Girls Night and a cool blog

A few months ago a friend invited a bunch of girls over for a girls night. We made tutus. I've been thinking for a while that I should do the same thing. It's nice having a night out with the girls. So I'm finally doing it. I'm having a bunch of girls over tomorrow and we're going to make hair bows. I'm excited. I'm not sure how everyone will fit. but I'm confident it'll be a good time. Drew made me promise that if more than 15 people come I'll have to take a picture. I love being married, but there are times I miss staying up late hanging out with roommates... I'm sure Drew will have a good time out with the guys.

Another friend told me about a blog called Too Poor to Eat (see sidebar) it's a really neat blog. It's written by a local person so it's great if you're in Lincoln, but even if you aren't there are some really good tips and coupons. I don't have time to find coupons online, but if someone else will do it for me then it's $ in our pocket. She always has redbox codes and she just posted something called grocery standards (it tells you how much you should pay for certain items ie. you should never pay more that $1 per pound of apples). So check it out.

Spring is in the air

We were at the children's museum on Saturday.
Exhibit A: Gabe knows he's good looking and loves mirrors.










Exhibit B: Molly made a bird feeder. We hung it on the patio yesterday afternoon. It has been ridiculously windy the past couple of days. I probably should have waited to hang it, but I didn't want her to forget about it. So far we've seen a lot of birds flying and running on the ground, but none on our feeder. Maybe we'll wait one more day and then hang it on a tree.
Earlier today Molly was pulling on the blind babbling very loudly to herself. I told her to stop pulling on the blinds. She started pointing and yelled to me LOOK LOOK. She was so excited watching the birds run around.

Here's Molly running around in my flip flops. I'm so excited to report that the grass is turning green along with our shrub and prairie grass. I love spring and the stormy weather it brings with it.


This morning I was at a friends house working on some primary stuff. She has two girls one is a little younger than Molly and the other is a couple years older. Molly cracks me up whenever she's someplace unfamiliar. Today she wanted to be at my side almost the whole time until we were about ready to leave. Then she decided that she liked jumping on the trampoline and that she wanted to stay. She's so reserved. Gabe on the other hand is comfortable where ever he is. I put him on the trampoline and he crawled to the middle and spread out as everyone else jumped. He was so smiley as he got bounced around. It's amazing how similar and yet how different they are. I guess they give our home a kind of balance.

It's always fun

when friends come to visit. Our friends the Cutts came from Minneapolis and spent a few days with us. We had a great time. Drew and Tom got to go on campus to get some work done and hit a bucket of balls. Julie and I crafted during nap times. The kids got to play. Molly and Gabe really liked Eden and I'm pretty sure the feeling was mutual. And then we got to see some of the sights. The football stadium, (how could anyone come to Lincoln and not see Memorial Stadium?) downtown, the capitol building, parks, Ivanna Cone (We had never been to this ice cream shop, but we're told it's the best. And it was really good ice cream, but I loved the atmosphere even more. Not many things make me happier than a hot pink ice cream parlor.) I think the best part was the weather. It was in the mid to high 70s the whole time. Here is some of our adventure.

If you look closely at this picture you can see Molly's shirt covered in ice cream.
We toured the capitol building. I have to admit that I thought it was going to be pretty LAME, but it was actually really neat. For anyone who's read the Twilight books, the inside reminded me how the castle in the third book was described. That was a little creepy. Eden and Gabe really liked sliding around on the floor and seeing their reflection. They also really liked holding hands. They're trying to grow up way too fast.

All of us in the Nebraska Supreme Court Chambers

This is every kids favorite window.

I think we were all a little nervous about how the kids would do sleeping in the same room. Molly and Gabe sleep through each other just fine, but Gabe is a loud sleeper. It's amazing listening to him as he grunts and hums to himself all night long. I was a little worried that he'd keep Eden up, but they did great. They even slept in most mornings.

Thanks for coming!

happy birthday Molly!

two years ago she looked like this...

last year she looked like this...
and today...

please mom, no more pictures
mmmm don't mind if I do

Molly has grown so much in the past two years. I'm amazed as I look back at pictures. She's a great kid and such a good big sister. She's such a blessing in our lives. We love you Molly! x0x0

post script

just in case anyone was wondering Molly's favorite part of her birthday was blowing out her birthday candles three times. she'd blow them out we'd clap and she'd say more more. how could we deny our birthday girl?

Things I miss about Arizona

people, of course
crystal blue skies
monsoon season
seeing palm trees out all my windows
the colors of the desert
being able to swim outside 7 months a year
and
NOT CHANGING THE CLOCKS

Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't have 8:30 church. We have to leave at 8 so that I can get the primary chairs set up and Drew can set up chairs for Sunday school. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if we had remembered to change our clocks before 10:30 at night. Don't get me wrong it's nice getting more daylight. Molly and Gabe did sleep in this morning. They wake up with the sun so instead of 7 it was closer to 8. I know that by the end of the week I'll be used to it and back on track. But it's just getting there.....

I heart redbox...

I really like red box. They may not have the selection of blockbuster, but for $1 I think they're great. And they're so convenient, we have 3 in walking distance. Back to the title, Every Wednesday in March they're giving a movie code on their blog for a free rental. So check it out and enjoy a free movie for the night.

I'm not going to lie some days/weeks are rough in the Wilkerson home, but this week has been fantastic. (I feel like I could have 14 kids....j/k...yikes) Molly and Gabe have been heavenly. I think it's in direct correlation with the weather. The past three months we haven't been doing much. We've been passing around colds and laying low. This week I decided we need to get out and we have. I don't remember what we did Monday... I think we went to the grocery store for a few items??? Tuesday we went to playgroup. Wednesday we went to story time at the library and stayed outside ALL day (Molly and Gabe have cute sun kissed checks). Today we went to toddler time at the library, played at the park and went to the children's museum. (Thursday is the day the children's museum is opened late. It's about a 10 min walk from Drew's office, so we went and he met us there.) I'm not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow, but it's supposed to be another beautiful day in the mid 60's. I'm ready for spring!

Monday 30 degrees

Wednesday 65 degrees

Gabe trying to go to sleep. I guess this is why I still have to strap him in.

Thursday 76 degrees

What's for dinner?

Does anyone else feel like they get into a rut with dinners? Sometimes I feel like we eat the same things everyday. I know that isn't really the case, but I still feel that way. So I'd like to share some recipes that I've found recently that I've liked. If anyone else would like to share or post some recipes I think it would be fun.

I like pork, but I've never had a really good recipe until now... I got this one out of my Taste of Home Cookbook. It's fast and easy. It also works with any kind of side you want.

Braised Pork Chops
1 tsp rubbed sage
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 boneless pork loin chops (1/2 inch thick and 4 oz each)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup apple juice divided
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley (optional garnish)

1) Combine sage, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper; rub over both sides of pork chops. In a large non stick skillet, brown chops on both sides in butter and oil. Remove.

2) Add 1/2 cup juice to skillet; bring to a boil. Return chops to pan. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 min or until juices run clear, basting occasionally. Remove chops to a serving platter and keep warm.

3) Add remaining juice to the skillet. Bring to a boil, loosening any browned bits from the pan. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Pour over the chops; sprinkle with parsley.

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Here is another recipe out of The Taste of Home Cookbook that's worth trying. I know what you might be thinking...lentils???... But this recipe is good, lentils are really cheap and it's healthier than ground beef. I like to get the taco salad shells that you bake yourself and use those. And since I've justified that lentils are good to myself I don't feel bad having a little extra sour cream on top. mmmm

Tasty Lentil Tacos
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove minced
1 tsp canola oil
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
2-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
taco shells
lettuce
tomato
shredded cheese
sour cream

1) In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentil, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 min.

2) Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 min or until lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 min or until mixture has thickened. Mash lentils slightly.

3)Stir in salsa. Then assemble your tacos.