letters to Beth {while we were skyping & oven baked tacos recipe}

dear beth,

while we were skyping...

after we got off the phone,

i finally had to put my foot down about playing swimming pool in the sink.

it was a good long run.

many memories made.

the princesses and super heroes 

may never forgive me.

or they'll move to san diego.

whichever.

i did need my floors mopped.

this definitely counted.

especially b/c they had mixed two different blends of foaming soap with their escapades.

"where the wild things are"

that's what my house should be nicknamed.

there, it's official.

the toilet paper 

was a total loss.

but i didn't have time to replace it 

so i left it there wet,

and max used it,

except have you ever tried 

to use wet toilet paper?

max hasn't.

it was clear, hahahaha.

and it was quite the site 

when she was done with it.

also,

they did this.

i guess we were chatting for awhile...

can't blame them,

plus they weren't fighting,

so that's always a bonus.

"tattoo brennan"

that's what he called himself 

for the rest of the day.

not to worry,

two baths haven't even lessened them a bit.

and seeing as we barely bathe over here anyway,

those beauties could be there until summer.

so proud:)

what i'm really proud about is this: 

brennan reads.

i could listen to him all day.

when he started school this year in september he knew 1 letter name and 1 letter sound.

B.

i couldn't be happier,

not even if you finished my basement.

love,

emily

P.S.

i love your goals.

sean and i always do an 

FHE GOALS night in january,

you know,

where we list off all of our goals to accomplish throughout the year.

except really,

we just did it two years ago,

and we keep changing the year,

but working on the same goals.

we've crossed off 6 out of 14.

in 3 years:)

accomplishers over here.

wow.

we are doing great!

... 

P.S.S.

make these, they are great.

OVEN BAKED TACOS

INGREDIENTS:

1lb ground beef

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

1 onion, chopped

1 pkg taco seasoning

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup chunky salsa

3/4 cup sour cream

12 hard shell tacos

2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

DIRECTIONS: 

1. cook your gound beef with onion and garlic.

2. add taco seasoning, mix well.

3. remove from heat and add salsa, beans, corn, and sour cream 

{i added the sour cream here b/c my brennan and chase are whimps in the heat department, and i just love things that are creamy}.

4. spoon mixture evenly into hard shells in 9x13 glass pan so they can stand up in the pan.

5. cover with cheese.

6. bake 400* for 8-10 minutes.

...

reasons why i love these tacos:

my kids can eat tacos without everyone crying the entire time.

amazing:)

oh yeah

and 

they're 

just 

really really 

good.

letters to Emily {resolutions, butterfly bandaids/baby jesus, & madly in love}

Dearest Emily,

          Wow!  How hard that must have been!  I am so in awe by us mothers and our situations.  Being a mother brings out all the mother-bear instincts that we never possessed until we pass a child through our bodies into this good world.  I love that you held him and cried with him.  Mourn with those that mourn.  Talking to you on skype the other day really made me appreciate you even more.  You are working so hard with Brennan, it's not easy for you.  But you are doing it, for Brennan.  I have to remember that the hard things with kids at the moment might feel like you aren't getting anywhere, but watching Brennan graduate with honors because of all the hard work you put into his education will pay off.  It's just a short time then BOOM, they are off.  You are such a tiger-mom, in a relaxed fun way......

          As for me and my house we are enjoying the latter end of January, which normally hails it's self in my world as the worst month of the year.  This year, I am trying to make the most out of the longest darkest month, as a positive start to the new year.  So I started some resolutions.

Some people don't believe in resolutions, but why not?  I mean, they are just goals, right?

So, let's have some fun with them.

Resolution #1- Play with kids more

Resolution #2- Be healthier (so relative)

Resolution #3- Be more patient

Resolution #4-finish Children's book and Start               new one.

Those are a few for 2014, I know....pretty boring.  But the more you share your goals with others, the better you are at them.  

Here are a few fun Holiday happenings at the Taylor Bungalow:

         Bear hit his head so bad in a german restaurant while we were dining with some friends, that he split open his brow, blood dripping into his little eye!  Luckily no stitches were needed, but it was pretty traumatizing for the little lad. Nothing like a dresser landing on top of him.  A butterfly bandaid and lot's of mommy kisses later, he was as good as new.  

         Smith was the starring roll as Jesus in his play.  Very emotional for me, there was such a warm feeling of love in the room.  Mary, Jesus and Joseph were all played by children in wheel chairs.  I never thought that having a Smith would change me this much. But I am a CHANGED woman because of him.  I am so grateful for his heavenly spirit in my life.

         Bryce is back to full time studying and it's back to me and my daily routine with Bear.  Smith goes to school, then it's me and Bear time.  Which usually consists of me dragging him along doing errands (by foot) and then going to the park or feeding ducks.  Both are his thrills of the day. Smith still enjoys playing with his Beads. Bryce and I still can't get enough of each other. I guess you can say we are crazy about each other.

         There it is Miss Emiline Harris!

All the Love from Deutchland,

Beth :)

Peanut Butter Oreo Icebox Cake {it's gonna make your Monday fantastic}

Peanut Butter Oreo Icebox Cake

{a.k.a. Amazing Cake}

INGREDIENTS:

1 package cream cheese {8oz}, softened

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 cups milk {i used whole}

chocolate syrup {for drizzle}

2 packages double stuffed Oreos

1 container Cool Whip {8oz}

DIRECTIONS:

1. cream together cream cheese, peanut butter, 

and 1/4 cup of the milk.

2. add powdered sugar and blend until smooth.

3. add cool whip just until mixed 

{i did this with my spatula by hand}, set aside.

4. pour remaining milk into bowl and dunk oreos for 2-3 seconds each so they are wet, but not falling apart.

5. layer one layer of wet oreos on bottom of glass dish 

{my 8x8 glass pyrex worked for a PERFECT fit},

then do a layer of 1/2 of the peanut butter cool whip mixture,

then another wet oreo layer on top of that,

and a final layer of the last half 

of the peanut butter cool whip mixture.

6. put toothpicks in the top of the cake {i used 4}, 

so you can cover it with saran wrap, 

and not have the wrap touching the top of the cake.

7. refrigerate for 4 hours, or make the night before.

8. serve with chocolate sauce drizzle and a glass of milk. 

HOLY

MOLY

you're gonna diiiiiiieeeeeee!!!!

:):):)

make it tonight.

i just KNOW you're monday is gonna be FANTASTIC now:)

the skinny red one sprayed snow in your face.

after kindergarten got out yesterday:

16 gloves,

8 coats,

8 hats,

8 snow pants,

16 boots,

6 sleds,

and a partridge and a pear tree.

my favorite sled is the penguin,

but you're not supposed to be over 60lbs to ride on it,

which i remembered about halfway down the mountain with chase on my lap,

so i clenched up my body really stiff like

for the rest of the way down,

hoping that would make me feel like 60lbs to the sled.

it didn't pop,

so it must have worked:)

and it was the smoothest ride my bum felt all day long.

i so badly wanted to tempt fate and do it all over again,

but i couldn't bear to face it popping again like last year,

and being left with no penguin for anyone to ride,

so chase and i tried out every other sled there.

the blue one made you spin round and round like the tea pots,

and worry that you were going to tip over and bonk your head.

the shark one wasn't really a shark,

but it kind of looked like a shark,

because the writing on it looked sharky to me.

the green one went the furthest,

especially with two kids on your lap.

and skinny red one always sprayed snow in your face because your boots fell off the sides all the way down.

chase said "WHEEEE" every time.

even the time when we went down on the skinny red one,

and my boots and his boots sprayed snow in our faces.

nobody whined.

nobody got hungry.

nobody cried.

nobody had to go pee.

or poo.

it was warm.

it was cloudy.

there was no wind.

and everybody ran up the hills with their own sleds,

with smiles on their faces

for

2

hours

straight.

CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

in january.

even with the christmas tree gone from our big room.

who knew it could be?

i have never had so much fun with my kids in my entire life.

and max woke up this morning asking what time we were going sledding again today:)

zippidy doo dah, zippidee ay,

my oh my,

what a wonderful wonderful day.

at which point we finally decided to just get the tape.

can the christmas light people really think of 

no better way than this?

i mean, i know you can just buy a prelit tree and all.

and make no mistake, i was cursing myself and our real christmas tree

the entire time i was taking down these lights.

especially b/c i know we have a perfectly beautiful prelit tree in the basement

that i could have put up

and avoided all of this with.

and why i earth could i not have put the twisty ties in an easier place to find?

or did i throw them away?

could sean please look in the garage one more time?

or maybe it was in the basement

in the things

by the things?

god bless sean for his patient heart:)

and god bless the smile of mine that gets him to look in the basement one more time.

at which point i then had to go look in the basement

and the garage

and the basement again

before we finally decided to just get the tape.

and then vowed to be more organized about all of it next year.

kind of like we did last year.

and maybe couldn't we get those garage shelves to keep everything in once place?

whichever. 

adios muchacho.

second thoughts

i think it's starting to stink.

maybe friday is best.

or better yet,

today...

experts of girls {convo's with cade & brennan}

while eating apples 
and jumping off of 
my coffee table 

onto coolie, the 6 foot bear, 
the following conversation occurred between two 5 year olds...

brennan: i went to girl world, and they taught me how to be experts of girls. 
i know more about girls than you. really i do.

cade: no, i'm experts of girls.

brennan: all the girls of the whole world know me though. and they all love me too.

cade: ok ok they love you, but they love me too. they're in love with both of us. 
but we won't ever let them come here because then they will try to kiss us.

brennan: we DON'T want them to kiss us. not even our sisters. 
just our moms 'cause they're our moms and they can do stuff like kiss us.

cade: yeah yeah just our moms. cause we love them.

{chase's new favorite game: riding brennan like a horse. trust me, it's mutually loved.}

christmas {fever} day

brennan woke up with a fever.

we held the kids off in our bedroom with a christmas movie for half an hour until the motrin kicked in.

it spruced him right up for a couple of hours of presents.

the poor kid didn't even want to go downstairs when he came into our room at first.

there's nothing sadder than a kid with the flu on christmas.

sore throat.

headache.

fever.

achy body.

runny nose.

it came on just as we were putting him to bed on christmas eve,

was the worst on christmas day,

and wiped him out for the entire day after.

the rest of the day he layed on the couch watching movies,

and he declared that honey i shrunk the kids was his new favorite.

i drank tom and jerry's out of the cutest christmas mug i've ever seen {thank you lindi} most of the day.

my favorite part is the bun on the back.

it's the most ginormous thing,

and holds more liquids than you could possibly imagine.

chase loved his fireman raincoat the best,

as you will see in the photo below.

and the skylanders and princesses worked together to save the day with chase's firetruck.

max entranced with her 

ballerina jewlery box.

the boys fighting crime.

brennan at his post 

on the couch.

for 

the 

entire 

day.

after christmas dinner at grandma carol's.

we were sooooo tired.

and brennan's 2nd dose of motrin had worn off.

poor chap.

a week later i found my kitchen counter.

and it was a beautiful beautiful thing to find:)

i stood there admiring it for 5 minutes.

i almost forgot what it looked like all cleared off.

at least no one was puking.

at least not on christmas day.