Thanks

Thanks for all your encouraging replies to my last thread. You know how sometimes you just read other Blog's and all you can think of is how perfect they are compared to yourself? Well I was having one of those days...or weeks...well actually lives. But whatever.

Anyway, I will post my Bun recipe soon. I really will. My friend Emily gave it to me months and months ago...and I sort of didn't write it down very clearly. Trust me, it's a guessing game every time I make the buns. They turn out really good each time...but I'm not sure how to explain the thought process that went into my recipe. It's all in 'Meagan Shorthand' and it would take hours to explain to you on this BLOG. So, I'm going to go through the recipe again and find away to make it easier to explain. Or...maybe I'll just ask Emily for it again.

So until then I'll just share more stories from my life. First of all, I'm not sure if I made Ben out to be that great of a husband. Well I guess a good husband is one who lets you buy whatever you want for your Birthday...but a great one wouldn't make me go out two weeks late to pick up my own gift which was supposedly his idea. But really, he is great. And to prove it, he brought me home these flowers:

And then because things were even, and he wasn't comfortable NOT being in the Doghouse, Ben pulled out this fancy contraption.

I can just hear my Mother in Law laughing right now as she looks at this picture. It's the train set that Ben's dad had when Ben was growing up (and maybe even before that)...and even though it's cool and all, the kitchen table is not my idea of a good place to set it up - permanently. So I'm 100% sure Ben's mom is laughing right now because she finally got rid if it, and now knows that I have a life time of trying to keep it out of sight.

And then Finally, Hailey now belongs to the tu-tu club. Unfortunately (or fortunately - depending on how you look at it) she doesn't belong to the "my mom is crafty and made me this tu-tu" club. Oh well. Actually I was planning to make her one - but then my friend Laura posted pictures of her Girls in some really cute tu-tu's...so I asked he if she could help me make mine. And she so kindly informed me that she bought her tu-tu's. GASP!!! A stay at home mom bought tu-tu's for her daughter?? No. But it's true! I guess she did some calculating on what her time was worth, how much tulle is, and how long it would take to make a tu-tu. In the end, it made more sense to buy them off Etsy rather then make them herself. And she's super crafty, so if she decided it's not worth it making her own, then I will agree. And that's what I did. I bought mine off Etsy and I couldn't be happier. So here are a few shots of Hailey the other day...this was a bit of an impromptu photo session - so there are no real amazing shots...not that there would be even if I planned it. But they're cute still. Enjoy.

I'll post pictures one day...

But I'm really just to unorganized and lazy to do it. My house is a mess....as always. Hailey's napping...so I could clean it, but I decided to work out and play on the computer instead. Oh well. That's just the way I am. I'm sort of half thinking about making dinner, but we might just eat buns again. At least they're home made buns - my one redeeming stay at home mom quality right now. I'm not super crafty, I don't sew amazingly well, I don't cook all that often, I'm not a good organizer, I never do my hair or makeup anymore, and I don't think I'm very much fun with Hailey, BUT I do have a very yummy bun recipe that I make occasionally, which I'm pretty sure is exactly why Ben and Hailey keep me around.

It was my big 25th Birthday a few weeks ago. Which I thought was a pretty big deal - but actually turned out to be less then that. Oh well, that kind of thing happens when you get older. Anyway, Ben didn't get me a present....which was surprising because he made that mistake 5 years ago and has not lived it down. So I thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt and assume a present was on it's way. So I did the normal patiently waiting type activities....like watching out the window for a UPS driver to deliver my present (who did come 5 times in the last few weeks but always to my neighbour's house); checking our bank and credit card statements daily for purchases (which was a waste of time and only had me stressing about fiances in general); and finally reminding Ben every day that it was my Birthday exactly __# of days ago and I still hadn't seen a gift. So you can tell I'm a pretty patient girl. Anyway, the other day I was at Costco and noticed the KitchenAid mixer was on sale again...and then I noticed that we'd got our Costco money in the mail...which made me think of the most wonderful....uh...Christmas present idea for me. So the next morning I decided to drop a few very subtle hints for Ben about said Mixer and my Birthday/or Christmas present. I said something along the lines of "so because you didn't get me a Birthday present I decided I want the KitchenAid mixer right now". Subtle. The funny thing though is Ben's face suddenly lost all it's colour....he looked up from his bowl of cereal (remember, I'm a good housewife), and asked if I was kidding. Um of course.....not. Why would that be a joke? Well as it turns out, the reason Ben didn't get me a Birthday present was because he was waiting for the Costco money to come in, and then was waiting for the Mixer to go on Sale. So he had good intentions and I managed to spoil them. Oh well, it worked to his advantage because he then decided he was too busy to buy it himself and sent me into Calgary to buy my own Birthday present...two weeks late of course. Ahhh, married life.

Anyway, that's my life right now. Really exciting (sense the sarcasm???). But I do have a shiny new KitchenAid on my counter and we're all eating some really delicious buns. Just don't get me started on the whole Bosch vs KitchenAid thing. I think a KitchenAid sale at Costco with free Costco money beats the $500(plus) I'd spend on the Bosch. And I really don't need to make 15 pounds of dough at one time....at least at this stage of my life. So cheap(er) KitchenAid it is.

My current Favourites

I've been eating lots and lots of yummy dinners lately (maybe that's why I can't lose those last 5 pounds). Anyway, I thought I'd just share my favourite three recipes right now. I have lots of favourites, but these are relatively new to my list - so I'm loving them so much. Ok here it goes:

Chicken Tetrazinni - this recipe comes to me courtesy of Ben's sister Rebecca; it's easy, delicious, and super kid friendly (i.e they don't even notice the veggies)

1 Box noodles (i.e. spaghetti, vermicelli, etc.)
*cook according to direction on box (i.e. boil)*

1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
3T butter
1 T minced garlic
*saute in frying pan for 3 minutes*

2 cooked and chopped chicken breasts
1 can cream chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk or cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
*add to veggies in frying pan...cook until warm throughout*

*Toss chicken/veggie sauce with drained pasta and serve*

Rustic Ratatouille with Chicken strips - this recipe is courtesy of my Sobey's magazine. Seriously, straight from the grocery store - and still super yummy - and pretty easy. It's less kid friendly - but in our home, Hailey will eat anything we give her. So it still works.

3T oil 1 onion chopped
*fry in large saucepan for 5 min*

1 cup Chopped eggplant
3 tsp dried 'garlic and roasted pepper' seasoning (you may not have this exact one where you live...but try something similar)
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
*add to saucepan - cook for 3 min*

1 cup chopped zucchini
*add to saucepan and cook for 5 min*

1 796 ml can diced tomatoes
*add and bring to boil...simmer until juices are thickened*

3 cups baby spinach
*add and cook for 3 minutes *
*Serve over chicken breast, or strips or nuggets....whatever you have. A

Substitution: I don't always add fresh spinach when I make it, sometimes I throw in frozen stuff, it's just as tasty

Cranapple Chicken Curry - this one's also from the Grocery store magazine, but is sooooooo delicious. Try it.

1 TB oil 1 Onion chopped
1 TB curry paste
1/2 tsp each Salt and pepper
*Cover and cook for 5 min in a deep skillet*

1.5 pounds boneless chicken thighs chopped
*add to curry mix, saute until brown and bring mix to boil*

1 TB flour 1 medium apple chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 796 ml can diced tomotoes
1 cup Coconut milk
*Add to chicken mixture - stir well*
*reduce heat and simmer until sauce it thick (20 minutes)*
*Serve over rice*

Substitution: I used precooked chicken breast instead of chicken thighs (I always cook a TON of breasts and then freeze them in strips to use later...totally time saving idea!!). SO it was easier to just pull a pack of precooked chicken out of the freezer

Anyway, those are my current favourites. I like these recipes because they are pretty much just one pot dishes. Everything goes in the same pot - just at different times. It totally saves on cleaning and helps with the organization. I hate it when there are too many things going at once on the stove. Anyway, I highly highly recommend you try all of these. And then maybe next month I'll share a few more favourites.

Multi-tasking already??

So I caught this little video of Hailey the other day. Does it get any cuter than this? Seriosuly, girls these days are growing up way too fast! Before I know it she'll be texting on her cell while speeding down the highway. Anyway, enjoy - and please ignore my talking. I was trying so hard to be quiet so Hailey didn't notice me - instead I ended up sounding creepy. oh well.

Calgary Temple

So Big news here hey??? We're oh so excited to get a temple close to home....although it's making me think twice about leaving that part of Calgary - we could have been sooooo close to it. How awesome would it be to be a 5 minute drive from the temple? Well, at least I have free babysitting withing 5 minutes! Hi G-ma and G-pa:) Seriously, it doesn't get much better then that. I'm sure my parents will be grateful for the end of my campaign for getting them to move to Cardston....because now we don't need them there to babysit, we need them HERE!! Yippee!

Anyway, here are some pics of the site.

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/calgary/construction/

Can you imagine how gorgeous this place will be?? I'm so excited!

Free Stuff!!

Does it get any better than this??

http://www.handbagplanet.com/

Just give your name, email address and refer a few friends. It's as easy as that! And I'm going to win...I just know it!

I'm so Important

I really am! The other day I was trying to explain this to Ben after I realized that our clocks were all 10 minutes behind. This is how the conversation went:

Me: Hey Ben...I just figured it out. Our power must have gone out right around midnight and then come back on ten minutes later because all our clocks are ten minutes behind.

Ben: hmmmmm....interesting (said while trying to ignore me and read his Diesel Magazine...who reads diesel magazines anyway??)

Me: I'm serious, it's really important because now I know why I've been late all this week

Ben: Late for what?

Me: All my meetings!

Ben: Meetings??

Me: You know, like my tv shows, the mid afternoon nap, etc. I've been ten minutes late for all of it. So now I know.

Ben: Wow.

So there you have it, another glimpse into our lives. Fascinating hey?

Anyway, here are some recent pics. Hailey is constantly amazing us with the funny and silly things she does. Here are some examples:

Her favourite place these days...the bottom stair. Looks like a blast to me!

Her favourite thing to do...talk on the 'phone'. She must have just heard some bad news or something. (by the way, that is a calculator she's holding. I'm not sure what that means....mathematical genius? or phone addict?)

Oh my goodness. I can NOT forget this picture. I think I just walked in on her talking to her boyfriend or something. I am going to remember this face cause I KNOW I'll see it again one day.

Every once in a while we have a day like this....actually more often then not. But it's still fun!
She loves her baths...she loves her ladybug towel...she loves standing at the door and dreaming of playing in basement full of dangerous things that she's not allowed to touch.

And Finally....She LOOOOOOOOVES bugs. Ewwww.

Proof!

So, I wrote about it...and finally here's proof that it happened. I really did change out my parents 30 year old toilet. In fact I think the date stamp on the inside said 1974...a date I could only dream about. I definitely was not in the picture when this toilet was made or installed. Anyway, here's the evidence:

My 'trying to hold back the puke smile'

Busy at work

Hailey thought she'd come and whip me into shape...slave driver

Oh and some more pics of Hailey Courtesy of GW (grandma W):

Typical little kid - if she doesn't make eye contact with you, you can't see that she's doing something she's not supposed to. Sound logic there.

A little privacy please?

Oh...check out those cute toes in the above pic. ture. We've been LOVING painting her toes lately. Is there anything cuter?? I might just have to get her a pair of these:

http://www.heelarious.com/index.php

You know I'm kidding right? Kinda.

Speaking of feet (sorry to all you podiaphobiacs). This little picture is also courtesy of GW...notice Grandma's un-polished toe in the very bottom of the picture? Notice Hailey's pure disgust of the unmanicured foot? Yep, she's my daughter. Grandma...we know you have some great Polish - now slap a coat or two on! Hailey's a little afraid of unpainted toes right now.

Hailey faces

Ok...so it's pretty obvious that Hailey is full of personality. Anyone that knows her knows to watch out or you might just get chewed out by this kid...literally too. But in all honesty, I've never seen someone able to tell and adult off without saying anything understandable. For example...on Sunday I was talking to the ward Chorister who mentioned that he heard I was his new boss (I'm the ward music director). Anyway, me being miss humble me, replied that I wasn't sure if boss was the right word. At that moment, Hailey, who was happily strolling the church hallways, stopped dead in her tracks looks up at the chorister and yells "akshee see is". Umm what? Did she just give that guy some serious attitude? You'd better believe it. Everyone in the hall was laughing because first of all it totally sounded like she said "actually she is" and secondly, cause she totally told him off. Wow. That's my daughter, and sadly enough, I know exactly where she gets it. Hi.

Anyway, here are a few pics of Hailey that I've taken of the last month that really show her personality.

At Arbor Lake - Hailey's "you lookin' at me?" face

Hailey's "mom, if you snap that picture, I'll, I'll.... snap too" face

Her "I'm still mad at you about this life-jacket thing, so don't even try to take another picture" face

Her "I will not smile or pretend I'm happy to see the camera" face

Hailey's "like I said mom...I'm so done with this camera thing" face

And finally, my favourite of all time...her "I LOVE this slide" face

Our last month and a bit

So August was kind of crazy...we went out of town twice, and we did LOTS of hanging out with the family and friends. Then I went back to work (As you know) for two weeks. And then somehow September snuck up on me. Did you realize it is now September 18th? Where did the last few months go? Anyway, here's a little picture journal of the last little bit:

So, we had a few really great days in August - which were spent lounging out by the pool. And when I mean pool, I mean this classy little blow up thing: Cool hey?


Hailey loved it...almost as much as she loved her beach wagon.

However, I think there's a pretty close competition between the pool and Hailey's new bike. She is IN LOVE with this thing.

G-ma and G-pa W bought it for her and she pretty much gets a ride on it everyday. Lucky kid too, she doesn't even have to work for it. Kids, these days. Why, when I was a kid...I had to pedal my own bike around - uphill both ways...in 5 feet of snow. You get the picture.

Let's see, sometime in August Chris and Lauren bought a little aluminum fishing boat and motor...and in typical big brother fashion, Ben could not be outdone. So...he went out and bought one too. We took the boat down to Montana with us for the long weekend and Ben spent pretty much the entire time trying to get the thing running again. The only comfort Ben could find in that situation was that Chris was dealing with the same thing. Their boats died the same day...they spent all weekend fixing them...and then got them going again on our last day there. How perfect. Anyway, we took it out for a little spin on Flathead lake...just so Ben could prove to me that it wasn't a waste of money. Believe me...he's getting his money's worth out of that thing. Seriously, I'm a fishing widow these days. So here's a pic of Hailey and I...and a self portrait of the fam (which is harder then you'd thing - hence the funny smile)

Then when we came back from Montana I started work. My mom watched Hailey for a few days and then Tan watched her for a few days. I'm SOOOOO grateful to have them around. It would have been utterly unbearable if I didn't have family watching her. Anyway...the camera had a few weeks break during those two weeks because I was too tired to lift it out of the bag. Man I forgot how tiring it could be to sit in your office all day staring at a computer. It wiped me out!

Oh...we also went to Heidi's First Birthday Party...cute kids hey??

And finally...here is Hailey's latest favourite thing to do. Cover her head with the laptop case and run around. Classy.

Oh my gosh...I can NOT...absolutely Can NOT forget about this:

We were sooooo lucky to get to see this a few weeks ago with this wonderful couple! We had a blast and totally LOVED the show. Thanks so much for inviting us a long Lisa. I 'heart' Cirque du Soleil!

Me...by Google Images

Ok, so I'm working right now. Shhhh, don't tell. I'm bored and I just want to be at HOME! Here's the scoop: I went back to work two weeks ago, I thought I'd just try it out. And, well, I just couldn't cut it. So, I gave my two weeks notice the day after I returned. WIMP. But, I just LOVE being at home soooo much more then having money....which we don't. So that's it, we're poor, I'm at work and I'm missing my baby soooo much. I'm sitting here in my office on my third last day EVER, and I'm just killing some time. Translation: I'm bog stalking...which really means I came across this brilliant idea for my blog. I never do this kind of thing, but I'm bored enough, so here it goes. I just googled the answers to these questions and posted the first picture that came up...as long as it was appropriate - which, as it turns out is harder then you'd think with a name like Meagan. Who knew.

My Name: Meagan...this girls name is Meagan - I haven't a clue who she is, but she's a Meagan which makes us instant BFF's (Best Friends Forever)


Middle Name: Louisa...this girl's name is Louise - do you follow now?? She looks bit famous, that is the VMA wall behind her - Oh to be famous.


My Age:

Soon to be 25

Where I grew up:


Where I want to visit (Monaco...just a little dream after seeing my dads mission slides). Isn't it gorgeous? Plus Grace Kelly was the Princess of Monaco...and I have some strange fascination with her:




Favourite Colour:


Dream Holiday:


Favourite Food:

Favourite Treat:



Favourite Animal:


Favourite Flower:

I'm a bad Blogger

I really am...I'm also a bad memory maker or keeper. I haven't really been thinking too much about pictures, or blogs or anything besides hanging out with Hailey and Ben lately. Hailey's been teething again...ugh. But I think we're almost through the worst of it. This 13 month old has her eight front incisors, her first four molars and her top two canines, for a grand total of 14 teeth! WOW. It's definitely a mouth full. I hope her bottom two canines pop through soon and I hope, (really really hope) we have a bit of a break before her two year molars come through...pray for us!

So that's kind of all that we've been working on lately. Oh...I changed out two toilets last week. You might be asking yourself how a girl who cleaned her first toilet only after she moved out of her parents home is now brave enough to change out two entire toilets. I asked myself the same question. Well, I married a plumber. Not technically a plumber, but his dad and brother are plumbers, and they work together, which means he sees his fair share of toilets. And...my parents needed new toilets, so we got stuck with the job. Actually Ben did...and when I started mocking him too much, he made me help him out - just so I can now appreciate what he does every day. Let me just say, I appreciate him! Taking a 35 year old toilet off the pipe is NOT fun, scraping the OLD wax seal is NOT fun, replacing it with a new toilet is NOT fun either. Appreciating the fact that I'll never do that again IS fun. **Shudder**

Oh another story....so last week Hailey and I were shopping. We were looking around Children's Place when I noticed these two girls and their little girls walk into the store. Instant recognition! Seriously, I know these girls. Maybe I've never met them before, but I know them well enough. So that's the problem, we've never actually met in real life, in the Blog world we've stalked each other...but never met. So I tried to discretely make my way out of the store without making eye contact - it's never fun to admit how much of a loser you are...but Hailey had other plans. She decided that she wanted to go say hi to the little girls. So all of us stood there while our kids acknowledged each other. I have to say, it was awkward for me at least. So of course I like to add to the awkwardness and decided to point out that I read their Blogs...and thank goodness they let me down easily by admitting that they read mine too. Phew. What could have been totally a totally awkward nerdville type run-in, ended really well. They even gave me a hint on where to find some cute leggings for my little kiddo. Anyway...I called Ben when I left the store and let him enjoy a good laugh at my expense. He truly thinks I'm the biggest nerd ever. Anyway...hi Caitlin and Meaghan! I hope you don't mind that I'm writing about this...or that I used your names. But I thought it was funny. So, now we've officially met in a strange creepy sort of way.

So that's it. Maybe one of these days I'll start taking pictures again and actually uploading them to the computer and even posting them on this blog. Maybe.

Pictures - and more

Alright, here are some pics from the last few weeks. Like I said a few posts ago, we had a little intimate Birthday party for Hailey two weeks ago and it some how snowballed into a giant gong show. I knew that with the size of my family things couldn't stay small, but I did NOT realize that it would actually be as huge as it really was. It didn't seem so big on paper. Anyway, we ended up having the party at Nate and Tans cause there was no way our house would accommodate that many people. In then end though, it was a lot of fun...very busy, but fun. Something we'll never do again, but something we're glad we did do. Hailey had a few Birthday girl moments (i.e. it's my party and I can cry if I want to), but overall she seemed to have a lot of fun. She loved the cupcakes I made again, she loved Nate's hamburger, she loved sitting on Tans knee to eat, loved all her presents, and she LOVED wearing the dress I wore on my first Birthday. Oh wait, I think that last 'love' was mine...oops. If I can find a picture of me on my first B-day I'll have to post a picture...you can clearly see the resemblance. She is definitely my baby. Blond, but still mine...and I know, just know there's a blond joke to be made here about me somehow, but I'm not going to give in. I'm not a blond anymore!

This is Hailey and Roel...my cousin Emily's little guy. Maybe they'll be friends one day!

It was definitely Hailey's party...and she pretty much was allowed to do anything she wanted, crying included!

Oh...I forgot, so before we went on Holiday's, we went to a little baseball game here in town. Canadian baseball is oh so different from American baseball. But it was still so fun, the stands were packed and the crowd was crazy. Hailey L-O-V-E-D every single second of the game. She sat still for three hours straight! If only church were that interesting...

Oh, and Chris and Lauren were there too...we pretty much do everything they do, I guess that's one of the perks of having your husbands work together and just living down the street from each other. I LOVE IT!

And finally, our Holidays:

Some lake...MacDonald maybe??

Cute...just plain old cute

Nice face hey?? I can see where Hailey gets her attitude from.

Another lake...maybe it's the same one, who knows.

Snow in August??? WHAT?? No...that NEVER happens where I'm from

The Shadow Family

Playing in the Water, and yep those white things are my legs...just soaking up (or reflecting) some rays

Hailey's favourite place in the RV

More water...this kid LOVED the water

Gophers are almost as cool as dogs...almost

Some Mountain from the hike we took at the top of Logans Pass...pretty blue sky hey?

And a lake just before Hungry Horse Dam...it was so clalm and pretty, I had to take a picture

Waiting at the border on our way home...so close, so close
Oh and finally...my crafty moment of the YEAR!! I made a little bow holder for all Hailey's bows, because she is so well accessorized by this little company here and needs to keep up with the cute little baby that will be born to this amazing person from this blog. It's all about keeping up with the competition around here, right? Kidding, that's actually where I got the idea for her bow holder. I had planned on something else, but it required too much of Ben's power tool time, so I decided that this was something I could do all by myself. Although ... Ben stapled all the fabric on because I couldn't hammer the stapler thing hard enough, and then he put all the ribbon on because he's more of a perfectionist then I am, and he even nailed those little silver nails in too because I was scared I was going to wreck it, and he even put the last coat of paint in the frame too because the coats I did weren't smooth enough. So, for a project I did 'completely by myself, without using up all Ben's precious time' I think it turned out really well. Don't ya think?? Next week I'll show you another crafty thing that I did 'all by myself'. Who am I kidding here? I'm definitely no Martha Stewart...I'm just a mom who likes to stretch the truth about how crafty she really is. Regardless, here is the bow holder, cute hey?