2012 in Review

2012 was a relatively calm year for us- we didn't earn any degrees, didn't have a baby, and didn't even move.  But it was definitely a great year for our family.  We loved having lots of visits from my family in the Spring, camping for a few days in the summer, a fun-filled trip to Utah, a day at Disneyland, Thanksgiving with the whole Martinez clan, a wedding, and a wonderful holiday trip to Virginia.  We also had lots of fun with our Sacramento friends, we're so lucky to have them all.

Bryan's greatest accomplishments of 2012:
Remodeling our bathroom
Passing his P.E. exam and becoming a certified engineer
Lots of biking and running

Rachel's greatest accomplishments of 2012:
Making an advent calendar, quiet book, and a few skirts for Jilly
Reading 45 books
Taking on an extra child 2 days a week, which has been a great experience

Jilly's greatest accomplishments of 2012
Growing hair
Learning to talk, sing, color, and jump
Being the cutest two-year-old around

What we're looking forward to in 2013:
a new baby!
Bryan's 30th birthday
potty training (I'm determined to have a few diaper-free months)
a marathon (I'll give you one guess who in our family is planning on this)
moving into a big girl bed
new season of Downton Abbey
lots of fun with family and friends

Happy New Year Y'all!

Books of 2012

 My goal was to read 50 books this year.  I didn’t make it, mostly because once my body started growing a baby full time sleep took precedence over everything.  But I still read some really great books and some not so great books.  You can read about my first 25 books here.

Excellent

26. Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart.  I really, really loved this book.  It’s Jane Eyre meets Rebecca which, as you can imagine, is a most wonderful combination.

27. Thunderstruck by Erik Larsen. Excellent Book. It was the same format as Devil in the White City (which I read last year), but I liked this one better because it was a little less gruesome (only one murder as opposed to many.) Erik Larson is definitely not an author for the faint of heart, but I love all the historical details in addition to the fascinating (true) story in his books. This book also takes place in London in the early 20th Century (think Downton Abbey) which delighted me.

28. These is my Words by Nancy E Turner.  I can’t believe it took me so long to pick up this book because I’d heard great reviews about it for years.  It’s the amazing story of Sarah Prine, a pioneer woman living in Arizona. I seriously don’t think I wouldn’t have lasted a day back then, but I guess if I didn’t know 2012 life then maybe I could have just dealt with it.

29. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson. I loved this sweet romance.  I couldn’t put it down and was so sad when it was over that I almost started it right over again.

30.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  I just read this last year and wasn’t thinking that I was going to read it again this year, but when I happened upon the audio book read by Jim Dale I couldn’t resist.  It was fantastic. 

31. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.  Amazing.  I just barely squeezed this one in before seeing the movie yesterday.  Both the movie and the book are wonderful.  Yes, the book doesn't have the added emotion that the music brings to the movie, but it fills in the details that make the story complete.  Please do yourself a favor and see/read it.

Great
32. Daughters in my Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society. I read this book last year as well, it's a wonderful summary of our church's women's organization, the Relief Society.  Made me grateful to be a part of it.

33. Seven Miracles that Saved America by Chris Stewart.  The first chapter about Columbus kind of drags, but I found the rest of the book fascinating.  But, I’m also a history nerd.

34, 35, 36. Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods, Gregor and the Marks of Secret, Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins.  I really enjoyed this series; I thought Gregor made an excellent hero.  The last book (Code of Claw) was definitely my favorite. 

37. The Fault in our Stars by John Green. I hadn't really ever read a book like this; it was so, so sad to read from the viewpoint of a teenager with cancer. I cried, a lot. I thought it was well-written and a sweet story, and I love how witty the characters were.

38, 39. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley.  Flavia is an eleven year amateur detective and chemist.  She is delightful, and I thoroughly enjoyed both these books but then I just couldn’t get through the third book.  Maybe it’s because I read all three in a row and I just needed a break.  I’ll have to get back to A Red Herring Without Mustard.

40. I’ve got your number by Sophie Kinsella.  I really loved the story, it was both heartwarming and hilarious.  Sophie Kinsella comes up with the most ridiculous but addictive characters.  Beware: heavy on the language.

41. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  I read this in high school, but enjoyed it so much more this time when I was reading by choice.  It’s just a great book.

Good

42. The Maze Runner by James Dashner. It took a little while for me to get into this book, but then I enjoyed it. Dystopian novels aren't my favorite genre, and this one didn't really make sense to me (which I realize is the point, since there are more books in the series, but I would have liked a little more explanation at the end.) To me it was good, not great.

43. One Summer by David Baldacci.  The only other Baldacci novel I’ve read is Wish You Well (which I loved.)  It’s kind of fascinating to me that he can write in such a variety of genres so I wanted to see what this book was like.  Apparently he decided to simply copy a Nicholas Sparks novel.  It seriously had every component- coastal Carolina, family dealing with trauma, budding romance, and a group of rowdy troublemakers.  It was good, but not amazing at all. 

44. The Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne. A cute and fun Christmas book.  Quite cheesy and predictable, but isn’t that what Christmas books are supposed to be?

Meh

45. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner.  Bryan and I listened to this on the way to Disneyland.  I may or may not have slept a little bit (read: I probably missed a good 1/4 of the book) so it just didn’t make sense to me and I still wasn’t getting the answers I wanted so I gave up.  I grudgingly finished this book, but never did finish the series.  (It sounds like this is a trend with me- I never make it to the 3^rd book)

A Wedding

Last weekend we added a cute new sister to the Martinez family.  It was so fun to celebrate Chad and Kylie's lovely winter wedding.  I quickly learned that two year olds and weddings don't mix so well- no nap and being asked a few too many times to smile for a picture made for a grouchy girl. Thus I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, but it was still a wonderful day.

The cute couple coming out of the temple

Dancing with Uncle Chad

we love beautiful Auntie Kylie

Thanks to the new addition, girls outnumber boys for the first time in the Martinez family.  Our baby will either tip the scales even further in our favor, or set us back to even.  I'm feeling a lot of pressure (as if I have anything to do with it.)

Oh Christmas Tree

My friend Tiffany posted a comparison of her son last Christmas and this Christmas so I decided to look back at our old Christmas pictures and I love what I found.

2010- not even a month old

2011- bald baby

2012- when did my baby become a little girl?!?!

Peace on Earth

I've been really struggling with last week's shootings in Connecticut.  As a teacher, I've gone over and over in my mind what I would have done to protect my children.  I've hoped that I would be brave and have a clear mind to know what to do.  As a mother, I can barely even think about the prospect of losing my child in such a horrific way.  My thoughts and prayers go out to those who are suffering, and I've been sure to squeeze my Jilly extra tight over the last few days.  

I've always loved "I heard the bells on Christmas Day," but the lyrics seem extra special this year.

"And in despair I bowed my head;
'There is no peace on earth,' I said;  
'For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!'

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.'"

image via

Why I love watching other people's children

I feel like a lot of children come and go at our house.  We have Freddy two days a week, we invite friends over to play, and since every single one of my friends had a baby this year (I'm really not exaggerating at all) we have watched kids during doctor's appointments, etc.  Within one week very recently we had ten different children come to our house (on different days, thank goodness!)  I love our revolving door of children, and here's why:

1. I love that Jilly's my little buddy, but we spend a lot of time together and both definitely enjoy a distraction in the form of another child(ren) for her to play with every once in a while.

2.  When people ask me to watch their children it gives me a confidence boost.  They must not think I'm too terrible of a person if they're willing to let me be responsible for their kids for a few hours.

3.  It is very reassuring to know that if I needed someone to watch Jilly I have people who I've helped in the past that I know would be willing to help me.

4.  I don't necessarily hang out a lot with friends anymore because we're all busy taking care of families and homes.  But, we can visit during a playdate, or chat as we drop off/pick up children and it's so fun to catch up and have a few minutes of adult conversation.

5. It's good for Jilly to learn to share and take turns because she's sure going to need those skills in the next few months.

6.  I love when the extra kids leave and it's just Jilly and me again how peaceful, quiet, and easy my life seems. :)

Five on Friday: Baby Edition

Thanks for your kind baby wishes!  Here are the details thus far-

1.  Our due date is May 20th.  We have family members with birthdays on May 16th, 18th, 23rd, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, and 31st.  I would really love for this baby to have his/her own birthday but that may not happen.

2.  We talk about the baby with Jilly, but I'm not sure she really gets it.  She looooves babies, so hopefully she'll cope with the big change pretty well.

3.  Since I had a girl before, my brain just automatically assumes I will have a girl again.  I call the baby "she" and "her" all the time, not because I really think it's a girl but because I keep forgetting that boy babies do exist.  Bryan, on the other hand, exclusively calls the baby "he" and "him" in hopes that use of these pronouns will produce desired results.  In reality, we'll both be thrilled with no matter what comes our way.  I'll be 20 weeks right around New Year's and traveling (again) so we'll find out sometime later in January what we're having.

4.  I felt yucky mid September through mid November.  Sleep was my very best friend and meal preparation was basically nonexistent (unless you count cereal, ramen, pancakes, and the occasional BLT.)  Jilly, and especially Bryan, were saints during this time.  Glad to be back in full swing.

5.  This pregnancy has wreaked havoc on my emotions.  I cry daily, and about everything.  I've cried during almost every single movie, tv show, book, news report, blog post, article, etc. that I've seen in the past few months.  I think the ultimate was when I cried reading chick fil a stories.  Seriously, I am embarrassing to myself.

merry & bright

I really, really wish we could send each of you a Christmas card, but we just can't.  So I hope this will suffice.  Merry Christmas Friends!

Pumpkin Recipe #5

There is no picture for this recipe because frankly it doesn't look very pretty.  I love dump cake because it is equally delicious as it is easy.  All you do is layer your favorite pie filling on the bottom, sprinkle a dry yellow cake mix all over the top, then cover with some melted butter and bake.  Easy peasy.  Cherry dump cake is my favorite and pumpkin is now a close second.

Pumpkin dump cake is a little more complicated since it requires a few more ingredients added to the can of pumpkin.  But, still, it's definitely one of the easiest and most delicious desserts around.

Pumpkin Dump Cake
To a 15 oz can of pumpkin add:
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Spread this mixture on the bottom of a 9x13 pan, cover with a dry yellow cake mix, and pour 1 1/2 sticks of melted butter on top.  Cook at 350 for about 45 minutes (til the top is a little bit brown.)  Must be eaten warm and with some vanilla ice cream.  

Friday Five: Christmas Edition

We've been trying to do as many Christmas activities as possible before we leave on our trip.  Not that we'll stop celebrating when we go, but these are our only chances to celebrate in our home with our little family.  These are some of our favorite things we've done:

1.  Jilly is all about the "wights" this year.  We love to spend the last little bit before bedtime driving around looking at lights while listening to Josh Groban's Christmas album.  Sometimes we even take along some popcorn and hot chocolate.

2.  I've filled our advent calendar with a variety of little gifts, treats, and activities.  We've done this activity, these puppets- which were a huge hit, this memory game, decorated a gingerbread house, and made a Christmas necklace from a kit I got in the dollar spot at JoAnns.)  But Bryan's favorite has definitely been a new bottle of tapatio (his favorite hot sauce.)

3.  I love the idea of unwrapping a Christmas book each night, but I just haven't been good at it this year.  I didn't get to the library in time to get enough books for every day, and I keep forgetting to give the ones I do have to Jilly.  However, when I do remember it is so so exciting for Jilly to legally open a present (there have been many illegally unwrapped gifts this year) and read a book.  Next year I really want to be better.

4.  One night Jilly asked to watch a Princess movie.  Bryan and I wanted to watch a Christmas movie so we found a 1950's version of Rudolph on netflix and told her it was a princess movie (umm, yeah, we're good parents.)  Now she asks for the "princess movie" (Rudolph) all the time.  Haha

5.  There is a cul-de-sac right by us where every house does amazing lights.  It's in their HOA that they have to set up a cool lights display (funny, huh.)  You park at the top of the cul-de-sac and walk around to see all the houses.  This was our third year going, but the first year that Jilly really paid attention to what was happening and she LOVED it. We'll be going back at least once or twice in the next week.

image via

Quiet Book

Some girls in my ward said they wanted to make quiet books and since I'm in charge of all our RS Activities, and since I had participated in a swap two years ago I decided to take the project on.  I quickly learned that I had not thanked Emily nearly enough for all the work she did in organizing my original swap (thanks Emily!!)  Since we had so many people participate, and many people that wanted to make 2 books, we ended up making 2 different books with 10 pages each.  The people that wanted 1 book made 10 pages and the people that wanted 2 books made 20 pages.  This turned the logistics of the project into one of those brain teaser puzzles we used to do in elementary school and at times it was too much for my brain to handle.  But it was a lot of fun and the end product is amazing.

I don't have all the pages but here are the ones I did end up with-

Fireman's Jacket- we have a few firemen in our ward so this is a fun one.  The jacket unzips then there is a little heart that you can snap on and off- so cute.

Tic Tac Toe- I LOVE the teal/red color combo and can envision many games between Bryan and Jilly (once she learns how to play tic tac toe)  

Button-on Flowers- One of Jilly's favorites in my original book.  

 Lace up shoe- This woman gave her husband lots of credit for punching all the grommets.  

 Stoplight- In the pocket there are green, yellow, and red circles to match to the page.  This is in my original book and Jilly loves to match the colors

 Puzzle- seriously, these people are amazing

Mailbox- I love the cute little foam letters she added 

 Paint Palette- The paint colors have velcro and can be taken on and off, and I love the addition of the paintbrush

 Teddy Bear- another duplicate from my original book, I love how cute and friendly he looks

 Mittens- Kids can slide their little hands into the fleece mittens

 Fishbowl- this is a favorite from my original book and the first page Jilly wanted to play with when I brought the new book home (she was too quick to let me hide it for Christmas, hopefully she'll forget about it)

As you can see, I still have some work ahead of me putting the whole book together, but I'm so excited for it to be done and under the Christmas tree!

Grandma's Chocolate Pie

For Thanksgiving this year one of my responsibilities was chocolate pie.  I was pretty excited about this because my grandma's chocolate pie is amazing, but also nervous because it was my first time ever making it on my own.   They weren't quite as good as my grandma's or my mom's, but no one in Bryan's family knew the difference so they worked quite nicely.

1 8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 beaten egg yolks, and 2 whites
1 6 oz package chocolate chips, melted (I added a handful more because I like them chocolatey)
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup cup chopped nuts (my grandma always makes one with nuts and one without, but since I was in charge this time we just had two pies without nuts)
graham cracker crust

Mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until well blended.  Stir in egg yolks.  Add melted chocolate chips.  Beat 2 egg whites until soft peaks form.  Gradually beat in sugar.  Fold into chocolate mixture. Beat 1 cup heavy cream.  Fold into mixture. Add chopped nuts.  Will freeze nicely (I made them on Monday and stuck them in the freezer til Thanksgiving dinner.)

Weekend Accomplishments

This weekend it rained and rained and rained and rained.  Except for going to church and a little drive to look at Christmas lights, I have not left my house since Friday at 4pm.  But, we have gotten a lot done:

I learned how to sew bias tape (still need a lot of practice, but I can do it.)

Bryan the plumber fixed our clogged sink

Jilly undecorated the bottom half of our Christmas tree

We watched our friends' two cute boys (they watched Jilly a couple weeks ago so we could go out so it was our turn to babysit)

I made Tootz's White Chili (we were all licking our bowls)

We decorated a Gingerbread House (and by we I mean Bryan decorated and Jilly and I ate candy)

We mailed our Christmas cards

Bryan and I both worked on some different church assignments

I scrubbed the refrigerator

We each took at least 2 naps

Bryan worked in the garage

I painted my nails Christmas red

And, perhaps most impressive and terrifying- Jilly learned to get out of her crib.  At 5:45 on Friday morning I woke up to her yelling "Mommy, mommy!"  When I got into the hall I realized her voice was not coming from her bedroom but from downstairs.  Jillian was just sitting on the couch in the dark living room, and when I got down she said, "lights lights!" and pointed at the Christmas tree for me to turn the lights on.  Thankfully she hasn't repeated the trick yet.