"Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree"

So this Christmas Tree Cake didn't look quite as good as I had hoped but it was still fun to make with Brody yesterday. He loves to help me cook in the kitchen but all he wants to do is make sweets. I am never going to lose this baby weight if I keep eating all Brody's goodies.

My Sweets

This is actually the after shot of the picture below it. Brody was holding Brooklyn and because she is such a big girl and weighs probably half of Brody, they toppled over. Brooklyn was scared, Brody was cracking up and I was too. It was quite funny. After

Before

My baby girl loves to smile and coo. Lately she has been talking my ear off. She looks at me with her big blue eyes and smiles then she starts to slobber. That's when I know she is going to start a conversion. She blows lots of spit bubbles and is just too cute for words.

Brody has been such a good boy lately. So much better behaved than a few months ago. I guess our stricter discipline is working....I hope. He is so excited to go see his grandma and grandpa on a airplane tomorrow. He has asked me everyday for a week if we could go. His favorite songs right now are "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "I'm so Glad when DADDY comes home." He has asked for a basketball hoop for Christmas from Santa. (My thoughts---oh great another BIG toy! Just what we need in our tiny place.) He loves to see all the Christmas lights in our neighborhood and asks if we can drive by a particular one every time I am in the car. All I can say is he is overwhelmingly cute.

My sweets are so much fun. I love them to pieces. And I hope that they all have the best Christmas ever.

A Special Thank You!

So this morning I woke up to the most wonderful surprise. Josh stayed home and made me breakfast in bed. I know that he is stretched thin for time right now as he has a big test tomorrow, so it was a big sacrifice. It brought tears to my eyes. I know silly emotional me. But it meant so much to me that he would put my needs above his own during this stressful time in his life. I know he could very well have used the time to study more. So honey, thank you for all that you do for me. Thank you for making me feel loved and special. I love you!

Cleaning on a TIGHT BUDGET!

Well, anytime I go out of town for a long time one of my favorite things to do is come home to a clean house. So the past couple of days I have been doing a lot of organizing and cleaning. However, since we are on such a tight budget, I didn't have any money left to spend for this week and I had no cleaning supplies. So I looked online for some homemade cleaning supplies (besides the usual watered down bleach) and I was pleasantly surprised at the end results. I used white vinegar and hot water for my tile floors and already used dryer sheets for the dusting and polishing of my wooden furniture. The vinegar smelled yucky but it worked. The dryer sheets worked amazing. I will definitely be using that one again. You should try it and tell me what you think. If you have any more ideas for homemade cleaning supplies that work great, let me know!

Good Luck Honey!

With Josh in the full swing of finals I took pity on him and decided to make him a finals survival basket. Lots of caffeine, goodies, and food for the week that I am gone. Josh I am so proud of your efforts and we all love you so much.

Josh Christmas Gifts

Honey- I love you with all my heart. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. I know I will with you by my side. Thank you for giving me your heart four years ago and for allowing me to love you with mine. You are my everything. Thank you for your constant encouragement and support. Thank you for being my best friend and strength when I am weak. Thank you for working so hard for our family so that I can stay home and raise our children. Thank you for being a wonderful father and husband. Merry Christmas my love.

Kicking Myself

Well two days ago I had one of those days where I was in a hurry, rushing out the door, and low and behold I locked the front door and shut it. Immediately I knew...I said to myself, "Oh NO!" I had forgot to grab the keys on the way out. I locked Brody and Brooklyn and me outside of the house. And of course the house key is with the car keys as well. So it was about 40 degrees outside and windy, I called Josh first thing and he didn't answer. So I said a quick prayer and I thought the only other person to call would be the rental company. I called them and told them my situation. They said that they would call me right back and let me know if someone was even in our area to come and let me in the house. Thankfully there was an old man that came to our rescue. We ended up having to be outside in the cold for only twenty minutes. And luckily I did have the kids' hats and mittens. Now here is the part of the story where I wanted to kick myself. My mom had told me when she came for Brooklyn's birth that I needed to make a copy of the house key and hide it. I said okay mom. She told me that she didn't want me to have to go through what she went through countless times of leaving the keys in the house or the car. Well of course I listened but didn't actually do what my mother told me to do. I called her right after the sweet old man let us back in the house and told her what happened. She said, "Cami, I am your mother, you need to listen to me." MOM--I hear you now! I will get a key made this week so that never happens again. I am just grateful that we were not outside for a longer period of time and that I had food, warm clothes for the kids, and toys to occupy them until we were rescued.

I am Thankful for...

Best Friends that are like family
Family that are my best friends
A husband that loves me
A husband that I love with all my heart
Children that are adorable
A gospel that allows me to be with my family forever
A Savior who died for me
A Heavenly Father who blessed me and continues to bless me with so much

Our Last Week and a Half at a Glance

Well I haven't really had a chance to blog with all our hustle and bustle but I needed to get the pictures off our camera before we leave so here is what has happened with our family lately Last Monday, we had the best surprise ever...DADDY! Josh had a test that day and after his test he surprised us by coming home and spending the day with us. We decided to drive up to Williamsburg to go to the outlets there. It was a chilly day but we had oh so much fun. In the end we didn't buy anything but we just enjoyed perusing the many shops and looking at all the fun things. Brody especially loved the toy store. He told us what he wanted for Christmas. We shall just have to wait and see.... On the way home I started to get a sore throat by midnight I knew it was strep. I couldn't sleep that night because I was in so much pain. Josh called his dad early Tuesday morning so that he could call me in a prescription. Well Tuesday I was having a really rough day. I was so tired and so sick. Plus that afternoon I had to go in and have a ingrown toenail removed....Gross, I know! Josh came home and helped me with the kids the rest of the afternoon and helped me make it through my appointment. For your benefit I have not included a picture of my nasty toenail...haha!

Wednesday I wasn't much of a mom since I couldn't walk very well so we kicked it at home. In my attempt to keep the kids busy we made sugar cookies. Brody loved the dough as you can see in the picture below.

I had to frost them after he was asleep and in my haste forgot to take a picture of them.

Thursday morning we had a play date at our house. Brody loved having everyone over even though the girls kind of leave him out of everything. I taught the moms how to make tutus and all I have to say was that it was very chaotic but still fun. I made everyone lunch and it was just nice to have a full day to keep Brody busy.

A cute picture of the two kiddies together.

Brooklyn smiling at her mom. She is learning to sit up in her Bumbo. As you can see she is not very good at it yet. But she likes the new view! Friday we went to the park. It was snowing that day so I bundled the kids up tight. Brody was so sick of the house we just had to get out. We of course had the playground to ourselves. Brooklyn had fallen asleep on the drive so I played with Brody. It was so fun to be a kid again and Brody loved his mommy acting so silly. I went on the slides with him and I chased him all around. We had a great time. I then let him drive on my lap in the parking lot. We got out of the car and chased the geese. We had a really fun filled day. I love my little boy so much and I love to play with him. Saturday we had a get together with the first years and their wives. It was fun to see everyone and enjoy some delicious food together. Sunday I was feeling lonely for the Thanksgiving with out my family. Oh how I am going to miss being with them. That all brings us to Monday...

Monday we set up the Christmas decorations for Family Home Evening. Brody and Brooklyn both love the tree. I love the house just being decorated. It adds an extra special spirit to the home and it brings in the excitement of whats to come. Speaking of excitement, I did Josh's Christmas gift shopping today and he is going to LOVE what I got him. I wish I could get him everything on his list because I love to shop for him and I have so much fun keeping secrets from him. He will just have to wait and see what Santa brought for him this year. Hehe!

Tuesday Brody was on time out more times than I could count. I have been busy trying to get Christmas gifts finished at home and he hates being home all day long. I am just running out of things for him to do though. He gets so bored with everything I try. Any ideas? I will gladly take them.

My little Miss Brooklyn was all about smiles despite her on going constipation. I have tried Karo syrup and water, prune juice and apple juice, finally last night we called Scott yet again. He told us to stick a finger up her behind, poor girl! Well we are continuing to try many things which may lead to a suppository later this week if things dont change. Today is finally Wednesday, we are headed out this afternoon to the outer banks to spend Thanksgiving with some friends of ours. We are excited to see the Farnsworths and we will be sure to post our fun adventure when we return.

Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini with Porcini Mushrooms

So I always see this recipe in cooking magazines or even in family magazines that I read and it looked good so I thought I would give it a try. Oh my goodness...is all I have to say! This is a recipe that is to die for yummy! Josh and I have a Italian restaurant that we like to go to called Il Giardino Ristorante. Anyways, we order the same thing there every time. It is a cheese filled tortellini with a creamy sauce. The servers always recommend it because it is a favorite at this restaurant. This recipe is an almost duplicate of the restaurant one. It is a must try for everyone. I loved it, Josh loved it, and I loved it some more. Here is the recipe:

Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini with Porcini Mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 bag (8 oz.) Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini
10 oz. fresh porcini mushrooms
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
1. Cook Tortellini according to package instructions
2. In a medium skillet saute garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until garlic turns slightly golden in color
3. Add mushrooms, saute for 3 minutes over medium high heat. Remove garlic from pan.
4. Stir in cream, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 1-2 minutes or until sauce thickens.
5. Toss tortellini with the sauce and simmer another 1-2 minutes.
6. Garnish with chopped parsley just before serving.

Family Date Night

So yesterday I wrote a post about screaming. Well I did finally get Brody down for his nap after four hours of trying to do so. He only slept for one hour but oh well we were still able to go out for a family date night. We went to Johnny Rockets for dinner. Brody loved his chocolate milk shake and then we walked around the busy shopping mall full of Christmas shoppers. It was fun to see all the decorations. "Santa" was there too. We decided to take Brody to see him another time. After that we headed to the movies for the first time to see Madagascar 2. I guess it isn't quite the first time we did take Brody to Ratatouille but he was too young then. He loved watching the show and eating $7 popcorn (ridiculous)! And also eating candy that mommy brought from home. Brooklyn slept pretty much the whole time. Josh was just happy to have a break from studying and I was happy to have Josh not studying. HA! Anyways, the night was fun and we kept the kids up way too late. I am regretting it today with lots of timeouts and tears but oh well! By the way the show was super cute! Funny humor for adults too!

My Pumpkin Soup Disaster

So I also tried a new recipe last night. It was a gourmet Pumpkin Apple Soup. In the process of preparing it I cut my finger on the pumpkin can. Never fun! It was a long recipe with a lot of ingredients that I never buy. Mistake number 1--when you know it is going to be bad! Anyways I started making it at about 2pm because it needed to simmer for 3 hours. At 4pm it just smelled gross so I quickly through some chicken in the crock pot (just in case). Well in finishing the recipe it requires you to blend it together in the blender. I did just that and while blending the soup was too hot and popped the lid off the blender making it splatter everywhere and I burnt my hand as well. I am not going to even take the time to type the recipe because it was gross and I threw it down the drain immediately. So to redeem myself I am asking for a good pumpkin soup recipe, so Josh thinks that I CAN still cook.

I am going to SCREAM!!!

You know those mommy days when everything just seems to go wrong. Well I am having one of those days today. I had asked Josh out on a date tonight and had planned a really fun night that I was looking forward to. Well Brody has decided not to take his nap today so that means no date night. He is so tired but will not fall asleep and I know if he doesn't the rest of the night is going to be miserable. I hate these days. They are so long and so hard on a me. I needed to vent. Now I am going to go scream into a pillow in the bathroom. AHHH!

Getting Rid of Binkie

Well yesterday I took the plunge into yet another change in Brody's life. We try and work on things one at a time so it doesn't overwhelm him. I finally took away his binkie. Although, I love him having it because it calms him in the middle of the night when he wakes up...it was time. I wanted to have it gone before Christmas and hopefully that will hold true. Yesterday he cried for a long time at nap time and bed time but I am hoping today will be better. We shall just have to wait and see what today holds in store for us.

Being Sick STINKS!

After a week of being stuck in the house with sick kids, I just had to get out. So Friday we bundled up and headed to the park. It was the funniest thing, all these ducks were in a circle by the playground and then they all just started following the duck in charge and got in a single file line and went for a walk. So funny! Brody loved watching them.

Brooklyn slept the whole time. Poor girl she has totally lost her voice and can barely breathe.

Here's a pick of the fall leaves changing. It is so BEAUTIFUL!

Brody loves going down the slide and has always hated going on the swings. I think he has always been afraid of them because his bad mom and dad seem to always let him fall. This park had the kiddie swings and he saw other kids going on them and laughing and asked if he could. He laughed so hard. It was so much fun. We brought daddy back last night to show him how big Brody was now.

My little boy is getting so big. It makes me sad!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Second Part of Tag

So for this part of the Tag you are supposed to go to your fourth folder and post the fourth picture. This is a picture of Brooklyn when she was only a few days old.

Another Tag

8 Favorite TV Shows:

1. The Office
2. 24
3. Friends reruns
4. Everybody Loves Raymond reruns
5. American Idol
6. The Bachelor or Bachelorette
7. Any show of HGTV
8. Deal of no deal

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Changed lots of diapers
2. Cooked Mongolian Beef and Sticky Rice for dinner
3. Went Christmas Shopping
4. Finished making 4 Christmas gifts for Brooklyn and my nieces
5. Painted my toenails
6. Watched Charly
7. Did some laundry
8. Read a chapter of "How to Choose a Medical Specialty"

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Josh coming home from school everyday
2. Brooklyn starting to laugh
3. Brody telling me he loves me
4. Fitting into my skinny jeans again (hopefully)
5. Christmas with my family
6. Thanksgiving with the Farnsworths
7. Making another fun recipe
8. Christmas gift shopping (I love the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping in the malls)

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Olive Garden
3. Panera Bread
4. Chipotle
5. Joe Veras Mexican Restaurant
6. Cheesecake Factory
7. PF Changs
8. California Pizza Kitchen

8 Things on my wish list:

1. For Josh to be happy in school and in his profession one day
2. For my family to be healthy and happy
3. To live by family again
4. To travel and explore new places
5. To live life to the fullest and find the joy in the here and now
6. To give service to others
7. To always have the spirit with me
8. To eventually have enough money to decorate my house how I want to

8 People to Tag:

1. Alyssa Curran
2. Tiffany Barrus
3. Tiffeny Wait
4. Monica Rasband
5. Ashley Christensen
6. Victoria
7. Kathryn Thompson
8. Kendra Manwaring

My vow to happier

For some reason I have had a really hard time adjusting to all of our life changes (i.e. moving to Virginia away from family, Josh starting medical school, and having another baby). I have been a very grumpy wife and mother so today I am going to leave all those things behind and quit trying to recreate my life that I had in Provo. I am vowing to my family and most especially to Josh that I will try to be happier and take your advice. Thank you for being my support when I am weak and for loving me despite all my imperfections. I love you.

Wild Mushroom Risotto and Vegetable Stacks

So here is another two more new recipes I tried. The Risotto is a recipe that I got from a professional chef at a cooking class that I attended last fall with Monica Rasband, one of my best friends. It is so easy and very yummy. If you want to impress people cook this. The vegetable stacks I got the recipe from Williams Sonoma. They ask to add eggplant but Josh and I do not really like eggplant so I omitted that. This is a new favorite of mine. So easy and from the words of Josh, "It tastes like it is from a restaurant." It is super good. Also recommended if you want to impress people for a party. The recipes are below. Once again tell me if you try it and like it.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

INGREDIENTS:
1 oz olive oil
1 oz butter
2 shallots, minced (or you could use a purple onion)
2 lb mixed wild mushroom, cleaned and sliced
1 lb arborio rice
2 qt chicken stock
1 cup asiago cheese (asiago cheese is expensive next time I would cook it with just Parmesan cheese)
4 oz butter, sliced into 1/2" cubes
1/4 cup chopped herbs (I chose to use basil and parsley)
salt
black ground pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oil and butter on medium heat in a thick bottom saute pan
2. saute shallots until translucent but do not brown
3. add wild mushrooms and cook until they are wilted
4. add rice, saute 2 minutes, then add 1/4 of the chicken stock, stir and cook until the stock is absorbed
5. add the second 1/4 of the stock, stir and cook until the stock is absorbed
6. add the third 1/4 of the stock, stir and cook until the stock is absorbed
7. add the remaining 1/4 of stock, stir and cook until the stock is absorbed. you may need to cook the rice more depending upon your taste. If you like it al dente or a creamier texture.
8. add the cheese, butter, herbs, and season to your taste.

Eggplant and Tomato Stacks

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp. olive oil, plus more as needed
4 yellow onions, diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 garlic cloves, minced
10 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips
1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 eggplant, 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter, sliced 1/8 inch thick (I omitted this in my recipe)
5 tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 zucchini, halved crosswise and sliced lengthwise 1/8 inch thick
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat an oven to 425°F.
2. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm 6 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, basil, oregano and parsley and cook for 2 minutes more.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Rub the bottom and sides of a 12-inch cast-iron fry pan with olive oil.
5. Place 8 eggplant slices in a single layer in the pan and season with salt. Top each with 1 tsp. onions and 1 tomato slice and season with salt. Top each with 1 tsp. onions and 2 zucchini slices and season with salt. Top each with 1 tsp. onions.
6. Repeat the layering 2 more times, ending with the zucchini.
7. Drizzle each vegetable stack with 1 tsp. olive oil.
8. Bake until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
9. Sprinkle each stack with 1 Tbs. cheese and bake for 7 to 10 minutes more.
10. Let the vegetables rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 8.

Halloween Festivities

Well I haven't had a chance to post pictures from Halloween because the Bingham household is sick and last week was a rough week for me personally. Halloween week was very eventful for our family. We had lots of parties to go to and lots of fun to be had. This is us on Halloween night at the Holbrook's home. They invited all the med students over for a get together and trick or treating in their neighborhood. It was very fun and much needed girl talk time for me.

We thought that this year we would have Brody be a doctor and Brooklyn be his patient. It will be memorable costumes for our first year here at medical school.

Brody right before trick or treating with Callie and Ella.

Brooklyn with her pumpkin

Here the kids are with their pumpkins. I found a dog stencil for Brody and knew he would love it, which he did. And for Brooklyn I found just a funny sassy face. Since she has attitude I thought it appropriate.

Me carving Brooklyn's pumpkin

Josh helping Brody with his pumpkin carving

Before we carved.

Another picture of before we carved. Halloween this year was a little stressful with cooking for parties, sewing Brooklyn's costume late Wednesday night before a party Thursday morning, and just trying to fit all the fun into the week. We had planned to go to a pumpkin patch farm but the weather was awful. But what matters most is that the kids had fun and we had fun watching them.