Pumpkin Cake

Perfect for this time of year and sooo tasty! If you follow the directions its very easy and very delicious!


Filling:
Mix together the following in a bowl:
1 can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 large can solid pumpkin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Crust:
Put 1 cup aside to crumble on top:
3/4 cup COLD butter
1 dry yellow cake mix
Mix by **Cutting In** Dry cake mix and COLD butter.
Set aside 1/2 to 1 cup of crust mixture to sprinkle on top.
Pat in bottom of a greased 9 x 13 cake pan (DO NOT use a glass pan, it will destroy your crust).
Pour filling over crust and then crumble the crust mixture that you set aside over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Top with cool whip or icecream

**Here's a definition of what Cutting In means: When a solid fat such as butter is mixed with a dry ingredient like flour until they form into small particles. I would use a food processor fitted with a metal blade and just pulse it. You can also use your trusty fingers to do the job.

This keeps the bottom from getting hard.**

Happy Halloween - May the Force be with you!

Nate's 2 Year Check Up Update

Well in the last week Nate has been to 4 doctors... The first was on Wednesday, it was a follow up for the study he did last year for the H1N1 vaccine. The next was on Friday morning, it was a visit to the allergist to see what is going on with his allergies and skin problems, 3rd was also Friday - night - to the insta-care to get the crayon out of his nose. Finally 4th was to the pediatrician to have his 2 year check up. Its been a busy doctor week!

For the Allergy doctor we found out he is very allergic to dogs, cats and mold, and borderline to apples. We've started a new skin regimen that has improved his hand overnight!
Next the pediatrician, he like always is off the charts!

Two Too Cute

Cute Nate-isms:
I am going to try to list all the adorable things Nate says, his vocabulary is amazing, he is soo smart!
Banana (or anything that looks like a banana) he says "nana, peel peel peel (peeoo, peeoo, peeoo), He even makes the motion with his hands.
Mickey, aka Miska, he sees Mickey in everything, if his food lines up so it kind of looks like Mickey he gets so excited!
He can also say Minnie, Goofy (he calls him Goof lots of the time, they are tight like that)
He can sing the theme song and knows just when to say Roll Call!
All Done (with signs)
Mommy
Daddy
Gampa
Gamma
hot-tub
hot
bath
ouch
owies
scare
scary
clock
silly
water
juice
milk
hold you
oh no!
woah
grapes (used to be bo bo's?)
pizza
strawberries
bottle
binky, bb, beekins
puppies
doggie
kitty
elephant
giraffe
ribbit(usually sounds like biggit)
tato(potato head)
march
slide
wash (usually wash, wash, wash in a sing-song voice)
hat
swim
callie(bird)
block
ball
cars
truck
bus
train
choo choo train
Thomas (train)
sucker
candy
more please
cookie
cracker
toes
feet
hands
head
eyes
nose
mouth
tongue
teeth
ears
hair
itchy
Dave
Brooke
Aaron (usually Aaron's)
Jenna
Aubrey
Lydia (Yydia)
Kayla
Zach
Abi
Jason
Emma
beach
airplane
Disneyland
bucket
coke (he know's which is mommies coke and which is daddies coke)
Push
pull
dropped it
punch
hitting
no hitting
sorry mommy, daddy (or anyone he hits)
bed
star
heart
moon
sun
jacket
cloak
socks
shoes
boots
shirt
toot
burp
wipes
diaper
poop
tired
sleep(with signs)
awake
stairs
step
There are more, and he is so brilliant, because he is making sentences and knows possession and will follow requests ie bring me the wipes. He understands so well what we tell him and if we are smart enough to remember to explain before hand what will happen he does so much better with his behavior.
He is also starting to count it usually is two two three(tee) but he counts things and line them up in to trains and drives them around.

Birthday/Halloween Party at the Lloyd's

Here are some photo's from the Lloyd's Birthday/Halloween Party. We had so much fun celebrating Nate's birthday and it was great to see the kids costumes and have a candy search for Halloween!

Balloon Extravaganza at the Graves

From Nate's Birthday - Graves

For the party time at our house with just the Graves we had pizza, gifts and a hallway of balloons... Nate would have been happy to have just the balloons.

He is still saying "balloons, gone." Almost every time we walk past the hallway.

Aviary Adventure

We went to the Tracy Aviary with Brooke, Dave and Aaron for Nate's birthday this year, it was so much fun! We got to feed the Lorie's and had up close time with a peacock and an owl. It was so much fun! Then we went to Winger's - which was also fun, but a little close to nap time to be really fun.

It can't always be perfect, right? Please Help!

Ok, I usually try to keep my blog topics happy and informative on the good things - I try... Well, I have a problem and need some advice.

Terrible 2's - at 21 months. (nuff said)

I have to preface the bad with the good, there is so much more that is good than bad.

Nate is such a fun and happy kid most of the time, he has so much energy and is so busy exploring and discovering and pushing his boundaries. He is brilliant and knows more words than I can count, I am working on making a list :) He loves going swimming and playing with his cousins, and is always trying to help keep the newest baby, Aaron, happy and constantly giving him his Binky (Aaron's not Nate's) and will hold his little fingers in the car and give him loves. He adores all of his cousins but has a special love for Jenna, she can make him laugh harder than pretty much everyone and when he sees her he gets so excited you can see it run through his whole body.

Nate can climb anything and will hang from the swing set, kitchen table and anything else and pulls his feet up to his hands (he will be a gymnast). He adores trains, especially Grandpa Gerry's one that lights up choo choo's, Nate will dance and run in place to the rhythm. Speaking of rhythm he is already so musical its kind of scary, he sings and dances along to music in the car. There is a Muse song, Uprising, that he sings the chorus - right notes and beat... It is so cute! Nate also loves books, he is so happy when he's reading, and will make all the animal, car, truck, boat sounds he can while reading, he does tend to tear the flaps off of books to see whats under them (all the way), but its ok.

He has made a somewhat smooth transition into his big boy bed, its been set up in his room for months and occasionally he took a nap or slept in the night there (if I had to lay with him to fall asleep). Then a couple weeks before Corrine had her baby we decided to just go for it (the crib was a loaner from Corrine) so one morning I took down the crib and moved the toddler bed to its spot and rearranged the room a bit to make it safer for him, and he's been so great since, the first few nights and naps were flawless, then he realized his freedom and we've had to get him off the floor a couple times. When he wakes up he'll just knock, well bang, on the door until we come and let him out. I must be a bit of a push over though because he goes to bed when I am not home way better than when I am. He knows that daddy means business and mommy would rather hold him for a few more minutes... I am working on that, I just love it when he's snugly.

Nate also loves animals, especially the kitty's that Brooke and Dave have, he begs me to take him to the "mow's" and will just crouch down by them and try to pet them and then talk to them and play with them with their toys. He also tries to feed them (and has only eaten the food once - that I know of) the cats tolerate him pretty well, he's growing on them.  Oh, and he loves Dave so much, they will play together and he is so happy and just runs around, its wonderful! I wish I had as much energy as Dave...

Ok, so there is a list of the wonderful things - but with each thought of those I remember the tantrum that followed or was close at hand, this is what I need help with. In most cases its fine, he's learning and growing, but a few times each day it gets way out of control. He is frequently hitting and headbutting and in very bad cases biting (if he gets within reach). If I take something from him that he shouldn't have, he will try hitting it out of my hand and then hitting me and if that doesn't work he will use his whole body as a battering ram and when that fails he crumples to the floor in angry sobbing yells.

One of the biggest problems is nursery because he is one of the youngest but biggest and one of 2 boys in the class. So when he gets going he's wild and gets a bit rough with the girls, they are all very dainty girls... We dropped him off the first couple weeks and when we picked him up one of the teachers was holding his hand kind of restraining him and they said that he had to have a couple timeouts because he was hitting.

So then we have taken him and he seems fine but he plays with us, not with the other kids. The pushing and hitting goes both ways from my observation, but he is more noticeable because he yells no, or the other kids cries/whines. When he gets hit or pushed he just goes on playing or pushes back. Although his using any toy as a weapon is definitely a problem. He naps usually at about 11 or 11:30 which is mid nursery, so we've been avoiding the battle and just taking him home. I want him to go, he wants to go and really enjoys it when he's there, he doesn't care if we leave. I just don't feel like I can because of the teachers. When they see us coming the kind of cringe, which makes me really not want to take him. There is no way he'd make it through Sunday School because he has too much energy. Some weeks its impossible to keep him relatively quiet during Sacrament Meeting, and by the end I am exhausted and need a nap myself.

Also when we go out in public he is a major handful. He is so fast and strong that he runs, everywhere. If I put him in the stroller he fights me by arching his back and sliding himself down, or folding in half forward so that I can't buckle him in. He's ok in a shopping cart for a few minutes, extra minutes can be bought with snacks, but he throws things. Walking is a whole other nightmare, he want to jump so if you have just one hand he will jump and then like drag his feet (this is also a strategy to get me to let go of him) He'll lay down on the floor and whine or yell. So I got a backpack leash thing to give him some extra freedom, but the other day he popped the loop from my end of the leash because he took off so fast and around something that it popped.

This public issue is stressing me out especially because we are going to Disneyland in October and I am afraid of how he's going to behave.

One more interesting problem is stranger danger, well the lack of stranger danger. If I pick him up or Jake picks him up and he doesn't want to he'll holler and yell No No No, but someone he doesn't know he will let them hold him and even snuggle up to them... It really freaks me out. I am glad he is ok with other people but would like it for me not to look like the person trying to abduct him.

Ok, that is my list for now. I am ready to try any and all suggestions to help him behave better, I would love to have some play dates/play group things but am afraid that he will be mean to the other kids...

Small Sling

I want to make sure everyone knows that I  have started sewing again, and so I am posting this on all of my blogs.



For more info check out my craft blog: http://courtneyscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

My new craft Blog!

Hey I am going to try and get my sewing back up and going and so I set up a blog to display my creations, check it out some time as of right now there aren't any pictures, but soon, very very soon!

http://www.courtneyscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

I finally get it!

Ok, so I have been wondering why people have the 2 blogs when they are private but in updating our list of blogs we follow I discovered the reason! To have the links show the name and last update it can't be listed as private. So I joined the bandwagon and have a second blog that will show when we update our private blog http://gravesforalltosee.blogspot.com add this to your list and it will tell you when we update!

Discovery Gateway

This was a fun trip, it was a little while ago - April 22, 2010. Corrine and I took our kiddo's to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. It was so much fun, it was kind of crowded because there was a school group there when we first got then, but they left after the first 20 minutes or so and then it was even more fun! Here are the pictures I took from that fun outing!

Ear Infections Be Gone

Here are daddy and Nate before Nate's surgery

The whole family before surgery

Well this is a little late on the update, but on April 23 Nate had tubes put in his ears to help with the frequent/constant ear infections. It has been such a blessing, he hasn't had any problems since. Its going to be a bit harder to go play this summer in the pool and at the lake because he'll need to wear ear plugs, but its so worth it and I am sure he will get used to it... Hopefully!

He had 6 ear/sinus infections between December and April, and since then he's not had any, a couple random days of fevers, but nothing more than about 24 hours. So definitely worth it!

To Plant!

We did it we decided to plant a garden this year, we have planted lots of fun things and hopefully they will grow, I will post some pictures soon, but hopefully we will have: Banana Peppers, Anaheim Chili Peppers, Jalepeno Peppers, Carrots, Beets, Cucumbers, Potatoes (Blue, Red and Russet), Garlic, Onions, Sugar Snap Peas, Tomato, Tomatillo, Soy Beans and Artichoke... I think that's everything!

We keep praying for success, also we are praying for Jake to get a promotion at work, so if you are thinking about it - add us into your prayers!

To Plant or Not to Plant, that is the question.

So my community has a community garden that we can get a 10X10 plot for $20 including the water for the season. I haven't really done much growing before but I am really interested in trying it this year. I could grow lots of wonderful things - well try to grow them...

I am trying to decide if I think I can do it, I'd have to do some volunteering in the communal part of the garden each month, but that isn't a big deal, and I would learn so much about growing my own food.

Jake and I have talked recently about being prepared for times of emergency and I think this might be a really good way for us to get started on that goal.

The picture above is what the master gardener from the community suggested I do, I thing I would substitute some changes - like beets instead of radish's and maybe some other changes...

What do you all think- can I do it? Would you all be ok with getting some lettuce when its ripe?

A blogger's good intentions.

Last night as I was preparing for a long slow day at work I tried to upload like all the pictures of Nate onto picasa online 495 pictures to be precise... Little did I know that if you do the face recognition thing that it only uploads the very small and close up face view of the picture. So instead of blogging about a whole bunch of different things today I will post a giant slide show Nate's face.

Nate's Harmonica

Pardon the mess - Nate's been helping me fold laundry and rearrange the furniture and organize the toys - we have differing opinions on where things should go... He'll win while he's awake and then I will fix it!

way way overdue

It has been much too long since I have really updated here, I still won't have time today, but I am working on it! Things to note - Nate is almost 16 months now and is so much fun, he's brilliant and has figured out how to color and play the harmonica this last week or so - its super cute!

Other news, Brooke and Dave are expecting their first baby - a boy- in May. Corrine and Tim are cooking up their 4th due in August, and Kat and Darin are going to have a 3rd in September - also Mallory is having a little girl in a couple months! Lots of babies around. We are going to wait awhile before adding to our family.

Jake's job is going so wonderfully - he is the laptop support technician for Rowland Hall St. Mark's private school and will be getting Apple repair certified soon! I am still working at Smith's pharmacy and doing pretty well there, its a good job and allows me to be home most days, I work 3 days a week. My mom is so great and watches Nate on the overlap of when Jake and I are both at work. Jake is home Saturday's when I work all day and he and Nate get to spend the whole day together and also plays with Grandma and Grandpa Graves. Its so wonderful to have family around!

In other news I have a calling at church of Relief Society Activity committee member and am really enjoying it, I am getting to know the sisters in my ward and its nice to get to know my neighbors! Jake has a calling of Building Coordinator for our ward, so far he isn't really loving it because he doesn't have enough information to do his calling effectively but hopefully he will find out what he needs to so he can feel confident and informed about what he needs to be doing.

Well there is a jumble of info - hopefully I will get around to really updating with pictures and details, but until that happens just know that I am busy chasing my maniac Nate around and absolutely loving every minute of it! Even the early mornings and late nights!

Numerology

A friend posted on her blog about how accurate Numerology was - so I decided to give it a try... The results are a bit frightening.

If you want to try go to http://www.paulsadowski.com/NameData.asp

You entered: Courtney Jane Lloyd

There are 17 letters in your name.
Those 17 letters total to 75
There are 6 vowels and 11 consonants in your name.

What your first name means:
Latin Female Born at court.
French Male From the court, or short nose. From the surname of the aristocratic Courtenay family, based on the Old French word meaning short nose.
French Female From the court, or short nose. From the surname of the aristocratic Courtenay family, based on the Old French word meaning short nose. Courtly; courteous.
English Male Courtier; court attendant.
English Female Courtly; courteous.
Anglo-Saxon Male Dweller by the dark stream.

Your number is: 3

The characteristics of #3 are: Expression, verbalization, socialization, the arts, the joy of living.

The expression or destiny for #3:
An Expression of 3 produces a quest for destiny with words along a variety of lines that may include writing, speaking, singing, acting or teaching; our entertainers, writers, litigators, teachers, salesmen, and composers. You also have the destiny to sell yourself or sell just about any product that comes along. You are imaginative in your presentation, and you may have creative talents in the arts, although these are more likely to be latent. You are an optimistic person that seems ever enthusiastic about life and living. You are friendly, loving and social, and people like you because you are charming and such a good conversationalist. Your ability to communicate may often inspire others. It is your role in life to inspire and motivate; to raise the spirits of those around you.

The negative side of number 3 Expression is superficiality. You may tend to scatter your forces and simply be too easygoing. It is advisable for the negative 3 to avoid dwelling on trivial matters, especially gossip.

Your Soul Urge number is: 8

A Soul Urge number of 8 means:
With an 8 soul urge, you have a natural flair for big business and the challenges imposed by the commercial world. Power, status and success are very important to you. You have strong urges to supervise, organize and lead. Material desires are also very pronounced. You have good executive abilities, and with these, confidence, energy and ambition.

Your mind is analytical and judgment sound; you're a good judge of material values and also human character. Self-controlled, you rarely let emotions cloud judgment. You are somewhat of an organizer at heart, and you like to keep those beneath you organized and on a proper track. This is a personality that wants to lead, not follow. You want to be known for your planning ability and solid judgment.

The negative aspects of the 8 soul urge are the often dominating and exacting attitude. You may have a tendency to be very rigid, sometimes stubborn.

Your Inner Dream number is: 4

An Inner Dream number of 4 means:
You dream of being a very solid citizen that people can depend upon. You strive for organization and predictable order. You want to be recognized as a person with a plan and the discipline to make that plan work like clockwork.

Lloyd Family Nativity Program 2009

Biggest Loser or Winner?

Well today is day one...

I am determined to put all of my Christmas presents to good use. I have done well with my pots and pans, Mario and money's.

Today I start on the Biggest Loser game and work out DVD - I will post the stats soon (hopefully)!

Asking Questions

Nate's vocabulary is very advanced this morning he walked in where Jake was working on his computer looked at him and said "whatcha doin?" He is hillarious. He will ask questions and has some phrases that he always says, we are just waiting for the day that we understand what he's saying.

He will also answer some questions, especially if you ask if he's finished with something, he knows the sign language for it. He also will tell you he's finished with something like getting his nose wiped or diaper changed or being in the car.

His other phrases are still, what is it, who is it, dadadadadada (in a fun laugh voice), moooooommmmaaaa(in a whiney voice) uh oh, quack, roar, ya, no, and so much more that I can't remember right now...