Freezer Meals!

The day before Boston was born, Aubrey and I decided to embark on an adventure; Freezer Meals. Well, Boston made his appearance a little earlier than we had anticipated, so I was left to make the Freezer Meals for us myself. I was excited for the challenge and for what it would result in, but I slightly underestimated the work that would be required! When I started, I had a brand new, EMPTY chest freezer to store all of the food that I would be making.


Aubrey and I chose the menu, and I made the shopping list for everything that we were going to make. $200 later, I was ready to start cooking. On the menu? Swedish Meatballs, Mini Meatballs, Pork Eggrolls, Spinach Feta Turnovers, Bean and Cheese Burritos, Irish Beef and Stout Stew, Broccoli Cheese Calzones, Garlic Pepper Sauce, and Veggie Lasagna and Southwestern Enchiladas.





I cooked. I cooked and chopped and cooked some more. Somewhere along the way I developed carpel tunnel in my wrists from all of the chopping. I learned that I would be the skinniest chef in America, because nothing decreases by appetite more than doing nothing but cooking. I stood. I cooked some more. For 2 days straight I did literally nothing but COOK. I listened to my I-Pod and allowed myself to surrender to the rhythm of cooking that I so love, but have been unable to enjoy for as long as I've been in school. I turned out more food in a short period time than I've ever done before in my life.




At the end of those two days, I had made enough food to make 120 individual meals, making the final cost roughly $1.67 per person per meal. Win? I think so! It was a lot of hard work, but it really felt good knowing that it will pay off for a long time after long days with the baby for Aubrey and long days at school for me!

What the?!?!

Can anyone let me know when Hazen went from being a little itty bitty baby to a full on big boy? Hazen has grown up so much in the past few weeks- I can hardly believe it! We were noticing that mealtimes were getting harder and harder, and he seemed to get increasingly upset when we would put him in his high chair. We decided to go crazy and buy him a booster seat so he could sit at the table with Mommy and Daddy when we eat. It is incredible how much more excited he is to eat, but also how BIG he looks when he's sitting at the table! I love making sammies for lunch and sitting at the table with my little buddy. He's talkative, he thinks the whole thing is hilarious, and we have a great time enjoying our meal together.

Even more since Boston has arrived, I'm realizing what a big boy I have. I am loving this stage more and more as his personality develops. He has such a strong, funny little personality, but he's still so sweet and sensitive. It warms my heart when I'm studying in the bedroom and I hear him come to our door, knock and ask for me. Sometimes he'll sit there patiently, knocking every few minutes until I come out and play with him. It's times like that when I'm more than willing to stay up a little later that night and catch up on the studying that I missed while playing with my little angel.

Hazen is talking so much more lately! It really blows my mind. He has yet to string words together, which is next in line developmentally for him, but his vocabulary has really exploded. He's recently started answering questions, which is hilarious. "Hazen, do you want a cracker? Hazen are you having fun?" "Yeah!"


When we whip out the summer clothes each year, I am shocked at how much older it makes Hazen look! He has a pair of flip flops this year, and I can already tell that we are going to get our money's worth out of them! He walks around like he's wearing swimming flippers; but by the end of the summer, he'll be a pro!

Boston Kai Robison

On Friday morning, I woke up, bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 6am. This is an amazing feat. I NEVER wake up naturally that early, and if I am awake at that hour, I'm hating life. I randomly got on the computer, and saw that Brown Jason had updated his Facebook saying that Aubrey was in the hospital, and that they possibly were going to admit her! My excitement sky-rocketed, and I got in the shower, so I could be ready for the day- whatever it was going to bring!



I went to class, and could hardly pay attention; I was so excited! I texted Aubrey frequently throughout the class, checking up on her progress, and begging her to hold off until I was at least done with school! Luckily, Boston listened. After school, I went to Beyond Glaze (yes, they know me by name now, it's slightly embarrassing) to pick up some celebratory doughnuts for the Mama. I rushed off to the hospital, still thrilled and excited for the birth of little Boston!

Once I got to the hospital, there was a lot of waiting. I guess that's what you do with babies, but I had no problem sitting in the corner and studying, allowing Aubrey to nap when she could. Aubrey had an Epidural, which was keeping her relatively comfortable. (Mind you, my version of the birth will be MUCH less in-depth than hers!) It took her a pretty long time to dialate to a 5, but once she did, Boston was MOVING! We gave Aubrey and Jason some time together, as we waited outside, and once she was ready to push, Sam and I went back into the delivery room.


I was on video camera duty. No, I didn't video tape it ALL, but I was standing right by the Dr getting everything that I could (modestly) capture. This was the first birth that I've been present for, and I was a MESS! It was so amazing, and Aubrey was so strong and incredible, and it was such an emotionally intense experience. I am so grateful that Aubrey invited me to be there- it's certainly an experience I'll never forget.

Boston is darling! He was born at 6lbs 9 oz and 18 inches long. He has tons of DARK hair! He looks just like Jason from the nose up, and Aubrey from the lips down. I love him already, and am so glad that we have a new member to our little "family".

Happens to the Best of Us....

Sometimes, my pants fall off too, when I watch TV. You win some, you lose some.

Beyond Glaze and the Aquarium

Last Wednesday, Hazen and his cousins all got to go on an outing! Heather picked us up while Jason slept after his night working, and we headed over the point. Our first stop was to Beyond Glaze. The kids loved their doughnuts. Heather and I might have loved them even more. Our doughnuts were delicious, as per usual. We then headed over to the Aquarium. In theory, this was a great idea. In practice, it sucked, because everyone and their dog was on Spring Break and it was RIDICULOUSLY crowded. Not the most fun environment to take a wandering little boy, but he still enjoyed the fish that he did see. Hazen is very enthralled with fish these days. He wanted to splash a lot in the Eel pool, which I found generally annoying, but he's so cute, I couldn't stay too mad for long. We lost Max- again. Pretty much every time we go to the aquarium, we lose him. I'm excited to go back when the weather is better, and when there are less kids there!

Everyday Food

I love Everyday Food. It's a fantastic little magazine that brings me more joy than you will ever know. I love taking an edition or two to bed with me at night, and perusing all of the delicious recipes that are to be had. There was just one problem. I didn't start subscribing until 2008. Everyday Food has been around since 2003. This meant that I was missing dozens upon dozens of editions, and that made me sad. So, when in doubt? Turn to Ebay. I was met with a wealth of options, and immediately started bidding. Well, now, a few weeks later, I am the proud owner of all but about 16 issues. I couldn't be more excited! Now, I must become even more diligent until I own all 62 (and counting) issues!

Go and Do: The Sweets Edition

If you know me, you know that good food brings me more joy than I can truly express. Something you might not know, is that I subscribe to about 4 billion food blogs. There are a ton of places that review little restaurants or bakeries in the area, and so often, I bookmark some of the truly spectacular places. A few weeks ago, I was reading my friend, Wendy's blog, and she blogged about a new little bakery in Provo, called "The Sweet Tooth Fairy". I was intrigued. I love me some cupcakes, and apparently, this place had some cupcakes that we to die for. I went, and I wasn't disappointed! While it killed my soul a little bit to pay $3 for a cupcake, they were beautiful and delicious. We tried Smores, Peanut Butter, Strawberry Shortcake, and Lemon. I wouldn't get the Smores or Peanut Butter flavors again, but I would definitely go back for the Lemon. It was very lemony, but very delicious. I also just love eating things that are so pretty!



However, I've found a new place that was built just for me. I've worked out 5 times in this past week SOLELY to support my never ending desire to enter the threshold of my new favorite place; Beyond Glaze. I am, to put it mildly, a doughnut whore. I will NOT say no to a doughnut. I don't know when it happened, all I know, is that I will eat myself sick on doughnuts, and not feel bad about it. I don't do this too often, because I'd prefer not to be obese, however, every now and again, I just can't stop. I read about Beyond Glaze a week ago, and immediately fell in love. The doughnuts. The FLAVORS! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. I nearly cried at the thought of such a place so near to me. IF ONLY I could find the time to try it out.....

Then I looked at the address. 123 S. Do you people know where my school is? 123 S. I go to school across the street from my own personal heaven. I went on Tuesday after my Lifespan Midterm. I ordered a Caramel Apple doughnut, and took home Key Lime, Blueberry, Mango Raspberry, Chocolate Ganache, Pumpkin Chocolate and Smores to share with the Robisons later. As I took my first bite, I couldn't help but close my eyes. A slow smile spread across my face, and a moan of surprise and utter delight escaped my mouth. It was, without doubt, the most amazing doughnut I've ever tasted. At that moment, all my stress, exhaustion, worry left me, and all I could do was look at the owner and try not to kiss him on the mouth. "Thank you, kind sir, for capturing a little bit of heaven on a glazed doughnut".

Since Tuesday, I've been there 3 times. Each time, I bring new people. These people all agree that Beyond Glazed is Beyond Amazing. The owner knows me, and I might finish nursing school weighing 400 lbs now. But for a little bit of Mango Raspberry ectasy? Totally worth it.

Banana Splits

The night before Easter, we went and had Banana Splits at my parent's house. Aubrey and Brown Jason came, too, and fun was had by all. Hazen spent a large portion of the evening outside having me lift him up so he could make baskets. I learned that I either need to get taller, or increase my upper-body strength. Lifting a 32 lb baby above my head over and over again gets tiring! Grandma bought the whipped cream in a can, and got Hazen pumped up on sugar by spraying the stuff directly into his mouth! It was cute watching him enjoy his Ice Cream, though. Brown Jason had never assembled a Banana Split, and it had been AGES since I'd had one, so fun was had by all!