Liam at School

I finally had a minute to get a picture of Liam with his teacher's this morning, they are both really wonderful and patient. I think this is going to be a really good year for him, the teacher's said today that they can already see an improvement since he started coming this fall. He is doing much better with following verbal instructions and expressing himself, plus he is having lots of fun (although you wouldn't be able to tell that from the picture, he was mad that he was being delayed from playing with cars to have a picture taken).
It makes me really glad that this preschool arangement is working out. Liam really needed to be able to go but what with our student budget and all I wasn't sure how we would make that happen financially. But the opportunity arose for me to teach at the school which would pay for tuition costs, although I was initially apprehensive because that would mean Asher would have to come as well and go to the baby class. However it seems to be working out great, Asher is just next door to me so I can check on him anytime I want to and he really enjoys the ladies he is with (Plus its only two mornings a week so its not a lot of time away). Its also good for me because I get out more often to interact with adults and it forces me to be more organized around the house so that we can all get out the door on time. All in all it seems to be a good move for our whole family.

Asher's Big Day

Asher had a really great day at school today. His teachers said that he is the easiest baby they have ever met. When all the other babies were crying and fussing he was just watching and smiling and laughing, they called him "Mr. Low-Mainentance". It makes me really glad that he has such great people watching him in the "cribbers" room and that he likes it there. He is a sweet boy.

The Woods are Lovely, Dark and Deep

After a full two weeks of a grad school schedhule we made the decision that family home evening is going to have to take place on Sunday nights as opposed to Monday nights for the time being (Bevan has Beta Alpha Psi meetings on Monday nights). So after dinner today we had our little lesson titled, "Jesus Christ Heals a Blind Man" and then headed out for a walk at Guilford Courthouse National Park. This park is by far one of my most favourite things about Greensboro, how cool is it to have a national park within city limits? The park is on the site of a revolutionary war battleground and there are all sorts of walking and hiking paths through a forest that weave around the battleground and various historical markers, grave sites etc...I like to go walking there as often as possible. It's good exercise and it does us all good to get out of the apartment and get some fresh air. Tonight we even saw a Sssssnake slithering across the road, Liam was really jazzed about that.

Habitat for Humanity

Today Bevan went and did a "service project" with other UNCG MSA student's that was sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. They went and helped build houses for Habitat for Humanity in Winston-Salem, NC. It was a great way for him to do something in the community as well as meet people from PWC and spend time with others in his program. Afterwards PWC took them all out to lunch. Sounds like a good time to me.

"Soccer Ball Game"

Tonight we went as a family to a UNCG men's soccer game. This has been a tradition for our family since Liam was about 3 or 4 months old. So we were really excited to bring Asher for his first season as well. Liam is really into soccer right now, all summer long when ever we drove by the soccer field he would start talking very excitedly about "soccer ball games". Tonight UNCG was playing a team from Jacksonville, NC and it was pretty darn intense from time to time. The referee made some questionable calls but we still won in the end, it was very exciting. We were also seated near some fraternity boys who were shouting a lot and Liam picked up a new phrase from them, "kick the ball princess". I am glad he chose that phrase as opposed to alot of the other phrases they were using (he really doesn't need to use any more profanity than he already does what with his mispronunciation of the word "truck"...use your imagination if you don't already know how he mispronounces this). Afterwards we celebrated with frozen yogurt from TCBY, my recent new favourite. All in all a good time was had by all, even Asher who slept through most of the second half of the game.

Recipes

Just in case anyone doesn't know I am obsessed with cooking, food and recipes. I love trying new recipes as much as possible. Since in one of my previous blogs I ended up sharing a recipe that went over well (salmon), I thought I would share another recent cooking adventure that Liam actually ate. It is a different pancake recipe so if you are looking for a unique weekend breakfast this one might be for you:

Apple-Pecan Pancakes

-2 cups all purpose flour
-1 cup sugar
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/2 tsp ground ginger
-1/2 tsp. mace
-1/2 tsp. ground cloves
-2 eggs
-1 3/4 cups buttermilk
-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
-1 3/4 cups shredded peeled apples
-1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, combine first 9 ingrediants. In another bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk and oil; stir into dry ingrediants just until blended. Stir in apples and pecans. Pour the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a greased griddle over medium-low heat. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown. Yield: 1-1/2 dozen.

Slimed!

Does anyone remember that old "Ghost Buster's" cartoon from back in the 80's? Well, today I feel like I have been slimed by Slimer...that oozing ghost. Poor Asher has apparently caught the cold that I had over the weekend and is oozing himself. Normally he is a very self sufficient baby but since he hasn't been feeling well he wants to be held constantly and keeps snuggling up all over my neck, face and shirt. This would be lovely except for that he is producing more mucous than I could possibly keep up on wiping away, so I am covered in it. I hope he feels better soon! (There's also lots of drool since he's teething as well.)

Dinner Drama

Tonight I made one of my stand by dinners...Honey Glazed Salmon with Rice Pilaf and Brocolli. As usual Liam Refused to eat it or even come to the table without a screaming fit. He actually refuses to eat just about anything I make, so this wasn't a big surprise. Miracle of miracles though, when Bevan came home from his night class he actually with no trouble whatsoever got Liam to eat rice, brocolli and some Salmon....a full meal in one sitting! It was amazing, I can't remember the last time Liam willingly consented to eat a green vegetable. Having a dad around is producing miracles indeed! Way to go Bevan.

Out To Conquer!

Tonight Bevan is going to the Beta Alpha Psi internship social ("B.A.P." is the national honour society for accounting majors). This is the event we have been waiting for all summer; all the big 4, national, regional and local firms are going to be there recruiting. We already met a lot of these people in the spring at the graduation banquet, that was a social event though and this time its down to business (no dates allowed, the boys and I are going to have to wait at home to see how it goes).

This morning poor Bevan had to rush out first thing to find a dry cleaners with a one day service since as I mentioned earlier I forgot to take his suit in this weekend. He earned extra brownie points by taking Liam and Asher with him so I could sleep since I haven't been feeling well. It was very sweet of him. Anyhow, the suit is now cleaned and pressed and he's out the door looking spiffy!(Pictures to come!)

Trip to NY

We had a great trip in July. We got to see the Cutlers in DC, the Whiteheads in Kingston and Spencer, Kari and Savannah in DC. I Palmyra we saw the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Since Amanda's brother Ethan was working there for the summer, we got a backstage tour. Liam got to see how the special effects are made througout the program. The ball of fire was very cool.

If you ever have the chance to see this you should take it. There is a lot going on in downtown Palmyra too. There is a candy store next to the Grandin building that sells really good fudge (well they better sell fudge because that is like a food group for members of the Church). There is also good Chinese food and Italian food across the street. Darryls makes great subs, but you might want to get there right before 11.30 am (no later). Therewere many different ice cream flavors with very clever names. Amanda had a flavor called snicker-sneakers.

I think this area is so special for many reasons. One of my favorite things about Palmyra is the temple. This is where Amanda and I were married. We had not been able to re-visit for five years. I hope to go back later, so that the boys can see everything when they are older and more reverent.

In Canada we were excited to grab some leftover clothes from the World Cup. Well, unfotunately the store downtown was not carrying any shirts from the Cup. I did find some leftovers online, but it only ships to Canada.

UNC-Greensboro

I am currently working on my Masters in Accountancy at the Universiy of North Carolina at Greensboro. I just graduated from said University with a BS in Accounting in May of 2006. I will be going to school until December 2007.

Currently, school is especially exciting because I am in the middle of interviews for an internship with a CPA firm in the Winter of 2007 (Jan.-March). Friday My fellow students and I had the pleasure of meetig many of the folks at the Triad office of BDO Seidman. One of the partners likened her experience with public accounting to the story of Goldilocks. A Big 4 was too big, and a Small firm was too small. I must say, that being able to work for a firm that allows one to work in both audit and tax sounds very inviting. I guess I can have fun weighing the pros and cons in the next 6 weeks as I will be expexted to make a final decision.

A Big Week

This past week has been a very eventful one for our family. First off I want to Congratulate my brother Christian who graduated from BYU. Good work little brother! I am very proud of him, he has worked hard at school and his on-campus job, got good grades and has now moved on to an exciting career in Seattle with Microsoft. So we are going to have to save our pennies to go and visit him sometime. My parents and little sister went out for his graduation and are now helping him move into his new place in Bellevue. I am looking forward to hearing how it all went.

Back on the homefront here in Greensboro Bevan quit his job at UPS so that he could focus on his graduate studies which he started this past week. He has worked like a dog for the past three years at a 30-plus hour a week job being a supervisor at UPS as well as being a full time student and a full time husband/father as well (There seriosuly are not enough hours in a day!). Since he has been working the midnight shift for the past several years our family is under going quite a schedhule change. I know that Liam loves having a dad around to help put him to bed...as well as a Dad who wakes up in the morning at the same time that he does. Since having a Dad who is gone all night is all Liam has ever known in his three years of existence he has been in heaven, especially since he is such a Daddy's boy. It makes me really glad that they are having more time togethor.

This whole change has been fabulous for me as well, last weekend all four of us were playing in the living room and having a fun/silly time and I though to myself..."This must be what life is like for normal people. They have time to talk to each other and can enjoy each others company occasionally because nobody has to rush out the door by 9:30 p.m." This past summer has been particularily taxing because although Bevan was not in summer classes he was working during the day at one job and during the night at his other, it was a split schedhule of about 65 hours a week, sleep was very sparse for poor Bevan. So this sudden change has been quite a luxury for us. I have to pinch myself every night when I realize that I don't have to cook dinner, do the dishes, give the boys a bath, read them stories, fold the laundry etc..all by myself. I have realized it is really nice to have a husband around! I think though that Bevan has discovered that I have become quite a bed hog over the past three years...since its just been me every night apparently I have taken to sleeping on a diagonal and using up the whole bed. It's a bad habit I am going to have to break.

Bevan seems to be really excited about all of his master's courses, he is taking a mix of accounting and MBA courses. There has also been some official schmoozing taking place at socials etc. put on by different accounting firms for the students, they are trying to woo them into internships apparently. Bevan got taken out to a neat restaurant downtwon yesterday that I have been wanting to go to for sometime, so I was pretty excited to hear what it was like as well as jealous since he wasn't able to bring a date! There is a big "Meet the Firms" event on Campus on Monday night that is going to be a big deal for him. I forgot to take his suit to the dry cleaners this weekend so I hope that I can find somebody with a one day service. Anyhow, he will have to let you know more himself what he has been up to schoolwise.

I had my first teacher workday on Wednesday morning. It went pretty well, I got to meet all the other teachers and started to set up the classroom I wil be working in. I will be with the 12-18 month old children on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. After we got the room done there was a lovely little luncheon put on by the program directors. I think I am going to like getting out of the house a couple mornings a week and being around other adults consistenly. Not to mention the BIG bonus of not having to factor preschool tuition into our budget. The boys are very active with Asher starting to demonstrate that he has just as much capability as his older brother. He is all over the place, he crawls around really fast and wants to be into every thing Liam is into...which of course perturbs Liam just a bit. Liam is all about the Hummer Happy Meal toys at McDonald's right now (If my 16 year old self knew that I would ever take my children there she would have been apalled).

Anyhow, all in all its been a full week. And I am sure life is only going to get busier as fall progresses and school gets into full swing. I am excited for it though. I have never been a summer person, it always seemed to me that life was on hold until September when everything would come back to life again with the new school year. And this year all four of us are heading back as a family in one capacity or another (Bevan at Grad school, me working at the preschool, Liam and Asher attending preschool), it is good times.

Bevan, Amanda, Liam and Asher: A Brief Introduction

We are the North Carolina branch of the Buchanan family (which is currently headquartered in Farmington, NM. There are however other branches located in Utah, Arizona and Maryland). My husband Bevan is currently working on a master's degree in accounting at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro which is what brought us to North Carolina. I am primarily a stay at home mom of two boys although I will be branching out this fall to take on a position as a co-teacher at my sons preschool.


Our family has decided to start this blog for a couple of reasons. Mainly to keep in touch more readily with family and friends, but also to keep a family history. It will be a joint project between Bevan and I, we will both take turns posting...maybe the boys will take a turn sometime too. So we will do our best to post our goings on and hope its not to boring!