Jackson Banning Merryweather: The Beginning

Jackson--Name Information
Boy or Girl ?: boy
Origin of name: Scottish
Meaning: God has been gracious; has shown favor. Based on John or Jacques.

Banning--Name Information
Boy or Girl ?: boy
Origin of name: Gaelic
Meaning: Little blond one.
(tee-hee-hee!)

Merryweather--Alternate spelling of Merriweather
English: nickname for someone of a sunny disposition, from Middle English merry (see Merry) + wether ‘weather’ (Old English weder).

It was a dark and stormy night.....okay, it was dark. And I was having some killer contractions and wouldn't have noticed if it were stormy or not. About 10:30 we arrived at the hospital to discover that the killer contractions had been doing their job and I was good to go!

Together with my expert birthing coach, Jason, and his apprentice (and my personal photographer)--Sidney, we moved into a LDR room.

Yeah. Somewhere mid last week my great, big belly turned into an even greater, bigger belly. Never in all my big belly experiences have I ever had such a Great. Big. Belly. It was huge. I mean it. This proves it.

This would be the afore mentioned apprentice and photographer, (and don't forget--Sista #Uno)--Sidney.

Time marched on.

Contractions came and went. This was a big one. It actually peaked at 143. I hardly felt it. It was great.

This was when everything kicked into high gear. I was ready to go. Baby was ready to come. We were ready to meet!

This would be Dr. Merryweather. My personal baby-catching husband. Yes. He is now legit. After years of being the official cord-cutter, Claudia graduated him to the coveted position of baby-catcher. For real. She explained the procedure to him and let him do the job! Except for removing the cord that was wrapped twice around Jackson's neck, he was the official deliverer of his boy! It was pretty amazing! Love MTWC for that!

Props to Sid for the amazing, well edited shot of a seconds-old Jackson! That's Jason holding him!! Right after he 'caught' him!

Right up on mom's belly!

Amazing. Every. Single. Time. I could never get tired of this moment!

Sidney was able to keep the cord-cutting responsibility in the family. I totally love the PGHS stamp and the glitter-blue nail polish along side the surgical implements!

Checking all the vitals. Did I mention I LOVE AF Hospital? They have the best nurses over there!

Yeah Son!!!

Hey! It's my blog....I can post what ever I want!!

Already checking out the world around him!

How cute is this?

I love this. I loved that Sidney came.

So sweet!

Like I said: Nothing in the whole world like these precious moments!

Missed a spot! He was covered in vernix--again, love the blue polish!

I think he is pleased!

Jackson Banning and the hands that delivered him.

The End Part One

So Bad, Yet So Good........Like Spike!

Can you think of something off the top of your head that is so enticingly delicious, so irresistible, so mind-boggingly yummy that you cannot resist it? Even though you know that logically it's really quite bad for you? I can. Spike. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One of my naughty weaknesses, and hands-down one of my favorite characters of all time, books, T.V, & movies included.

This bread is like Spike. If you indulged too often it would probably take you down. An instant after I took my first bite I knew two things:

#1 I was in Nirvana

&

#2 This bread could not be made more than 2 or three times a decade. Just kidding. 2 or 3 times a year would probably be acceptable: along with some cholesterol-blocking medication. It is also, however, totally worth it! Just like Spike. I mean it. I love him...er.....it.....

You start off by mincing your garlic and separating it into four piles.
Cut your loaf of french bread in half, and then in half again the other direction.
Melt 1/4 the butter in a large cast skillet. Add 1/4 the garlic and DON'T LET IT BURN!!! It gets yukky and bitter.
Using one of the bread sections, soak up all the butter and garlic evenly across the surface getting all the garlic bits that you can.
It should look like this. Now set bread aside.

Next, mix your mayo, salt, green onion & cheeses together in a bowl.
Spread 1/4 of cheese mixture onto bread. Repeat with other slices.
Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Slice up and serve. This is a Pioneer Woman recipe. Someone else I can't get enough of. But she's o.k. I mean, you can indulge in PW as much as you want and never be sorry!

Garlic Cheese Bread--from Pioneer Woman

1 loaf french bread
1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 cups colby-jack cheese--shredded
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mayo--don't you DARE use miracle whip or low-fat imposters!!!
4 green onions. white and light green parts minced
dash of salt
4 lg cloves of garlic--minced

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in large skillet. Add 1/4 minced garlic--DON'T BURN!!! Soak up butter-garlic mixture in one of the slices of french bread. (Remember--cut in half through the short way, then again through the long way.) Mix mayo, salt, cheeses & green onions together. Spread 1/4 of mixture on each fourth of garlic-butter soaked bread. Bake in 425 degree oven until hot and bubbly--about 10-12 minutes.

A big pile of......

This is approximately one weeks worth of laundry. Minus a couple of loads that were still in progress.

There are a few things I notice when I do laundry:

#1 There are WAYYYYYYY too many towels. Is there really anything wrong with hanging up your towel and using it a couple of times before you wash it?

#2 I see folded up clothes mixed in with the dirty. This means that certain of my family pulls out multiple sets of clothes when deciding what to wear, and later while cleaning their room, get lazy and just throw them in with the dirty. To me, once they get all mixed in with the dirty, They need to be cleaned. I don't feel that I can compromise on this....

#3 The ratio of underwear to socks is ridiculous!! Shouldn't there be two socks for each pair of underwear? Why are there more like six? ***Exception to this phenomenon: Cameron will change his underwear 3 times a day because he wants to give all his super heroes a turn.....and he eschews socks whenever possible***

#4 I find random clothes every week. Sometimes underwear I don't recognize. This disturbs me.....

#5 My 'system' drives Jason crazy. I'm not sure how he would manage laundry if it were his job, but my way clearly makes no sense to him at all. He used to do a few loads now and then, but it offended me and I yelled at him so he doesn't touch it now. I prefer it this way. You don't mess with my system, man! Now if you actually want to learn and not criticize......

I have a carefully chosen approach to separating laundry into four hampers to avoid the linty, dingy loads that come from mixing laundry. I don't do a load of something until I have enough for a full load. I fit laundry in when I can. Some things have to soak overnight and be double rinsed. Some loads are cold water only. Some loads are hang-dry. My clean clothes are separated from the dirty in a way that apparently only makes sense to me. (Namely distance...I finish drying a load and dump it in a big pile on the other side of the room....) This makes for a seemingly chaotic laundry situation, but in actuality I feel that laundry for eight (almost nine) people deserves some slack!

To be fair, Sidney decided long ago that my 'system' didn't fit into her schedule of when she wanted to wear certain things, so I only do about 10% of her laundry, mainly whatever she leaves on the floor of my bedroom....she does the rest. However; some of the younger kids produce 3X the laundry that they should so.......

It's not even that I really mind laundry, It actually is quite soothing to me to fold clothes. I get to make organized piles of things and get one big job done all at once! (And no, I wouldn't get the same satisfaction by doing your laundry, so don't ask...)

I actually use it as a time to reflect on the blessing of a large family. What if Conner weren't here for me to wash and fold his clothes? It's satisfying to me! I don't think I would get the same pleasure out of it if I were washing, folding, and putting loads away as I go. It would then become a never-ending cycle of something that was never done. What would I have to show for my efforts? A clean, organized laundry room? Technically, I don't even have a dedicated laundry room. Maybe if I did I would be inspired to change my 'system'.

Here is the result after two hours of folding, which I either choose to layer with a few good TV shows, or a good long phone conversation with Kellie. It might still look like chaos, but trust me, it's not. Everyones piles are separate. The older kids get to fold their own. The younger kids' clothes are ready to put away. All the hang-up clothes are separated into stacks. Underwear and socks in their own respective baskets. Notice the 27 towels.

How do you feel about laundry? What is your 'system'? Am I nuts that I would rather do laundry any day than decide what's for dinner? My family size is about to increase, do you have any great laundry organization tips for me?

My Favorite Quilt Shop

Hey! My favorite quilt shop now has a blog! I love American Quilting for so many reasons! First being that they have the nicest ladies working there! They are always welcoming and helpful, and they love to see what it is you are working on!

They have a great fabric selection, with different types for every taste, And I love that they send out a 20% off coupon if you are on their mailing list!

I can't think of a time that I visited their store and didn't see a beautiful, new quilt or project that I wanted to make! The owner of the store, Amy, has a great pattern line of her own called Under the Garden Moon that hasn't yet turned out something not adorable!! She is mega-talented and the sole culprit for my fabric-buying habit! (not really--I just feel the urge to make every pattern she creates!)

And last, but not least, they are super close and convenient! Located at 426 west 800 north in Orem. So drop by for a visit if you've never been there, and if you have, stop by just for the fun of it, or visit the new Blog!

Well, whaddaya know?!?

This is too exciting not to post! Fahrenheit350 had a sweet, sweet giveaway last week. Pam, from French Knots, kindly directed people over to Fahrenheit to enter, so I did, 'cause who doesn't love a great Pecan Log!

What I didn't clue in on, was that it was a double giveaway, and I didn't enter Pam's! DOH!!! Sorry Pam! Felt like a loser...especially after I checked out the goodies! I'll chalk that up to having 6 3/4 children and too few brain cells!

Anywhoo, just guess who WON!!

ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yessir! I won the big macdaddy prize of $100.00 in sweets from the Confectionery !!

How could this happen, you might ask? "That Tammy, she has a great life, but c'mon...she never won anything cooler than a lame book on how to make fabric bowls from the Shop Hop!!"

Well, let's just say that in the limited Blogging time available to me, I only visit the coolest sites belonging to the coolest people! And this is PROOF!!

So I'm suggestin' that you all check out Fahrenheit350, and French Knots, 'cause you just never know when you might become TRW*!!!!!!!

Thanks, Kitty!!

*The Real Winner

P.S. Thanks Ella!!

Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins

I found this recipe today on a recipe blog called "Gimmie Some Oven"

I also happened to have everything on hand! So exciting! So I made them and ate about six......

Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins


Ingredients:
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup white chocolate chips or chunks (or you increase this to 1 cup if you really like white chocolate!)
• 1 1/4 cups raspberries (you can use fresh or frozen, but if they’re frozen, don’t thaw them before mixing them in.

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper cups or lightly grease.

Whisk lemon juice, milk, oil and egg in a medium bowl until well combined.
Mix together flour, baking soda, salt, sugar and white chocolate in a large bowl. Add the berries to the dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. Then gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stop stirring once the ingredients are combined.
Pour the mixture into the baking cups, so that each is about 2/3 full. Bake for about 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and muffins are slightly browned on top. Let cool for a few minutes, and serve. Makes about 15 muffins.

9/11/09

Wanting to recognize the day, but not sure how.....

I happened upon a post that did it for me. It was poignant, and meaningful, but not in a grandiose way. I really wasn't feeling very grandiose today....