Birthday Ideas

I'm in Young Womens--over Mia Maids. And currently we don't do anything for welcoming in the new class member. I've come up with a few ideas, but I don't love them.

So give me what you got.

I need ideas.

These things make me

These things make me:

HAPPY-Annabelle is a super big sister




HAPPY-who doesn't love walking in every morning to find your baby sitting like this just waiting for you.



UNHAPPY--A month ago a storm blew this tree limb (yes, it's just a limb-not a whole tree) into our yard from the townhouses behind our back fence. So we just heaved it back over to their side.

My Food Storage Blog

Okay, I have a Food Storage Blog:

MY Three Month Supply

I've been trying to keep it anonymous, and I explain why, but it's hard to not reference it. So here I am--I'm the author.

Anyhow, I just started a new thing on it where I do BUYS OF THE WEEK. I post what I am buying from the weekly ads. Each week I post the things that I have highlighted as good buys. And I will ALWAYS post where the cheapest milk is. Somehow, that attracts me to stores. Or to Wal Mart for price matching.

Just thought I'd let y'all know.

Dennis

We used to call her Rotten, but then she started to own the title. I called someone else Rotten once and she said "NO! I'm rotten". So now we call her Dennis. As in Dennis the Menace.


Obviously Beck isn't the Menace, but Kizzy got yogurt and put it by the computer while I wasn't paying attention.



This is her with my mascara on, a Twix she stole off of a high counter and ate just the top off of, and a York Peppermint Patty with a few bites out of it, also stolen.



And sometimes she puts sippy cups on her feet and walks around. Not totally menacing, except that I have to wash them. It's actually pretty entertaining because her legs have to be bent in order to walk and she looks like Mr. Tumnus on Chronicles of Narnia.

The Investigators

In the backpack they had water bottles and all kind of stuff. I think they figured they'd be on a long journey.

UPDATE:

Glasses--found

Phone--Still Missing

Sunday Morning Post

I'm teaching today a lesson on Self Discipline. It focuses on the points that there are two forms of self-discipline. The Self Discipline TO do things. And the Self Discipline NOT TO do things. I like it. Here are some gems I found in the lesson:


“One of the false notions of our society is that we are victims of our appetites and passions. But the truth is that the body is controlled by the spirit which inhabits it”

--Terrance D. Olson


“When you are overtaken in a fault, or commit an overt act unthinkingly; when you are full of evil passion, and wish to yield to it, then stop and let the spirit, which God has put into your tabernacles, take the lead. If you do that, I will promise that you will overcome all evil, and obtain eternal lives”

--Brigham Young

And if you have the time and want a VERY inspirational article by Robert D. Hales. It was written to the young men, but it is great for young women and anyone really. It's so great I wrote it down in my Quote Journal (I keep a list of my FAVORITE articles so I can use them in the future) Read it HERE.

Here is a little snippet:

"[Now is the time to] be there. Each of us was there in the Council in Heaven to choose the great plan of happiness we now enjoy. Young men, when you have made a commitment to yourself, your family, your bishop, your employer, be there. When it is time to be in church, at Mutual, or fulfilling a priesthood assignment, be there. When it is time to graduate from school or training programs, be there. When it is time to serve a mission, be there. When the young woman you love most kneels at the altar of God’s holy temple, be there (and not as a witness). When your family is gathered in the celestial kingdom, be there. When the Savior waits to greet you as you return with honor from your life on this earth and your Heavenly Father wants to encircle you about in the arms of His love, be there."

Happiness

I was lying on the ground with the kids watching a show, when I got that feeling. That feeling that I get every once in a while where I realize that THIS is what it's about. Happiness, contentment, elation, almost giddiness inside that all I've ever wanted--I have. I'm not sure everyone can say that. I feel spoiled. It's all about the little things:

Watching "Anne of Green Gables" with Annabelle and seeing her GENUINELY giggle and smirk at the best parts

Playing GO FISH (Mickey Mouse version) with Josie and having her ask "Do you have the Mickey who is vacuuming (it's actually a flashlight he's holding), or "Do you have Goopy?" or "Do you have the Daisy Duck that looks like this" (and she mimicks her stance)

Noticing that Kizzy is not around and KNOWING that she is being stealth in the pantry with some sort of sweet she need not be eating.

Watching Beck in the first stage of walking with Frankenstein arms and Charlie Chaplin legs

Seeing Hyrum get his books and looking genuinely eager to start school. He's so good at it.


I think what makes it so great, is that other things aren't so great at the same time. Kizzy doesn't have a bed and sleeps on the floor--because we can't afford buying her one, we have to borrow money to live on just to get Hyrum through school--so we're broke as anything, and my tooth is jacked and needs fixing.

These things just make the other things even greater.

This is my life. And I love it.

A slightly different Generation

A:"Mom, today me and Lily were messaging . . . on paper"

Hy: "That's called writing notes"


Her note to Lily:

When are we going to get this crap done and get out of here?

Free Art Downloads!

If you don't have How About Orange bookmarked or in your Google Reader, then you are MISSING OUT. Check out this link she provided for FREE ART. Just download it, print it out and hang! Here are just some of the prints.

pssst--Molly---I know you love it.

School Days

Who doesn't start out their first day of every year with a back to school photo shoot? One in Kindergarten and one in Second Grade. We let them pick out their own folders this year. Well kind of, at first Annabelle picked out some weird graphics laden one that was super tacky, so we "lead" her to the Jonas Brothers. I didn't want her to be corporate but I didn't want her have that other one either. I did, however, let them pick out their outfits. Oh, and Hyrum did their hair. He's a rockstar.

Hold on . . . it's a long photo ride.

Routine

I love having a routine, except in summer--that's when I'm willy nilly. But school is here and I want to get back to my calendaring and my routines. Especially with kids.

I'm currently planning my get home from school and bed time routines. I thought I'd add in scripture study, since we don't do that around our house.

Anyhow, I was wondering what your bright ideas were. What is your get home from school routine? Chores/homework/snack/reading . . . what???? Also your before bed routine. Anything you have found that works for you?

Input please. Even if you don't know me. I love to meet new people.

WHADAYAGOT?

Sunday Morning Guest Post

So Hy has a sister who is really smart, and she is married to someone really smart. So their kids are really smart. And so I was reading her blog and my niece (their daughter) had posted the talk she gave in church on the Word of Wisdom. She's going to be a Senior I think, this year. So check it. When I was a senior I couldn't have constructed something like this, I didn't think that provocatively about things. She's a fun girl. And randomly, I had been recently thinking about some points she brought up. Like how we should eat meat sparingly, and how I want to eat more locally grown produce. Because, really??? Fruit from Chile? Although tasty, it seems a bit much.


I asked her permission to re-post it. So here it is.

I recently spent a foreign exchange year in Germany, where it is legal to drink alcohol at 16 and where beer is always present at social gatherings. Many times I would have to explain that alcohol is verboten in my religion, and often it also became clear that I don’t smoke, do drugs, drink coffee, and so forth. After all of this, I was often asked, “Well, what do you do then?” I usually answered with an attempt to be funny in German (with is a far more fearsome endeavor than one might expect) and say something along the lines of “Oh, we do have fun… twice a year, on Christmas and our Birthdays!”
But jokes aside, that is a very valid question—it always seemed to me that there are a lot of “don’t”s and “shouldn’t”s in the Word of Wisdom, but upon closer inspection I noticed many more “do”s and “should”s.
Although it is easy to remember not to drink coffee or smoke cigarettes, certain words and passages can be harder to interpret —for instance, what does it mean to use resources with “prudence”? It seems that many of our problems come from a lack of prudence when it comes to food—eating without thinking, without pausing and savoring has clearly led many people into health problems, and unsustainable farming practices have contributed to great environmental disasters.
It is certainly plausible that our Heavenly Father would want to protect the Earth as well as our bodies with the Word of Wisdom—they are both His holy temples, both beautiful and precious gifts from the Lord, and our lives depend on the health of both of these things. Also, many of the suggestions in section 89 are vital to the preservation of our Earth and our bodies—it mentions eating “every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof”, which was perhaps a strange idea at the time, because there weren’t many other options, but now seems very relevant, because everything that makes it possible to eat, for instance, a strawberry in December has proven to be quite harmful to the environment. In Germany, there is a very delicious variety of white Asparagus called “Spargel” that is very valued but is only in season for a few weeks of the year. Spargel season is greatly anticipated, especially in my rural community, and as soon as it ripens special meals are prepared in its celebration. Once, I was riding home in the bus one day through the farmland. Our bus driver pulled the bus over in the middle of nowhere, and got out, for he had seen a spargel stand by a farm and wanted to get the first of the season. I loved that, instead of eating it year round and taking it for granted, we waited excitedly for this special food and ate it gratefully when the time came.
It also says there that we must eat meat sparingly, and only in “times of winter or famine”. As a vegetarian, this section resonates with me in particular. It is not healthy for anyone—for our Earth, for us or for the animals—to eat it in great amounts. I know it’s not my place to preach a completely meat-free diet from the pulpit, but I will urge you all to look at these verses, twelve and thirteen, more closely.
Another word that is often overlooked in this section is “thanksgiving”. Out of habit, I always think of the holiday when I see this. I used to dismiss this instinct because it seemed a little silly, but recently I’ve started to consider that this might be intentional—perhaps every meal should be more like Thanksgiving… which isn’t to say that we should have enormous feasts every night, for that would certainly not be prudent. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had more frequent meals that were colorful, heartfelt, and festive, as well as a family gathering during which we can all learn about and build family traditions, and (perhaps most importantly) be grateful for the abundance of food that we can have, and the wonderful flow of the seasons.
Which brings me to the passage to which I was actually assigned, verses eighteen through twenty-one: “And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel, and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.”
In this passage, I believe that there are things promised that the Lord will give us, but also many things that we must create ourselves, or that will come as a natural course of our actions—of course we’ll receive “health in our navel and marrow to our bones” if we follow the very health-conscious advice found in the Word of Wisdom, but what does the mention of “wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” mean? I believe this is referring to many things, but among them might be the clear head and uncompromised judgment of sobriety and companionship of the spirit, the anticipation for seasonal favorites, the joys of planting a garden, as President Kimball so often advised us to do, or the excitement of searching a farmer’s market for, as verse sixteen puts it “the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground”. I also feel that I have gained many “great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” through wholesome food and drink. This is true of both preparing and partaking. Once, a friend and I participated in a school cooking competition. We were assigned to prepare something involving spinach, and hoping to do something creative we turned to a cookbook called “the Greens Book”. On the last page, there was a recipe for “Spinach Layer Cake”. We decided that it sounded disgusting but that there certainly wouldn’t be any other dessert entries, and went for it. In the end, it tasted surprisingly delicious, was a beautiful color, and won the golden spoon. This experience was a delightful opportunity to stretch our minds and taste buds and try something new.
But one of the greatest treasures I have gained from Word of Wisdom-conscious eating and drinking is time around the family dinner table. At mealtimes, I learn a great deal about politics, religion, literature, geography, music, and many other magical things that could certainly be termed “great treasures of knowledge”. For instance, in my family somebody is chosen every evening to give a prayer, and that person gets the special privilege of choosing the dinner music. It is very interesting and fun to hear the music that is chosen from the different members of my family, and my musical taste has become much more diverse because of it. Perhaps most important is an opportunity to take a moment out of our noisy and hectic schedules to talk and learn about one another. If we manage to pry the iPhones out of our hands and the earbuds out of our ears and talk with our families and friends around a beautiful meal, we will gain close friendships and deep family ties that have truly become “hidden treasures”. I testify that the Word of Wisdom is a beautiful and truthful scripture that our Heavenly Father gave us because he loves us, and that he will keep his promises if we keep ours.

A Random Sappy Thought

Tonight while we were filling the time between dinner and bedtime, I let the girls play on my computer. So while Kizzy and Josie were playing on PBSKIDS.ORG (that's how they say it) Annabelle and I were playing with Beck on the floor. We sat feet apart each of us criss-cross legged as we took turns turning Beck away from our bodies and sending him wobbling to the other. At first he would stumble and fall. Then he would take a few steps, then reach arms high into the air and fall. Slowly he got more steady, stood for longer periods of time, and balanced his steps. Her and I laughed and clapped and hugged him repeatedly saying "He's so cute! I love this kid!" and things of that sort. Then after 10 or 15 minutes of back and forth, Beck angled himself toward the door while Annabelle had him. He didn't want to walk to me, he wanted to walk out the door. She kept trying to direct him back towards me, but I told her to release him and we'll see where he goes.

Then he was steady on his feet. Then a few steps with a big smile . . . and steady again . . . then even more steps and arms out for balance and he stopped. Then he started. Meanwhile Annabelle and I exchanged glances of surprise and delight. He was doing it---and he was good. He went for a good 5 feet or so. Then he flopped face forward, giggled and crawled speedily down the hall.

It was fantastic. Those moments as a parent that you love. Milestones. And Annabelle said "We need to call Dad!" . "Yes we do--he'll be so excited" I told her. It was fun to share it with Annabelle she was just as excited and rewarded as I.

We haven't called Hy yet, because he's at the beginning of his shift so he's busy, so we'll wait till he calls.

I got the girls to get in their pajamas and prepare for movie night, and while they were doing so, I checked my Google Reader and caught up on CJane's blog. The entry where she talks about her interview with Matt Lauer. And that caused me to think of parents that miss those moments.

Then RANDOMLY I thought of a girl in my ward, whose husband is serving in Afghanistan. The only times I've really talked to her is in the hall because she has a son that is the same age as mine. I think they are only a few weeks apart, so they are going through the same stage (except her kid crawled before mine). So then I was thinking how her husband is missing this part. Then I realized---I think MOST husbands miss this part. Unfortunately, he misses all of it. But I thought back to all of our kids and the things they learned, and I remember telling Hyrum about them--because he missed it. He was providing at some job or another, so that I could be home to see those moments. And I thought, maybe that might be some comfort to that Dad--it's his first kid. Just so that he knows, that Dads that are around miss a lot of the moments. The significant moments of childhood. Not only dad's who are a world away.

I think that is something they are called to do. Provide. And miss out.

That's sad

but


also


NOBLE.

Cool new Stuff

One of my favorite blogs How About Orange featured this new shop. It's actually her fabrics used, and you can order slip covers for ottomans and some IKEA chairs. Oh and pillows. I want to so bad! But alas, I am on a budget.


BBBBOOOOO!

A Dreamy 5

Holy crap, has anyone tried this? Or any of the Haagen Dazs FIVE flavors? Dreamy, creamy smooth, delicious. We started with the Brown Sugar, which we like, it tastes like molasses, but it's a little strong. Today I bought the Mint.

Oh the mint

the creamy

smooth

white

perfect

mint

The best thing about this kind of ice cream, is that I don't eat a lot of it. I have my own little carton and I pick at it when I want to.

Seriously . . . try some

And still weigh in on my previous post if you can

Bed Shopping

So I've decided to put the Kizzy in with Beck so we need a twin bed.

So

Does anyone have one they are selling?

Or know where I can get a frame for cheap?

Also, where is the cheapest mattress and box spring sets?

I'm thinking I just want a bed frame and mattress set. Does D.I. have bed frame sets?

Give me all the info you got!

Painted

To see more of these go HERE.