Marshall turns...

If I could remember how old he is I would tell you. But he is another year older and much wiser too,

SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

We have had a very busy and eventful week.

On Friday we went to dinner with Marshalls parents for his birthday. We were going to eat at Texas Road House but a 90 min wait with a toddler is not fun. So we went to Goodwood instead. It was great Libby learned from grandpa that you should ask the waitress every time she walks by “Where are my fries”. It was pretty funny to see her get all upset that they weren’t her short order cooks like mom is. She got over it and loved them when they came out. We had just finished eating and were talking to the waitress about the check when all the sudden the power went out. The floodlights came on and we now got to wait 30 min for our check, SO Frustrating. Libby was excellent she had some crayons and lights (thank goodness that Marshall thought to put the flashlight app on both our IPods). There was an accident that cut the power to half the mall and the surrounding businesses. Well we got in the car to leave and Libby was just upset (she loves to see people, especially grandparents) so we told her we would go see the temple the beautiful temple. Well she was excited and happy to see the temple. At night it is just so much more majestic. She also found out that night she has a new favorite song. It is from the group Never shout never she likes 2 of their songs one has a chorus that she can “ohohohoh” to and she always tells me its her favorite.

My brother Joe and his wife went on Vacation this week and left the kids for 3 days with my mom and me. So we had them Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Going from 1 to 3 ages 3½, 2 ½, 1 ½ was a big jump. Glad it is not my day to day. We took them on Monday to the bean museum and they had a blast they loved seeing in the bear exhibit a snake eating a frog.

So Sunday was the Big SUPERBOWL party! We were at my families this year for Sunday dinner so I thought I should make some super bowl food. I made some mini sliders (check the recipe page for the how too), homemade French fries (should have fried them not baked them, Homemade tortilla chips, Nachos, and potato bites. I was going to do apple pie but I didn’t want to make a crust. Everything was good but the potato bites won’t do those again. Our team won I think. I didn’t get to see any of the commercials, three kids are a handful. I was glad that Marshall got to enjoy the game.

These look similar to mine I forgot to take a picture,
story of my life.

Now on to Funnier stories. I always love to get phone calls and texts from Marshall when I am gone. Sometimes it’s nice to know that he runs into problems just like me. I was packing my brothers kids into the car to take them to their other grandma’s house when I got a call from Marshall. “Libby and I made it home just fine. But at this moment one of us is locked in and one of us is locked out. Guess which one I am”. I couldn’t believe it. I also didn’t have a key to help him out. Luckily my sister did, so off my mom ran to let Marshall into the house. At first he thought it was funny but after 30 min he started to get cold. Libby had given up on following directions to try to open the door and he said he could hear her sit down and say “I sorry daddy, I sorry”. She now knows that you don’t touch the door.

The last few days we have been working on potty training. Wednesday evening she did really great (we started after nap time). But today has been kind of not so great. We will sit on the potty 20 min (literally) and 2-5 min after getting off she comes to me wet. I remind her about going in the potty not her underwear. But I am less stressed and more patient this time around then the last few times. I am hoping that by the end of the weekend we are accident free during the day. That would be awesome.

Christmas cruise

Libby Loves Potato head



she loves playing with play dough, I dont.
At grandmas she gets to play all the time.
she is sitting in the bucket that holds the
playdough toys.






Playing wuth her baby and dads foot



Marshall was teaching her how to play
hide and seek she hid under the blankets
can you see her head poking up



                                                 Libby Working out with Marshalls stuff



Lions and tigers and bears OH MY!!

We are please to announce that Marshall has officially been accepted to the Villanova Masters Program in Human Resources. He will begin class in March; he will be going through their online program. This means that 1 night a week he watches and participates in a class over the internet. He will graduate in the fall of 2012. This will be a much better schedule than what he has been doing for the past 2 years. 3-5 classes a week for 6 semester’s straight and working full time (we are glad to be done). We are grateful for the break and it won’t seem so bad when he starts in March. I know that he has been very excited about this since July and we are glad that it is finally here.

This past week has been a really lazy week. We did however get to go to the Temple. I know we are always grateful for the opportunity to go. We got to be involved with sealing’s (it makes adoption feel more real for our family). I would encourage all who can to attend the temple. I know that the Lord blesses our family when we make the time to go.

Marshall has been working really hard with his P90X and he has been eating much better. I am really proud of him, because I know how difficult it is to change habits.

This week Libby and I had the opportunity to babysit Marshall’s nephew Braddock. I was hoping that all would go well with Libby. She has a hard time sharing with little children but not big ones. She did great and Braddock was excellent. She helped me and brought him toys and talked with him. It made me hopeful for the future. Next week we will have my brother’s kids and it will be interesting to see how that all plays out. They are a year older and a year younger then her. I hope is will go smoothly.

I am excited that I am now part of a freezer recipe group. I am excited that I get to have more than just my usual in my freezer. I made Baked pesto ravioli with chicken, and chimichungas for my meals. My mom has been asking me to make her the Baked pesto ravioli with chicken because it tastes like something that you would get at a nice Italian restaurant. So check out my recipes page for the recipe.

FYI

I made a page off to the left, between adoption fund and my blog list, it called menus.  Check it out.  I put all my menus for the last 3 months or so.  I will also add some recipes that are great freezer meals too.

also check out my grandma camp page let me know what you think.

Adoption process going well and other stuff too!

This week has been very productive, exciting, and full. We started out on Thursday at LDSFS with our case worker. She is wonderful. Well we are coming up on having to renew our profile. That means we have to have a new home study/case study, new background checks, new bishops letter, new tax form, new financial statement. Luckily we don’t have to do a ton of paperwork. Well after answering several questions, and filing out the background check paperwork we get to have a questioning session. I have been worried that I have not been doing enough to help in our finding process; here was my opportunity to see what I could do to make it better. Well all of our numbers look great. We have a lot of traffic on our profile. So thanks to all you who have given out a passalong card. Those make the world of difference. She suggests putting them in your bills that you mail out. So if you still have a couple of cards put one in your bill this month. Also if you know anyone who is going to school like Paul Mitchell of some sort of technical school I would love to send some cards with them to put on a counter there. She also said my adoption blog looks wonderful. YEAH! For all my hard work (this is my pat on the back). So all around, it made me feel really great, that all my efforts are not going to waste.

We got the opportunity to go to dinner with Marshall’s boss, several co-workers and their spouses. We ate at the Chef’s Table. I was excellent food and I had a blast. It was really the first time in 2 weeks since Libby got sick that I had left the house. It was really great to finally put a face with the names and stories. I can see why Marshall has so much fun at work. They Laugh all day long at each other. They are all story tellers, and they all know how to laugh. It was a wonderful dinner with great company, but late night.

My exercise of the week is always on Saturday mornings. I don’t function if I exercise in the mornings, my days are pretty shot. But who can pass up a wonderful basket of yummy food and a little socializing, and hard work.  I buy a basket of food from Bountiful Baskets, I volunteer every week. I love eating the yummy variety of fruits and veggies that come each week. I get to try new things and stock up my freezer with good veggies. I canned and froze fruit for smoothies and snack time treats. You can buy extras like tortillas, bread, honey, granola, and many other things. I love the 9 grain wheat bread, and the fresh tortillas are amazing. If you have never tried it, you should. It helps to make my budget stretch and we are eating healthier. (picture of what came in my basket in 1 week)
http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/

Marshall had a tragic horrible Monday evening. He went to the dermatologist about 3 weeks ago, they biopsied a mole on his arm. They call him back on Monday when he got there they put him in a surgical room, he did not know that they were going to remove it. Well 10 shots, a 2 inch cut, 11 stitches, and then waking up after passing out, he came home. Poor thing never had stitches before and I think the trauma of the situation made him a little queasy. Good thing for him Blood and gore doesn’t bother me. 

I took Libby to the Monte L. Bean Museum on Wednesday.  I thought she and I needed a day away from home.  She has been feeling better and this was a great idea.  She loved to see all the stuffed animals.  the elephant was one of her favorites.  the lion she got up close and almost personal.  I was a little freaked

                                                       out looking it in the eye but it didn't bother her one bit. 

Thoughts from Libby

I was making a batch of baby blankets for those of my friends that are having babies. Libby comes in and asks what I am doing. I tell her that I am making blankets for babies. She looks at me and says “for my baby bubbles?”(A doll given to her at Christmas from my grandma). I tell her no. She then thinks about it and says for my baby sister? I said that would be really nice but not yet. I remind her that we pray for our baby to come and she keeps telling me it’s for her baby sister. The best part is that the blanket is a nice blue and green. I think she might be color blind.

Libby was getting dressed. Her pants were looking a little on the short side, so I said “Man Libby your legs are getting long, where did you get your long legs?” She looked at me and says “the doctor”.

picture: Libby found Ian's bean bag chair and was relaxing.

Libby brought me the princess dress and asked if she could wear it.  I told her that she could if she took off her clothes all by her self.  she did a step closer to being potty trained  she can take her pants on and off.  so she put on her princess dress and wore it until nap time. she was really cute about it.

Marshall should do my blogs more often

UHHH,  well I have not been thinking this week about what to blog.  I thought so hard about what I was going to do for the adoption blog (I had Marshall write it :-) ).  And I have lots going on for the next week so next week should be insightful.

After a most frustrating last week this one has gotten a bit better.  Libby no longer has a fever, it only took until Saturday afternoon.   She still has a productive cough but can sleep though the night without any cough medication.  Grandma and Grandpa Hooper stopped by to visit on Saturday evening.  She was so excited to see someone that she was almost bouncing off the wall.  They were only here for 30 min but as soon as they left she layed on my shoulders all wiped out.  Poor thing was so excited she just used all her energy to be happy. 

 I was getting ready for stake conference on Sunday, and had to put lotion on my feet to put on my tights. Well Libby saw me putting on lotion ,so she needed to have lotion too. Marshall got a picture or her laying on the couch getting her feet rubbed. A girl after my own heart.

Thought of profoundness from a 2 year old

We are reading a book before bed. Libby points out the mommy cat, and the baby cat. She then says " ohhh NO the daddy is missing" We look at her and ask "where is he ?" she says " he's doing homework"we had to laugh.

 

So here are a few catch all photos that I just received and found!

Priesthood session Oct 2010.  This is a picture of all the men in my family.  Who knows when it will ever happen again.  My dad was very glad that they got to go together.  A once in a lifetime experience.

                                     

 

These are the Thanksgiving photos.  Marshall's job is to cut, carve, leave enough for everyone else, the turkey.  Since I have known him this is one of his favorite jobs.  Thanks Andy for getting this coveted shot. he says he doesn't eat the turkey while carving it. Love you babe.

 

 

     The Hooper family Thanksgiving dinner. 
     We all enjoyed a fantastic turkey dinner.

 

Life and Times

While trying to decide what to put on both my blogs I had a hard time deciding. Our week thus far has been really crazy so here it goes for all that care to read.

Since last I wrote this has been our week.

I learned that I can’t exercise in the morning. If want to function at all for the rest of the day.

We have a new favorite game “A ticket to Ride” we also enjoy playing “Settlers of Catan”.

I tried a new recipe “Black bean quesadilla with chicken”: black beans, salsa Verde, shredded chicken and a little cheese in a tortilla. Very good.

Libby loves her new nursery class; they play with play dough, a play kitchen and lots of little friends.

I love my once a month girls night out, Bunco. I really love getting to socialize with other women. They are a great group and I am thankful for Ashley for inviting me. Oh and I won, yeah!

Tuesday we woke up and Libby was very warm and she had a nasty cough. After about 2 hours I decided that maybe we should go to the doctors. So I made her an appt for after her nap. When she woke up she was on fire. So we quickly went to the dr. appt early. She ended up with a fever of 106. They did chest X-rays, (really difficult with a screaming, unhappy 2 years old). Went back to the room and they had to catheterize her to get a urine sample (even more difficult with a screaming, unhappy 2 year old). Then they sent us back down stairs to get blood drawn (really not fun with a screaming, unhappy 2 year old). then back upstairs to get a shot of antibiotic. The entire time she is still 106 and stuck to me like glue. Needless to say she was warm, I was warm, and all the tests came back with showing nothing. So home we went. She was miserable and so was I. Well Marshall and I split the night up so I could get some sleep. I got 4 hours, the first 2 hours of the evening and the last 2 hours. She did not sleep because she was coughing and I couldn’t sleep because she was coughing. Well with a lot of Tylenol and Ibuprofen we finally got control of the fever. She still is running a temperature but can you do about that. Yesterday morning came and she was still miserable. We took her back on Wednesday night and they gave her another shot of antibiotics and then tonight I will find out how the cultures turn out. I am grateful that she is ok at this point, even if she is ornery. I really am glad for her Dr. He is a great Dr. And does a good job to put me at ease when I need it no matter how many times I called the office.

But to the funny. Here are a few things that she did do that were totally cute this week.

she said these with me
The doctor wants to listen to you breathe Libby, she looks at him and says “No Way”

After watching ‘Despicable Me’ 2 days in a row she wanted to dance at the end like every one in the show do. Gru gets up on stage and shakes his groove thing then does the splits Libby says “I want to do that”, so she does the exact move. Hands of butt and shakes it, A turn and down into the splits. I about fell of the chair laughing because I have never seen her do the splits before.

She died laughing when the last character of the last scene of “Despicable Me” says “ohhh poop” she decided that it is funny enough to copy.

We also spent the last 2 days with “Mary Poppins” Libby walks around the house singing “let’s go fly a kite” over and over again.

These were said to Marshall

"Libby guess what we forgot to give you this morning?"...... Libby: Uh....money!"
I was referring to her vitamin.

I get home, kiss Libby on her cheek and tell her she's my princess, she responds by saying, "daddy, you're my best friend".

Me: Libby what do you want for lunch? Libby: "yogurt". Me: You want yogurt for lunch? Libby: "yeah, that would be awesome!"


Sorry No pictures .  My death warmed over child will not let me take one.  I snuck a picture she was mad after the fact oh well.

New Bed

Well we gave Libby her big girl bed for Christmas and the transition has gone fairly well except for a few things.

She loves her bed and loves the “butterflies on big girl bed”.

I woke up Tuesday morning I did not hear her on the monitor. So I got dressed, put in my contacts and headed down to get her out of bed. When I got to the bottom of the stairs she had found my purse (the one day in the last 4 months I did not hang it high on a hook) I had luckily taken out the bag of candy bars the night before but she had found the hand sanitizer and emptied the entire bottle. So I reminded her rules of the big girl bed and put her in time out for that and she gladly and happily sat in time out.   Then at lunch I was sitting in the living room read my scriptures and all the sudden a door shuts I look up nad no libby comes my way.  So I go look down the hall Her bedroom door is almost shut but my office door is closed.  When I opened the door to my office the look on her face was like a deer caught in headlights.  so needless to say I am working on ways to keep her in her room.

As a mom, some days, you just want to laugh, cry and scream all at the same time.

p.s. Christmas is on our other blog