Kimberly's Modeling Thingy

I mentioned it earlier but I wanted to show off my sister's modeling thing and how awesome she is.

First photo shoot: Victorian Gothic

     

Second photo shoot: Fly Away

She's gorgeous, right? Photographs taken by Vanilla Tree Photography

Late Nights

Its been a few days since I posted, so I have a little to catch up on.

FRIDAY, APRIL 19TH

 For some reason, Friday is a little fuzzy. Actually everything before Friday night is completely gone. I seriously don't remember what I did last week besides lots of Alex, housework and Grey's Anatomy. And not even anything specific, I just know I did what I do every day. It's an odd sensation...

But anyway Friday night was fun. We went bowling with one of Ben's friends from work whose name is Mike and his girlfriend Amanda (Mike Davis, not to be confused with Mike Hendricks, who is mentioned most often here. Mike Davis is from now on Mikey and Mike Hendricks is Mike). We chased all over town for a good bowling alley. Tough Guy Lanes had a bowling league going so we couldn't get a lane for an hour and Pine Bowl was starting a promotion at 9:30 and we would have had to leave if we started before then (don't ask me why the heck why. I doesn't make any sense), So we ended up at the PSUB which turned out to be awesome because they had the black lights on. Black lights make everything better.

Mikey and Amanda have a little boy who is 2 weeks younger than Alex whose name is Corbin. It was fun to bowl, but it was just as fun to talk about our kids because they're doing roughly the same things at the same time (developmentally).

Afterwards, Mikey and Amanda had to go because they were expecting people later on so Ben and I went to Tastee Treet, which turns out, is open till 11 on the weekends.

SATURDAY, APRIL 20TH

 I was mostly bored Saturday because Ben worked on the house with Mike all day. Mostly they chopped out the bush and cut down the tree in my front yard which took forever because they had to chase all over to get tools. Then we had Tastee Treet for dinner. Again. But Mike bought this time so it wasn't so bad. I don't suggest having it two nights in a row very often though. Its yummy but not very filling.

I DID make Cream Scones though, so the WHOLE day wasn't a loss.

Cream Scones

1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Sift baking powder, salt and flour together. Mix in the sugar. Cut in butter as for a pie crust. Stir in the eggs and milk. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead very lightly. Divide into 2 parts and roll each part into a circle about 1/4 in. thick. Cut circle into quarters and place on a cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with egg yoke beaten with a little bit of evaporated milk. Bake at 450 degrees about 15 minutes. Serve warm with butter and jam

 SUNDAY, APRIL 21ST

 Awesome, awesome, awesome! No joke. Ben got up and made a pancake breakfast with eggs and bacon (which isn't normal at our house). We went to church in our new ward, which is nice and small. Then after, we went for a walk around old town--up to the library, and back down on main to Ridley's where we were heathens and got treats so we could go home and watch a movie together. Stardust, because it's both action-ie AND feel-good.

Theeeeen we both had to do homework which took 'till 3am. Alex got tons of sleep but I didn't. He fell asleep around 9pm and decided 8am was the perfect time to be awake and stay awake. He fussed until I sat him up and got busy.

Somewhere in there Ben and I ended up on the floor taking a break from studying by talking and teasing each other. It was great fun.

 MONDAY, APRIL 22ND

The only one thing that was cool about Monday was dinner. I sort of made it up. I wanted some kind of sweet something to go with baked sweet potatoes so I did this:

[Insert Recipe Name Here]

2 chicken breasts, thawed
1/2 cup butter, melted
2-3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt to taste 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In 9x9 baking dish, whisk together butter, cardamom, paprika and brown sugar. Add chicken, covering with butter sauce (which I did by sticking them in the sauce, then flipping them around so both sides were seasoned). Bake 40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. (the brown sugar kind of burns a little but all the butter keeps it from sticking to the chicken).

TUESDAY, APRIL 23RD

I was sick yesterday with the chills and a headache, which I think was caused by an awesomely awful clogged duct on my right side. I spent the majority of the day watching Grey's Anatomy in my pajamas.

Ben was nice enough to make dinner last night since I didn't feel well. We just had Cream-of-Chicken-Soup-sauce over rice but it was still nice of him. It was what I wanted anyway. Then we watched The Incredibles and ate ice cream. It was awesome.

Ya know, it occured to me while we were watching The Incredibles... remember how Mr. Incredible is sued for saving someone from jumping off a 10-story building at the beginning? Mr. Sansweets or something... Can you actually be sued for thwarting someones attempted suicide? I thought you were supposed to do everything you could to prevent suicides.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24TH

Today was basically an awesome day, apart from the forgetting to eat that I did until, like, 5pm.
I watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy, cleaned my whole house, unpacked the remaining 3 boxes that have been driving me nuts for days, told a few stories to my son and read 2 chapters in my Political Science textbook (I have a test this weekend). Pretty eventful compared to yesterday.
For Dinner:

Taco Soup

1 lb hamburger
an onion, chopped
3 cups water
2 cans diced, stewed tomatoes (with juice)
1 can pinto, black or kidney beans, drained
1 can corn (with or without water)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg ranch seasoning
a bag of fritos
grated cheese

Brown hamburger in large 6 qt soup pan, adding onion either before or after cooking. Add rest of ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes. Serve with grated cheese and fritos. (Also, a little can of diced green chilies is really good in it too).

 

By the way, I found my camera. These are from today (April 24th).

The Blessing of Alex

(Imagine a big announcer voice for a second)

HE'S CUTE! HE'S LITTLE! HE'S OFFICIALLY ON THE RECORDS OF THE CHURCH!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, ALEXANDER!

He was so freaking adorable in his little tuxedo yesterday.

So, my little Alex was blessed by his dad in the Lava Hot Springs, Idaho ward yesterday (the 14th of April, in case anyone was wondering). It was a pretty awesome day, especially since we got to hang out with all of Ben's siblings which seems to not happen very often.

But, before I go into that, I've got a few other days to talk about first.

FRIDAY APRIL 12TH

When I received a call from my sister Friday morning, I had completely forgotten that I had volunteered to watch her daughter Adalae while Kim did a modeling photo shoot Saturday. However, due to worries about the weather, they moved the shoot to Friday afternoon, which turned out to be better for me because we left shortly after six-thirty on Saturday for Mom Egley's house.

She left Adalae in my care at about five o'clock that evening, and didn't get back until nine due to an excessively awesome amount of make-up the photographer put on her.

(This is a photo from the last shoot. The only way I can get ahold of them is through facebook, but there isn't any of Friday's shoot on there yet).

I have to say that four hours is a long time to watch two infants of roughly the same age (Adalae is about a month older than Alex). Especially since Adalae wouldn't take a nap so she pretty much wanted to scream for the last two hours because she was tired and wanted her mom. The only way I could get her to stop was if I picked her up and bounced or swayed with her. It was a long night.

SATURDAY APRIL 13TH

Kimberly and Adalae stayed the night because she didn't want to drive to Swan Lake that night, and she wasn't going home until Sunday afternoon. So we hung out, drank hot chocolate and watched Princess Bride and Sky High. It was pretty great.

Plus I baked and packed to get ready for Sunday.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl beat peanut butter and butter with electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Cover and refrigerate dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Shape dough in 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies by making crisscross marks with fork tines, dipping fork in sugar between flattening each cookie. Bake about 8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Transfer to wire racks. Cool. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/peanut-butter-cookies/

 Original NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep: 15 mins

Cooking: 9 mins

Level: Easy

Cooling: 15 mins

Yields: 60

This famous classic American cookie is a treat no matter what the age or occasion. Enjoy it with a glass of cold milk.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/18476/Original-NESTL%C3%89-TOLL-HOUSE-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/detail.aspx

Wackey Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

4 1/2 Cups flour
3 cups sugar
3/4 cups baking cocoa
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons vinegar
3 cups cold water

Directions

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Add olive oil, vinegar and cold water. Combine thoroughly.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. makes a 9x13 and a 9x9 cake (about a cake and a half). 

For Topping

1 8-oz package Cool Whip
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
a score bar, crushed (optional)

Combine thoroughly. DO NOT BEAT. Spoon onto individual servings. Refrigerate excess. (Do not spread over cake like a frosting unless you are prepared to refrigerate your whole cake. Cool whip does not keep at room temperature).

Needless to say, I did a TON of baking Saturday.

SUNDAY APRIL 14TH
Sunday went perfectly, I feel like. His blessing outfit fit, he didn't cry during his blessing, the dinner was fun. I had a great time.

There was SO much extra food. I expected a few more people to show up than did. I felt kind of bad.

I have to say that my ninja crochet-er mother made the white recieving blanket he's wrapped up in and my ninja marker-quilter-binder-sewer grandma Mary made the blue one. They mean a lot to me.

My Family

I figure everyone who reads this already knows about my little family but I felt like doing this anyway.

Ben and I met in middle school. I could not even tell you the specific instance because it really wasn't all that life-changing at the time. I had a friend who had a friend who had a friend who was friends with Ben. Me-Olivia-Brittani-Jones-Ben(-and as a random note, Levi). We actually all started hanging out and sitting together at lunch. These people were all my friends for my entire high school career (even if at some point they weren't all friends with each other).

In case you're wondering, NO we were not high school sweethearts. We dated maybe a week when we were Sophomores but that's it. We were really good friends for a long time until FINALLY a week before our graduation ceremony (school was already out for the seniors), he asked me to be his girlfriend. Seriously, I probably would have gone on a million dates with him while we were in high school if he had just asked. He assumed I was always taken by another good friend of mine which I dated on-and-off casually. (I kind of knew from the beginning it was never going to go anywhere. Mostly I was just having fun because that's what dating in high school should be).

Anyway so after graduation, Ben went to basic training and AIT for the Army National Guard. It seems kind of silly, but we really only dated a month before he left, and got engaged the week he got home. But I'd seriously known him six years so I'd say I was pretty damn sure I wanted to marry him by the time we were engaged.

We were married in the Logan Temple on the 20th of December in 2011. It was flippin' cold (as you can see by this picture) but I got my ridiculously blue sky. (See, I wanted to wait until, like, May to get married because I love the summer but we both felt like December was when we should get married, so we did. It worked out because I was pregnant with Alex by the following April. God gave me the best weather he could, given the circumstances).

We were only married five months when I found out I was pregnant with Alex. I was seriously scared at first but I wouldn't trade my little guy for anyone or anything else in the whole world. Being pregnant really sucks though. I was sick a bunch at the beginning (that's how I knew I was pregnant in the first place).

My little Alexander Grant Egley was born on the 5th of February, 2013 at 3:31 PM. He's seriously only a few hours old in this picture. He weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. His head and chest were 14 inches around which is why that little newborn hat is WAY too small for him. It kept popping off his head so I gave up on it and put a different one on him.







Aren't we all so good looking together?

Now I just want to post a million pictures of my son because he's the cutest dang little baby I've ever seen (but I'm his mom so I'm totally biased).




 I just love him SO MUCH!

 See? He's even cute when he cries. (Unless you can hear him, that is).

My New House

Lets see if i can figure out the picture thing.

So, needless to say, Ben and I bought a house. We closed on it on the 29th of March and moved in the same day, Ben being anxious to move and all. I don't have pictures with the furniture (and lucky me, I can't find my camera) but here are the ones we took before we bought it.

KITCHEN

 As you can see, the kitchen is pretty much brand new. The previous owner was a flipper. He only had the house long enough to fix it up. New counter tops, cabinets, and sink.

And did I mention, brand new dishwasher, microwave and fridge? The stove is a few years old, but it works good so I can't complain. All the appliances came with the house.

 BEDROOMS

The bedrooms, unfortunately, are connected by the bathroom. It's kind of an awful place to put a bathroom, but overall, pretty much the only thing I didn't like about the house.

There are two bedrooms, both of just about equal size. This first one is off the kitchen and is my room, while the other is off the living room and is Alex's. 

 LIVING ROOM AND LAUNDRY

The living room has great lighting, along with fairly new carpet (as does the rest of the house). The paint is all new as well.

That's our Realtor with Alex's carseat. She's standing right about where our entertainment center is now.

The laundry is kind of self-exclamatory. The floor is a hatch that opens up into the basement.

 THE YARD AND GARAGE
Can you get much better than that rediculously large yard? I'm very excited about it. There's even a patio.

The garage is in the back yard and has alley access. If you ever come to my house, do NOT park in the drive way up front. It's the neighbors.

I don't have a picture of the front of the house unfortunately.

And now, a picture of Alex. Just for fun.

Isn't he cute?! He's only a few days old in this one.

Sleepiness and Shots

I've been debating with myself for the last few days about what I should put in my blog. Life stories, obviously. Helping my far-away family keep up with our lives is the foremost reason why I'm doing this in the first place. But along with that, I have other interests that could be useful to them (and anyone else who happens to stumble upon my ridiculousness).

So, Sunday afternoon. Destini came over again. (She's been over a lot recently because she's been having family issues and prefers hanging out with me rather than any one of her siblings. It suits me just fine considering that I get lonely when Ben is at work. Plus I love the girl to death anyway). Because of Drill weekend, when Ben got home, a conversation was struck up about one of his army friends that Destini has a crush on. I seriously left the room a full minute and when I came back, Ben was on the phone with Braxton Beasley, inviting him to dinner and trying to embarrass Destini.

I was in the process of making meatloaf at the time.

2 pounds hamburger, thawed.
1-2 packages Lipton onion soup mix (I like 2. It's so much better).
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/3 cup katsup
2 eggs
Basically just whisk the katsup and eggs together, then add to the rest of the ingredients. Press into a large loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half, using tin foil as necessary to keep it from burning. (Really, It just needs to be 165 degrees at the center, so however long that takes).

My first thought about Beasley coming over was the last time he came over for dinner. I made bratwurst and onion gravy (something new I was trying) and he turned out to be very allergic to onions. So, second time he comes over, I'm making something else with onions in it! I was mad (Mostly I felt bad. I don't have any allergies so I forget to ask people about it).

Mostly we talked and watched The Avengers (thank you Stacy and Chet for the Christmas gift of awesome). I kind of secretly hope Destini and Braxton start dating. He's about a million times better than the last six guy's she's dated.

MONDAY!
I woke up thinking Monday, April 8th was going to be another boring day... Uuuuuntil I remembered Alex had a doctors appointment at 2. No big deal right? Except he had to get his 2-month immunizations. They went totally fine and I thought "that wasn't so bad," especially since he fell asleep right after. But he woke up from his nap at 4:30-ish and screamed. And screamed. I was in the middle of Costco waiting for a prescription and I felt so bad because I knew he was hungry.

When we got home and he was all fed, I tried putting him down for a few minutes and he immediately started to cry again. I'd put him down, he'd cry. I'd pick him up (standing and bouncing or swaying), he'd quiet. I'd sit with him and he'd fuss. Which is pretty much how my whole night went. Ben was in a bad mood, my house was a mess, he had to study for a test AND I told him I'd make fried chicken! You try making fried chicken with a screaming baby. It's really difficult!

Little Alex is a lot better this s'mornning for sure, but it was a long night. 
 
 

General Confrence Weekend

I don't feel like a lot happened this weekend, but you decide.

First (starting with Thursday), Destini Rowe came over to get some boxes (she's moving. Again.). She ended up staying for dinner which is unusual for her. I think she thinks it inconveniences me to have her over, as if I: A)don't already plan to make dinner, and B) don't love to cook anyway. She's too independent for her own good sometimes. (Ooooh but while she was here she found this recipe for Chocolate Lasagna which looks DELICIOUS! I really want to try it). It was nice to sit and talk to her for a while. I get pretty lonely sometimes at home all by myself.

While she was here, I got a call from Rebecca Corcorran, one of my friends from what I am now going to refer to as The Downey Crew (consisting of: Becca, Amanda Corcorran, Amanda Jensen, and Sierra Jensen. Plus sometimes other siblings of theirs including, but not limited to: Quinn Jensen and Andrea Poen. It's complicated). She asked me to come to Flags West in Downey for a dinner get together with our little Downey Crew. Instead, I told her they should all come see my new house and hang out with me in Pocatello instead. She agreed. And it almost happened Friday night too! The plans were all set until I got a call from my dad Friday morning reminding me that he had said he was coming in to see my house Friday evening. Of course then I had to cancel on Becca because my dad kind of made plans last week to come and I couldn't bail on him.

So Friday night my dad took us and my siblings, Kimberly and Robert, out to dinner at Golden Corral (which I like, unlike some people I know who call it the Golden Trough--Eww except the chocolate fountain. I won't touch that). I'm pretty sure I ate as much dessert foods as I did real food though. (Plus a Mountain Dew to drink. Man, I need to do some sit-ups).

Saturday was pretty boring. I didn't watch General Conference like I should have. I completely forgot about it until 2:30, plus I don't have cable anyway. Hopefully I'll get to it online this week. Since I watch a lot of TV anyway, It wont hurt to preempt my ridiculous Cartoon Network cartoon kick to get a little religious goodness into my day, right?

When Ben got home from drill, he texted Jerry and we expected Kim and Jerry to come over (since that's what Jerry said). But we waited like two hours and they never came (They're staying at a friend's house in Pocatello this week. She just had back surgery). Turns out, Jerry ended up going to the monster truck show with my uncle Paul, and his phone died so he didn't have a way to tell us that his plans changed. He didn't even tell Kim he planned on them coming over. Totally huge misunderstanding! But it still pissed Ben off because he was looking forward to hanging out with Jerry. He felt a little "swept under the rug" to put it in his words. So he spent the rest of the night installing our bedroom door and trying not to be angry.

I'm actually avoiding General Conference today. Isn't that awful? I want to watch it with Ben but I doubt that will happen. Its not the only thing I'm avoiding though. I have a test I need to take before midnight.

Oh, by the way, did I tell you about my dryer? It totally doesn't work very well. It needs a new thermometer. except that it has two and I have no idea which is busted. I ought to just buy both. I cant wash towels though because of it. They wont dry. At all. (Small loads of clothes will though).

I swear if FEELS like nothing really happened this weekend. I spent the majority of it cleaning, watching TV and tending my son. Its pretty much what I do every day.