)

Thankful for...

Ty!

I am thankful for a hardworking husband who does his best to make our lives wonderfully rich and happy :)

Time Change Sunday

1. I am out of butter.....until tomorrow.

2. I am thankful for the extra hour today.

3. Zackary loves pancakes more than any other food. Yesterday I was browning the last of the butter for a recipe and Zack said, " I smell pancakes!" 

4. I am weaning Zoey. If you have ever exclusively breastfed a baby for 11 months you know that this is not an easy thing to do! 

5. I am looking forward to having my body back once this whole weaning this is done. To celebrate I went for a 5 mile run yesterday. 

6. The primary program is done for the year and I am excited to sing all non-program songs for music time today.

7. Ty and I are taking the kids to Utah for the Newman Thanksgiving celebration the weekend before Thanksgiving. My original plans for the holiday fell through :(

8. We will be back in California for the actual holiday to do the whole thing again with my family. So much for getting my body back. I see lots of jogging in my future!

Enjoy the extra hour today and some early morning sunshine tomorrow!

It's Saturday!

I was so excited for the weekend to arrive!

The kids and I stayed up last night making cookies and making mini monsters out of pom-pom balls and googly eyes.

This morning I had a nice long jog. It was especially fun, because I did it on my treadmill while watching Gossip Girl!

Ty is on call so we are staying at home, but we are still making the most of the day.

We are "crafting".

 I put together a little craft basket for the kids full of pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, pom-poms, crayons, paper, and glue.

It makes for hours of fun and creativity, thus the glasses.

Don't they look smart :)

on another note:

We have discovered that Zoey has a fondness for Christmas music. She has fallen asleep while listening to it for the past few days. I think it may have something to do with the fact that she was born on November 28th and the first few weeks of her life were spent listening to Christmas music.

Happy Saturday!

Jumping on the thankful bandwagon

Moroni 8:3

"I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of His Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end."

I love this scripture. Each time I get to Moroni in the Book of Mormon; I read this scripture over and over. I love that Mormon wrote this to his son, Moroni. I love that we too can pray for our children. I love that God is mindful of us and our children and willing to always listen and always guide. This is a great source of comfort to me.

I am thankful for prayer and communication with God.

Leftover Candy

I know I said I was making cookies with the leftover Halloween candy, but

this

Leftover Halloween Candy Bark

from Brown Eyed Baker

looks pretty awesome!

And on that note: Baby, It's Cold Outside

And now.....November!

1. Quick! Halloween is over, now switch on the Thanksgiving/Christmas mode.....That's how I feel this morning.

2. There will be Christmas music from now until 2013.

3. This afternoon the kids and I will be working on a countdown chain of "thankfuls" for Thanksgiving. I am excited to hear about what they are thankful for!

4. I am out of dishwashing detergent so I have 3 options: wash the dishes by hand, buy more detergent, or start using only paper plates and plastic utensils.

5. The plan for the Halloween candy: Set some aside for the kids, Bake up a batch of candy cookies, and Save the rest for Gingerbread houses in December.

Are you ready for November?

Our Halloween

 The day was actually quite grand.

My brother and I took Zack and Zoey out to breakfast at Panera. I had the new pumpkin pie bagel. It was fabulous. A great start to my Halloween!

There was lots of driving and picking up kids from school. Joel carved pumpkins for the kids. I roasted the seeds for the first time ever. I remember eating them as a child and they were terrible, but today they were delicious. I ate them by the handful. 

One of my friends mentioned that she was getting a pumpkin shaped pizza for her Halloween dinner. I thought it was a great idea and I wanted one too. It turned our local pizza shops were not offering pumpkin shaped pizzas so I had to improvise!

I used THIS recipe for super fast and easy pizza dough from my sister-in-law's blog, and made our own pumpkin shaped pizza.

I know.....but it tasted good!

After pizza the costume parade began.

Ninja Max,

 Kangaroo Zoey, (how funny, it looks just like kangaroo joey!)

Buzz Lightyear Zackary....

 and the little princess Snow White Mia.

 They are cute kids. I like them.

 Ty and I went as super cool party people.....

 As you can plainly see :)

Max showed off with a few karate moves.

 Mia was darling.

 We met up with our friends for trick-or-treating. It was really fun!

 I loved watching the kids run excitedly from door to door.

Everyone had a good time!

We came home and ate lots of candy and played some games. We listened to Halloween music and passed out candy until it was time for bed.

It was a great day!

Happy Halloween :)