Happy Birthday, Amanda!

So most of you probably know about my dear, fun, beautiful best friend Amanda...she passed away in a car accident on July 20, 2007. Today is her birthday and since she has been in my heart and on my mind so much lately I couldn't pass the chance to just give a little tribute to her. I miss her so much, it is hard for me to explain to people what a huge part of my life she was. We were more like sisters! So today on your birthday, Amanda Reece, I want to tell you I love you and miss you. I can still hear your voice in my head, I don't think that will ever fade! Too many feelings are too close to my heart, I don't know what else to write...Happy Birthday, Amanda!

Loads of Turkey, Loads of FUN!

Aubrey the Indian in the Thanksgiving play
Pretty Pilgrim Gracie!

My Fam (minus Ben, add Kate)

Sisters...Sisters...There were never such devoted sisters!

Marianne, Alissa, Marlise, ME

So Thanksgiving weekend was a total blast, we had the whole family (except Ben and Ashley, missed you guys!) here...it's been a long time! We ate some good food, watched some funny movies, played games, did some Black Friday shopping, played LOTS of wii, and had Lissa's wedding reception...whew! I can't wait until the next time we are together again...?

I'm Counting to 10...

So this picture is totally fresh, totally new...as in, while I was publishing my last post just moments ago, this was happening (via Spencer) in my front room. I'm glad I own a Bissell!! I have been talking about documenting Spence's "creativity" for some time now, so here is Post #1! We have high hopes for that boy, there's got to be some way to channel all that creative energy...our house has been his canvas, we just like to say it has "character" and "charm". My kitchen cupboards, dishwasher, fridge, oven, Ellie's Bumbo chair, the computer keyboard, and my banister are all daily reminders of his skills with a Sharpie. My vacuum bags the last 6 or 8 months have been more full of baby formula than dust. And let's just say that that really fabulous deal on Victoria's Secret body sprays and lotions didn't go so far at my house...3 weeks later, only 1 half-full bottle remains in my bathroom...but our carpet will smell good for ages! I won't try to make up for lost time and list all the surprises we've had over the last year, but I will try to document them from now on, it's really quite ingenious sometimes. And who knows? Maybe some Hollywood producer will stumble across our blog and pay us big moola for Spencer's destruction ideas?! Here's hoping...

FHE Life Saver!!

So I just have to give a little plug for my new favorite FHE tool...this book is FANTASTIC!! In case your imagination fails you, Family Night at our house can be a little bit, uh, INSANE. :) 5 children under age 8 make for VERY small windows of opportunity in which to get anything into their little heads. So...this book is so great! There are 52 lessons, all very interesting to kids and taught in a way they understand. They are SHORT, come with a scripture reference and a song suggestion...MY DREAM COME TRUE! We have been having great lessons lately, even Joseph and Aubrey can read these and then usually elaborate a little bit. Deseret Book for less than $8.00, baby! So I highly recommend it!

Halloween

Just a quick note on my last post...I got gas for $1.73!! So wonderful...And I know it's been a while since my last entry (duh, Halloween was so long ago!) but I can blame it on Dave, ha ha! He has been using my camera for work since his battery is dead and he always has either my camera or my cable. So bear with me over the next few days as I try to "catch-up"!

So we tried to go "homemade" as much as possible this year for Halloween. I was so tired of spending so much money on costumes! I told my kids that if I had to buy their costume that was one less Christmas present. :) Just kidding, of course, but it worked! Joseph was a baby, Aubrey was a present, Gracie was a black cat, Spencer was Dennis the Menace, and Gracie was a frog (she wasn't dressed up for the picture!)...it was a fun night! The kids really cleaned-up at trick-or-treating, check out the pile of goods! That was all traded for some fun new toys, and I can truthfully say we chucked all that candy...I am so happy to not have candy wrappers all over the house.

You Should Be Jealous...

So I don't know what gasoline costs all of you (that are out of the Springfield area)...but this is where we are sitting today! :) Making me do some more Suburban dreaming...ha ha!

Totally Tuckered Out!

So I have to admit that this is only the second (maybe third?) time one of my kids has fallen asleep in their high chair. I feel like such a bad mom! We had a late night on Friday, Ellie was chilling nicely in her high chair Saturday morning while I did some chores...and the next thing I know, she's totally out! The funny thing about my kids when they sleep is that they almost always look like they are faking it. :) But she stayed out for a few hours--don't worry, I did move her to her bed after the photo opportunity!

Carrott Fries!!

Okay, dinner tonight was a total hit...worthy of a blog post! Anyone else ever get those fliers from school that are SO ANNOYING?! You know the ones, where they tell you how to feed and raise your kids? :) Well, the other day I happened to be reading one--don't really know why--and I saw a fun recipe for carrott fries. It sounded yummy...I like carrotts, and so do most members of my household--except Gracie. She is my pickiest eater BY FAR! Everything I make is totally disgusting and makes her want to throw up. I figured I would try a new spin on the carrotts and see if they might find their way down her digestive tract...and sure enough, she loved them! The picture is PROOF!

In case you want to make carrott fries of your own...toss carrott sticks with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for about 10-15 minutes. Wa-la! Yummy carrott fries! I even kept mine under the broiler for just a few minutes--because I like to put everything under the broiler for extra-toastiness.

The other picture is one of my very favorite cookbooks. "Deceptively Delicious"--GREAT!! I don't really have a problem getting my family to eat fruits and vegetables, they actually inhale fruit like it's straight sugar, and they all have several vegetables they like. But I really love the idea of adding even more nutrients to my meals (and flavor!), it makes a mom feel good. Some of our favorites are pumpkin pancakes (or sometimes sweet potato), chicken kabobs with pineapple and sweet potato, macaroni and cheese with cauliflower, and pita pizzas with spinach. I do have a few pointers of my own to add, though...

*instead of storing your purees in a large quantity, freeze them in ice cube trays first...each cube is a few tablespoons and it's easier to defrost just what you need for each recipe than to chisel out the amount from a large mass...

*if you aren't into making the purees, jars of baby food are perfect!!!!! it's not as "economical" as the other ways, but much easier to add a #3 jar of sweet potatoes to my pancake mix than steam and puree the real thing all weekend long. it is really the same thing, anyways!

So that's about all I have to add for tonight...now go and make delicious and healthy meals for your families!!

Tag Again...Sorta!

Okay, so this time I kinda "tagged" myself...I read this cute tag on Brittany's blog and thought I would do it too. Sorry if that's lame! I am really in the mood to add something to my blog and Dave has my camera, so...I'll do this picture-less post! Enjoy!

I am...tired! Oh, my name? Amy Petersen Brown
I think...cheese is the most perfect food
I want...to take a REAL vacation with my family!
I have...so many blessings
I miss...my mom, of course! Can anyone else believe she's been gone for over 7 years?!
I fear...cancer and spiders
I feel...like the luckiest girl ever!
I hear...the phone ringing, my kids throwing stuff downstairs, and the dryer buzzing...
I smell...chili in the crock-pot! yum!
I crave...lately it's been salty stuff
I cry...when i get overwhelmed
I search...for shoes, always for shoes!
I wonder...if i'll ever sleep through the night?!
I regret...not having more direction during my college planning. And also, that I didn't get that last pair of jeans in my size, now they're gone!
I wish...to see my mom and Amanda again
I love...my husband and my children, and brownies
I care...what my kids look like when we go out in public
I always...feel grateful
I worry...about too many things, and probably not enough about some things!
I am not...crafty. Not even close!
I remember...phone numbers and license plates
I believe...that the Church is true!!
I sing...to the radio in the car
I don't always...make my bed. It seem silly to make it when I'm just going to get back in it!
I argue...when I think I'm right. :)
I write...oops, not as often as I should. Which is funny because I actually love to write!
I lose...my patience all the time
I listen...to my kids' talk about their day
I can usually be found...at the computer! Or at Walmart!
I need...a good massage and a pedicure
I forget...to write down my kids' reading minutes on their reading logs!
I am happy...most of the time!

So I'm just gonna tag anyone who reads this, because I have no idea who actually does and I would feel really stupid tagging someone who isn't even remotely interested in my life. :) I'll hopefully be posting some pictures of my beautiful bride sister soon!

Spencer

Spence cheesin' it up while I am trying to keep him entertained at the doctor's office...just moments after this shot he tore the place up--but it's grins for now!
He loves to have his picture taken, but it's hard for him to wait far enough away, he always wants to see it! I barely caught him on this one before he came to see what it looked like.
The other night Spence was coloring at the table, I was folding laundry and Dave was doing some homework...we looked up and found this! Crashed! So adorable, he's so sweet when he's asleep!

Just a few more musings on Spencer Dew...he has really taken to his name lately. When we try to call him anything other than Spencer he says "No, I Spencer!"...Anytime I say "I love you" he always says "I love you, too" and usually gives me a little kiss...If I ask him who his best friend is he says "You!"...This kid is a hugger! I love that he will just randomly, in the middle of some serious play, come and give me a hug and kiss and then go back to his very important business. Spencer is probably the greatest source of laughter in our home, he is all boy and all joy and I just love his little face! This little kid rocks my world! I love you, Dew!

Ellie's on the GO!!

Ellie the jellybean is a crawler! I can't believe it came so quickly! We are back to gating the stairs and being better at sweeping the kitchen floor. :) Her favorite thing is to find paper items on the floor and eat them up! For example...business cards, magazines, homework--that's a new one, huh? My baby sister ate my homework! She also is great at finding the dirtiest shoes and chewing on them, gross! The other day at soccer practice she totally chowed down on a grass salad...what can i say? She's a health freak! She is also a very loud growler, I usually cannot take her into Sunday School with me, she is so loud that no one can hear the teacher! I know I say it every time I post about her, but she is really so much fun! I am so glad she decided to come to our family, what would we do without her?

FUNKY

Joe's class reached their "compliment goal" and decided that to celebrate they would have CRAZY FUNKY DAY!!! This meant they could wear funny clothes and silly hair...so Joe wore his clothes inside out, mismatched socks and shoes, and wanted little ponytails in his hair! He was way overdue for a haircut, so it wasn't as hard as you might think to get those little elastics in his hair. He didn't like having it done, though! You should have heard the moans and seen the tears, he is so grateful to not be a girl! ha ha But the pain paid off...Dr. Kopp (the principal) was the judge and Joe won "FUNKIEST BOY", mostly due to the fine work of his mom!

Ellie Bean

Ellie is such a fun and happy baby, we can't help taking pictures of her! Here she is cheering at the soccer game--go, girls! And we tried to get a good shot of her Frankenstein hair after her bath, but she was reaching and not cooperating much so it's not as good as "in person". :) She is SO MUCH FUN!!

Fall Athletes

So as promised, here are some pics of the kids before each of their first games...Joseph's football team is the Fightin' Raccoons...:) They won their first game and Joe did a GREAT tackle, he loves taking kids down! Don't be fooled by his little size, he's fast and strong! Aubrey is on her 4th soccer team, this year she is in all all-girls' league! She was the first pick of her coach, she has had him before and he is WONDERFUL, it's going to be a really fun season! Gracie is the only girl on her team...just the way she would want it!! She is the princess with 9 little boys, they are a hoot to watch. We are busy but loving it!

Mom in Time Out!

September 12-13 I got to go to St. Louis with my BFF Sunny Martin!! And our good friend DeAnna (love ya!)...we went to "Time Out for Women" and it was AWESOME! Our hotel was great, we did lots of chilling out and hot tubbing, and hit some good shopping and EATING!!!!! Here is Sunny and DeAnna at P. F. Chang's...we also filled our bellies at Cheesecake Factory, but it was so late and we were not quite to our second wind (ha!) so we didn't do pictures. Thanks a million bajillion to our FANTASTIC husbands who held down the fort and were super-dads all weekend, we love ya!

ABC Tag

So I got tagged by Lissa...thanks, sis! We'll see what kinda stuff you find out about me that you either didn't know before or don't really care about. :) This will be fun!

A...Age: 30
B...Birthday: March 6
C...Candy or Cake: oh, candy for sure!
D...Dessert you love: ice cream
E...Easiest person to talk to: Sunny and Lissa
F...Favorite Song: gee, there's so many!
G...Gold or Silver: silver
H...Habit: interrupting (so bad!)
I...Instruments you play: viola and piano (sort of)
J...Job title: oh, good one! I'm totally the boss...
K...Kids: 5 Amazing ones! Joseph, Aubrey, Gracie, Spencer, Ellie
L...Love or Lust: well, love...but sometimes lust is fun...can I say that? :)
M...Married?: yep, to my Dave!
N...Named after: I don't think I'm named after anyone, my parents just liked the name
O...One wish: to have my mom and Amanda back...but realistically, I just want to sleep in! I know, not so realistic, ha ha!
P...Person you called last: Marianne
Q...Quote: again, lots of these! But we've been doing the "duties" quote a lot from "Nacho Libre", adding our own twists.
R...Reasons to smile: about a million and 39!
S...Something Unknown: well, how badly do I want it to stay unknown?! :) I memorize license plates. Weird.
T...Turns you on: Dave rocking a baby or doing the dishes!
U...Unique Talent: gosh, I'm not sure that I do anything "unique"...sorta like the license plate thing, I can remember phone numbers from years ago.
V...Vegetable: Broccoli
W...Woke up at what time: 5:45am...darnit! :)
X...X-rays you've had: just dental ones
Y...Your Favorite Color: I've really been into red and brown lately, but I'm always a lover of deep purple.
Z...Zodiac Sign: Pisces Power!!

Okay, I guess I'm supposed to "tag" 3 people...Karman, Coco, and anyone else who reads my blog!! :) I'll be checking up on ya...

Another School Year Begins...

This is all the camera time the kiddos would allow on the first day of school! I guess they are "too big" now...no pics in their classrooms, I barely got a hug and a "bye, mom!"! Sniff, sniff...but I have to say that I love that they love school and their teachers, it makes it so much easier to send them away all day!

So Joseph is in 3rd grade with Miss Plumley--she has the reputation as the FUNNEST teacher at Century Elementary! Wow, is she ever! Aubrey has Miss Tinsley for the 1st grade and absolutely loves her...she tells me that every day is the best day of her life because she gets to spend all day with Miss Tinsley and eat breakfast and dinner with me because I'm the best cook...aw, thanks, Aubrey! And Gracie is in pre-school with Mrs. Newberry...she was Joseph's kindergarten teacher and we just adore her. Kindergarten out here is an all-day event, so pre-school is a great adjustment time. She goes half-day, Monday thru Friday...and loves every minute of it! So far we are off to a great start...and so busy! I'll have to post pics of the kids in their sport uniforms soon, they are SO CUTE!

St. Louis Mini-Vacation!

We took a 2 day trip to St. Louis before school started...yippee for Family Fun Time! We had a blast at Grant's Farm (sans the complimentary Budweiser beverages)...the Clydesdales were amazing and all the other exotic animals were so fun! We could definitely have spent another day or two there, it was the kids' favorite thing--it even beat out the hotel swimming pool!!!! The next day we did a couple of hours at the St. Louis Science Center...more fun times! It was a good little breather for us before the insanity (and schedule!) of the school year began.

Remember Me?

So I am going to be a copycat--because I think it sounds like so much fun! If you feel so inclined...post a memory you have of me (or any of the Brown Posse) and then if you want to play the game, I'll "Memorize" you, too!!
I hope it's fun...and also, don't embarass us too much. ha ha :)

This is TRULY AMAZING!!

Wow, we actually got this on film! And the best part is...it was Joseph who noticed what a big deal it was and wanted to take the shot! :) Ha ha, just kidding with ya, Dave! We are proud of our multi-tasking daddy...and just to clarify, the multi-tasking is what was a big deal, not the helping out part, he does that all the time! He is feeding Ellie her bottle, holding an ice pack on Aubrey's head for some horrific injury, and keeping Spencer "contained"! I think while all this was going on I was talking on the phone and eating ice cream or something...

Grinny Girl

So I just had to post this picture of Ellie that I took this afternoon because it is just so her! She always looks like this, happy and grinning and completely content...she is just the bright spot in everyone's day and I love her so much!

So I think we are the last family ON EARTH to create a blog! ha ha Actually, Dave just said to me "I didn't think our life was interesting enough for a blog"...so we'll see what kinds of things we can think up every so often!

Should I start with introductions? I am sure that anyone who reads our blog already knows us, but just in case you don't know enough...

DAVE--DAD
Dave is the man of the hour in our family! Everyone adores him and he doesn't seem to mind being around us too much. :) Dave has worked at Assist 2 Sell for 6 1/2 years now, wow! Real estate has been a good profession for us, but Dave has always wanted to go to school so this fall he will be doing some classes at OTC. He is all about fun and playing and laughing...just ask anyone who has ever watched a funny movie with him!

AMY--MOM--WONDER WOMAN
It probably doesn't count that I gave myself the nickname of Wonder Woman, ha ha! I have more interests than I could probably name, but the only ones outside of my family that I usually make time for are shopping, eating out, and movies. I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom, I am learning to love the housekeeping part of it, and I have an obsession with throwing things away. I don't scrapbook or run marathons or create incredible meals (although my family does like my cooking), but I love my husband and my family and I try to show it every day.

JOSEPH
Joe just got baptized!! Wow, he is an awesome kid...Joe is interested in anything and everything! He is a great student, he loves to read, and he's been trying out new sports each season. He just got finished with his first round of baseball and loved it, football this fall! He's got a pet frog named Sarge and he takes very good care of him--so good, in fact, that he is trying to convince Mom he's ready for a snake or turtle...nope!

AUBREY
Aubrey is our drama queen, but I mean that in a very loving way! She loves to sing and dance and act...and she is very good at it! Aubrey has a really fun giggle and she is a very good helper with all the younger kids. She really loves soccer, too, and her favorite position is goalie...she spends as much time blocking that ball as her coach will let her! We love having her around, she gives good hugs!

GRACIE
Have you heard of shortie disease? Well, it sorta runs in Amy's family and Gracie got the big dose in ours...she is tiny and SUPER spunky!! She loves her curly hair and her hazel eyes and can't wait to get married...to any one of her 43 boyfriends! Gracie is the gymnast in our family and really loves the balance beam and the bars. She's a little fish, too, and has gotten a tan to be jealous of this summer!

SPENCER
Uh, I don't even know where to start with Spence...just kidding! He is 2, need I say more?! Spencer is a very good talker, when you can get him to take the binkie out of his mouth. He is always on the go, for real!! I guess the best word would be "creative"...he can make catastrophes that couldn't be scripted. A few of his nicknames are "Dennis the Menace", "Taz", and "Ninja"...nuff said? :) We love our Spencer, he keeps us all on our toes and is always passing out kisses and hugs!

ELIZABETH
Well, we call her Ellie. She is our chubby, grinny, drooly, snuggly baby girl! Everyone adores Ellie! She doesn't have many interests yet, but she does really like to be where all the action is and she loves to be held. She can roll and sit and laughs up a storm at her older brothers and sisters! Ellie is such a fun girl to have around!

So sorry if that was a longer introduction than you wanted...but that's us! We'll see how the rest of this blogging thing goes!