Halloween

Last year I didn't plan a cute costume and I regretted it. But as soon as we got home from trick-or-treating last year, I made a decision: Evi would go as Belle next year and Raya would be the Beast. When I told Marcelo the plan he smiled and said that would be cute, so it was decided.

Now, the thinking behind choosing the blue "peasant" outfit instead of the more well known "gold ball gown" is very simple: IT IS COLD IN UTAH IN OCTOBER!! The gold gown doesn't allow for many layers or a jacket if you want to see the costume. But the blue gold gown can be worn with pants under it to keep her warm and layers of shirts under the blouse if needed. And since I was making it, I wanted to make something I liked.

That's right, I sewed her whole dress, and I think it looked awesome!














Maybe it's just the hair that really makes the difference.





























What a ferocious Beast! Look at him roar!

We went to the ward party the Saturday before Halloween, and then we went Trick-or-Treating in our old neighborhood on the 31st. I don't know how to top this one next year! She is just too cute!

I demand a re-count!

Yesterday was the ward Halloween Party. It was a pretty good one. Awesome decorations, sinful cornbread (with honey butter AND raspberry butter!), music and dancing for the kids (and my husband. Yes! Marcelo came! Shocking!) and a chili cook off between ward members. People really participated in this one! There were tons of pots of chili to choose from and you could tell that people really liked showing off their different styles of chili. I bet there were about 25 different kinds of chili, but only 19 of them participated in the "contest".

Andy let me tell you why I participated in the contest: I hate beans. I know most people find them an integral part to chili, but I hate them. And I hate having to meticulously sort through my bowl of chili to pull out all the beans. So I signed up to bring a pot of chili so that I for sure knew that there would be something palatable for myself. And after about 3 minutes of searching online, I found this awesome recipe for a Pumpkin Turkey Chili that I wanted to try. I love pumpkin! I love ground turkey! AND NO BEANS!!! This one was it. I made it really fast (I didn't leave myself enough time to do everything after my run, and taking a shower and getting the baby ready. I'm such a bad procrastinator!) and we ran off to the church for the party.

Like I said, it was a good party. Even if it did start really late. But it let everyone get there on "Mormon Standard Time" and find a place for their chili. So after I had eaten my weight in cornbread (Seriously, I had 6 of them. And while they were quite small-1 1/2 inches squared- that didn't justify the whole cup of honey butter I put on as well) I watched as my child ran around and found her new best friend: The girl dressed up as the Little Mermaid. Seriously, my kid would've followed that little girl into highway traffic, that's how devoted she was to her. Or should I say to the Little Mermaid.

And then it was time to award the prizes for the chili winners. And I don't know how to say this, BUT I WON!!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!! Seriously, how did that happen? I demand a recount! There is no way I won! My chili was NOT spicy (but maybe that helped?) nor did it have beans (but again, maybe that helped?) but it was the winner. The only thing i can think that put it over the top was that I added sour cream and cheese to the top of my "judging cup." But I don't think that was cheating. It's what the recipe called for! But seriously, anything with sour cream and cheese on top is going to taste freaking awesome.

We won a $20 gift card to Pastorero, a great taquitoria close to our house that has pictures of Guanajuato inside. It makes me reminisce. Anyway, I think that many MANY people in the ward feel robbed.. Because hardly anyone was like "Oh, congratulations!" I'm sure they were expecting someone else to win. Like the lady in our ward that owns Sweet Tooth Bakery, or the professional caterers in our ward. Yeah, maybe one of them. Not someone who found a recipe off the internet and who had never made chili before in her life. Oh well, I WON!!!!!!

So I know you are all DYING for it, so here is the recipe for the chili:

Pumpkin Turkey Chil
From allrecipes.com
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 pound ground turkey
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 dash salt
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup sour cream

Cooking Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Serves 6
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 303
Total Fat: 18.1g
Cholesterol: 76mg

***My own changes***I actually added more salt than it asked for. I tasted it and it was a little too bland and so I added some more. I also added some of my special blend of spices I call "Alino en Polvo" It has cumin, garlic salt, pepper, salt and onion powder. And a little oregano. I added a bit of that too. Not too much, just like a tablespoon. If you want me to make you a batch of "Alino en Polvo" I will be happy to do it. I add it to EVERYTHING. It's my own creation and it reminds Marcelo of home.

So that's my exciting news. I ousted the whole ward in the chili challenge and made enemies of the whole R.S.BC.

Here is the link for allrecipes.com. So you can see a picture of the food:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Turkey-Chili/Detail.aspx

Go make it! And then tell me how it went for you. What contests did YOU win?

You Give Me Fever

Ahhh, Valentines Day! This is one holiday that gets some respect in our house. Because in Ecuador, it's the Day of Love AND Friendship. So much like elementary school, people celebrate the day with everyone around them. Sending cards, chocolates and little trinkets to everyone. No one is left out. It's a good day for all.

So, that's why we spent Valentine's Day together as a family. Marcelo and I decided to go to our favorite Thai restaurant in Orem on Saturday. We tried to volunteer to babysit our friend's kids, but they didn't call us back until we were already at dinner. (They did invite us to go to a movie later, but it was a dollar movie so the tickets sold out almost immediately. It didn't happen and we were sad) So we just spent the day together as the Loor family.

We did take a side trip to Costco at the same time and saw the mad rush for chocolate cake and flowers. We did not partake but we did buy birth control and diapers. I think that is a very funny and ironic coupling of items. You shouldn't need the one if you used the other properly in the first place. Some other funny pairings? Buying a case of beer and card for your child who is just leaving on a mission. Buying a can of rat poison and a rodent cage. You think of some more. I'm going to get back to my story.

So after dinner (which was delicious. We even got Evi to eat some of everything!) and the movie was a bust, we went home. We did the normal nighttime routine with bath, dressing, praying and finally books right before bed. However, as I was reading to the Bibbers, I notices that her head was a little warm. Not her cheeks, or her neck or her hands or body. Just the forehead and top of her head. Marcelo felt it and said it was nothing. And I believed him.

NEVER TRUST YOUR HUSBAND!! TRUST YOUR MOTHERING INSTINCTS!! Nothing terrible happened. She slept just fine, but woke up on FIRE. Super hot, and just feeling crappy. She cuddled in bed with us for about a half hour. (Funny side story. When she comes into bed with us, she will flop on top of us and ask for her back to be rubbed/scratched. Oh, did I say "asked?" I meant "pointed to her back and made grunting noises". But this morning she was too tired to do even that. The moment I stopped moving my hand, she would do just a little "uh uh" in my ear. Very soft, almost nothing. She couldn't do more than that. Marcelo and I loved it)

Anyway, I can never get her to sleep with us in bed. Once she's up, she's going going gone. We gave her some medicine, and she seemed to perk up. At least her fever went down. (not before puking all over the couch and carpet, though. Great way to start off your Day of Rest, I'll tell you that)

We said no to church. Because I've worked in the nursery, and I wouldn't like someone to come in, drop off their kid to me and say, "well, she puked this morning and had a fever, but we thought she would miss out on her friends if we didn't come. ENJOY HER!!" We made an executive decision. Which was a good idea, because it spiked again after her afternoon nap. It was up to 103.6. But again, it responded with the baby ibuprofen. Marcelo kept trying to force me to take her to the Dr. office, and finally I had to read to him that "fevers are normal and the way the body responds to infection. If fever lasts more than 3 days or does not respond to medicine, please bring her in". We were less than 24 hours so we didn't meet any criteria. He finally shut up about taking her.

So that's how we spent our Day of Love and Friendship. And I want to wish a happy L&F Day to all of you. I'm guessing your day went better than mine. If you didn't catch your daughter's puke in your cupped hands, then your day was infinitely better than mine.

P.S. When I looked for a cool picture to put with this post, this is what I found:

Ummm, i think we need to talk about the awesomeness of this album cover. Animal print blanket? Check. Handkerchief matching lipstick color? Check. Rad 80's graffiti-esque font? Double AND triple check for all 3 colors used. Please tell me what is your favorite part about this album cover?

The Halloween Post

If you have a child, when they hand you your child at the hospital, they say "Now, you must do blog posts about Halloween. If you don't, we will find out and come GET this child and give her to a family that knows how to use a camera, and will properly document her holidays."

So, I 'm obliged to do this post. Sorry if you don't want to read it.

Last year Evi's was a pig. Or should I call her a "piglet"? I still have the ears I made. I might use them on another child years down the road. But this year my mom found a great costume at a garage sale. And she knows that I like the color green and I like to dress my girl like a boy. Let's all admit it. I do. So she sent it to her, and my kid is AWESOME looking.

Here she is at the Halloween Party our ward had Wednesday night. She really didn't care about trick or treating. She just wanted to eat her popcorn and wander the halls. My child is SO super anti-social. There were about 50 kids there all her age! And she didn't want anything to do with them. She kept walking away from them and walking into the foyer so she could sit and enjoy her sucker in peace.

Here are some pictures of her avoiding kids and eating her sucker in peace. Oh, she was a Kimono Dragon for Halloween.





























Seriously anti-social, right? Is that inherited?

Ok, and as an added bonus, here is her using her very effective non-verbal skills to tell me what she wants.



I'm teaching her bad habits, obviously. But pumpkin ice cream is SOOOOO good.