In the Summertime, When the Weather Gets Hot

So we all know it gets pretty stinkin' hot here in the Valley of the Sun. But it is just brutal when your home's air conditioning goes out in the middle of June! We came home on Saturday night about 9pm and our house was 83 degrees, which isn't terrible, but our thermostat was set to 78. Yuck! Long story short, by Sunday night our house was a whopping 95 degrees hot! And it was hot, I'm pretty sure that one or more of my family members were about to die. How did we survive? Well, we spent Sunday between our neighbor's house, church, and our hometeacher's house. We are so grateful to everyone that opened up their homes to us - it was no small thing. Sunday night we borrowed a portable air conditioning unit from our neighbors and we ALL slept in the living room with that and 3 fans blowing on us. Jeff & I slept on an air mattress in the middle of the floor with only a sheet for covers (like we needed anything) but when I climbed in bed after making sure that Cade was settled, I was surprised to find a wet sheet on top of me. You know it was hot since I was actually OK with sleeping under a wet sheet. Madlyn asked for one as well so Jeff got 3 pillowcases wet and put them over the kids. Ugh! It was a miserable beginning but by the morning, our living room had cooled to about 85 degrees so it was definitely more liveable. Thankfully, we were able to get the problem fixed by about 9:30 on Monday morning and I'm happy to say we are cool once again. Phew!

A Rare Occurrence

For those of you who wonder if I ever relax, let down my inhibitions, and just cut loose, let me clue you in on a little secret: it does happen...occasionally. (By the way, those of you who have ever seen my interpretative dancing already know this little tidbit). For example, last week I had the opportunity to take a little road trip. This is how it went:

"Love, love me do. You know I love you."

"I want to hold your ha-a-a-a-and."

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away...oh, I believe in yesterday."

"I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love. Can't buy me love, love."

"All you need is love!"

"Get back, Loretta!"

"Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude. Hey Jude-y, Jude-y, Jude-y, Jude-y, Jude-y, Jude -y!"

That's right. It was three hours of me, the minivan, the open road, and these boys:

It was a fun 3 hours! It took me back to a similar trip 7 years ago when my brand-new fiance let me borrow his truck and all of his CDs to make the drive up to my parents' house. My CD of choice then was the same as this trip: Beatles 1. Good times.

I had the sad realization that the only time I ever let go and have a little fun like this is when I am absolutely and completely alone, usually driving. It makes me feel bad that no one else gets to see the beauty and charm of me singing at the top of my lungs and even bustin' a move every now and then. I'm not sure what happened to me when I became a grownup but I used to be a lot more fun. Hmmm, maybe it's time for a change.

Pregnancy Update

I haven't talked this pregnancy a whole lot but that is not because I am not excited. Here is a recent photo of our cute little guy - doesn't he look darling?
OK, this pregnancy has been a complete different experience (and in some ways harder) for me than any of my others. Actually, I have physically felt better than my other pregnancies and that is definitely a blessing. I think the Lord knew that I could not handle one more kidney infection...because I have been spared thus far. Whew! I started this pregnancy 10 pounds lighter than I started each of my other 3 and so I think the weight gain has taken longer to take its toll on my body. I am still feeling pretty comfortable and agile (OK, I don't know if I could ever be described as agile, but you know what I mean). For some odd reason, I have been in denial about my tummy getting bigger and have avoided wearing maternity clothes for as long as possible. But I think the bump is here to stay and now that it is starting to move inside and feel like a real baby, I am OK with it. I have yet to experience my usual astronomical swelling of my appendages but I'm sure it will be here soon, what with all the heat and all.

So physically I've been good, but...emotionally I have been all over the place. We have been pretty busy and have had lots of other stresses, so I think the pregnancy stress (eustress, not distress) just added to everything else. But one thing that has made this pregnancy a little more trying than usual is the fact that we got some unsettling results from our first ultrasound. The doctor called me a few weeks ago and let me know that the baby's bowel was brighter than it should be and that that has sometimes been associated with Down's syndrome or other problems. He was very reassuring in telling me that he has seen this before and it has only been indicative of other problems once and that there were other things wrong with that baby. He said that otherwise, our little boy looked extremely healthy and normal. BUT...of course we had to get the triple screening blood work done and a Level II Ultrasound. Logically, I wasn't extremely worried but it was difficult for my emotional side not to imagine the worst. I felt at peace about it all though and knew that even if our baby were to have any problems, he would still be just as precious and a blessing to our family. About 2 weeks ago, we got the results back from the triple screening test and everything was NORMAL. And then on Monday, we had our Level II Ultrasound. It was mostly fun because I wasn't really worried any more. At the end of our appointment, our technician told us that "the doctor probably won't call you with the results, hint hint". We feel pretty confident that our baby boy is normal and healthy and we are so grateful. We feel truly blessed and humbled by this whole experience. On a light note, we were able to get a few 3D shots of our little guy, which was so much fun! I had never seen 3D of any of my others so I was pretty excited!
It might be hard to make out, but the placenta is on the left and his right cheek is smashed up against it. Can you see his cute smile? I wonder if he will come out looking anything like this since he still has about 8 pounds to gain (he only weighs 1 lb. 5 oz. right now and I have big kids), but his smile is totally his daddy's.

So that's that. I really am soooo excited for this sweet baby to join our family. We have about 4 months to go still, which is good since I have plenty to keep me busy before then, but I can't wait to meet this precious child of God. I truly feel it a privilege to be a mother and only hope that I can teach my children to love their Heavenly Father and to desire to do good with their lives.

P.S. If you have ANY ideas for a name, please pass them on because we are seriously scrambling to find something that we like. We are pretty traditional but like unique too...nothing too trendy or common. If we can't think of anything else though, we just might have to name him Tuff. :)

Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to all the fathers in my life on their special day! First of all, I am very lucky in the wonderful father-in-law I have. Jim has always been so supportive of me and my little family. He is a great father to Jeff and has taught him well and is such an example of righteous leadership and self-discipline. He is a fun grandpa and it is easy to see he is well loved by all of his grandkids, even when he teases them! Jeff calls his dad "Jimmy" and it cracks me up to hear my kids say it sometimes too, although most often they call him Grandpa. I love his sense of humor and still laugh at all his jokes, even after almost 8 years! I even occasionally find myself cracking myself up with the same kind of jokes! My only complaint about my father-in-law is that I have never been given one of his famous nicknames!

My dad is about the best dad a girl could ever ask for. I always felt pretty special since I was the one who had blonde hair and blue eyes like him...everyone else (until Lincoln) was darker with brown eyes. I love my dad's spontaneity...I remember being woken up at 3 in the morning on my 17th birthday to see if I wanted to go fishing. Another birthday he woke me up to go hiking. I have such great memories of working with my dad in his business and I learned so much from him. "Verify, verify, verify" is only one of his timeless lessons. My dad is loved by all who know him. He was my bishop when I was in high school and I had several friends tell me how much they admired him; he was even described as an 'animal' after a priest camping trip. My kids love their "Grandpa Davis" and doing chores is so much more exciting with Grandpa...they get to use "hand workers" (Cole's words for gloves) and drive loaders and fun stuff like that.

Finally, to the father of my children: Jeff is such a great dad and our kids absolutely adore him. I love the fact that my children are also his children, that they are part of him and have some of his great personality and looks. Jeff is so unselfish with his time and is always so energetic when he gets home and excited to play with the kids. He is such a great teacher to them. I will never ever forget when he stood up tall and straight during scripture study one night and let the kids try to push him over...he was demonstrating what it meant to be 'steadfast and immovable'. Or the time he let them tie him up to illustrate that 'the Lord is bound' when we keep the commandments. The biggest indicator to me of how great a dad Jeff is is how much our kids love to be with him. Even Cade gets excited and says 'Dada' when he hears the lock in the door in the evening. Cole tells me often that he wants to 'spend some time with his Daddy'. And Madlyn relishes every second she gets to spend with her Dad.

To all you wonderful fathers, Happy Father's Day! I love you all!

What I Have Been Doing...

This is what happens when you lose your mind for a few days and neglect your garden:

Just kiddin'. My in-laws were out of town for a week and a half (when we got all that rain) and when they came home, this is what we found in their garden. So we cut it in half, shredded it, and used it in the yummy zucchini alfredo recipe Nicole shared a few weeks ago. By the way, half of this monster, with the seeds cut out, equaled 6 cups of shredded zucchini. The other half was put in the freezer to use later in bread or something.

I noticed on my sister's blog that the date of her last post is the same as mine...that was when I realized that I really needed to post something because she has the reputation of not blogging often enough. In fact, I was getting really bugged that she hadn't blogged anything in almost 3 weeks...oh yea, neither have I.

We have been quite busy. Jeff has been gone for the past 2 weeks during the week and that has been a little rough. I told him last night on the phone that 'that isn't a fair thing to do to a pregnant lady.' I don't mind doing all the work myself and putting the kids to bed myself (although by the end of the day I am ready for them to get a little shut-eye) but it has been harder on me emotionally than I ever thought. I'm sure it's just because I'm all topsy-turvy being pregnant and all, but I am not used to my emotions being so close to the surface all the time. I swear, someone offers to babysit for me and I start to cry!

I just finished my first class at BYU-Idaho...just barely submitted my last assignment about an hour ago, actually. It was the Orientation class and so it wasn't too demanding on my intellect but I really loved it! I feel so lucky to be able to attend classes from such a great university and I think my family will be blessed as well. I get to register for fall classes tomorrow...exciting! I still feel a little overwhelmed with the prospect, but so excited as well. I'm hoping for some great experiences!

Just a quick side note: Today I feel extremely grateful for the blessings that my family and I enjoy. It is so easy for me to get overwhelmed with the difficulties and worries that life brings but deep down, I know that we really do have it good. Life may not be the bed of roses I would like it to be, but I am immensely blessed to have an amazing family and the Gospel that makes it all worth while. And all in all, I know we are being taken care of and watched over. In the end, everything will be all right.

Now tell me what you really think...

A couple of weeks ago, I had to run to MCC to take care of some school stuff. When we finished, we needed to go to my in-laws' house to drop something off. It was lunchtime so I promised the kids we'd stop and get some lunch. I was adamant about Burger King because they have chicken nuggets on their $1 menu and because I'm a huge fan of the Whopper Jr. I knew exactly where I could find a BK on my way there so I was headed that way. Well, I made a turn down a residential street (not in my original plan, but Alma School didn't go as far north as I expected). Anyways, I'm driving down the street for almost a mile when Madlyn pipes up from the back, "Mom. I think. you might. be losing. control." Haha. Of course I knew exactly what I was doing so I proceeded to tell Madlyn that, "I promise you, I will drive straight to a Burger King. You'll see." We get to the intersection where BK is and whaddya know? Burger King has been changed into a Carl's Jr. I felt a little sheepish trying to explain to Maddie that "Burger King wasn't where Mommy thought it was and we'll have to go to another one." Thankfully she was very forgiving. I'm sure if it had been Jeff with me instead, he wouldn't have let it go so easily!

Recipes...mmm, mmm good!

I had a request a couple of weeks ago to post my recipe for cinnamon rolls, so here it is:

CINNAMON ROLLS
from the kitchen of Tressa LeCheminant
1. Mix the following ingredients together:
4 cups flour
1 ½ TBL yeast
2. Mix the following ingredients together, and then add to the flour mixture:
2 ½ cups hot water
2 tsp. salt
¼ - ½ cup sugar
¼ cup oil
3. Add 2 eggs and beat for 3 minutes.
4. Add approximately 3 more cups of flour and stir to form a sticky but stiff dough. Let rise in warm spot for 30-45 minutes.
5. Roll out into large rectangle and spread with melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture. 6. Roll into log and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces. Place on cookie sheet and let rise until double. 7. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.
8. Spread cream cheese frosting over top of cinnamon rolls while they are still warm from the oven. Enjoy!

Cinnamon/Sugar Mixture
1. Mix the following ingredients together:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
3 TBL cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting
1. Beat the following ingredients in medium bowl with electric mixer until smooth:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
¼ cup stick margarine or butter, softened
2 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2. Gradually beat in 4 cups powdered sugar on low speed, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable.

Here is the recipe for a pasta salad that I made for the music recital...of course I didn't take a picture, although it is definitely yummy! I will first post the original recipe and then tell you the little adjustments that I made for that salad that night.

Pasta Pesto Salad

1 lb. penne pasta (cooked al dente)

1 cup homemade buttermilk ranch dressing

8 ounces pesto sauce

1/2 cup feta cheese

1 small basket grape tomatoes

1 small pkg. baby spinach

3 grilled and cubed chicken breasts

OK, so I obviously didn't use the chicken for that night and it was still delicious. If you were using this salad as more of a main dish instead of a side, the chicken would be good. I also used the Kraft Meditteranean Crumbles cheese instead of the feta...it is cheaper and it is what I had on hand. It does have feta cheese in it, along with some other kinds of cheese. I've had it both ways and don't think it makes any difference. I accidentally used about 1 1/2-2 cups of ranch dressing instead of 1 and it didn't seem to be too overpowering in the end, although 1 cup would probably be just fine! I always thought this salad would be hard to make but it was actually very very easy to put together since you don't have to cut anything, unless you do the chicken. Enjoy!