faith

So I'm sitting down... Feet elevated... Blogging from my phone


why... Well because our computer is being stubborn and my hubalub is playing basketball at the church.  But I'm desperate to blog... Maybe a little more worried that I might forget if I don't do it now :)


Question: why do so many of us (I'm guilty as well) focus on the negative and instead of trying to lift eachother up... We tear eachother down??


Does anyone know the answer to this?


Can I just say I am very sensitive to words... Hopefully I'm not reading too far into things.


I have just noticed that more and more people love to tell me how much I'm going to hate life after the babies come, that I'm never going to get out, never going to sleep, that I'm going to go crazy taking care of sooo many little ones, they don't know how in the world I'm going to manage... Yada yada yada.


Do they really think that these thoughts haven't crossed my mind?


Really?


I can tell which individuals really care about me and want me to succeed and feel great about life.  These are the ones who continually tell me... Haylie you are going to be great, think of how much fun it's going to be for Larkyn, everything will be fine... You get the point right?  Christ like individuals who love and have charity ... These are the things they say.  It is so hard for me not to stress and it's so hard for me to not dwell on the negative... especially when at almost every corner someone brings up the bad.  I know it seems silly to be so concerned over something that maybe be minimal to some, but again its hard not to be concerned when the bad lingers.    

I really appreciate my confidence boosters... The ones who genuinely care.  These are my angels.  It's because of their kind words that I can get through everday. 


Then there is Christ.  Tonight we had an amazing relief society activity/ musical focused on the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  It is amazing to know that when I am loaded with my burdens, doubts, fears to the point of wanting to give up... I can turn to him.  He will and does help me everytime... Even when I don't feel worthy of his love, he is there willing to help lift my burdens.  It is because of him and the angels in my life that allow me to look in the mirror every morning and say... I can do this.  I always have to remind myself that Heavenly Father will never give us a challenge or trial that we can't handle.  What a comfort. 

I have enough faith in him that I trust him and after all... in the premortal life He probably sat me down and said "Haylie, these are your children, these are the challenges you will face, Do you accept this challenge" :) 

And because I stood by His side and trusted him then... I am here today still trusting and enduring.   



  

hallelujah...

It has been a long journey...

BUT THEY ARE FINALLY DONE!  YES... I am talking about our blessed cabinets!!

A little about this project: 

So we actually started this project I believe in November {sad I know} BUT when we initially started we had big plans on staining our cabinets.  

NOW... I don't know who all has done that before but its a pain in the neck!  When you stain you MUST sand down to the raw wood... YUCK.  I never ever thought that doing that would be such a big deal... BUT it is!  

We started in sections and did the piece above the fridge first.  All went well.  Then we started the piece up top by the window... and when I started to stain the doors I noticed that parts of the wood were absorbing the stain differently.  

YES I panicked!  Logan was in Arizona at the time and I was so stressed that I had done something wrong.  

Who did I resort too?  My lovely computer.  

I started looking up how much it was going to cost to have someone either come fix it for us or to just take the plunge and get a whole new kitchen... 

Man oh Man that was discouraging.  

So then I had an epiphany... Look at HGTV.com and thank goodness for divine intervention because that was when I learned about this....

There is a primer that you can buy for cabinets that you don't have to sand the wood... this stuff sticks to anything... its even hard to get off of skin!!! 

 

WHAT --- I was again freaking out.  So while Logan was in his business meeting I started emailing him pictures of lovely cabinets that had been painted.... When he got home a few days later... it took a lot of convincing and persuasion to change the way we were going to finish this project.  Then Logan remembered that he has a friend who works for Sherwin Williams {ding ding ding}... they chatted and FINALLY Logan decided to take another plunge with me.  We headed to Sherwin Williams... got the primer... ordered our paint...

AND GUESS WHAT ELSE WE LEARNED...

the type of paint we ordered had the sealer or final coat already in it... So yet another step eliminated!

Hooray!!! 

So the above pictures show what our cabinets look like now...

this is what they looked like before...

YOWZA!  

Ok.. So apparently when I took these pictures we just got home from Costco... See the pizza plate on the counter with the huge box of diapers?  And I honestly have NO clue why Logan's old camo shirt is out... How scary!  Please note... my kitchen doesn't always look like this :)  

Anyway... so to say the least our cabinets are fabulous now!  BUT the kitchen is not done.  YOU see the dark back splash... well I want to change this to either a cream or very light gray ish color... I saw a basket weave tile backsplash in a magazine that I am trying to hunt down.  Then one day we will also update the floors.  

But before either of those projects get done I must:

1. Get Larkyn's new room finished... Hopefully this week or beginning of next.. Two of my besties came by last week and we painted all her walls... this week we are going to be stenciling and finishing her bed... I'm sooooo very excited!  It's gonna be cute!!

2. Get the twins room all set up and possibly a partial repaint in there.  I am still trying to decide what I want to do... So while I am finishing Larkyn's room I'll be trying to plan how I want their room to function for 2 :)

3. Change that horrible green paint that is on my gigantic wall... PEOPLE if you are ever going to try to paint green in your house please take my advice and get a professional to help you... I don't know why but greens are sooo hard to get right! 

4. Work on our freak of a yard

5. Finish the loft... for those of you who don't know... my sister is moving in with us in June sometime.  She is coming to help me {thankfully} and live with us until she gets residency so she can attend college here in Utah.  Woot!!

Finally I want to enjoy my summer home with my 3 girls... Spend lots of time outside... walking, running, swimming... Oh I love summer.  

So maybe in the fall or winter we will work on those other kitchen projects :)  

Tootles!

pretty tastey

Logan and I have been on this finding new recipes kick... I am so sick of the same old recipes that we have been making for what fees like eternity!!  We made both of these last week... and I must say they were pretty tastey!  You can modify both of them to be slightly healthier by using whole grain pasta.  Logan isn't a huge fan of the whole grain pasta, but a trick you can try is mixing them with regular white noodles... if you do this, be sure to cook the whole grain pasta for a few minutes before adding the white {they do take longer to cook} 

Grilled Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
8 oz fettuccine noodles
Fresh parsley chopped
½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup heavy cream
¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
garlic to taste


Prep:

-Oil grate on grill and then preheat
-Season chicken breasts with 1st salt and pepper then garlic powder, set aside. When grill is hot, cook chicken for 5-7 minutes per side or until juices run clear. Set aside for 10 minutes before slicing, then slice.
-Cook noodles.
-While noodles are cooking prepare sauce by melting butter into cream in a small pot. Once butter is melted, add parmesan cheese, garlic and 2nd salt and pepper. Stir together and put on low heat.
-Drain noodles and add chicken and sauce with parsley on top. Serve with garlic bread and a salad
I honestly think the grilled chicken and then the parmesan cheese w/ garlic is what makes this probably some of the best home made Grilled Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. 

Skewered Honey Balsamic Chicken

Ingredients:

5 boneless chicken thighs

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp onion powder
2 tbs honey
1 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbs oil
Sesame seeds to sprinkle
Extra honey (optional)

Prep:

Cut chicken thighs into ½ inch pieces. In a separate bowl, mix the marinade and pour over the chicken. Add salt to taste. Mix completely so that all the chicken pieces are covered. Let marinade for 1-2 hours at least... we let ours marinade for 24 hrs = YUM. Drain and skewer the chicken on a bamboo skewer. Heat a non stick pan on med high until hot. Lower the heat to med low and add some skewers to the pan. Cook on one side for 3-5 minutes or until caramel brown. You will notice that as the chicken cooks it first releases liquid and then the liquid starts to caramelize. It will then coat the chicken. Make sure the heat is not too high when cooking the chicken.


Baste with extra honey if you’d like and cook for an additional min or so. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and serve.

Ok... so Logan and I didn't follow this recipe to a "T" because I forgot to buy skewers at the store... So I just cooked the chicken in a pan on the stove.  We served this with our family favorite pasta. 


On another side note... we did double each recipe for YUMMY leftovers! 


Let me know if you try either of these out..
Up Next - Teriyaki Chicken

update: our family

So I am on my 29th week of pregnancy.  I guess it's a good time to give an update on how we are all doing.  

Last week I had 2 Dr appointments... one with my regular Dr and the other with MFM at IMC.  Everything went great for both appointments.  I passed my glucose test... and that was a big hurdle for me!  I made sure not to have too many sweets the coming days before that appointment... that was so hard!!  :)  For me the test isn't bad... I just didn't want to have to take a 3 hour test!  Tuesday we learned that baby A weighed approximately 2 lbs 7 oz and baby B weighed approximately 2 lbs 4 oz.   So not a huge difference between them.  Monday at my appointment they were both laying transverse... which scared me big time.  Tuesday Baby A was head down and baby B was breach.  Dr England (my reg. ob) he told me that they will move a lot... for some reason I guess I didn't think that twins would be able to since space is limited... but these girls are out to prove me wrong.  This past week I did a lot of reading on C-sections mostly to prepare myself just in case.  Honestly, it terrifies me to think of having one of those!   We all have our fears... for me being sliced open is a fear!  I have family, friends, and neighbors that have these procedures without thinking twice about them...  and then there is me.  Sometimes I way over think and over analyze things... this can be a good thing or a bad thing.  BUT I am trying to stay positive!  Maybe it would help if I meditated on a daily basis "no c-sections... " hmmm.   Honestly, I am willing to do whatever as long as these girls get here healthy and happy.  But I am still scared... OK??  


Larkyn... where do I start on her?  She is my baby girl.  I love her more than words could describe, but gosh dang it... why must she test her mother!?!?  It's been especially bad lately.  She can either make my day by running up and giving me a kiss and telling me I am pretty... or she can ruin a perfect day by doing the smallest thing like not listening and being destructive.  Maybe I am oversensitive these days :).   She is such a smart little girl though.  She will be 2 May 31... Where did the time go?  She sings her ABC's all by her self now, she knows all of the letters individually, she even tries to write them... its soo cute when her A's are upside down and her N's only have the first half.  She knows her colors... but only when she wants to.  HA!  She can count to 20, but 13-19 all kind of sound the same... she definitely has the "teen" part down.  She is definitely girly but at the same time loves to play in the dirt and collect bugs.  Last Wednesday she got her first official hair cut.  I was so worried she was going to be a pill, and she did fabulous!  Thanks to Kariann and the ring pop!  Isn't is amazing what a little sugar can do for a kid!!  :)  She was so excited to put on the purple princess cape {as we called it because she loves princesses} and she loved that Kariann told her that she was pretty.  Now every day when we do her hair she tells me that she is so pretty!  Kariann cut a few layers into her hair and gave her some swoop bangs!   She definitely loves all this girly stuff!!  I can't wait until she is old enough to go get pedicures with me!  :)

And my wonderful husband... I don't blog enough about him!  I seriously don't know how I would get through everyday if it wasn't for him!  He is so excited to welcome 2 more baby girls into our home.  He is great at reminding me of all the positives!  I always ask him if he is ever scared of how much things around the house and in our lives are going to change... and he always says No.  I am so glad that one of us is atleast being strong... because if he was here there and every where like me... what a disaster!  He is very busy these days between work, calling, finishing the kitchen {i need to post some pics... so far the cabinets are beautiful!}, getting ready to finish the loft, playing with Larkyn, helping around the house... the list could go on and on!  He is seriously my knight in shining armor! 

Life is a roller coaster full of ups and downs... for me lately these ups and downs seem to come on within a blink of an eye.  For those of you who are in my ward you witnessed this yesterday!  All of the sudden in Relief Society I just lost it... and once my tears start... there is no stopping them!  AND I am a VERY UGLY CRYER!  I honestly don't know what triggered these tears yesterday.  I get so overwhelmed thinking about everything {the horrifying c-section, nursing 2 babies, playing with Larkyn, all our home projects, work, diapers, $... and this is just to name a few of the things I think about daily}  I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends in my neighborhood who have helped, offered to help, or have lifted me back up in some small way.  I got so many messages on my email or facebook concerned about my well being yesterday.  It is great to be loved!  Thanks Ladies... You know who you are!  Other than my emotional instability... I feel great for the most part.  I have a few minor aches and pains in my back, hips, and feet... but it's nothing too concerning.  I think also as the Big Day is getting closer and closer... I am getting more and more nervous.  I am actually terrified!  I won't go on and on about all of my fears... I just hope and pray that I will be able to be the best darn mother to all 3 of my girls!  I am so worried I am going to fail.  Don't worry...  I am very aware that I am not going to be a perfect mom.  I know everyday will bring a new challenge. 

That's our life at the moment.  Happy.Love.Stress.Work.Life

Photo Friday: a few days late

Photo: Courtesy of Des and her phone

Isn't it so nice to finally have some warmer weather? 

Last Friday, Des and I went for a walk with the kiddos... I think Larkyn was enjoying herself as well!  Feet up, sun glasses on, apple juice... all she needed next was a pool boy to fan her off!!  HA! 

I am so excited for summer to be here!!