March Visiting Teaching Message

I have the best visiting teaching companion and she is constantly coming up with the cutest things to give our ladies.  She has great websites that have fun ideas and has something darling almost every month.  She had a baby this month, so I told her I would take care of things.  Of course, I realize that today is the very last day of the month, but it is still March, so I knew that I had to come up with something today!  The message this month is about studying the scriptures.  Last night I was at Wal-mart and I kept trying to remind myself that I needed to get something I could drop off to our ladies.  I was just going to get some Easter candy, but when I walked past the Easter sprinkles, I thought, that might be a kind of fun thing to give them.  I am feeling pretty proud of myself.  This morning I put a little label on the sprinkles that said, "sprinkle" the scriptures through your day, the results will be "sweet".  I added some ribbon and a quote from President Monson from the lesson and I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Sun Hat Re-fashion

This sun hat was Blake's when he was a baby.  He hardly ever wore it and it is a Gap one, so it is still in perfect shape.  We have a beach trip coming up and Brynne is the first child I have who is really fair-skinned.  I know she is going to be a real problem to keep from getting sun-burned.  This hat fits her perfectly and will be great for our trip, but nothing makes me more crazy than when people call my girls boys.  They don't have tons of hair, but I swear people are crazy when it comes to clothes and babies.  I took Brynne out to do errands with me the other day and she happened to have on jeans and a gray hooded jacket.  The jacket was a swing style jacket with pleats and big girly buttons and the fabric actually has some glittery sparkles in it, but I cannot tell you how many people complimented me on what a darling little boy I had.  Seriously, I was ready to scream by the end of my shopping trip.  Anyway, I decided if Brynne is going to be living in this hat on our trip, I needed to girl it up a bit, so here is the new and improved girl sun hat:

What do you think?  Will this keep her from being mistaken for a boy?  I just cut a little strip of some fabric I had in my stash.  I set my sewing machine to the largest length stitch and sewed a straight line along the edge of the fabric strip.  I pulled the top thread on one end to make it ruffle (I am attempting to learn how to make ruffles, they are pretty easy, but pulling the string to gather them is pretty time consuming).  Then I twisted it into a flower shape and hand sewed it together.  I added a button center and some twisted green gingham ribbon for leaves.  The whole project took me about half an hour.

Anniversary Quilt

I have been a little busy working on this quilt the last few weeks.  I have been so excited about the way it turned out that it has been hard to keep it a secret.  We celebrated my in-laws' 40th anniversary last night with a surprise party for them.  Kyle has one sister and she has been working on doing something for this special anniversary for almost 2 years.  She created this amazing slide show including pictures from their 40 years of marriage and then my sister-in-law hosted an amazing surprise party for them.  Unfortunately, I didn't come up with the idea for the quilt until the last month before the big party, so I have been scrambling a bit to finish it.  I had each of the grandchildren draw a 5 inch by 5 inch self portrait.  The 2 grandchildren who were too young to draw their own self portraits had theirs done by an older sibling.  I told them to try to keep the pictures fairly simple and most do outlining, rather than coloring in.  They all used crayola markers, so the colors were pretty similar.  There are 4 grandchildren that live out of state, so their mom just scanned their pictures and sent them to me.  I traced each child's picture onto a 7 1/2 inch by 7 1/2 inch piece of muslin.  Then I embroidered each picture to match their drawing.  I used fat quarters and more muslin to put the quilt blocks together.  I got the idea from the book The Creative Family by Amanda Soule.  In her book she suggests embroidering children's artwork and using it throughout your home.  My mother-in-law actually makes a similar quilt for each child using coloring book characters, so I thought it would be fun for her to have her own quilt with the kids' drawings on it.  At the last minute I was panicked about what to do about the actual quilting.  I have hand quilted a few quilts, but my skills are sorely lacking and my mother-in-law is a true artist when it comes to hand quilting.  I don't know what I would do without her sister, our wonderful Aunt Sherry.  She agreed to machine quilt it for me with only days left before the party.  She had never machine quilted before and used a brand new machine that she is still trying to figure out.  Amazingly, she finished the entire thing is less than 24 hours and it looks professional!  It was such a fun project to work on!  I hope to create some more quilts like this down the road, only hopefully next time will think a little more ahead and not leave myself such a short deadline.  I would love to create one for myself that shows my kids' artwork evolving over time.  That would just require a fair amount of planning, so we'll see if I can be that organized. 

The Paper Princess, By Elisa Kleven

I found this great book on Amazon.  There were a lot of good reviews, so I ordered it for Paige for Valentines.  It was a great choice.  She has loved it.  The Paper Princess by Elisa Kleven, is the story of a paper doll who blows away from the girl who is making her before she is finished.  The doll goes on a journey and eventually ends up back with the girl who created her.  It is a sweet story and perfect for a doll loving 3 year old girl.  Paige and I have had a lot of fun with this book, reading and re-reading it.  One day after reading it, we decided to make our own paper dolls.  They weren't anything fancy, but Paige was thrilled.  We got out my cookied cutters and traced the gingerbread boy and girl and decorated them with glitter glue pens.  After those were done, Paige started tracing all sorts of different cookies cutters and making all kinds of things.  It was simple and super fun!

TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive

I am not the best at throwing stuff away.  My youngest sister is really good at it.  I was talking to her the other day about how she needed to come out and help me go through some stuff because she will be brutally honest with me about what clothes need to go and stuff.  She told me that before I got ready to clean anything out I needed to watch the new show on TLC called "Hoarding:  Buried Alive".  I accidentally caught about 20 minutes of it last night.   My sister was not kidding!  This show will cure you of holding on to anything.  I only saw 20 minutes and I swear by the end I was sweating, I was so uncomfortable!     All day today it has stuck with me.  I keep finding myself going from room to room throwing stuff away!   My two biggest challenges for organization are paper and clothes.  I have really got to get on top of those things.  I also tend to be incredibly cheap when it comes to buying stuff for organizing.  I never want to spend the money all at once to buy enough rubbermaid containers to keep the outgrown clothes and stuff.  After seeing this show, spending the money on some organizational stuff seems a lot more worth it!  Does anyone have any great organizing tips?  What are your rules for saving outgrown children's clothes?  I am pretty good with my oldest, he's nearly 8, so a good majority of his stuff gets really worn out before he outgrows it so I can just throw it away.  It is my under 5 year old clothes that are such a pain!  Something else I could really use some good ideas for is kids art supplies.  I struggle because I want my older kids to be able to get to most of the supplies without help, paper, crayons, pencils, markers, but it is constantly a mess wherever I put it, plus making sure my baby can't get to it.  Let me know if you have any great ideas!  

My Fair Godmother, by Janette Rallison

I had seen several reviews for this book, so I picked it up at the library.  It is a young adult book, which tends to be my favorite genre.  I have never read anything by this author before and wasn't sure I'd like it, but it turned out to be such a fun, cute story.  I read it really quickly and felt like I smiled through the whole thing.  Any girl who has survived high school would catch herself smiling at  Savannah's high school experiences.  Honestly, what teenage girl hasn't wished for a fairy godmother to pop in and grant her some wishes, particularly some that involve a prince charming.  Savannah quickly finds out that all wishes are not what they are cracked up to be.  After I read this, I though I need to remember this book because it would make the perfect gift for any girl!

Best Ever Pancakes and Syrup

I have to start this post letting you know that as a teenager there was nothing I hated more than when my dad would decide to make pancakes or waffles on a Sunday night for dinner.  I absolutely despised pancakes and never, ever wanted to eat them.  It has only been the last couple of years that I have now decided that I love pancakes and I crave them all the time, especially on Sunday nights.  My son has now taken over my spot and complains bitterly, especially if I fix them on Sunday nights, which happens to be when I most crave them.  It's only fair right, I can't tell you how nasty I remember being to my parents about that Sunday night dinner choice.  I tried this new recipe I found Saturday morning, because I needed to feed my family something and cereal was not an option because we were completely out of milk.  Oddly, I happened to have some buttermilk in the fridge, so I could make this recipe.  I was a little freaked out because the batter was so thick and I usually like my pancakes nice and thin.  There's nothing worse than a pancake that is not cooked all the way through, but I am telling you, these pancakes are to die for and the syrup is even better.  I have tried several similar syrup recipes and while I have liked all of them, this one is the best one I have tried, it is so carmelly and wonderful.  I know, I know, they are not the healthiest things, but if you need a fantastic treat these are the ones.  I do actually have a whole grain waffle recipe that is healthy and really great too, but this is definitely a recipe you need to try!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

I got the book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford from the library.  I saw a review for it on Homespun Light and thought it sounded good.  I really liked it.  It is about a Chinese boy and Japanese girl who become best friends during the time Japanese people in America were put in internment camps.    Every time I read something about this point in history, I am horrified, but this book amazingly focus on  how positively this particular family deals with being put in the internment camp.    I cannot imagine being willing to fight for a country that has put you and your family in prison.  What amazing spirit the Japanese Americans showed!  My brother-in-law has a great aunt that experienced this exact thing and reading this book makes me want to hear all about her experiences.  It is such an embarrassing part of American history, that my natural tendency is to want to pretend it didn't happen, but reading this book reminded me that it is not something we can avoid.  We need to talk about it and remember it, so that the same mistakes are not repeated.  I am glad that there are authors who will write about this subject in a very real way, so that the rest of us can be reminded of our history. 

I have to add an update to this post.  The more I have thought about this book, the more I have liked it.  It is a love story, but not a traditional love story.  It is not written in an overly emotional style, like so many other love stories.  It is a much more true to life romance.  The characters make mistakes in expressing themselves to each other.  Life's circumstances get in the way of their budding romance.  It is a much more realistic portrayal of romance and relationships than many of the popular fiction books available right now.  I'm used to reading a more fairy tale portrayal of romance, which I enjoy too, but the more I think about it, the more I like this realistic perspective of romance.  I think sometimes we forget that in real life, romance isn't perfect and people and relationships are not perfect.  I think there is a tendency to think that love isn't real unless it is expressed like Edward and Bella, which in my book is ridiculous!  I love a good fairy tale, but that is what it needs to be seen as, a fairy tale.  I can't tell you how often I have heard people complain that their spouse doesn't act like this book or movie character and I just want to shake them and say, get a clue!  You are comparing real life to fiction.  Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a very real romance.

Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates

Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates, by Carolyn Crimi is may not be exactly fine literature, but if you are looking for a book that will provide you and your children with some great belly laughs, this one may be for you.  Beware, if the phrase 'parrot poop' is offensive to you, you might  have a more refined sense of humor than our family and this book may not be for you.   I saw a review for this book over at Homespun Light and thought I'd grab it at the library.  Paige and I read it twice in a row before her nap this afternoon.   Parrot poop is definitely hilarious to her!  In addition to being funny, if you tend to be a worrier or have a child who tends to worry,  this story is a case where it shows that it pays to worry some.   

Real Simple Bean and Bacon Soup

I found this recipe on the Real Simple Magazine website.  I have adapted a few things, but I love it.  It is as easy as can be and tastes lots better than the canned stuff.

Real Simple Magazine's Bean and Bacon Soup

4 strips bacon

1 large carrot, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 15.5  ounce can great northern beans, drained

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, fry the bacon until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Let cool, chop, and set aside.  Over medium heat, add the carrot to the pan drippings in the Dutch over and saute for 5 minutes.  Add the celery, onion and garlic, stirring well and cooking for 3 minutes more.  Add the beans and 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low.  Let simmer for 10 minutes.  Uncover and, with a potato masher or large slotted spoon, partially mash the bean mixture until it thickens slightly.  Stir in the parsely, salt, pepper and bacon.  Serve hot. 

So that is the recipe the magazine gives.  I have changed a few things to make it easier and I don't think it changes the taste.  I take all the ingredients and dump them in my crockpot all at once.  I use ready cooked bacon from Costco that I keep in my freezer.  I just crumble it in frozen.  If I have a fresh onion I'll use it, but if not I use my dried onion and it works fine.  I rarely have parsley, so I either substitute dried or just leave it out.  I don't pre-cook the vegetables, I just leave it in the crockpot on low for a few hours.  Rather than mashing the beans, I use my immersion blender and just blend the whole thing for a few seconds.  (By the way, the picture is of everything cooking, not the finished product.  This is before it has been blended at all.  The finished soup with have a much creamier texture)

Have-I-Done-Any-Good-in-the-World-Today?

Have-I-Done-Any-Good-in-the-World-Today?
Seriously, can I just run this in my ear 24 hours a day!

Example of the Believers

Example of the Believers
I saw this tonight and loved it. There are so many times in the news and everywhere else that you hear scary and awful things about teenagers. I love to see something like this and be reminded how many wonderful, amazing kids there are around us. I always say that I am scared to death to have teenagers, but what I'm really scared of is that I won't teach my kids enough and that I won't be enough of an example of a believer.