Mommy Happenings

FHE Idea

2012-02-06T11:47:00.001-08:00

For Family Home Evening we talked about communication. Sometimes in families we tend to be a little vague, which leads to anger or fighting because somebody didn't listen to their brother right or Mom didn't explain things very well. Some key points: How many times have we thought someone should have understood what we wanted done and then gotten angry when the task wasn't completed exactly how we wanted it? We need to be clear, explain, make sure they understand and be more patient and considerate of others feelings. I explained it more on their level and I am pretty sure they knew exactly what I was talking about. This lesson was good because I think I need it too :) Then we did this activity where I had already drawn a bug with certain requirements, I sat this aside so they wouldn't see it and gave them each a piece of paper and a pencil. Then I started the different steps to replicate mine without them seeing it beforehand. Step 1 Draw the body of the bug, step 2 draw the head of the bug.... step 9 decorate the back of the bug. Then we each took turns looking at one another's bugs and marking them A-F, all the boys got A's from one another. Then I showed them mine and told them that they all got it wrong, it was suppose to look like this. They got sad looks and started saying well you didn't tell us to do...... they realized how important it is to explain things better to one another so that we could all be on the same page. Asher even caught me later in the night and said "Mom you didn't tell us to do it like that", Ha I guess I should watch what I teach them- great!! Then we played connect four, believe it or not Luke kicked our butts!

Pinterest Thursday

2012-02-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

on Friday! Sorry folks I've been a big slacker lately.

Sticky Coconut Chicken

Shredded Beef Taco

Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

Pizza Grilled Cheese

All food because I'm trying to figure out something for dinner :)

Free February Desktop

2012-02-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Get it HERE.

2012-01-23T13:06:00.001-08:00

For Family Home Evening this week we took the boys grocery shopping!! :) Yeah sounds exciting huh?? We actually talked about money and budgets (Yes I know they are a little bit small for this but...) I still think it is good that they realize money doesn't grow on trees. We gave them a budget and made them pick out what we were going to have for dinner. They did a really good job and even had to put some things back because they didn't have enough money. It also gave Asher a good chance to add things up visually. We also introduced them to our new "Kindness Chart" (ignore the picture of the little girl on the page, I found a boy and pasted over :) I bought these cool Heritage Maker reward cards that I bought from Amber and I love them. Unfortunately I don't think you can see the cards unless you are a member but they are cute and fun. They start out as a template with already pre-made rewards but you can change any of them, so I customized some of them to our family. The boys were super excited!! They have to get 6 stickers on their Kindness Chart before they get to choose a rewards card. I have loved it so far because they have to be kind, which effects chores, favors, brothers, sharing, pretty much everything. Hopefully it works good!

Pinterest Thursday

2012-01-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

Edible Paint

Fruit Pizza Bar

(This site has so many good church ideas, especially YW)

Household Organizer

(Doing this for sure)

Cake Batter Pancakes

A year of "going out" by staying in! {Date nights with the hubs!}

(Defiantly need to do this)

January Desktop

2012-01-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

Get yours HERE.

FHE Idea

2012-01-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

"Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." - Benjamin Franklin

I got this email for a family home evening idea and LOVED it. This time of year is of course New Years Resolutions. I've really been thinking about how I spend my time and how much of it I waste, especially on the internet.

For a complete lesson go HERE.

Pinterest Thursday

2011-12-29T20:05:00.000-08:00

Organizing gift wrap - Plastic bag holder from Ikea.

Christmas Card Books

New Year's Decoration

Under the Bed Wrapping Station

Valentine's for Kids Classmates

FHE Idea

2011-12-26T21:01:00.000-08:00

We took the boys to the park, ate dinner and went to a neighbors home to see her AMAZING Christmas Village! Seriously it was the coolest thing ever. She has been collecting Christmas Villages for over 30 years. She has made trees, mountians rocks etc. to go with her villages, truly a talent! She had trains weaving in and out, so much work goes into setting it up each year. My kids were in heaven and of course when we left they wanted to start collecting our own. It was a fun evening together.

Magic Reindeer Food

2011-12-24T14:32:00.000-08:00

This year we made Magic Reindeer food for our neighbor gifts. My son was able to fill all the bags by himself and he had so much fun making them.

Ingredients: Oats, Sugar, Christmas Sprinkles.

Santa-Tizer

2011-12-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

For my son's preschool teachers Christmas gifts I came up with this great idea. I got the idea from pinterest but there was no tutorial or anything. I came up with my own and think they turned out cuter.

I bought hand sanitizer from the dollar store.

Red, Black & White construction paper. Glue, tape, glitter, paper cutter, squiggly scissors, & hole punch.

I measured the red paper around the sanitizer, then cute out the white bottom with squiggly scissors and taped onto red paper. Then cute out black paper as belt and glued on. Hole punched out black buttons and glued on. Then I took glue and drew a belt buckle and covered glue with glitter. I let it dry for a minute and then shook remainder glitter off. Then I took finished Santa suit and taped onto sanitizer.

You now have "Santa-Tizer".

I loved how they turned out and I want to do this as my neighbor gifts next year.

Pinterest Thursday

2011-12-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

Coupon Book

Personal Story Locket

Love everything about this kitchen!

President Thomas S. Monson Quote

Little Girls Room

FHE Idea

2011-12-19T13:51:00.000-08:00

For family home evening tonight we talked about different countries and the different ways they celebrate Christmas. Asher had already learned about some of them in school so he kept going into more description about them. Then we read the book "I Believe in Santa Claus" by Adamson/Randall. I love this book! It relates Santa Claus and Jesus Christ. I think it does a very good job at reminding everyone what Christmas is really about but also uses the modern way. Not sure if that makes sense but buy it and you'll see what I mean. For the Activity we decorated a Gingerbread house, this is one of the boys favorite tradtions. They were so cute and got really into it. It turned out very cute and you could tell that they worked together! For dessert we had cookies that Asher made at Scouts, he was very proud of them and how drippy the frosting was :)

Pinterest Thursday

2011-12-15T22:17:00.000-08:00

Peppermint Oreos

Craft Cabinet

Peppermint Milkshake

Sorry it's a short one today. It's a busy season and I'm tired.

Letter from Santa

2011-12-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

Tiny Prints is always doing promotional cards that you can get for free. This year I took advantage of a free Christmas card and had it addressed from the big man himself.

My son was so excited when our Elf Sam arrived with this letter from Santa this morning. I think this will be a tradition in our home every year!

Pinterest Thursday

2011-12-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

Recipe for frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity.

Little Red Riding Little Red Riding Hood

Christmas Printables

Instead of gingerbread house, make a nativity.

I need this sign for my door! I hate it when people ring when the kids are asleep!

Free December Desktop

2011-12-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

I know I'm late again on this but this month you have two choices.

Go HERE to get them.

FHE Idea

2011-12-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

For Family Home Evening this week we decided to decorate the Christmas tree- the boys have been wanting to put it up since before Thanksgiving. I have a silent rule that no Christmas decorations go up before December 1, Asher would love to veto this rule :) The boys are getting so excited for Christmas, they are all at fun ages this year. It was fun watching them get all excited about the ornaments and every few minutes they would say "Oh, this was my favorite ornament" two minutes later "Oh, this is my favorite ornament too". Pretty much every ornament was their favorites!

Image found here.

Pinterest Thursday

2011-12-01T22:00:00.000-08:00

Make your own coasters out of tiles from Home Depot for .16 cents.

Make these necklaces from this website.

Printable Christmas Tags.

Advent Activity Ideas.

All of these ideas and more can be found on my Pinterest board. You can follow me by clicking on the button on the left sidebar.

FHE Idea

2011-11-28T14:58:00.000-08:00

For family home evening we talked about Traditions. With the holidays coming up I wanted to know what the boys favorite traditions have been so far- Asher loves how we decorate a ginger bread house each year, Elijah didn't really understand the concept but loved how we eat lots of food :) We also talked about the Family Proclamation. I mostly hit on how each person's gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal and eternal identity and purpose. A lot of things are going on with the world right now that does not support this and I wanted my boys to know how lucky they are to be born who they are- future fathers, grandfathers and Uncles. How lucky they are going to be to be able to support their own families someday. They were so cute and got huge smiles on their faces. Although they don't know about the stuff going on in the world I want to make sure they know how special their Heavenly Father has made them. Asher was so excited to be able to play Jingle Bells for the Song and all the boys had fun coloring place mats for them and their cousins for the Christmas Party!

Ribbon Tree Shirt

2011-11-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

I made this cute ribbon tree shirt for my little girl for Christmas! It was super easy and I found the idea on pinterest. You can find the site HERE.

Sorry for the pic. It was taken with my phone. Yes are cameras are still broken and we sent one of them off yesterday to be fixed before Christmas.

2011-11-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of it? I've been doing it for just under a month now and I'm in LOVE! Warning it's addictive.

If you haven't heard of it, it's a central location for all things wonderful on the internet. From Decorating to Fashion to Travel to Crafts to ETC. You create boards and pin pictures to them which link up to the actual website. Gone are the days of bookmarking your favorite sites and then trying to remember where that great idea was.

You can follow me by clicking on the link on my sidebar to the left or just check it out. Every Thursday I'm going to start showcasing my favorite finds on Pinterest.

Shampoo + Leather

2011-11-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

My sister discovered a book that has remedies for anything you are looking for. My leather purse was looking a little dingy and worn. I opened the book up to see what it suggested and it suggested I take shampoo and rub it into my purse to bring it back to life. It was amazing!

Can you tell which side has had the shampoo treatment? You guessed it, the right.

I know not the best pic because taken with my phone but in person it was night and day different. My husband even noticed and said it looked brand new.

FHE Idea

2011-11-14T12:50:00.001-08:00

For Family Home Evening Asher had the lesson. He talked about giving gifts and how it makes you feel good ( I am sure it has nothing to do with receiving them either :) We made Chore sheets for each boy and wrote down a few chores for each day. The boys are going to start doing a few extra chores a week to earn money for Christmas presents for one another. We did this last year too and it worked out really good. It is nice watching the boys spend their hard earned money on someone else. Elijah is usually so excited when he buys the gifts that he usually says "Asher it is not a book", with a huge smile that tells all. He did it on his birthday a few months ago so I am sure he will do it again for Christmas too, he is so cute! Elijah had the game and it was one of those make it up as we go, it was a twist of mother may I and tag. Elijah kept telling us what to do but forgot to trick us into getting out, so we basically just followed everything he did for twenty minutes. He kept giggling and Asher kept looking at me and whispering "This is boring". By the end I had convinced Asher to pretend like it was fun, Luke thought it really was fun and Elijah thought he made up the coolest game ever! We topped the night off with ice cream- YUMMY! I am making my kids addicts too, poor boys!

Free November

2011-11-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

I know it's the middle of the month but better late then never, right? You can get yours HERE.

Coconut Oil

2011-11-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

I found my new must have for cloth diapers. It's a miracle cure for diaper rash, so even if you don't cloth diaper it's great. I had switched my daughter to spoises at night because the ammonia from sitting all night would burn her butt. I read that if you put coconut oil on then they will wake up diaper rash free. I've tried it for the past few nights and NO diaper rash! Yay, I have found my new favorite cloth diaper must have!

FHE Idea

2011-11-07T20:09:00.001-08:00

For Family home evening we bought yummy pizza from the Pizza Factory and went up on the Red Hill. While we ate I did a lesson on"Trying to be more like Jesus" from the 2008 November Friend Magazine. After the lesson I had Elijah and Asher tell me about a time that they were trying to be like Jesus. Asher said that the other day in school his friend was a little slow finishing up some work so he got all of her supplies ready for her for the next project- What a nice helper. Elijah had a hard time thinking so I helped him remember how the other day he was a big helper with a stressed out Mama :) We were late getting home and Asher was being a little bit complicated, without me even asking Elijah went in and got his pajama's on, brushed his teeth and waited on the couch for scriptures before I even noticed, it made my night!! Each boy is going to try and be more like Jesus with their siblings this week, we shall see!
The boys enjoyed hiking around watching the Sunset.

My Favorite Toilet Paper

2011-11-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite brand and I LOVE how thin it is. I know it sounds a little weird to talk about this. But I had my husband grab some toilet paper the other day cause we ran out and we were going out of town and my dad was going to be staying at our house while we were gone. Well he got a different brand and I hate how thick it is. I feel like I'm wasting toilet paper. Not to mention it falls apart as you use it.

50% Off

2011-11-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

I made an early morning dash to Walmart this morning with Pip before all the good Halloween stuff was taken. I know it goes down to 75% off but by then you have slim pickings. I got some great stuff to do a kid Halloween party next year. Every year I think how fun it would be to do one but never do cause I don't want to spend a lot buying all the stuff.

Are you an after Holiday shopper?

Happy Halloween!!!

2011-10-31T13:42:00.000-07:00

I think FHE is self explanatory for tonight!

Boots

2011-10-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

This fall I want some cute boots! Most boots run around $100 but I stumbled onto this website and all the boots are less then $50 and super cute. Here are a few of my favs.

See so cute! Head HERE to see more.

Adorable

2011-10-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

I think this outfit is so cute for a little girl for Halloween.

Where Have I Been?

2011-10-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Yeah I'm wondering that too. I'll be doing a post soon. Hopefully I can get back in the groove.

Question I've been pondering. Why do I have better fashion sense for my baby then I do for myself? Seriously she is so stylish and her mama is not.

Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff

2011-10-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

I made this last night for dinner and it's now my new favorite meal! It was so GOOD!

And it's a crock pot recipe which I love. You can get the recipe HERE.

Halloween Wreath

2011-10-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

Supplies: Foam Wreath, Spanish Moss, Black Bird, Skeletons, and Ribbon.

(Last three items from dollar store.)

Cover wreath with moss. I hot glued mine on.

Put Black Bird on.

Hot glued skeletons.

I love how it turned out!

The picture doesn't do it justice.

(We broke our good camera in Hawaii and haven't replaced it yet.)

FHE Idea

2011-10-10T12:33:00.001-07:00

It was a very cold cold day but my boys wanted to go to the school and play so bad for FHE game, so we were very brave and lasted a whole 30 minutes! It really didn't seem to bother them but Mom was being a wimp!! For the lesson we read the story "Tithing Shoes" by Patricia and Dewayne Warnock. It has really cute pictures if you read it from the actual Friend Magazine. Elijah was so cute the whole time he had shocked looks on his face like he couldn't believe the things that were happening in the story- very cute! So i asked the boys "Should the Mom pay their tithing or buy the boy shoes"? Of course the obvious answer is to pay tithing so of course they said that, then I said "But this little boy will have no other shoes at all so he will never ever get to leave the house". You could see Elijah thinking well maybe the shoes then but Asher was so good and said "Mom if they pay their tithing then Heavenly Father will help it be okay", then he proceeded to tell me a story about a time Josh and I actually followed this example and we indeed were taken care of. I was shocked he remembered the story I had told him, I need to give him more credit :) I was very proud of his answer, what a cute guy!

Just Bought

2011-10-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

all the things to make this wreath. Mines going to be a little different but similar. I will post picks when I'm finished.

Happy Weekend!

Pumpkin Oreo Cheescake

2011-10-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

I made these for my family over the weekend and they were delicious! You can get recipe HERE.

Free October Desktop

2011-10-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to get yours.

FHE Idea

2011-10-03T14:36:00.001-07:00

Last night for family home evening we had a lesson on Prayer. Like most kids, my children pray about the same things over and over and as fast as possible. So we talked about all of the things that we can pray about. Then we colored prayer sheets and drew a picture in the center about one thing we are grateful for. Asher was grateful for knowing when to choose the right, Elijah was grateful for our house, Luke was grateful for Spiderman :) and I drew a picture of the world. Daddy had to work again but he was impressed with the kids drawings.

For the game we actually did something out of Asher's Scout book. We talked about cooperation and then played this bean game. The boys stood on a chair and below was a plastic cup, they had to see how many beans they could get in the cup within a minute. Asher was a pro and got 106! Elijah got 5 and Luke got 3. They loved this game and it was totally easy. I love how kids can be entertained with the smallest things. Sometimes I think we try too hard.

FHE Idea

2011-09-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

I had this idea emailed to me and I thought it was perfect, General Conference. With conference this weekend it would be great to prepare the family for it. You can get the lesson here.

Happy Fall

2011-09-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that summer is officially over! However, you wouldn't know it here in sunny St. George, UT. Have a great weekend! Enjoy the beautiful cooling weather. In fact you can get into Zions for free on Saturday.

Image from here.

Fall Decorations

2011-09-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

I'm getting so excited for Fall and Halloween! I love this time of year!!!

I can't wait to try out this spray paint on some pumpkins.

This would be so cute in my family room.

Love the green moss and candles.

Such a fun Halloween Wreath.

You can get more cute ideas here.

FHE Idea

2011-09-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

For family home evening we read the story Blobs. I have looked on the internet for it and haven't been able to find it anywhere, I am also not sure where I collected it. Some of you may have already heard it but i'll post it anyways.

Blobs

There was a blob who was a glob of nothing much at all. He wasn't exactly short or wide or thin or fat or tall. Or little or flat or big huge or anything you might see. A kind of quiet, rather sad and lonely blob was he.

One day the blob went walking down the road to find a friend. He met a round ball and he stopped. "Play with me?" said the blob to the ball. "I'm lonely as I can be." The red ball frowned. "If you are not round then you can not play with me!" Was the blob round?

The blob sobbed and started walking again. Next he met a square block and he stopped "Can you play with me?" asked the blob. "I'm as lonely as I can be" Said the blob to the square "Beware if you're not a square then you can't play with me!" Was the Blob a square?

So once again the blob walked down the road. He met a sail boat whose sail was a 3 cornered triangle. And he stopped "Play with me" requested the blob to the boat. "Have you got 3 corners like me?" replied the triangle. Did the blob have 3 corners like a triangle?

Sadly, so sadly the blob walked on. Pretty soon he met a star. "Play with me" pleaded the blob to the star "I'm as lonely as I can be". The star replied "If you don't have points, then you can't play with me!" Did the blob have any points like a star?

So the blob kept walking and who do you think he met? Another blob who was a glob of nothing much at all. Who wasn't exactly square, or round, or thin, or wide, or tall, or anything you might see, who smiled and happily said, "will you be friends with me?" And what do you think the blob said? "YES!"

DC 18:10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God
Dessert Jello Jigglers (Blobs)

We cut out the shapes- blobs, triangle, circle etc. And gave everyone a part so they were participating.

Piggy Bank

2011-09-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

I bought this cute Piggy Bank for Joaquin at Target. He LOVES it! The main purpose is for him to collect his money in from his chore chart. Which is working out great!

Chicken-Parmesan Pasta

2011-09-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

I made this for dinner last night and my husband LOVED it! It's going to become a regular for sure and it's so easy and fast.

What You Need

6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.)

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 cup Italian-style bread crumbs

3 cups spaghetti sauce, divided

1-1/2 cups Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

6 oz. spaghetti, cooked, drained

Make It

HEAT oven to 400ºF.
DIP chicken in egg whites, then in bread crumbs, turning to evenly coat both sides of each breast. Place in 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Top with 2 cups sauce, cheeses and oregano. Bake 5 min. or until mozzarella is melted. Meanwhile, heat remaining sauce.
TOSS spaghetti with sauce; place on plate. Top with chicken.

Recipe from here.

FHE Idea

2011-09-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

Image from here.

TOPIC: Light

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light . . . until the perfect day."

D&C 50:24

For the complete lesson click here.

New Little Boy Crocs

2011-09-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Crocs for kids. They are so durable and every pair we have owned has held up great. My son out grows them way before they are even close to being worn out. You could easily pass these down from kid to kid.

Here are some of my little boy favorites:

You can see them all here.

Fire

2011-09-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is the companion book to Gracelings. I can't say that I loved it but I didn't hate it. I'm beginning to think this author is a feminist or at least has some strong opinions in that area. Her main characters are always anti-marriage and kids. Character's are suppose to grow and change into something better in the end and I was really hoping that in Gracelings she would but she never did. In this book I think the character did but you don't know 100%.

This book was darker then the first book and there was a LOT of casual sex. I kept thinking the characters were older then they were and picturing like 35-40 year old instead of 15-20.

This book is for young adults and I don't think it sends a very good messages toward teens. I wouldn't let mine read it. This is just my opinion

Free September Desktop

2011-09-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Go here to get your desktop. They also have a non-school one.

Magnetic Activity and Chore Chart

2011-08-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

I saw this the other day and thought it was a cute idea. You can download and print the design here.

Book Club Book for August

2011-08-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

I finished reading the book "Graceling". Yep it was a really fast read and I couldn't put it down till I finished it. I really liked it but this was my kind of book; fantasy, fighting, romance all in one. If that's your kind of book then you should enjoy it too!

FHE Idea

2011-08-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

We did things a little different this week and did everything backwards. We started with the game and played baseball outside! Asher and Elijah are getting so good and hit many home runs. Luckily we were playing with a plastic ball because Asher accidentally hit me right in the forehead! He felt really bad and came running immediately. Luke hit the ball a few times and would start running around yelling home run with his hands going up and down in the air like he just won a medal! Very cute! Dad was at work so he missed out but we still had a good time. For the lesson we talked about the Holy Bible. I found some cute crossword puzzles and a word puzzle- Asher & Elijah worked together and were able to figure them all out. I wanted to make sure my boys understood what consisted of his scriptures- The Bible, BOM, D&C & Pearl of Great Price.

Book Club Book for August

2011-08-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

For this month my book club is reading "Graceling". I haven't gotten very far into it but so far I like it. I think it will be a quick read.

Book Club Book for July

2011-08-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on my book club books. For the month of July we read "Room". It was really interesting. It's told from a 5 year old boys perspective. Him and his mom are locked in a room and he doesn't know anything different because he was born in this room and has lived his whole life there. The only thing about this book that really bugged me is that the mother still nursed her son and I thought it was so gross. The way the author described it just grossed me out. Other then that I recommend this book.

Chore Chart

2011-08-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

I made this cute little chore chart for my son last night. I need to still print it out and get it laminated.

I think it turned out cute! The idea is to use a dry erase marker. I really want to enforce being positive and I didn't want negative associated with this. He's 4 years old so I'm trying to get him to do things on his own, like use the potty and be nice to his little sister. I guess it's more things I would like him to accomplish!

My husband and I decided that we will give our son .25 cents for every check mark he gets and we will pay him every Friday night. It's never to early to teach the value of a dollar.

FHE Idea

2011-08-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

"It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.” -Orson F. Whitney

Today's FHE idea is on {PATIENCE}. You can get the lesson and activity here.

I felt that this was a really good topic. I have recently had a friend going through a terrible loss and this lessons is very inspiring.

Car Shopping

2011-08-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

We have been car shopping for a few months and we have finally narrowed it down to the Traverse. Now we can't seem to find one that we like in our price range. Of course 500 miles away we can. It's getting to be a little frustrating.

We also go back and forth on getting an older car and paying a lot less. But we are the type of people who keep cars forever so it would be nicer to not have a ton miles.

I hope something perfect will fall into our laps soon! :)

FHE Idea

2011-08-15T13:22:00.000-07:00

For family home evening we talked about being a missionary. My little brother Skylar is on a mission in Brazil so we talked about stuff he might be doing, people he might be getting to know, his goal about being a missionary and also how missionaries go to all different parts of the world. Then we found cute papers where they draw themselves as a missionary. We wrote Skylar a letter and sent him all of these pictures from the boys. Hope he likes them! We had ice cream for dessert, or shall I say the boys did :) Asher had a fun little treasure hunt game for us and the treasure was a pretend dinner in our playroom with plastic food, Asher of course being our waiter- it was really cute!

Banana-Sour Cream Cake

2011-08-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

What You Need

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)

1 cup Sour Cream

3 eggs

1/4 cup oil

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar

1 cup finely chopped Walnuts

Make It

HEAT oven to 350°F.
BEAT first 5 ingredients with mixer on low speed just until moistened, stopping frequently to scrape bottom and side of bowl. Beat on medium speed 2 min. Pour into greased and floured 13x9-inch pan.
BAKE 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
BEAT cream cheese and butter with mixer until well blended. Gradually beat in sugar.
REMOVE cake from pan. Carefully cut cake crosswise in half using serrated knife. Place 1 cake half, top-side down, on plate; spread with some of the cream cheese frosting. Top with remaining cake half, top-side up. Spread top and sides with remaining frosting. Press nuts into sides. Keep refrigerated.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Substitute

Prepare using Reduced Fat or Light Sour Cream.

How to Neatly Frost the Cake

Freeze cake layers about 20 min. before frosting. This helps to set the crumbs on the cut edges of the cake layers so they don't pull up into the frosting. And don't worry if the frosting does not look perfect on the sides of the cake - the nuts will cover any imperfections.

How to Prepare in Round Cake Pans

Prepare cake batter as directed; pour into 2 greased and floured 8- or 9-inch round pans. Bake 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool 10 min. in pans on wire racks; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Fill and frost. Keep refrigerated.

FHE Idea

2011-08-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

For family home evening we talked again about baptism and did a fun little maze that ended with baptism. I love these books by the Finch Family because they always have fun activities that the kiddos enjoy. You can find them here We talked about how even Jesus was baptized.

FHE Idea

2011-08-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening we talked about our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. I thought it would be nice to get to know him a little better so that the boys felt like they knew him more. We talked about where he was born which just happens to be where Asher was born, he thought that was cool. He also went to College at the same school that I went to, the boys thought that was neat too. We talked about his family, his different callings, how old he was etc. Then I read them his testimony. It was nice to get to know him a little better!

Free August Desktop

2011-08-01T20:25:00.000-07:00

You can get your free desktop here.

FHE Idea

2011-07-25T21:11:00.001-07:00

Charity

For Family Home evening we talked about Charity- The pure love of Christ. I read them a story Miles and miles of smiles by Ray Glodrup, it's a cute story that talks about how even small acts can make a difference. I think sometimes my children think that they have to do some big service project for someone but that isn't the case. Small gestures and just your overall behavior with others can have great acts of charity.

Whale Shark

2011-07-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

This article caught my eye, seeing as I just got back from Hawaii. I've never seen a whale shark before and I didn't even know that they existed. They are not mean but still they are huge. If one came close to me I think I'd probably still feel like I was going to get eaten. For more cool photos click here.

Ellie Tufted Fabric Bed

2011-07-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with this bed from Costco for my daughter. I bought my sons bed from Costco and the quality is amazing. Is it a sign because her name is the same as the bed? I know I could make the headboard myself for cheaper but I'm feeling a little lazy and unmotivated in that department.

FreeJuly Desktop

2011-07-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

I know I should've posted this sooner but with my trip I kind of forgot. But you can have it for the last week.
Click here to get your free desktop.

FHE Idea

2011-07-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening we talked about Caring, doing good deeds and Win-Win situations. We continued with a lesson we did a few weeks ago on doing something for other people without expecting anything in return. The person recieving the good deed feels good and the person performing the good deed feels good too. We did a little activity that we are going to work on this week: We put all of our names in a jar and everyone picked a name out, that person will be their secret person for the week. Throughout the week good deeds are suppose to be done for your secret person without the other one knowing who is doing it. At the end of the week we get to guess who we think had us. For our Activity/Game we weeded our garden- there is actually growth in our garden!!! Not a lot but we have eaten onions out of it!!

2011-07-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today is my Birthday

So I won’t be posting.

New Attraction

2011-07-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

St. George has a new fun attraction, a CAROUSEL. Located in the Town Square. I had no idea and I'm very excited to take my kids.

FHE Idea

2011-07-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

I'm back! And ready to get back in the swing of things. Starting with FHE ideas.

We did things a little bit backwards tonight for Family Home Evening, we started with dessert! The boys got me an ice cream ball for my birthday and we wanted to do it with Dad before he had to go to work. The ball actually worked really well and very quick! The boys loved playing with the ball, the only draw back was it doesn't make a whole lot. For the lesson I used the weekly lesson from LDS Magazine, "Provident Living", it was a fun little activity to teach them that the things that are of the most value are the things that last forever.

For the game we played the egg race! A few weeks ago we practiced balancing bouncy balls on spoons. We planned a competition using real eggs and tonight we did just that! The boys had been practicing here and there throughout the weeks and were pumped!

I'm off to here

2011-06-28T13:44:00.000-07:00

for the next week and a half. No posting will be happening around here. Have a good week!

S'mores Cookies

2011-06-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

I think these look so yummy! Especially for a summer treat. You can get the recipe here.

FHE Idea

2011-06-27T14:09:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening we talked about forgiveness. I found a cute little story in the June subscription of Friend, "Let it Go", you can find it HERE. "I, the Lord will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men" (D&C 64:10). We talked about times when it might be hard for the boys to forgive one another or maybe some friends at school. We talked about how important it is to forgive others and how it makes Heavenly Father happy and proud of us. We played at the park and got yummy Orange Peel Smoothies for dessert.

My New Favorite

2011-06-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

Cooking sidekick!

You can buy it at Costco and I love it. It's so easy and convenient to add to recipes or put on salads.

Mascara

2011-06-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

I love this mascara. When I bought some the other day I didn't realize that it was waterproof. I was using it I couldn't get it to come off at night. I wake up with raccoon eyes. I really don't know what the appeal to waterproof mascara is. It still smears and it doesn't come off. Therefore the next day when I need to apply more, it's still clumped on my eyelashes. I haven't had time to go back to the store and buy regular mascara. There is my beef with waterproof mascara.

bumGenius Sale

2011-06-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

bumGenius 3.0 DELUXE All-In-One Cloth Diapers are one of my favorite diapers. They are on sell for a great deal at this site. Stock up while they are so cheap!

FHE Idea

2011-06-20T14:37:00.001-07:00

For Family home evening this week Mama did the lesson on families. The boys all made a "flag" with a family motto on it. Asher's said The Barnum Family Do your Best, Elijah's said I love my Family and Luke's said I love all the kids. I don't think they really understood what a motto was but they still had fun. Asher also did a lesson on keeping a testimony with good choices and bad choices and what it makes your testimony do. This was demonstrated with Sugar (Clean and pure), bad choices (pepper), good choices (cinnamon) then at the end he had everyone taste each bag. The bad choices didn't taste good becuase it was sugar and pepper but the good choices tasted delicous! Good Job Asher!

Friday Favorite

2011-06-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

I found this Fahrenheit straightener at TJ Maxx for $30. Online it sells for $100. I'm loving it and what it does for my hair. I can wear my hair straight or curly. Yep that's right it curls my hair and gives it perfect ringlets that stay all day. They had about 5 more left at the St. George TJ Maxx.

Looking for Stroller/Carseat

2011-06-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

If your looking for a carseat/stroller combo. This is the best one. My husband and I bought this with our first child and we have LOVED it! We use the jogging stroller ALL the time. The stroller is smooth and perfect for running or even just walking.

When I go on walks with friends they are always envious how easy it is to go on sidewalks, run over rocks, etc.

Plus the price is great! You can find it here.

FHE Idea

2011-06-14T14:41:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's late but here it is.

I did the lesson on not judging a book by its cover. How sometimes we tend to make assumptions about people based on their hair, clothes etc. I got three different paper bags and put about five items in each bag that represented a fictional person. Using one sack at a time I pulled out the five items and asked them to tell me what they thought about this person based on the items displayed. After they expressed their thoughts I told them really what this person was like and why they had each item... for example one bag had a book, an ipod, a pearl necklace and athletic watch. They guessed that it was a mom who liked to read and listen to music, she liked to dress fancy with her necklace and loved sports. I then told them that it was actually a boy who liked to read and listen to books on his ipod. He also hated sports but liked to run and the necklace was actually his moms that she had left in his room while she was cleaning it. We did this with one other bag and then on the third bag I showed them the items but then let them ask me ten questions about this person before assuming things. They realized that being able to ask questions and get to know the person a little before helped them not judge a book by its cover. It was a fun lesson. We then roasted marshmallows and let the kids play in the yard. Good times!!

I Love Paris in Spring Time!

2011-06-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

I'd love to win a trip to Paris! Go here to enter a chance for yourself.

The Funniest

2011-06-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

movie! My husband and I watched this last night and laughed non-stop.

My Favorite

2011-06-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

cloth diaper accessory. I think it's a must have. It's a liner you just put in your cloth diaper and when your baby poops you can just flush it. The cheapest place to get it is here, plus free shipping.

FHE Idea

2011-06-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

I did a lesson on communication and how sometimes when we don't explain things very well we can cause problems. I had the kids draw a picture of a bug following my directions. My directions were very vague and were things like draw a head, draw a body, draw wings etc. But when we got to the finish product I wanted it to look exactly like mine but none of them did. Hopefully the kids realized that we need to explain things to our siblings or parents.... keepin on the same page! We had yummy lemon cake for dessert and the kids played a ball game in the driveway.... oh and also hung from their trees :)

Free Desktops

2011-06-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

Get your free June desktop here.

Birthday Party Hat

2011-06-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

I made this cute Birthday hat for my daughter's first Birthday last week. It turned out adorable. I only wish she would have left it on. I got the idea here.

I know I've been gone forever, sorry!

Birthday Cupcake Cake

2011-05-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

For my daughters first Birthday I made a cupcake cake for her smash cake. I think it turned out so cute! I made the fondant and this was my first time. I got the recipe here. Seriously it was so easy. I'm so glad I went with fondant because I think it gave the wrapper of the cupcake a more realistic look.

Week Off

2011-05-24T09:37:00.001-07:00

I probably should have said I was going to take the week off because I have been crazy busy.

First with the What Women Want Expo, Second I got called to the Relief Society Presidency on Sunday, and Third my daughter turns 1 tomorrow. I'm hoping that life will slow down a little and I can get back to blogging.

For now I'm sorry that I've been neglecting this blog.

Our Etsy Site

2011-05-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a small sampling of mine and my sisters Etsy site. We will be at the What Women Want Expo this weekend in St. George, come and check us out.

FHE Idea

2011-05-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening we talked about Being a good example. We played this little game where you build a sun out of things that help you be a good example. There are pieces that are bad examples (unhelpful, untruthful, selfish etc.) and pieces that are good examples, you hide them throughout the house and the kids find them and tell you if they are good or bad. We take turns letting the kids find a piece and they love looking and giggle the whole time. My son had the game and we played homemade bowling with water bottles and a soccer ball- it was actually really fun! For dessert we had Lemon bars on vanilla ice cream, it was really good! I got the recipe from my friend Kriss who is a VERY good baker :)

Lemon Bars
Crust:
1 Cup Butter
2 2/3 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes 9 x 13 pan.
Topping:
4 Eggs
4 T Flour
6 T Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
Mix and add to hot crust and cook additional 20 minutes. Sprinkle with powder sugar.

Ideas for FHE

2011-05-16T14:48:00.001-07:00

Some people have been wondering where I get my FHE ideas so I thought I would list some of my favorites.

Books:
Activities that Teach Family Values by: Tom Jackson
The Preschooler's Busy Book by: Trish Kuffner
Home-Spun Fun Family Home Evenings By: Mary H Ross (Whole Collection)

Websites
http://www.mormonshare.com/

Some I have just collected over the years from other people, church, internet. Some we have just made up- not really sure. I really like the LDS Living email that comes every week. If any of you have other sources you love or ideas, I would love to hear them!

I have this

2011-05-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

on my mind, cupcakes! My daughters first Birthday is just two short weeks away. I'm doing a cupcake theme and have lots of work to do. I made this bow today for her hair to match her dress. I just winged the whole thing so I don't have a tutorial. I think it turned out adorable!

Where She Went

2011-05-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I read this book. It's the sequel to the book If I Stay. I enjoyed the sequel more then the first book. It's comes from the boyfriend Adam's perspective 3 years later.

FHE Idea

2011-05-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening this week we learned about having "A Change of Heart" this lesson was really good at helping the boys understand that people change all the time and noticing when those changes are changes for the better. We talked about how sometimes it is our mistakes and trials that help us learn and appreciate the changes for the better. We had rootbeer floats for dessert!

Free May Desktop

2011-05-09T13:05:00.000-07:00

Get it here.

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

2011-05-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'll be out for the rest of the weekend!

Flashback Thursday

2011-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a project I did last year on a Computer Armoire.

Here is the before Pics of the Armoire. When we bought it we took the doors off so it would be easier to move. Therefor I didn't get very good before pics.

After pics:

We bought it on craigslist and the guy ended up giving it to us for $25. For the price I was expecting a cheap desk but it is actually really nice and I think we got it for a steal.

Now that it's been a year my biggest mistake was not priming it. So I recommend priming it!

Book Club Book for April

2011-05-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

I finished reading this book. It was a very quick and easy read. I thought it was good, not great, but good. It's suppose to be for teens but it said the F-word a lot. I hate when books swear. Also the kids our in high school and the girls parents are "cool". They let her boyfriend sleep over, her mom gives her money to start a condemn supply, and she can practically do whatever she wants. Not the best message for teens. I know there are parents out there that are like that but most I'd like to think aren't. I think it sends the wrong message to teens.

I've noticed that in books, movies, and tv shows that all these high school kids really live like they are college students. Why don't they just make them college age were this behavior is more true. It's been 10 years since I was in high school but I'm pretty sure it hasn't changed that much.

FHE Idea

2011-05-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

We talked about Being Thankful. I found a cute little word game found HERE that I printed off and had the kids work on. Then we read the story "Grandpa's Trunk" it discussed how to be a missionary within your own family. The little boy in the story bears his testimony on the things he is thankful for. So we were focusing on being thankful. I asked the boys to tell me something that they are thankful for that is not a common thing ... to really think about the little things that make them thankful. Then we decorated jars for a new reward system.