Turkey Pops - Place Cards to Gobble Gobble!

Caroline & I have been busy this week getting ready for Turkey day. Our first project was some turkey pops (made from cake balls and inspired by Bakerella) that will be our place cards for dinner tomorrow. However, I don't know how many will actually make it to the table because I keep catching Caroline snitching pops from the fridge when I'm not looking!

So Bugged - But Thankful

Two weeks ago on my weekly trip to town, I stopped in at the local scrapbook store, chatted with the proprietor for a while, purchased some darling hair bow making supplies and left. The next morning, I got a phone call from her. She was very concerned that she hadn't entered me in the drawing for the "Hometown Holiday Giveaway". The prize was $75 worth of groceries for your Thanksgiving dinner, including the Turkey & a Ham. Count me in! I was to listen the following Monday morning to the local radio station to see if I won. So I did, and miracle of all miracles, my name was drawn! I never win ANYTHING! I was SO excited! So the following Tuesday on my next trip to town, I went back to the store to pick up my loot. Inside the bag was a gift certificate to Safeway for my turkey, free coupons for mayo, cornstarch & kara syrup (all things I use for our big day & the leftovers after) a box of stuffing mix & several gravy seasoning packets (neither of which I use because I do everything from scratch, but whatev) a couple boxes of XXL Ziploc bags (I can substitute one of these for a brining bag for my turkey, right???) and a random audio book. I was assured that the rest hadn't been gathered up yet, but that I would be getting a phone call when it was ready & I could pick it up. Okay, no problem. So I go in yesterday to the radio station for the rest of my Thanksgiving feast. I was handed a bag that contained this:

(McCormick Crusting Blends)

Actually, it was thirty 1.8 oz. free sample packets of French Onion, Pepper & Herb Crusting Blends. What??????? I'm sure they'd taste great on my turkey, but what about all the groceries I was promised???? I double checked with the receptionist that handed me the bag, and was assured that it was the right bag and that was my prize. I was slightly bugged. Not that I really need a ham, (since we slaughtered 2 hogs at the beginning of the summer and are pretty much set with all things pork for another several months), but I was kindof hoping for the gift card that I could use for my sweet potatoes, pie supplies, etc... Oh well. I AM really thankful to have a free turkey! And instead of complaining I suppose I should be using this time to be brining that 20 lb. baby and getting her ready for tomorrow's deliciousness.

I've Been Tagged!

Nothing has happened lately that's blogworthy so I thought I'd do this survey that my cute sister-in-law tagged me with. Maybe you'll learn a few things about me that you didn't know!

8 TV shows I watch:
1. Decorating Cents
2. Little Einsteins (I know, I know - but I think it's clever and Caroline & I watch it together.)
3. The Unit
4. Pushing Daisies
5. Desperate Housewives
6. The Office
7. ER
8. uhhh....

8 favorite restaurants:
1. Café Rio - not in NE :(
2. Arby's
3. Qudoba
4. Cold Stone!
5. I don't eat out a lot...so I'm having a hard time with this one!
6.
7.
8.

8 things that happened today:
1. I made breakfast burritos for my visiting parents, sister, hubby & kiddos.
2. Emptied the dishwasher
3. Started the laundry.
4. Made a shopping list for Thanksgiving dinner.
5. Vaccumed the floor.
6. Updated my blog.
7. The day's still young! It's only 9:40 a.m.!
8.

8 things I look forward to:
1. Thanksgiving weekend (food, shopping, sleeping in!)
2. Christmas (opening presents, food, relaxing with family)
3. Our 6th anniversary at the end of December!!!
4. More snow and playing with the kids in it!
5. Community Christmas Choir concert with all the different church choirs!
6. Having more kids someday
7. Next summer's garden!
8. Watching my kids grow up

8 things on my wish list:
1. For my family to be fixed.
2. To have more kids
3. To be healthy and reach my goal weight
4. To go to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary.
5. To catch up on my scrapbooks someday
6. To be able to stop time so I can catch up on my scrapbooks and still get a decent night’s sleep!7. To add on to our home so we have more room for more kiddos.
8. To see my kids all go on missions and/or get married in the temple

8 people I tag today:
1. Robin B.
2. Shannon Y.
3. Jill R.
4. Brittany B.
5. Phaedra V.
6. Michelle R.
7. Heather P.
8. Rachelle T.
9. Krista D. (Okay, okay - there's just not room for all my friends with just 8!)

A Full Life...

This was on my sister-in-law's blog and I thought it was kindof neat. I things I have done are in bold.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band ....at school
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (sortof - does rapelling count???)
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (Yay for Butler Westerns!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job (does being layed off count?)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (well, I had poetry published in a book - does that count?)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Ughghgh...

Was the book really dripping with that much cheese??? Did I just block that memory or am I really in denial??? The movie was just not all that I hoped for and more. Sigh. But I did really like the baseball game. I think that was my favorite part. And the tree climbing. But..."spider-monkey"??????? REALLY?

My New Favorite Thing!

Okay, this is just silly, but I really, really, REALLY don't like carpet in my dining area. It is just a recipe for grossness. And now, since Clayton has decided that in order to communicate to us that he is done eating he MUST dump the remainder of his food on the floor (why can't he just TALK??? or Sign, even?) I'm constantly cleaning goo out of the carpet fibers. But since we're not able to rip it all out and replace it with something a little more low maintenance just yet, I found a solution. I bought some vinyl from the fabric dept. at WalMart this week to put on the table to protect the wood (my friend Michelle did this and I thought it was a fantastic idea with little ones around!) But while I was having it measured, I thought "Why not put some on the floor too???" So I bought a little extra. It is now on the floor under the high chair and under Caroline's chair. What a huge difference it has already made in my week! First of all, because I just finished shampooing the carpet and inevitably, someone smushes, grinds or mashes something into the carpet the day after I do, and the vinyl protected the most vulnerable area for that to happen. And Second, I love that I just have to wipe up spills on it rather than gently picking food out of the fibers, rubbing carefully and then breaking out the carpet stain remover. There were so many things I got done this week and I'm going to attribute it to the fact that roughly an hour of my week has been reclaimed from cleaning up carpet messes around the table. Yay! Now, does anyone have any tips for anchoring the plastic sheet to the floor so it doesn't move around???

Just a Reminder...

All the fun giveaways and cool stuff I stumble onto gets posted about and linked to HERE. Visit the BUTLER BLOG BUZZ for fun Christmas ideas and giveaways.

Why it's a bad idea to leave a bag of flour open on the floor. Even for just 30 seconds...

'nuff said.

Such Refinement!

Caroline & I tried something new today. We invited Clayton to a "Cocoa Party". Uh, yeah. 14-month-old boys and tea cakes/cocoa in teacups aren't a great combination when it comes to the mess. But it sure is entertaining to watch! The video was even better, but I'm having problems uploading it right now. Hopefully I can get it up soon!

Trick or Treat!

Oh, how I love Halloween! I love the treats and the decorations. I LOVE dressing up! This holiday is such a creative outlet for me! We had a fun time this year. On Thursday night we got to attend our Branch Halloween party, which had fun booths and fun food! It was a lot of fun to see all the kids dressed up. It was even more fun to see some of the adults decked out (made me feel a little better about my silly costume!) Caroline went as a Rodeo Queen, I was a Rodeo Clown (but I stand corrected. They are no longer called clowns. They are now referred to as "Bullfighters". Go figure. More prestigious I guess.) We also had Sheriff Clayton and Deputy Jake along with us to protect us from the scary creatures. Friday night we just dressed the kids up for a dinner out with some friends and their kids. Then we all went trick or treating together to the local assisted living center. It was nice inside, warm & safe. And you couldn't beat the smiles on the residents when they saw all the cute little kids coming to their doors for treats. What a great way to spend Halloween!

Caroline enjoying the goodies at the Branch party with her friend Mara.

All the cute babies on Friday night after dinner. (McKenzie, Noah, Gracie, Caroline, Ava & Clayton)