JIAOZI-YUMMY YUMMY!!!

One of our favorite things to make during the Christmas Break-JIAOZI (Chinese Dumpling).

suprise!

Before

After

Meili on Santa's lap.

Noah on Santa's lap.

Brandon wasn't able to get one of Noah. Noah refused to sit on Santa's lap-Sorry!

The picture perfect thing... not happening :(

Pre-k Christmas Program

I really wanted to post a longer clip of her singing but It wouldn't upload:(.

She did such a great job, all the children did!

The Verdict

Dinner was great! Ree's favorite dish: Mashed Potatoes and Gravy!!! Everyone who really knows Brandon knows that he absolutely hates Mashed potatoes and hates Gravy with a passion. So I almost didn't make it, but since Ree was coming over I decided to just in case he might like it and Wow he did. He said that only at KFC can they get mashed potatoes and gravy and that they tried to make it at home but couldn't figure it out. Anyways as for the rest of us, Brandon thought that the turkey tasted great! And the pumpkin pie was the best dessert.The kids didn't eat much they were too busy being shy of the "Chinese man" especially Meili. She kept on asking me about Ree and if he wanted to marry her-crazy girl!! I was worried she was going to make fun of him. She likes to do this funny thing she saw on a movie. She'll pull up the corners of her eyes and rolls her lip in so that her teeth stick out and she'll say "For-une cookie arways wrong" (aristocats??) and so I was a little worried that if she did do it Ree would be terrible offended. Luckily she was too shy to do anything but giggle and hide. I thought the turkey was good but like Ree I was more crazy for the mashed potatoes and gravy than anything else.

This year will be my second year cooking a turkey. Last year I made a Plum glaze for the turkey. I thought it was yummy but Brandon thought it was too sweet. This year we are trying a herb and butter approach. I'm pretty excited!!! I am a little nervous because a friend (Chinese) is spending Thanksgiving with us and it will be his first time having a Thanksgiving Dinner. I don't want to let him down. I want this to be a delicious experience that he'll enjoy and remember, so in attempt to do this we are are trying to stay as close to a traditional dinner as possible. I wanted to buy a Pumpkin Cheesecake but either they were sold out or it would cost us between 23-30 dollars which is ridiculous. Yeah, just for a cheesecake that crazy!!! Anyway, I got over it and I did make a Pumpkin Pie so that will have to suffice. I'm excited to see how it all turns and I'll give you the verdict later, of course.

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After three suckers, a red face from screaming for a half an hour, and a quick bath, he is dressed for church and looking handsome!!!

Can her smile be forced any more than what it is? I had promised her a piece of candy if she would just smile for the camera. I thought she looked so cute all dressed up and ready for church. Anyway, I got my smile, a little fake, but nevertheless a smile.

Church Halloween Party!! YA NERD!!!

We had a fun time. We ate chili, even Brandon (it's a big deal when Brandon eats beans), and played games: bean bag toss, donut on a string, mummy wrap, cake walk, skeleton puzzle and pumpkin bowling. All the games were great, and they had candy for the kids to choose from at the end of each one.

We then did the "trunk or treat" it was crazy how much candy we got! The best part was we didn't have to worry about tampered candy. And there was a contest for the best decorated trunk, we neglected to decorate, so last minute decorating Brandon crammed himself into the trunk and passed out candy that way-no, we didn't win the award for "best decorated trunk".

The costumes were great, Pirates, Fairies, Peter Pan, NERDS, Princesses, M&M's (blue) and the three bears to list a few.

Oh, Meili won the prettiest costume award. She was so excited and felt so special. They gave her fairy wings and I really think that made her costume come alive, she felt like a real princess!

Church Halloween Party

Broken Pacifier

Brandon was the one to declare that it was time to get rid of the beloved pacifier.
We think it's the reason Noah's teeth are starting to come forward and that was one reason. The other reason was that we were becoming too dependant on it. It was constantly in Noah's mouth, the only time it wasn't was while Noah ate and then it was right back in his mouth. Brandon decided to take the pacifier away right before church, I don't think that was a good idea. Noah screamed for a whole hour at church. I had to take him out into the car for a good portion of that time, But it did help in a way. Sister Slater told me that her daughter cut the tip off and then let the child have the pacifier back. The child, like most people don't want something broken and will eventually lose interest in it. WELL...It worked, Noah was of course sad because he loved his pacifier. He does cry sometimes at night for it, but now it's mostly a joke. He has the pacifier and he can try to put it in his mouth, but it usually falls out and we just say "it's broken" and try to make it a joke. He laughs and then finds something else to do. So thank you for your advice Sister Slater. it was much better than "Cold Turkey" approach that we were trying to use

Pooley's Pumpkin Patch

Going to the pumpkin patch Brandon rapped "pumpkin patch, pumpkin patch, we're going to the pumpkin patch" like the whole way there. We actually were all sing his song by the time we arrived it was rather funny because the song was so stupid. I have the pictures all mixed up, but Noah slept through most of the time while we were there. But when I finally decided to wake him up he had such a fun time!!!

Meili rode a horse for the very first time. Way to go Meili!!!!

I thought of Uncle Johnny's house, It was there when I rode my first horse (for free).

It was such a great day, a stress free day, as you can tell by Brandon's behavior.

Fun with Grandma Jensen

Geez where do I start? Thank you soooo much Mom for coming out here and spending the week with us it was the best Christmas present ever!!!(Early Christmas present from Brandon). And Thank you Brandon, for paying the airfare and finding the flight that would get Mom here the soonest. Thank you Dad, Breanna, Andy, Tyler, Grandma Jensen, and all the other people at home back in Utah who missed Mom while she was gone. And all the other people who helped Mom get here, might I add, safely!!!
Sunday was exciting. We had a wonderful lesson In Relief Society

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith Lesson 19
Stand Fast through the Storms of Life

After church I drove to the airport. By then the kids were about dying for Grandma to come. Of course Noah didn't know exactly who Grandma was but Meili said she would have licorice and I guess that was enough for him to get excited (she brought the rainbow kind).
Monday, we took Meili to school, of course a little late but still she got there. While she was in school we went to Hobby Lobby and picked up some cool crafts for the kids to do on the rainy days which were to come.
Picking Meili up, we were late again!! Meili was sitting in the office waiting so patiently, I felt terrible, she looked so lonely there all by herself waiting. We did better the next day.
We then we to the Henry Doorly Zoo, It was a great day outside and so we decided to take advantage of it. When we got there I had forgotten a diaper for Noah, I thought I still had one in my purse, which I must have forgot to replace. So not wanting to drive back home I went up to this complete stranger, another mom of course but still a stranger, and begged her for a diaper. I offered to pay a dollar in exchange but she just gave it to me-Thanks! And before the whole "no diaper episode" we found that we, I, forgot to put the stroller in the car. 11 dollars for a double stroller, that stroller was so hard to push we ended up kicking Meili out 7 dollars for a single (what a waste!).
The zoo was fun. We came home did FHE and then I can't remember what else.

Tuesday- Meili went to school, We went to Borders. Mom was so surprised that the shelves weren't filled with LDS authors. It was a little funny, but yeah , we don't live in Utah anymore so we won't be seeing that here. We tried Barnes and Noble which was a little more at home for Mom. Plus, Noah loves the train table they have there.
When Meili got home we went to the Durham Museum. It used to have the temporary Amazon Exhibit, but now it's Witness: American Original from the National Archives-not child friendly, but we got some yummy old fashioned candy! . So we ended up going to...hum...I think we actually just went home and did some of the crafts from Hobby Lobby.

Wednesday-School, and while Meili was in school we headed to Westroads Mall. it was fun for Noah to play in the little kids Play Area. I could tell he missed his sister he kind of just walked around, when she is with him he just runs around and follows her. My favorite part of the mall-Hot Chocolate-yummy!!! After picking Meili up we went to the Children's Museum-It was very fun. Meili with the support of Grandma finally decide to walk through the haunted mansion and that area-which was a big conquer for her. Grandma told her the story of Frankenstein- she was so intrigued.

Thursday, No school!!! Meili and Noah watched cartoons while Mom made Noah's costume, I just watched in awe. We went to the Halloween playgroup that Amber and Will Weigt hosted. Which was absolutely amazing. Amber is such a talented amazing lady,absolutely amazing!!! She knows how to entertain- that is for sure. The activities, the food, everything was a blast. However, the Primary program, not so fun (not part of the playgroup) was sooo long. It was needed and did pay off, on Sunday the children definitely delivered-Way to go kids, and for sure way to go Primary leaders! So it proves that hard work does pay off.
After that, we went to Crossroads Mall. We went shopping for Breanna. It was fun, and I got a hair dye at Target and Meili bought some fingernail polish. I accidentally had placed one in my pocket, I know you're thinking how do you accidentally put fingernail polish in your pocket-how convienent. Well, you do when your daughter wants it, and your son is running off, and you don't know where your mom went with the shopping cart. Don't worry I paid for it later when I went back for my Second Dye. We went out to eat at Old Country Buffet. It was kind of expensive, but fun and delicious-that is, if you like country food. I went crazy with eating all the foods I really can't when Brandon's around since he likes like only 4 things (exaggerated a little but really almost)!!! When the kids went to sleep I decided to dye my hair. On the box it said first dye the length part of your hair for 20 minutes and then the roots for 10. I did that, and now the roots of my hair are light brown and the rest...well dark brown. What!!!! My mom was like "Teri, you have a line going around your head" It looks ridiculous. So...
Friday- first thing, Target, another hair dye and Deep conditioner (I wish I would have just listened to my friend when she said leave-in conditioner, but the lady at the salon said it would be better to use deep conditioner) I don't think she understood my situation right. She said to use the conditioner once a month, but she kept on shaking her head when I tried to explain that I was about to dye my hair twice in less than a 24 hour period and wanted leave in conditioner and I need something to help with the damage everyday and not just once a month. Anyways, I bought the 23 dollar deep conditioner and dyed my hair after my mom left. I dyed it all for 3o minutes. At first I thought it worked, that it would make it all one color-WRONG-it's still just the roots. and yes, it's ugly! Well the color is pretty, the dyed part, but it's just the worst thing I've ever done (Other than buzzing it, which would be the 4th time) but I decided Brandon would rather have a dye job gone terribly wrong verses no hair. So when he did see it, he laughed and said it wasn't that bad. We were all so happy to have him home. He bought me some cool things from the Indian Reservation I'll post pictures of them later. And I have no picture of my when my Mom was here. Brandon took the camera and actually dropped it while hiking so he only was able to take a few before he lost the batteries- Oh well, hopefully he can get some from his friends and I can get some from my Mom.
That was my week. I just did the highlights for the most part. But we had an unforgettable time with my Mom and it was great to have those late night talks again with my Mom and have my children know their Grandma Jensen-I can honestly say I think my Mom is the best! That is a big thing especially if you knew how I felt towards her while I was growing up. It's strange how time changes things, or did she change or did I, or did we both?

This was a little while ago, but Clifford came to the Washington Branch Library. There were activities to do, Clifford puppet, Clifford coloring pages, Clifford mask, and then afterwards we were given "doggy treats". It was WaY crowded but Meili loved it, Noah not so much. He actually cried when Clifford came close.

Don't laugh too loud

So I tried Noah's Halloween costume on him, a gingerbread man, just to find out that the costume only went up to his chest. So I spent forever desperately trying to invent a way to give the costume more length. I finally admitted defeat and decided to make a new one, a longer one.

But first, let me tell you why I was so desperate to make the first one work. A gingerbread man is a golden brown--right?-- well, my whole decision to make this gingerbread costume was based upon the fact that I had all the stuff on hand. The only problem was that the material I planned to use was the color of a sugar cookie and not gingerbread. Well, I thought if I could find something around the house to dye it then it would be perfect. What did i find? A brown crayon, okay not too brilliant, but it did do the job. However, the costume felt all waxy and just plan out nasty---So0--I decided if I washed it (just a gentle wash) then it would be less waxy but still darker than before, so I did. I hand washed it with baby detergent, but as I was washing, the crayon came right off. I was so frustrated! It took me like a whole half of an hour to get it on just to wash it off in a manner of minutes. I was upset that just this once a stain would come out so easily. Sooo, experiment #1:failed. let's go to experiment #2 (just as dumb and useless might I add): Soy sauce. Don't laugh!!! It made sense at the time! Haven't you ever stained a shirt with soy sauce? it's not easy to remove. So I emptied a bottle (half gone) in the sink and then plunged the costume back and forth until the costume was completely saturated- the color was the perfect color. I felt accomplished, successful...until I went to wring the sauce out. Wherever I twisted, the color I just wasted a bottle of soy sauce for just went away. I was so sad! I decided that I would just let it drip dry because then I wouldn't have to touch it, it wouldn't lose color-duh again. As the liquid dripped out so did the color. I must have been so desperate and so determined to not spend a penny on this costume that my common sense was extremely clouded. After I realized that first, my hands are itchy from all the salt and so Noah would be itchy from it too. I just gave up and decided that color, not so important anymore. However when compared to the original color it actually was a little darker, so I guess it kind of worked. So, I was so excited to try it on Noah. And when it didn't fit I about died, determined to make him the gingerbread man costume, because even though the costume didn't fit it still was adorable. I started cutting out a new one, a longer one. I pledged to myself that this one would be perfect-let's just say it didn't happen. I am no seamstress and Noah is no gingerbread man! So when my mom came (which I will write about soon) she rescued both me and Noah. She made a Pirate costume and she she did a wonderful job. But the thing that made me frustrated was she was able to talk just a pair of brown dress pants, no pattern, and make a complete costume-that fit!!! All I was trying to do is cut a tracing of Noah's body (front, and back) and Velcro them together. It was desperate, stupid, wasteful and whatever else you want to call it. Still, I did learn a few things from it all:

1. it's okay to spend a few dollars on fabric dye


2. patterns good, tracing bad (in my case)


3. Noah has long legs


4. Soy sauce+cooking=yummy; soy sauce+dyeing=itchy and wasteful


5. Crayons are made for paper and not for gingerbread costumes
6. When Crayola says their crayons and paints are "washable" you can trust them.

You maybe laughing thinking how stupid I am for trying those things. I'll be the first to admit they were pretty dumb ideas So if that's you, well, you're welcome for the laugh. And then, I hope there are those who can laugh and say "been there, done that" . The weird part is that I knew better!

Snedeger Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Snedeger Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Roots - Family history

Family fun day at King Elementary

We had a lot of fun participating in the "Animal Olympics"

We colored and glued an animal to a stick, we did an edible emblem with vanilla wafers and frosting, we played animal math sorting different colors in their seperate bowl, and read books. It was a lot of work keeping Noah out of stuff but it was worth it. It was fun for everyone and we had fun afterwards playing at the playground with the Cox's.




Meili looks so dreamy. She really is in "true love" with Kaleb (the boy next to her). She asks him how she looks every day and he usually says "Meili you look beautiful" which makes her even more crazy about him, young love, too young if you ask me but still she is certain that it's love!!!
Another thing, She insists that she has straight hair. She brushes her hair forever trying to get the curls out-why? I don't know I have always told her how beautiful her curly hair is and I've tried to explain that people pay a lot of money to make their hair curly but she wants it straight. So to make a long story short. I blow dry her hair straight and use a lot of pomade "so it doesn't get curly". I wonder if maybe I made too big of a deal, and fussed over her curls too much, that she just got sick of it and this is her solution. Or maybe she is going through a "phase" who knows, I just got d0ne reading this to Brandon and he said he did the same thing...It's Brandon's fault :)

Happy Birthday Noah

These are a few pictures of Noah's second birthday. He seemed to be really satisfied with all that he got.

• plastic insects/lizards/other animals
• lots and lots of candy-yummy
• balloons
• 3 party containers full of Dinosaurs, Sea animals, and Safari animals
• punch balloons
• money from Grandparents.

These gifts were all so wonderful so everybody thank you sooo much for them and the cards. Noah really liked everything he received and Meili just as much-Thank you!!!