I've been Tagged!

I've been tagged once before but it was around the holidays and I slacked off doing it. So, sorry Chamaine but we both got tagged again so I guess I'll do this one to redeem myself.

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning. B. Each player answers the questions about themselves. C. At the end of the game the player tags 5 people, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was at Ricks College studying Theatre. I had just turned 18 a few months before and was feeling very much like an adult but acting more like an immature rebellious child. That was my busiest semester in school with 19 credits and working on every production that semester. I also made a life long friend, Cameron, that semester while working on shows together. Even though I had a hard time listening to rules and had already been on probation for breaking curfew I was never more grateful to be at a church school surrounded by my sister and good friends. I had no desire to get married (until I was older), have kids (anytime in the near future) or go on a mission like most of the other girls in the cooking dorms with me. I was pretty happy to go on dates and kiss boys!

5 things on my to-do list today: Read for my thesis (which is not getting done since I'm doing this). Take a walk. Play with Morgan and try to make his birthday special. Do the dishes. Prepare for my Uppercase Living party on Thursday.

Snacks I enjoy: I'm not a big snacker but I like cheese and crackers, diet coke, fruit and granola bars.

I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire: This one kind of depresses me since finances are a bit stretched but I would love to pay off debt, buy a great brownstone in Harlem and make it beautiful, set up the rest of my family and friends with what they need, invest in our future retirement and our children's future, travel tons and just feel secure! I would also love to pay that tithing and fast offering check and help with other church funds.

3 of my bad habits: Procrastination, talking too much and getting overwhelmed which turns into me doing nothing because I can't do everything.

5 places I have lived: Payson, Utah; Rexburg, Idaho; a few places in Florida; S.H.A.P.E., Belgium and Heidelberg, Germany.

5 jobs that I have had: Secretary for two doctors, Bank teller, Blockbuster, Stage Manager for the LDS Church and Burger King.

5 things people don't know about me: I love to dance and can get pretty bootylicious if the mood strikes me, I want to be a photographer, I get very gloomy if left by myself for too long, I HATE to touch raw meat and freak out if paper gets too close to my eye or even seems like it may get in the same vicinity as my eye.

5 people I tag are: Ashley, Minde, Jessica, Jesters (either one) and Sharon.

He will be truly missed!

I truly loved this man and am saddened by his departure from this earthly existense. However, I know with a surety that he has returned home to our Heavenly Father and has been reunited with his sweetheart. I am grateful for all the lessons he has taught me and for the many times I have resolved to live a better life simply because he asked me to. I am grateful to have been guided by him and to have been in the same room with him and once I actually sat in his chair and tried to feel his presence and love in the fibers. I am grateful that his lessons and prophesies are captured on film for my posterity to learn from as well. I will miss his cane waving, lip quivering, shaky voice and wisdom filled eyes. I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true and everlasting gospel and that Gordon B. Hinckley was a man of God, called to be a prophet in these latter days.

Thank you for sharing your life with us all!

We laugh at cold weather!

So the fact that it is January in NYC and pretty darn cold outside does not deter my friends and I from taking our little guys to the park just about every day. For one these guys would go crazy stuck inside our apartments all day and two WE would go crazy stuck inside our apartments all day. These guys don't really seem to mind the fact it is bitterly cold and just love to run around...OK it wasn't really that cold when we took these pictures but it has been some days and we seem to be the only ones at the park. I wonder if that should tell us something?!

I love Morgan's smile on this one. He's such a happy little monkey!

Ashley and Eliot showing Morgan how to slide like a champ.

On one of the really warm days...it was like mid 60's in January! Morgan chasing Chase.

Chase showed Morgan how to slide on his belly.

Minde getting love from the two little guys.

One of Morgan's favorite things about the park is free access to the strollers since he is blocked off at home. He spends a lot of time heading in their direction.

I'm really looking forward to this spring and summer and spending lots of quality time at the park. Morgan and I are really grateful for our friends here who keep us company most days and help make the bleak winter days not only bearable but quite enjoyable. Thanks guys!

Out and About

A few weekends ago Cody, Morgan and I decided to get out for a bit of fresh air and head downtown. Since we were headed to visit a friend at the VA hospital we decided to stop by Grammercy Park for a quick peak through the bars. For those of you non-New Yorkers this is the last private park in NYC. Only people whose homes face the park have access to it. You'd think that would make it a really cool park but it really just looks like all the others. You'd also think that we would take a picture facing the park instead of a cool building across from it...but you'd be wrong!

Last Thursday Cody was given two tickets to a Rangers hockey game by a co-worker. So we hurriedly lined up a baby-sitter (thank you Ashley) and headed off for a little hot-dog and peanut filled date night. The Rangers lost horribly but we stayed till the bitter end (they lost 2-6) just to enjoy a night on the town alone sans our little monkey.

Boys in the Hoody

I must admit I am terribly smitten with these two boys. I love everything about them and I especially enjoy watching them have fun together. The older Morgan gets the more attached he is to his Daddy or Dadadada as Morgan likes to call him. This is particularly sweet since Morgan didn't seem to much care for Cody when he was just a new baby and would cry every time he held him. Now he cries when he leaves for work in the morning.

My two athletes getting ready for a run around the park.

I guess I've lost another family member's attention to the GameBoy

Cody taking Morgan for his first walk in the playground.

Morgan learning the finer art of sliding.

Where were you on that one Dad?!

Here's a little video of Morgan making his way around the playground. The weather was surprisingly nice last week and Morgan had a blast going to the park each day and walking around...I say walking when all he really did was walk to the next thing on the ground and try to pick it up and eat it. Lovely!
Hope you enjoyed Morgan's little sideways shuffle.

Girls Day Out

Last Saturday Minde, Ashley and I decided we needed a mom day off and that we also needed to go to Costco. So naturally we combined the two and headed off to New Jersey. After gathering the much needed supplies for our families and a heavenly lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, we headed back to Harlem to regroup. We dropped off the groceries with the boys and continued our day off on the Upper West Side. We popped into a nail salon on 72nd Street and pampered ourselves with pedicures, back massages and other much needed treatments.

Here's Minde enjoying a moment of relaxation.

It's amazing how pale a person can actually be!

Ashley was very excited as you can see.

After the pampering we saw the Bucket List with Morgan Freeman. We laughed and cried and enjoyed ourselves...except for sitting near the front and straining our necks which kind of negated the massages...what can you do?!

I had a fantastic Mom Day Off and am grateful for wonderful friends to share the day with and understanding husbands who entertained our little boys whilst we were away taking a much needed break.

Neti Pot of Gold

Just in case you guys are not as big of an Oprah fan as I am here's a little gem you might enjoy. Last year I saw an episode with Dr. Oz who gives everyone medical advice. One item he mentioned was the Neti Pot (this is the one we bought). This wonderful little creation is used to flush out your sinuses with warm salt water. It is great for people who have allergies or a cold or just feel stuffed up. I knew Cody has some issues with his nose and could possibly enjoy such a thing. So being the dutiful wife that I am, I jumped right on the Internet and ordered him one of his very own.

I must say that Cody loves his Neti Pot and highly recommends it to anyone who wants to breathe better than they ever have. One word of warning if you live in a cold climate, be careful of walking outside right after because it kind of hurts to have such clear sinuses with such a cold breeze. Not sure why I bring this up now but thought others could benefit from our knowledge. Happy breathing!

Adams Family in the Daily News

Last year Cody gave an interview about Crock-pots (which is why we had three Crock-pots for awhile, and I'm still trying to sell off the last one if anyone is interested, see picture below). The story was finally published on Monday in the NY Daily News. The reporter definitely took her own spin on what Cody told her. I wish it were a true telling of our cooking life, although we do use the Crock-pot a lot on Sundays. Anyway enjoy!

New generation of Crock-pots dishes out comfort food classics
BY ROSEMARY BLACK

Cody and Beth Adams have very little time to cook, but nearly every night their Spanish Harlem kitchen smells fantastic as they sit down with their toddler to roast beef, homemade soup, spaghetti – even an occasional fruit cobbler for dessert. All of the above are made in their their slow cooker, which they received as a wedding present, and which they use more than just about any kitchen appliance.

"Food tastes so much better coming out of a crockpot than out of a microwave," says Cody, a public relations executive. (Beth is working on her thesis, and their son, Morgan, is about to turn one.) "In the morning, we just throw everything into the pot and it's ready by that night. It really helps when you have a long and stressful day."
The Adams family has plenty of company when it comes to taking advantage of a slow cooker this winter. Nearly 80 percent of American families now own a slow cooker, and slow cooker use has increased ten percent in the last 20 years, according to Jarden Consumer Solutions, which makes the Crock-pot.

Lest you think the newest slow cookers are anything like your mother's harvest gold model, check out Crock-pot's newest entries in the field: the VersaWare cooker can be used on the stovetop, enabling the cook to brown meats and vegetables in the cooker rather than in another pot. And the SmartSet Crock-pot has five settings for different kinds of food, plus a temperature probe that is placed right into the food so the cook knows just when it's finished cooking.
As for what people are cooking these days, it's more likely to be chicken rather than a tough cut of beef, says Amy Golino, culinary analyst for Jarden Consumer Solutions. "Back in the day, the Crockpot offered a way to tenderize an inexpensive cut of meat," she says. "But today, people are getting more into bistro, traditional comfort food. And that is exactly what Crockpots are good at."

Slow cooker cookbooks featuring recipes for comfort food like mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese no longer call for lots of gloppy canned soups and packaged mixes. In "Fast Cooking in a Slow Cooker Every Day of the Year" (Family Health Publications), JoAnn Rachor offers a variety of recipes that are low in fat and have no cholesterol. Here are three of them – plus a great meatloaf recipe for when you are in the mood for authentic comfort food.

Why's the Rum gone?!

One of Morgan's many nomenclatures is The Captain for Captain Morgan Rum. His pediatrician, Papa Adams and bishop all refer to him as such, so when Cody spotted this statue in the Charlotte, NC airport we had to stop and take a picture.

We can all ignore the fact that I slightly resemble a bar wench in this shirt. Too bad we can't fit this statue in Morgan's room, he seems to like it.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day we all got together at my sister Kim's house to watch the kids open presents and have a Santa Maria bar-b-que. Kim and family use to live in Santa Maria, California and apparently they make their own spices their that are very tasty on tri-tip steak and use their own special grilling methods. Mike was in charge of the meal and did a fantastic job. Of course the other men helped by supervising.

My sister Jill is famous for her pajama pant making skills. It probably started by the fact that we're a tall family and can never find pajama pants that are long enough. So for the second time Jill made us all matching Christmas pajama pants and of course we had to capture the moment on film. We set up a tri-pod to take the picture and here are all the test shots, which I thought were a funny progression of watching a group of people try to take a photo. If you scroll fast it is almost like mini film.

We almost got Mikayla out of the picture!

On Christmas Morgan started to get a runny nose and a little cranky which was super since we were flying home that day. However despite his moist face he's still a little cutey.

Papa with Mikayla who got everything princess related.

Nathan in his new hamburgler issued pajamas flying his toy helicopter...if you look close it is in front of the door.

We had a wonderful Christmas and memorable vacation to Florida this year. We miss everyone terribly, including the beautiful weather. Come and visit anytime!

Christmas Eve Fun

Since Cody, Morgan and I were flying back to NYC on Christmas day, Christmas Eve was the big party day this year. We all got together, along with a few good friends and enjoyed a big delicious meal, a nativity courtesy of the Jester Family and fun presents.

Here we are all together and surprisingly most of us are actually smiling and looking at the camera...most of us.

From left to right: Kevin, Jane, Jill, Cody, Me, Morgan Jacob, Mikayla, Nathan, Kim, Ben, Mike, Joshua, Gramma and Papa Morgan is ready to watch Jacob as a shepherd and wise man from atop Uncle Kevin.

The big dinner. Thanks for the deviled eggs Sis. Snavely!

Morgan only lasted so long watching everyone else enjoy the big people food.

Mikayla with her hair actually done.

When my first nephew Nathan came along almost ten years ago, I decided I would be the Auntie who buys the kids books and pajamas every Christmas. This has become a fun tradition that the kids look forward to every year...at least they humor me and make me feel good.

Jacob and his missing tooth grin.

Even though Morgan is mine, he also got a book and new pajamas.


Ben enjoyed his present a corner at a time.

Kim and Mikayla looking festive.

Jill helped Jane tear into hers.

The crotch is a little saggy on Mikayla but Ben's looked nice and snug.

Joshua's sweet smile. He really liked his NYC pigeon book.

Kevin and Jane who seems to be pointing at Jill as if to say..."she's the one who got me into this mess!"

Kevin, Mike and Cody with the babies. Morgan really loves his new pj's and time with cousins and obviously can't wait for Santa!

Cody got me some new chap stick for Christmas. I didn't know it was tinted and just smeared it on. I would not have felt the need to share the end result of that confusion but Morgan looked so good in the picture...except for the fact he is a little orange. Can babies get jaundice at 1? Or should we cut out carrots from his diet?

Random Holiday Pictures

Here are some random memories from our trip to Florida.

We took Morgan to meet Santa at the mall the Saturday before Christmas...not my brightest idea but I was determined to get the picture. We waited an hour and Morgan was a trooper despite how tired he was. He gave Santa an inquisitive look and smiled his huge open mouth smile for the camera (I'll get Cody to scan it in later). I was secretly hoping for a meltdown because those are the funniest pictures but I guess I'll take a happy baby when I can get it. After the big photo we did some last minute shopping and this is how Morgan felt about his time at an actual mall.

For Christmas my mom took me for a day of pampering, I got a wonderful massage courtesy of my friend Jessica and got my hair cut and a new pair of pretty black shoes. While I was having a much needed girl day, Cody and Morgan were exploring my parents neighborhood. Here they are enjoying the warmth and sun on the beach.

Morgan took his first ride down a slide and seemed less than enthused.

My dear friend from high school Dawn, her husband Garrett and new little guy Nathan Kai were in town visiting family and came over for a quick visit on Christmas Eve. It was great to see them and catch up on mommy talk.

Morgan gave his new little buddy a Harlemade hat to match his. This way Nathan can roll dirrty in Maine Harlem style!

Morgan discovered a new love for riding on things whilst in Florida. Cousin Mikayla was very helpful in pushing him around, complete with a chocolate Binky face...it helps.

Dad also gave a push...I love that toothy smile and big cheeks. We call this his squishy face.

Morgan liked to ride with one hand on the door...laid back!

I looked everywhere for Christmas socks but couldn't find any that weren't super girly so we settled for Christmas booties and a bib. They didn't have any grippers on the bottom so they weren't very practical on all the tiled floors but they looked cute and that's really the important part.