John's awesome

John took the PARE test for the RCMP application process yesterday. It consists of three stations. The first station is an obstacle course that is supposed to simulate a foot chase. He had to jump over things, run up and down stairs, and fall and get up. He had to do it 6 times. Then he had to go to station 2 where he had to push on this machine thing and when he pushed it pulled up a weight and he had to push it 180 degrees back and forth 6 times followed by falling onto his chest and back 6 times. Then he did the same thing but pulled it. Those 2 stations were timed. He had to complete it in 4:45, and he did it in 4:08!!!! So happy. He did station 1 pretty fast, but he had a harder time with the weights section. He did station 1 in 2:39. Then for station 3 he had to carry an 80 lb. bag 15 metres. He did that fine. Soooo, in the end, he passed!

We're not sure what the next step is, but he's still in the running!

Here's a good description. I think John looked exactly like that guy probably.

Valentine Cookies

Hadley had been asking for cookies for just about every meal, so we finally made some last Friday. They were delicious. We used a recipe from my sister. They are the best sugar cookies ever (according to John). I think they're good too, but I'm no sugar cookie connoisseur like he is.

Hadley got so messy. She was a fan of the little red sprinkles....I wasn't.

John did all the fancy white icing.


Here's the recipe:
1 1/4 c butter
2 1/4 c sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp almond extract
5 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and extracts (You can use 3 tsp of vanilla if you don't have lemon or almond available.), beat well. Add dry ingredients, mix. Chill one hour. Roll out on lightly floured surface, and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 400 for 4-6 min., do not brown.



In other news. Last Friday (the same day we made these cookies, so at least this is somewhat related), I decided we needed to change how the boys went to sleep. I had been rocking them to sleep separately one after the other, and it was taking too long. I'd heard about other people with twins just putting them both down at the same time and letting them cry it out. I don't like the idea of letting them cry to sleep (hence the rocking), but we decided we would just use "The Baby Whisperer" method and just lay them back down when they cry and stand up until they fell asleep. John and I took the boys to bed, laid them down with sippy cups and let them drink for a bit, put in their soothers, and then the fun began. It didn't take too long. Elijah was just being a goof and laughing and Brian was crying like crazy. I think it took 20 minutes. For their nap on Saturday, John was gone. I put the boys in their beds with sippy cups and soothers and just left. I went in a couple times because one was crying (I just laid him back down and gave him his soother). It worked wonderfully. Saturday night I was gone to the adult session of Stake Conference (with Elder Perry!) so John put them to sleep. He said it was simp! We've been doing the same thing since, and it is amazing how well it's working. I just lay them down and leave now and they are fine! Weird. Who knew it would be so easy! .....sorry for the long post...I'm just so excited about this new development, you have no idea how much stress it relieves!

Sharing

Brian is happily playing the recorder
Yikes
All is well again.

Unfortunately this happens all too often. There's a fine line between, "ok, I'm done with it so it's ok that you just ripped it out of my hands" and "wahhhh, what are you thinking?? I wasn't finished with that!" It's all good.

Macaroni Taste Test

I have always been interested in food. I love eating it, and like getting the best for my buck. Sometimes I'm too chicken to try the cheaper brands, so I just never have. I've always wondered though if they're just as good, or maybe even better than the "brand name" foods. A while ago we needed some more Kraft Dinner (mac & cheese for you americans), I decided to try out a few varieties of the store brand counterpart at Superstore. Here's the rundown in order of preference. (This was a while ago, so it's based a lot on memory....so it may not be completely accurate...also, I didn't use exact amounts of milk/butter, so it's not completely scientific...but you'll get the idea)

1. Kraft Dinner
Price: I think it was around $1.10
Taste: Superb. I don't add as much milk as it asks for because it's always too "soupy" when I do.







2. PC Deluxe Cheddar
Price: Around $0.90-ish I think
Taste: Good. Not as good as Kraft Dinner, but good enough to enjoy eating it.


I might buy this kind again if it is on sale.







3. PC Mini Chefs cha-cha-cheesy mac & cheese
Price: I think it was around $0.90....I really should have documented this!
Taste: Pretty good, the kids liked it.

I wouldn't buy this kind again







4. No Name Macaroni & Cheese (from Superstore)
I couldn't find a picture...sorry...
Price: I think it was $0.69
Taste: Super gross. I was surprised how gross it was .It tasted like cardboard...gross! I couldn't even finish it...the kids still ate most of their portion though.

I was really hoping that this one would taste good just cause it's so cheap, but alas.....


Conclusion: In this test, price and brand definitely was the determiner of what was the best. Too bad. I think I'll just stick with Kraft Dinner, but buy a box of it from Costco to save money.

Cute Like Me Giveaway!

Hey Everyone!

Go check out the Cute Like Me blog for a chance to win 1 0f 2 super cute scrabble tile necklaces. Be sure to spread the word for more chances to win! You have until Friday the 13th to enter. Good luck!