A Day In My Life

Custom Recipe Book

2012-01-24T12:07:00.001-07:00

I'm a visual person.

Before I go grocery shopping, I sit down to pick out recipes for the next couple of weeks and add the ingredients to my shopping list (I have this one, and I LOVE it). I started to see a trend. Most of the recipes I chose had pictures of the dish in the recipe book. I just seem to gravitate toward the recipes that look good. Even if something sounds good, it doesn't have the same pull. I had a little thought about taking pictures of recipes I had made to help with that problem, and decided then to make my own recipe book. (And check off another item on my 101 Things in 1001 Days List.)

(uses Stir It Up: The Kit, The Alphas, The Journaling Bits, and The Word Art Bits by WM[squared] Designs)

Here's my thought process behind all the details:
1) I used to get Martha Stewart Living, and her tear-out recipe cards fit 4 on a sheet, with the photo on one side, and the recipe on the back. I loved the design, so I mimicked it when making up a template of my own.

2) I thought about having a book made up, but I wanted to be able to add and delete recipes as my tastes changed. Plus I wanted each page to be wiped free of inevitable spills, so I opted for a three ring binder with Postcard Sheet Protectors.

3) Sometimes I get frustrated when recipe books have a billion categories. I know what I'm looking for... but I can't find it because I can't think of the right category it might be in. So, I kept mine simple. They are hard to read in the photo... but I have Main Dishes, Drinks/Dips, Sides/Snacks, Breads, Sweets, Holidays & Canning.

It will probably be a forever work in progress, but I have typed up my favorite recipes and printed them 4 to a sheet of cardstock. For now, I just slid them in a regular 8.5x11 sheet protector. As I make each recipe, I take a photo, and after I get photos of all the recipes on each sheet, I can print them, cut them and add them to their spot in my book.

And I forgot to take a picture of what the other side of the recipe cards look like. Since I'm too lazy to go take one, here's the "print version" of the Chocolate-Caramel Nuggets. (Right click to save if you want..)

How do you organize all of your recipes??

Cashew Chicken & Broccoli Stir-Fry

2012-01-14T12:25:00.001-07:00

Sauce:
    1/2    cup fat-free chicken broth
    1/4    cup creamy peanut butter
    2     tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
    1       tablespoon honey
            dash of ground red pepper

Vegetables & Chicken:
    4        cups broccoli florets
    3        stalks celery, diagonally sliced
    3        green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
    2        teaspoons ginger, divided
    1        pound boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cubed
    4        teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
    2        garlic cloves, pressed, divided
    2        packages ramen noodles, (discard seasoning packets)
    1/3     cup cashews or peanuts

1. For sauce, mix chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey and red pepper (mixture will not be smooth). Set aside.

2. Cut broccoli, celery and green onions. Set aside. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces.

3. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over high heat. Add chicken, 1 teaspoon of the ginger and 1 garlic clove. Cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from skillet; keep warm.

4. Reduce heat to medium-high. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add broccoli, celery and remaining ginger and garlic. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Add green onions and cook until vegetables are crisp-tender (2 min). Return chicken to skillet. Stir in sauce; bring to a boil. Remove skillet from heat.

5. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Break noodles and add to water. Cook 3 minutes; drain. Stir noodles into chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cashews. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Found

2012-01-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Sometime earlier this year I started to gather up all of the baby gear to organize and set up in what would become the nursery. I am a pretty organized person, so finding most of that gear took only a little effort. But one thing, no matter how many places I looked, just didn't turn up.

The baby monitor.

I had the receivers... but they were pretty useless without the transmitter. I looked, and re-looked anyplace that seemed logical to store such an item. I called my sister-in-law to see if I had taken it to her house while I was babysitting her girls. I called my aunt in California to see if I had taken it on vacation with us when Harvey was one. I looked everywhere in our house. Or so I thought.

I finally accepted the fact that it was gone. Somehow. And I borrowed a monitor from my sister-in-law. But it still bugged me. A lot.

Then one morning while Harvey and I were in the kitchen, he came up to me and said he "couldn't put it back." He was talking about the heating vent (umm, why would you want to play with that child?!), and when I went over to put it back and tell him it wasn't a toy, something caught my eye.

Yeah. I was bewildered and ecstatic at the same time.

Then I checked inside all of the other heating vents searching for more treasure.

Things I Love: Baby Edition

2012-01-12T13:58:00.001-07:00

1. General Naturals Tummy Soother

Last night (and the two nights before that) Avery and I have been up, frustrated, a couple times in the middle of the night. She, because something was hurting her, and myself because I was exhausted and nothing I tried would do much to help her. Avery is terrible at burping. And the fact that most of the time I don't want to pat her back for 30 minutes after each feeding is the main reason those air bubbles give her grief at 3:00 in the morning. I know that without those bubbles she can sleep at least 6 hours at night, and if I just feed her to "shut her up" we'll both be up again about an hour later.

Last night I almost started crying. I said a prayer that I would be able to do something, anything to help her (and I) be able to go back to sleep. I looked over and saw the computer, so I Googled it. And my solution came up... and I even had the unopened product in my house. So I gave her some of this miracle potion and seriously within ONE minute she stopped screaming and cooed at me. We sat for a minute, I heard bubbles rumbling around, and she burped with no back patting. We both went back to sleep and she slept until ten. Ten. (And she overflowed her diaper this morning... so I'm sure the lower bubbles made their way out as well).

2. The Amazing Miracle Blanket:

There are several swaddling blankets on the market. I have some SwaddleMe's, which velcro shut, and they are fabulous. But there came a time when both of my babies have been strong enough to get out of them. Harvey used to get his hands up by his face, but Avery can even make the velcro come undone. The Miracle Blanket has two extra flaps that make this impossible. Those flaps go around their arms and under the back, and then the whole blanket wraps around their body a couple of times. I love it. Learn more here.
(By the way... upon searching for a photo, I came upon this link about ribbon swaddling. Anyone tried this? Thoughts?)

3. Broadway Mary Janes by MeInMind:

I totally didn't pay full price for these.. they were a "steal" on BabySteals.com one day in December, so I snagged them for a Christmas gift. But they are adorable. I get compliments on them all the time. And the best part? MeInMind has a free sock replacement program if you lose one. Learn more here.

4. Baby 411 by Denise Fields and Ari Brown, M. D.:

I've mentioned this book on my blog before, but I thought I'd add it here. Everything is easily organized, accessible, and often humorous. I have found an answer for 99% of my baby/kid questions during the last 3 years. I loved it so much, I bought the following book: Toddler 411. More info here.

5. Flannel Lap Pads:

I lay one of these under Avery's head in her bassinet when she goes to sleep. If she spits up, I don't have to wash all the bedding, I just replace it with a clean one. Gotta love less laundry.

6. My Brest Friend:

I know. The name is terrible. I don't say it much. But I love this pillow. I tried the Boppy and it slipped a lot. This pillow isn't going anywhere. And if you lean back in a recliner, the pillow leans as well because it's strapped around your back. That means a little more sleep for me. Oh and I love the little pocket for cream, mylicon, or pads.

How about you seasoned mothers? What are your all-time favorite baby products? Am I missing out on anything?

Christmas

2012-01-11T11:42:00.000-07:00

This year Christmas was a little different because it fell on Sunday. I'll be honest, I didn't want to go to church. I just wanted to stay home and spend the day in my sweats snuggled up with our little family.

But people in our ward know I play the piano. And almost all the other pianists were leaving town for the holidays. I was asked to accompany a couple gals while they sang The First Noel in Sacrament meeting, so I said I'd do it. Our decision was made. We were going to church on Christmas morning.

Luckily Harvey was still young enough not to know about Santa. We decided to sleep in, get the family ready for church in the morning, and do Christmas when we came home. It all worked out okay, except that Avery started crying right as we went up to perform, and Justin missed the entire thing. I messed up on the piano.. but they sang so beautifully hopefully no one noticed. ;)

After we got home... I was dying to see everyone open their gifts. We invited my mom over and got to work. Only... we videotaped the whole morning and my camera collected dust. Oops. All of us were super spoiled this year. Justin got lots of new stuff (clothes and travel items) for the new job, and a new fly rod with a traveling case. My two favorite items were a Kindle Fire and a air popcorn popper. Harvey was in heaven opening add-ons to his train set, more tools for his toolbox, and art supplies. He also got some much needed shoes and underwear (more on that later!) Most of all, he was thrilled with this:

He had to go for a ride with Daddy around the block right away. My mom and I got the turkey in the oven, and after Justin's parents came over, and Avery was finally awake she got to open her gifts. She got some homemade blankies (I'll show those in another post), and some adorable outfits.

It was a nice relaxing day with good food and good company.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Every year for Christmas Eve we go hang out with Justin's side of the family.

Growing up.. I did the same thing. There was always a big party with lots of cousins to play with, and I loved it. Probably because I'm an only child, and any time there was a chance to play with lots of little friends I was on board. But we also had lots of fun with Christmas pinatas, the nativity (a tradition which I have carried on with Justin's fam), and lots of yummy food. Oh, and traditional games of cops and robbers. But that was probably just the kids. ;)

Anyway, the Keetch party has evolved. Before I was in the picture, all of the siblings and their spouses would come celebrate and sleep over to Christmas morning. After kids came along, it started to get a little more difficult, and by the time I starting coming to the parties it was just a late night affair.

Now that all of us have kiddos, we discussed bumping the party up to an early evening bash so we could get home and do a few all important "Eve" things at home before bedtime. It was fabulous!

We tried out a new-ish (well, new to me anyway) tradition of breakfast foods for dinner on Christmas Eve. I brought my butterscotch pull-aparts. I brought way too much. Next year remind me to only do one batch - maybe half with nuts and half without?

After dinner it was time for the nativity. It's always fun for me to see what role is going to be the sought after one with the kids. This year it was the angels, because my sister-in-law snagged some really fun angel costumes. We had three.

But I talked one of my cute nieces into being Mary by telling her that baby Avery was going to be Jesus this year. She held that baby so sweetly.

Harvey was "the" wiseman. A couple of the other kids had crowns on at one point, but he was the only one who made it to see the baby Jesus...

Then it was time for the gift exchange.

Avery got an adorable outfit...

(Note that she is swaddled in the "strait-jacket." She is totally content to sit there just like that. People often feel bad for her and undo the swaddle and then she cries.)

Harvey got a Christmas shirt and a little Elmo doll with a matching book. He really took to Elmo.

Avery got her gift for Rylie. We knew she had an American Girl doll, so we got her a couple of outfits to put on her.

And Harvey got girly stuff for Tia. You know, stuff like earrings, lip gloss, and nail polish.

While the boys all engaged in an intense ping-pong tournament, I took too many pictures of Avery in her Christmas attire.

She was chatting it up...

And loving all the attention.

The onesie says "All Mommy wants for Christmas is a Silent Night." Harvey wore it three years ago. I love it.

One Word: 2012

2012-01-09T13:03:00.003-07:00

Man, I really slacked off reporting about my one little word of 2011: REFINE. I learned a ton though - about myself, and about what kind of person I want to become. I feel like it made me softer, a little more patient, and definitely more self-controlled in the finance department. I'm sad to let that word go.

It took me a while to figure out my word for this year. Although, if I had been paying attention it would have come to me much sooner. Let me explain.

Our family has gone through a lot of changes in the last few months. I stopped tending my nieces and resumed doing massage again, we went from 3 to 4 when Avery was born, and Justin got called to be the Stake Sports Specialist (say that three times fast!) in our church. Harvey is in the final stages of adjusting to the role of big brother, and just started potty training! On top of all of that, Justin got a new job (or should I say career) which requires him to do some traveling for the first 6 months. While all of this is exciting... adjusting to it all is going to be hard.

Every time I thought about it all, I wanted my word to be ENDURE. Just the thought everything kind of stressed me out and I felt like choosing to "endure" it would be easy. But somehow "easy" felt like I was coping out. I knew my word should help me grow - become something better, even though it would be hard.

And I can do hard things. So this year my little word is

(modified via here)

This word has always been a favorite of mine. I wanted to choose it last year, but I'm glad I saved it.

I think it's the perfect word to follow REFINE. When a piece of metal is refined - once all of the impurities are removed - of course you would set to work to make it beautiful. You would make it SHINE.

The LDS church chooses a theme each year for the youth (and I'm included in that because I'm serving in the Young Women program). This year it is the scripture: “Arise and SHINE forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:5). I love this.

In college I first heard the song "Shine" by the Newsboys. It talks about gaining a testimony, being a good example to others, thus creating a desire within them to change for the better. The chorus says:

Shine
Make 'em wonder what you've got
Make 'em wish that they were not
On the outside looking bored
Shine
Let it shine before all men
Let 'em see good works, and then
Let 'em glorify the Lord

I love the words, and I love the beat.

This year I want to SHINE - reflecting the light of the Son (as in, the Son of God - Jesus Christ). The closer my relationship with Him, the brighter I'll be. I want my attitude, my appearance, and my soul to SHINE. I want others to feel my light; to be uplifted when they are around me. I know this sounds like I'm just piling on more things to add to my "to-do" list, but I feel that if I start focusing on others, on being positive, on filling my spiritual tank with His light, I'll have more capability to do the other things on my list.

I'll be able to "rise and SHINE" (or get up and do!). And with all our family is going through, I need to be capable.

What about you?? Do you pick one little word each year? What are your goals & resolutions?

Avery: 3 Months

2012-01-07T16:07:00.002-07:00

I haven't had time to scrap Avery's three month page, and I can't decide between two photos anyway. Maybe you can help? Which one do you like better?

I think this one shows her personality and how she uses her little chubby toes to scoot up, but her hand is all blurry.

And I like this one because she snacks on those fingers of hers almost constantly, but Justin doesn't like it as much because her face is hidden.

Avery:

has started to laugh a little. It's still pretty rare, but we love hearing it!
"talks" a LOT!
is so happy. She gives smiles to anyone, and she's generally pretty content as long as her tummy is full and her diaper is clean.
hates a dirty diaper. She gets pretty mad if you don't change her right away!
is starting to find her hands. She hasn't "seen" them quite yet, but she grabs more and tastes her fingers all the time.
uses her toes to scoot her body up.
still loves and requires the swaddle to fall asleep.
never went bald (yay!). And the hair on top is growing like a weed!
likes when we sing to her... but she prefers lullabies and Primary Songs over upbeat Christmas tunes.
has started to stay awake for longer periods of time.
is already social. She wants to be where the action is, and would rather face out toward the crowd then snuggle with me. And she's totally content to lay on the floor by herself - as long as we are in the room with her.
has figured out how to spit bubbles.
can sleep a 9 hour stretch at night!! (Not every night, but it's happening more often. Now I just need to go to bed when she does.)

Now.. to edit photos and blog about all the holiday festivities...

Bubble Santa

2011-12-26T11:23:00.005-07:00

Have you recovered from the weekend? We had so much fun. But before I recap all of the hoopla, here's a couple of pics from another Christmas Advent activity.

When bubble baths are involved, Harvey is always on board. Although, when the camera is also involved, that means a smile and looking into the camera aren't guaranteed.

But those dinosaurs are always welcome.

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T08:30:00.002-07:00

Santa...??

2011-12-23T22:40:00.001-07:00

This year I got an e-mail from KiddieKandids to make an appointment to visit Santa and get 5 prints (same pic) for 10 bucks. I signed up... and this was the outcome:

What does Santa do at your house? Bring all kinds of gifts, or just stocking stuffers? Does he wrap or not wrap? Is the guy at the mall actually Santa or one of his helpers? How involved do you get with information about the man in red? Very detailed, or just shoot questions back at your kids (well, what do you think?)?

Dinosaur Snowscape

2011-12-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Harvey and I have been whittling away at our Christmas Activity Advent.

Yesterday we made a snowscape with shaving cream.

Harvey's dinosaurs wanted in on the action.

This was seriously so much fun. I bought a little container of shaving cream from the travel bins at the store, and there was plenty of cream to go around. We'll have to make it a tradition - it was a big hit!

Avery: 2 Months

2011-12-16T07:51:00.002-07:00

Ack! I feel like I'm constantly trying to catch up. Good thing I'm just doing monthly photos and milestones...

Anyway, we are eating this little gal up. She is SO fun! Honestly, I really think I'm enjoying her more than I did Harvey when he was tiny. I just wanted him to grow; to roll over, to giggle, to crawl, to walk. Why? Now I have to chase him everywhere! I'm totally content for Avery to just lay and coo at me. It really does melt my heart.

Here are the next two pages for her book:

(and repeated for the blog book...)

Avery:

is such a happy baby.
doesn't like having a dirty diaper. (What a change from Harvey who could care less. Will that make potty training her easier??)
doesn't like being left alone in a room, and will let us know!
loves both the bouncer and her swing.
smiles super easily. Especially when I do raspberries (is that what it's called when you vibrate your lips?)
still love to sleep. We are lucky if we can keep her up for more than 1.5 hours and she sleeps between 6 - 8 hours at night!
loves to be swaddled, and can't fall asleep unless she's tightly wrapped up.
has technically grown out of her 3 month clothes, but I can't part with them yet so I'm still squishing her into them.
loves "talking" to us. It's kind of like an adorable Chewbacca.
still hasn't mastered the burp. It takes forever to burp her.
likes riding in the car. Most of the time if she is fussy after we strap her into the car seat, she'll quiet right down after the car starts moving. Sometimes she gets fussy again when we stop at a red light.
loves listening to Justin's whistle.
likes binkis, but doesn't have to have them all the time like her brother did.
loves taking baths.
loves to snuggle.

Butterscotch Pull-Aparts

2011-12-15T19:21:00.002-07:00

This "breakfast" is perfect for Christmas morning because you throw it in the oven the night before and let it rise all night... super easy, and super yummy!

Ingredients:

15 frozen roll dough balls (regular sized)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 small cook and serve (not instant!) butterscotch pudding
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

1. Grease a bundt pan. Place frozen dough balls evenly around inside the pan. (I know it doesn't look like it, but don't worry... it's enough.)

2. Melt butter, cinnamon, sugar, pudding mix, and nuts. It will be thick. Pour/spoon over frozen rolls. Place in a cold oven and forget about it overnight. (8-10 hours before breakfast.)

3. It is ready to bake when the rolls have risen to the top or just over the edge of the bundt pan. When you wake up, turn the oven to 350 degrees and cook for 25 minutes, or until the rolls look golden brown on top. Put a plate over the bundt pan, then carefully and quickly, flip it upside down onto a plate. Enjoy!

Serves 8

Harvey: 3 Years

2011-12-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

Wow. Where did the time go? I blinked and now my baby boy is THREE.

He loves Curious George (in fact, we are on our 8th day in a row watching "George and the Elephant" aka Curious George: 2) so I thought it fitting to have his party at the zoo, with some George inspired cupcakes and colors.

These cupcake toppers were SUPER easy to make. I found the instructions here, but they required several punches I didn't have. Instead, I whipped them up in Photoshop, and assembled them in a snap. If you want to make them, here's a printable for you: (just right click and save it to your computer.)

They were super easy to make. After cutting out all of the pieces, I just used a flat glue dot to attach a sucker stick to the monkey head. Then I used 2 pop dots to attach the nose/mouth (and hide the stick between them) so it was lined up just below the eyes.

Isn't he cute?

Oh! And I must tell you about the cupcake liners! I wasn't even searching for monkey liners when I found them (at Smiths) but I liked the colors and thought little monkey faces were cute. (Sheesh, the photo doesn't even show them.) Anyway, I bought them and when I got home I realized they were AWESOME. Reynolds Staybrite Baking Cups are foil lined so they stay totally beautiful and don't get all dark and greasy looking after baking. I hope they get more popular and start making oodles of designs. I will buy them forever.

Anyway... I also made up these little favors with lemon drops and red jelly beans inside to give to everyone who came to the zoo with us. All of the kids got a red or yellow balloon as well.

My little guy was in heaven with his cousin buddies...

And I picked a good theme because man, our zoo has a lot of monkeys!!

I got this shot on accident, but I love how you can see my nephew's reflection...

And this guy was cracking me up! He just sat there with his arms folded. He wiped his nose once, then put his hands right back in that position.

Of course, there were other animals as well...

Hilarious. I don't even know how these two got up on that ledge, but I'm pretty sure I giggled out loud when I saw them up there. Probably because of the teeth.

Harvey loved how the elephant used his trunk to eat:

And while we were in the area, I let Harvey sit on the "mechanical elephant"... he wasn't so sure about that thing:

But once his cute cousin joined him, he decided it wasn't that bad.

And Grandma wanted to ride on the carousel with the birthday boy:

Man, I love my mom. Isn't she beautiful?

We had such a great time, we stayed for almost 5 hours! (Thanks everyone for coming to our marathon party!)

I sure love my little buddy.

And I can't end this post without listing my 3 favorite things about him:
1) He shares; his toys, his treats, and even his special blankie. With everyone.

2) He is quick to say sorry. And I hope he always will, as it is a quality that will carry him far.

3) He is thankful. He often says thank you without any prompts from me. I love his little "thanks, mom!"

Oh.. I can't stop at three, so here are a few more.
4) He is a great dancer.

5) He has the best belly laugh ever. I can't resist tickling him to hear it just one more time...

6) He is athletic. Seriously, he can throw a mean football.

7) He is smart. I am often amazed during our conversations. He remembers everything!

I love you Harvster!

Thankful

2011-12-07T08:31:00.012-07:00

This year for Thanksgiving we celebrated with my in-laws and my mom came along, because I'm lucky like that. My hubby and I lived in the same neighborhood for a while and our moms are friends.

For some reason, I volunteered to bring my Melt-In-Your-Mouth Rolls, forgetting that I had a new-ish baby. She wanted to eat, but I had to get those rolls shaped and put in the warmed oven to rise. I was trying to work fast and accidentally touched my arm on the heating element of the oven. It was off but still super hot, and I got burned. Oops! But at least the rolls turned out delicious.

Despite that little mishap, the holiday went off without a hitch.

We have been so blessed this year. I have a beautiful, healthy family. I've been able to stay home with my two cute kiddos, and Justin just got an awesome job offer with a company he's been eying for a while. He's so excited to embark on a new adventure there. We are so lucky to have amazing family and friends who love and support us.

Pumpkin Bread

2011-12-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

I know it's December. And during December we stop thinking about pumpkin, and start thinking about fruit cake (I kid.), but honestly, this pumpkin bread was so delicious, I must post it. Enjoy!

I love everything pumpkin. And my mouth was watering for some pumpkin bread, so Harvey and I made some a week or so ago. The recipe is actually best if you let it sit wrapped in saran wrap for a whole day, and miraculously we made it.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat together sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture alternately with water.

4. Divide batter evenly between the pans and bake for 60 to 70 minutes.

Football Onesie

2011-11-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

We love college football in this house. The BYU Cougars are our team (although both my hubby and I graduated from their rival, the U). Justin's family has had season tickets for as long as he can remember, and it's a tradition for all of his brothers to gather at their parents' house to watch the away games. I like having a "team." Not that I keep track of the scores and players and such very well, but I like getting our family dolled up in fan-wear on game days.

Here is Harvey a couple of years ago in his football jersey, compliments of my cousin who worked at the BYU Bookstore:

Since then we have mostly just adorned t-shirts, but I wanted my baby girl to be in something cute and festive. I searched all over creation for a cheerleader outfit, but the smallest one I could find was sized for 12 months. Bummer.

I did find a tutorial to make one, (which I had almost followed but might come in handy in the future), but then I found this adorable football onesie on Pinterest. I decided to make a version of my own.

I followed her instructions to the T: brown onesie and felt from Hobby Lobby, hand sewn using a backstitch with an embroidery hoop for ease.

I love it. And it was a big hit at the last football gathering. Although I think it might be missing a tutu. We'll see if I get around to it by the bowl game.

Avery: 1 Month

2011-11-05T08:17:00.003-06:00

Holy Moly! Where does the time go? I can't believe my baby is already a month old!

After it was too late for Harvey, I discovered monthly stickers to add to a onesie each month for a photoshoot and I loved the idea. Then, I saw that Young House Love produced the same effect with Photoshop, and I knew that's what I wanted to do for my future children. Plus they used adorable patterned fabric pieces for a background.

Here is Avery's first month photo:

And I'll do the same pages in her baby book as I made for Harvey's book:

(this is just the same list repeated so I don't have to retype it for my blog book):
Avery:

is growing fast! At two weeks she already caught up to her birth weight and gained 5 more ounces! The doctor said I don't have to worry about waking her up to eat.
has already outgrown most of her newborn outfits. Technically she did that before she was born at almost 10 pounds!
is super mellow. Even her hardest sob is so tiny and sweet. (Sometimes I even let her cry a minute longer just so I can hear it.)
loves to listen to soft whistles. She will smile and try to talk to you while you whistle her a tune.
squeaks. Alot. I can't sleep with her in our room so she is across the hall in the nursery. And I can still hear her squeaks over the white noise machine.
likes her binkis. Mom and Dad are both TOTALLY okay with this.
took a bottle great when she was 12 days old. (A relief for Mom!)
loves to be swaddled. If she is unwrapped when she is sleepy she lets us know it's not acceptable.
hasn't mastered the burp yet. It takes forever to burp her.
sleeps a ton. Since she was 2.5 weeks old I've gotten 5 and 6 hour stretches at night!
is strong - her legs fight while you change her diaper, and she can already hold her head up for quite a while.
loves her big brother. She loves when he talks to her, holds her, or gives her knuckles.

Lastly, here is the baby announcement that made it on the back of our Christmas Cards... I love how it turned out!!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-04T16:34:00.000-06:00

Time flies. I can't believe October is already over. I'm sad... but then again, I'm excited to celebrate the holidays with my little family. There's just something that changes about a holiday when you have kids. Somehow it's just more fun. And Harvey is getting to the point where he understands what is going on.

This was the first year we did anything with pumpkins. Despite the face, he was stoked that I let him color with a permanent marker...

But he wasn't quite sure what to think about the pumpkin guts.

He did want to try everything he saw his Daddy do, including use a knife to slice into his pumpkin. Right, son. So we compromised. He was happy as a clam with his plastic Ikea knife:

I think our Jack-O-Lantern turned out pretty darn cute:

Harvey was enchanted by him:

I had visions of our family all coordinating with costumes this year, but I just didn't pull it off. I really love Old Navy costumes for kids because they are so warm and cute, and every time I showed Harvey the selection online he pointed out the Hamburger costume. Seriously? Luckily I talked him into the Dragon.

At first he wasn't so sure about putting that thing on. In fact, at our annual Keetch Family Halloween Bash he slowly pried parts of it off until he was dancing in his diaper. But after we read a few stories about children getting candy for their costume efforts, he warmed up to the idea.

Okay, I put it lightly. He was pleased as punch about the candy part.

We headed over to the trunk-or-treat by our house. I handed out candy to the kids, while wearing the little one. Some people were dressed up to hand out their candy. Maybe next year I'll get more into it. Decorate the trunk? Turn on some Halloween tunes? We'll see. While I was pinned to the bumper, Justin and Harvey made the rounds.

His all time favorite piece of loot:

Later, my mom came by to see Harvey in all his trick-or-treating action:

Again. Big fan of the candy:

And lets be honest here. No need to worry that Harvey is going to eat that whole pile. Justin and I are more than happy to "help him make healthier choices."

Avery, on the other hand, couldn't have cared less about the candy. She slept through nearly all the festivities.

Oh, except for when she -ahem- got hungry while I was the only one home to open the door and hand out candy. That was interesting.

I ♥ Shutterfly

2011-10-29T08:30:00.002-06:00

It all began when I started digital scrapbooking, and I printed my first photobook of our cruise to Mexico. The orange package arrived on my doorstep and I was SO thrilled with the beautiful colors and great quality of my creation. So I made more.. and I'm not stopping there.

The last two years I've printed calendars through Shutterfly, and I'm IN LOVE with them. Seriously, I'll make calendars every year for as long as they print them. They are thick, the colors are beautiful and I love that you can personalize names and pictures on the calendar grid. They make great gifts (I give one to both of our mothers every Christmas).

Our 2010 Christmas Cards came from Shutterfly, and I thought their quality was fabulous. The linen feel was amazing, and the colors were perfect.

Now, although it's October, it's SO not to early to start thinking about Christmas Cards. Especially because you can choose an adorable new design and get your cards for 25% off at Shutterfly right now! They have so many to choose from, I can't decide which one I like the best.

I love the simplicity of the Poinsettia Print card:

And I really like that the Family Frame card matches the colors of our family photos so well:

And the Glad Tidings card is so fun and whimsical...

But... do I want more than one photo? I love the layout of the Monogram Label card.

The best part about all of these cards? You can print on TWO sides for the same price!! And you can choose from a ton of different layouts. Want to print your "newsletter" on the other side? Sure, just choose a layout with text only. Want more photos? Great, choose one of the many layouts from 2 photos up to 16! I think I might just put a baby announcement on the other side and make it easy on myself. Seriously, anything that makes things easier makes a new mama happy.

Really. You need to check out Shutterfly's 2011 Holiday Cards. You won't be disappointed. I never have.

Scrap Saturday

2011-10-22T08:24:00.004-06:00

More recent scrapbook pages...

Credits:Be Inspired - Cami - Templates, Splashing Around, Splashing Around - Word Art Bits,Splashing Around - Alpha all by wm[squared]; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Credits: Rock Star - The Extras, Rock Star - The Word Art Bits, Rock Star - The Papers, Blue Scattered Beads from Celebrate Independence, and Be Inspired - Jen D. - V.2 - Templates all by wm[squared]; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Credits: An Apple A Day, and EZ Date Stamps V.2 by Erica Zane; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Credits: Negative Style Frames, Text Path Journal Lines v.01, Funktography Kit, Artist Cardboard Alphabet, Biggiebet Alphabet - Seaweed, and Yellow Flower from Color Coded Knick Knacks: Seabreeze Limeade all by Miss Mint; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Credits: Paint Supplies, Stapled Tabs, Messy Splatter Stacks, Kraft Card Essentials, Classic Construction Papers v.02, Artsy Fartsy Kit, Biggiebet Alphabet - Navy Bean, and Mr. Fix It Element Pack by Miss Mint; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Credits: Thankful Fall Kit, Woodchip Alphabet, and Corrugated Cardboard Collection v.01 by Miss Mint; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Credits: What's Cooking?, What's Cooking Kid?, and What's Cooking? {the word art} all by Erica Zane; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

A few Flashbacks... into my past:

Credits: Whiz Kid Kit, Congrats Grad Add-on Mini Kit, Award Ribbons, Mintastic Templates Set. 2,
Basic Bookplates, Paper Flowers from Kindergarten Crafts Kit, Greenery from Blushing Bride Elements, Little Green Flower from Color Coded Knick Knacks: Seabreeze Limeade, Paint Box v.02, and Varsity Alphabet - Blue all by Miss Mint; Fonts: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting), and Pea Devon Caps

Credits: School Days - The College Years - Mini, School Days - The College Years - Alpha, School Days - The College Years - Word Art Bits, School Days, and School Days - Extras all by wm[squared]; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)
featured here

Credits: Scraplift of Picture Perfect by Sasha,Cats & Dogs, Cats & Dogs - Bonus Alpha, and Big Stamped Alpha all by wm[squared]; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Credits: PMP Template - #40 by Kirstie Ibrahim, Spring Garden Kit by Miss Mint; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Credits: Fright Night Kit, and Push Button Alphabet - Sun all by Miss Mint, PMP Template - #41 by Megan Whitney; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

And another page for my All About Me book:

Credits: Ingrid's Templates - Set.4, Colored Pencils, Crayons, Classic Construction Papers v.02, Artsy Fartsy Kit, Biggiebet Alphabet - Key Lime all by Miss Mint; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)

Clam Chowder

2011-10-21T08:53:00.001-06:00

Is this cooler weather putting you in the mood for warm soup?

(okay. technically this photo is of potato chowder, because I made it for a party I hosted for 2 and 3 year olds... but I used this recipe, just omitting the clams and let me tell you, it is delicious either way.)

Ingredients:

2 cans clams, minced
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups diced potatoes
1 teaspoon salt, divided in half
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 quart half and half
dash of pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar

1. Combine onions, potatoes and half the salt in a large pot. Drain juice from clams, and pour over vegetables. Fill the pot with water until everything is just barely covered. Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan. Add flour; blend and cook 1 minute. Add the half and half and stir until smooth and thick.

3. Pour white sauce over vegetables. Add clams, the remaining salt, pepper, and sugar. heat thoroughly. It is especially good if you let it sit a few hours on warm heat.

Serves 6-8

The Firetruck

2011-10-20T08:08:00.002-06:00

Although Harvey came with me to most of my appointments when I was pregnant with Avery, he really could have cared less about his soon-to-be baby sister. I mean, there were all kinds of cars, trains, and balls for him to play with. Why should he care to look at the ultrasound machine to see her?

Then Rebecca (my midwife) suggested getting him on board with something he could relate to: a gift from the baby. She told him to tell the baby what he would like, and he leaned in and told my belly that he would like a firetruck. Then each time we visited the office, we would check on the ultrasound machine to see if she had gotten his firetruck yet. It was so cute to watch him become more interested in her.

At one appointment, while looking at the ultrasound, Harvey saw her spine and exclaimed, "Train tracks!!" But then he was a little worried she didn't get the message that he wanted a fire truck. He told her several times later that day.

Then a couple of weeks before Avery was born, he saw a commercial for a (terribly annoying) firetruck on television. It was named 'Smokey' and it talked and emitted noises that were very impolite. There was no way I Avery was going to purchase that particular firetruck, but Harvey kept saying that she was "bringing Smokey."

And then.. he started talking about "the firetruck in my belly" quite often, so we asked Harvey if Avery was a baby or a firetruck. His answer? A firetruck.

Regardless, he was quite thrilled when Avery did in fact give him his gift:

A firetruck... complete with a station, hose, ladder, and fireman. And cute sirens. Thank heaven he completely forgot about Smokey.

I really wish I would have been prepared with the camera right when he saw his gift resting on her bassinet that morning, but it was torn open before I could blink. And it has definitely been well used, and the other cars have also moved in.

Kneaders Caramel Apples

2011-10-19T08:31:00.000-06:00

Have any of you tried a caramel apple from Kneaders? My mom surprised Justin and I with a couple and we were in heaven.

Our all time favorite is the Butterfinger one, and it was gone before I thought to snap a picture. However, I did find the recipe here if you're feeling ambitious.

We also tried the Cinnamon White Chocolate one and it was just as good.

Oh how I love fall.

Little Mermaid

2011-10-18T13:30:00.000-06:00

When I saw this adorable baby prop on Pinterest, I knew I had found Avery's Halloween costume. I set to work crocheting it and finished it even before she was born. (Thanks Rach for helping me estimate the size of my large baby to your tiny one ;)

I hadn't ever really crocheted anything without a pattern, but a few hours of trial and error resulted in this:

And I couldn't be happier.

(Harvey on the other hand really wanted some attention while I was taking photos of his baby sister. So for him, here's a pic of what he was up to...)

I can't imagine what the neighbors thought when they looked through my kitchen window and saw me standing on the kitchen table...

Avery: One Week

2011-10-06T15:20:00.001-06:00

Did I mention how much I have loved having Justin home with me this week! It has been so nice to wake up and hear the dishwasher start running, or to have help entertaining Harvey.

We are all soaking up this sweet little girl as much as we can.

Some fun tidbits:

I really can't believe how much hair this girl has and I'm going to be so sad when it falls out. It smells like candy to me, and I can't get enough of it. How do tiny ones smell SO yummy?

Harvey loves her, but hasn't quite caught on that she's not big enough to play with him yet. He will come set a toy by her hand while I'm nursing her and tell me that she "wanted it."

Rebecca came to our house for Avery's 3-day check up. Can I tell you how awesome that was? She had only lost 7 ounces, and was only showing small signs of jaundice.
She is SO much milder than Harvey was. Even her most intense cry is just sweet. I'm mean, but sometimes I make her wait 30 seconds longer just to hear that tiny sob.
She sleeps almost non-stop. I have to change her diaper in the middle of a feeding just to keep her awake! And during the night that means I get a couple of 4 hour stretches!
She snorts when she's rooting. Love it.
Speaking of eating... let's just say she is much kinder to my hooters than Harvey was. I appreciate it.
Her second toe totally dominates the toe next to it. I think it's funny, and only time will tell if it will stay that way:

Avery's Belly Departure

2011-10-05T13:40:00.001-06:00

Disclaimer:
This is a ridiculously long post. But I want to document the story for myself and for Avery if she's interested. So, here's the short version in case you just want the nitty gritty, but feel free to read the novel with all of the juicy details. Or not. :)

Reader's Digest Version:
I got acupuncture last Monday to induce my labor (just like I did with Harvey), but it didn't do much, so I went in for another treatment on Wednesday. Contractions started about 12 hours later. At about 3:00pm on Thursday we headed to the birth center and I was already dilated to a 7 and 100% effaced. I labored and delivered Avery Anne in the tub three hours later!

All the Fine Details:

Monday, September 26:
I went in to give a massage at the chiropractors office in the morning, and had him do an acupuncture treatment while I was there. I was sick and tired of all the heartburn (since 13 weeks!) and dying to get this labor started. Dr. Collard used 4 points this time (ENTER POINTS HERE) and added electric stimulation on 40 minutes. I was disappointed that I didn't feel any contractions during the treatment like I did when I was pregnant with Harvey. I was a little worried that it wouldn't work.

After the treatment I went to Home Depot to pick up the paint match for the baby's nursery. We tore out a built-in desk in that room and still needed to paint the wall. (Talk about leaving it until the last minute!) I headed home, picked up Harvey from my friends' house and ate lunch. During his nap, I painted the nursery wall and went on a cleaning spree through the whole house. I was hoping all the activity might stir something up. Justin came home from work and we went on a long walk to the Redbox at 7-Eleven to get the movie Thor. I got excited because I started feeling some contractions, but they stopped as soon as we did.

Tuesday, September 27:
This was my "changed-to" due date; my mom got a substitute and we spent the day together. I was irritated that the acupuncture wasn't jump-starting anything.

Wednesday, September 28:
My mother-in-law already had the day off to take Justin's dad in for a doctor's appointment and so we planned that she would take Harvey if and when I went into labor. I went in for another acupuncture treatment in the afternoon (but the doctor's appointment turned into quite the ordeal, and she ended up not being able to watch Harvey even for my treatment, so I took him with me. He watched Cars on my laptop on the floor.) Dr. Collard did the same points and turned up the electric stimulation a little higher. Again: no contractions.

I went walking again to deliver some thank you notes around my neighborhood, and contractions started coming about 10 minutes apart. I was pretty excited, so I called Rebecca Williams (my midwife) and my mom to give them a heads up. I packed a bag and set it by the front door just in case. I went to bed feeling really excited, and slept great until about 3:30am.

Thursday, September 29:
Contractions would wake me up, but they were really light and irregular. This continued all morning. One contraction here... the next one 30 minutes later... another one an hour later... then 7 minutes. I kept track of them on a notebook and just went about my day trying to get things done. At about 1:00 pm the contractions started coming between 3 and 5 minutes apart, and Harvey would drive me nutty asking for something over and over. I made some phone calls: Justin to come home from work, the neighbor to watch Harvey, my mom to pick up Harvey after she got off work, and Rebecca to say we would be at the birth center by 3:00 pm.

When we got to the birth center, I marched straight in and laid on the bed with my body pillow. Justin gathered all the stuff and made it in just in time to put pressure on my lower back during a contraction. I was already 100% effaced and dilated to a 7! I asked her if I could get in the tub, and I found immense relief once submerging myself in the hot water. Honestly, the water relieved so much of the low back pressure during my contractions, at one point I asked Rebecca if I might have stalled labor by getting in!

Oh, that tub was heaven. It was specially designed for birth; with padding too! Justin, Rebecca and I spent the next hour or so talking about what to expect with a water birth, snacking on grapes and ice water and concentrating through contractions. We took some funny photos of Justin feeding me grapes like a Roman goddess (although I won't share them with the whole world, if you know what I mean...). Rebecca kept tabs on the baby's heartbeat with her waterproof Doppler from time to time. When I first got in the tub, Avery was hanging out on the left side of my uterus. Rebecca told me that she would move toward the center and then move down as my labor continued. At every check-in Avery had moved quite a bit which made me feel like we were making progress. At one point, my contractions started getting pretty intense, but we drained some of the cooler water and added hot and they lightened up again after that.

Finally, I got to the point where I wanted to be done with labor. It seemed like a lot longer to me, but it had only been a couple hours since we arrived at the birth center. Rebecca checked with the Doppler to see where the baby was, and she was very low and right in position. I didn't feel my body start to push on its own like when I had Harvey, but we thought that maybe my water hadn't broken yet, so the baby's head wasn't pushing as low as it could have been. I tried to just push a little on my own and my body took over after that.

I just have to say... this "pushing experience" was much harder mentally than Harvey's delivery. Staying in sitting position was way too intense, so I turned over on my knees and sat on my feet (plus Rebecca said that position was more likely to result in no tearing). Justin had to put lots of pressure on my lower back and I was shocked to hear my "inner-beast" come out. After a while it seemed like we weren't making progress, and Rebecca thought that maybe Avery was stuck behind my pubic synthesis so she had me turn over again to push. Holy moly the contractions were intense, and Justin couldn't get to my back, but Avery started crowning really quickly. And I started freaking out. I was nervous that I would tear and it really felt like I might, so Rebecca asked if I wanted to turn over. Yeah, with half of a baby head out of my body. Somehow they talked me into it and got me flipped over again. Rebecca realized I was not mentally in control anymore and told me to reach down and touch Avery's head. Almost instantly I was calmed, and a couple more pushes and her head was out.

I expected her to just come out with the next push, but no: her chest was wider than her head!! Somehow I stayed in control (with a few more inner-beast growls) and Avery was born. Rebecca unwrapped the cord from her belly, and we pulled her up out of the water.

Avery Anne Keetch

5:48 pm

9 pounds 9 ounces

21.5 inches long

Everything was up to me. On my time. I loved that I held her for so long immediately after she was born. I love that we let her gradually adjust to life outside my belly. She didn't cry right away... but when Rebecca asked her if her name was Harvey she let out a wail to let us know she didn't like that. When the cord stopped pulsing Justin cut it and held her while I got out of the tub.

After a while, Justin went to go get Harvey. He was delighted to finally see "the baby Avery"...

... at least for a little while. Then the trains were much more fun to play with:

When we had all held and snuggled her to our hearts content, Rebecca did all of the stats and checks on her... she didn't mind one bit:

After she fed us dinner, Rebecca told us that both Avery and I were doing well enough that we could go home whenever we wanted. We were welcome to all stay overnight, but we all decided that we wanted to sleep in our own beds, so we headed home at 9:30pm.

Our first family photo... right before we left:

I think Harvey was sad to leave the trains. (And that random thing on Justin's shirt is Harvey's Transformer bandaid that he had to have when Avery got one on her leg... but then promptly decided to put on his dad.)

We are so excited that she's here! Although, I don't know how any of you mothers with more than one child get anything done. Hopefully I can figure it out soon, but for now I'm so grateful that Justin was able to take this entire week off work!

Cute baby pictures to come tomorrow!

It's My Party and I'll...

2011-09-20T14:30:00.002-06:00

get FREE stuff if I want to! (I thought I posted this last week on my birthday, but apparently I'm losing my mind. Humor me and pretend it's last Wednesday.)

Did you know that you can sign up for a ton of free stuff on your birthday? My friend Rachael blogged about this a couple years ago, and so I followed her advice to sign up for several offers. Then this year, I decided to Google "free birthday stuff" and you would not believe how many companies give away coupons to help you celebrate!

For lunch today, I took Harvey to IHOP and enjoyed my FREE breakfast (seriously, I only paid for Harvey's kids meal!). Something about free just tastes better. :)

Then we went shopping with a couple of gift cards from friends and family (thanks!) and stopped off for a FREE cream slush at Sonic Burger. Have you tasted a cream slush? They are to die for. I promise.

Then we went out to dinner at the Olive Garden (my favorite), and I got the traditional song, with a free Dolcini (Limoncello Mousse with Vanilla Cookie Crust). It was super yummy. And I ate WAY too much for my poor squished stomach. But it was worth it.

Most of these coupons are good for the week or two around your birthday so you don't have to eat at 15 places in one day. Plus, the ones with an asterisk in front allow you to enter the birthdays of your whole family all under one account.

Stuff I signed up for:

*Burger King: free kids meal (kids only)
Cold Stone Creamery: Buy one creation, get one free
*Culver's eClub: Free one scoop sundae (no purchase necessary)
IHOP: Free Rooty Tooty Fresh N' Fruity Breakfast (no purchase necessary)
KMart Birthday Club: $5 birthday bucks, crown, certificate, & gift
*Olan Mills Studio: Birthday Portraits (one 8x10, one 5x7, and four wallets)
*Old Navy: (enter your e-mail where it says Sign Up & Save) for Coupons/Deals
Olive Garden: sign up for their newsletter and get a free dessert
Red Robin: Free Burger (you might have to join RedRoyalty in the future with participating locations)
Sonic Cruise Club: your choice of a free regular cream slush, free medium tator tots, or a free medium drink (no purchase necessary)
*Toys R Us Birthday Club: Phone call, card and gift from Geoffrey, a Party Planner, & an in-store celebration. (I think you might have to sign up every year for this one. I got stuff for Harvey's 1st, but nothing last year...)

Man. I know once you're an "adult", birthdays kind of get lame. But seriously, I feel so pampered! Justin woke me up with a birthday surprise.. a white cake stand that I've had my eye on for about a year! And my mom brought over the most delicious bundt cake to break it in...

(I had a little help blowing out all that fire!)

(Have any of you tried a cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes? It was delicious!)

Plus I got a gift certificate for a pedicure to enjoy in the near future. Should I do it pre-baby... or wait? 13 more days to go! (Umm.. actually 7 days now! Woot!)

Crusty Pizza Dough

2011-09-13T13:37:00.000-06:00

We love pizza around here, and ordering pizza was getting expensive. So I decided I wanted to find a great pizza recipe. We really love this crust... (I'm still on the search for the best sauce recipe, so SHARE if you've got one!)

serves: 4

    1        package active dry yeast
    1        cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees F)
    1/2    teaspoon salt
    2        teaspoons olive oil
    2.5 - 3.5 cups all-purpose flour
    1        tablespoon cornmeal

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.

2. Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

3. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place, free from draft, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down.

4. Brush 14-inch pizza pan with oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Press dough across bottom of pan, forming a collar around edge to hold toppings. Add toppings as desired. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

Scrapbook Pages

2011-09-06T11:01:00.002-06:00

Sorry to all of you who actually read my Photoshop Tutorials. I haven't posted one in ages, but I've been meaning to get one done. Any ideas or suggestions of a technique you'd like to learn?

Regardless, I've got to post my latest scrapbook pages before they build up. I like printing them in my blog book each year, so this is more for me than you. But if you're interested, here's my latest:

A few more pages for my All About Me Book:

Credits: Oh, Happy Day by Jennifer Barrette & Erica Zane; Font: Tiffy's Hand
featured here

(credits & comments)

A bunch of random pages.. mostly of Harvey:

(credits & comments)

This is a page I changed into a July calendar topper for 2012. The credit link will show the calendar version, but I want this version in my blogbook. :)

(credits & comments)

And.. a couple of wedding pages:

(credits & comments)

On Being Present

2011-08-19T15:53:00.001-06:00

Today was one of those days.

A day where I had to force my exhausted body out of bed. I fed my son a half healthy breakfast of zucchini bread and applesauce. And then I turned on the television. I'm pretty sure it stayed on until lunch time. Harvey amazingly enough entertained himself watching "his shows" and playing with random toys in the living room, while I piddled around doing things on the list or just plain wasted time. Before I knew it, lunch time had passed and we hadn't even gotten ready for the day.

Harvey finally came in to me, grabbed my hand and asked to go outside. I really didn't want to. But I made myself go sit on our patio swing while he found more ways to entertain himself outside in our backyard. After a while he found a worm and begged me to come see. He literally had to pull on my arm and beg. I finally got my lazy self off that swing to inspect the little creature.

Anyway, now it's naptime. And while I so desperately want to take a nap and waste more of the day away... I somehow got on the computer and stumbled on this post from 71toes. (If you don't already read her blog, you should add it to your list. It is completely inspiring.)

The quote at the bottom of her post is what really got me:

“Everything in all the books I once pored over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach. T. Berry Brazelton. Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with ‘Goodnight Moon’ and ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages dust would rise like memories.” Then she goes on and talks about some of the mistakes she made while raising her babies. “…the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make…I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of [my children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4, and 1. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”

--Anna Quindlen

And now I want to resolve to be more in the moment. More aware of the look of curiosity and glee on Harvey's face while he cheers for the digging worms just like Curious George in the Worm Race episode. More aware of his facination with all things automotive by actually getting on the floor to play with his trains or cars. More aware of his desire to be with me... and including him while I cook dinner, or paint one of my craft projects, or even mop the floor.

I can't believe he has already gone from this...

to this...

in one blink. I feel like I've missed and forgotten so much of it already, and I'm determined not to miss any more.

Personalized Lightswitches

2011-08-18T10:46:00.000-06:00

Do you need one last craft to keep your kids busy before school starts? Here's an easy one.

Every kid needs to be able to "define" their space. But my brother and sister-in-law don't let their girls paint their rooms. Sure, they have cute bed spreads, curtains, and fun decor, so I decided to expand on another little part of their room that is customizable.

Their light switch covers.

I ran over to our local hardware store and picked up a couple of covers (they are really inexpensive) and let them choose exactly how they wanted their cover to look. They chose the colors, the design, and they did all the work. The best part? They LOVE how the covers turned out!

Little Things...

2011-08-15T23:02:00.000-06:00

1. Have you discovered the McCormick's Slow Cooker packs?? I did this past winter, and I was reminded how much I love them when I made the pulled pork last week. (YUM!) They are super easy! Check them out with all of the packet mixes at the grocery store.

My favorites are the BBQ Pulled Pork:

And the Hearty Beef Stew... I know it doesn't look like much but it's SO yummy!

2. We got a package in the mail today. It wasn't anything special, but I was excited. I had ordered some little Tupperware cups (many of the other brands I've tried just weren't cutting it), because we needed more. When Harvey was little, I used to buy the pre-packaged fruit and applesauce cups from the store. Then I had an epiphany: it is amazingly cheaper for me to buy a big can of fruit or applesauce - especially on sale in bulk - and divide it up myself into little portion sizes. When all of the little cups are gone, we just open another can and start over!

3. Justin finally pulled out what we have affectionately named "The Jumanji Plant." This weed started growing in early spring and my hubby was excited because he thought the 12-foot-tall hollyhock seeds he had planted were finally starting to sprout. We kept watching this plant double and triple seemingly overnight. We weren't ever quite sure what the thing was and kept waiting for some kind of buds, but to no avail. It really was just a super-weed.

4. We had a little visitor. And looking back on these photos I can't believe I was brave enough to get down and photograph the thing. Just try to imagine a 7.5 month pregnant woman scrambling to get up with a nasty rodent attacking her! Luckily... I got my photos, and then Justin chased it into the neighbor's yard. (And then I felt bad, so I called to warn her.)

Harvey wanted to give him a cracker. I told him to go inside and get one... and that's when we scared it off. :)

5. Just in case you forgot I'm pregnant... I have one last thing to share with you: Graham crackers and Frosting. I know, I'm terrible. But they are SO yummy. Especially if you make them, (and exersize LOTS of restraint), and put them in a Tupperware overnight. They soften up and are absolutely heaven. Or maybe it's just a crazy pregnant craving. I'll leave it up to you to decide if this was really my serving, or if I just stacked them that high for the photo.

Chicken Alfredo with Artichokes

2011-08-12T21:38:00.000-06:00

Now this is one of our favorite recipes. We are big fans of the Olive Garden in this family and one night I decided to make up a dish that could (sorta) remind us of the experience.

Ingredients:

8 ounces of penne pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound chicken, cubed
15 ounce jar of Bertolli alfredo sauce
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and snipped

1. Cook pasta in 2-3 quarts of water with a pinch of salt. (Follow directions on the package for cooking time.) Drain and keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook until no longer pink. Add the alfredo sauce to the chicken.

3. Open and drain the can of artichoke hearts, then just take your kitchen scissors and cut them right inside the can. It's super easy (and a nice trick I use for canned tomatoes as well!) When they are a size you like, add them to the alfredo mixture as well.

4. Serve over the penne when heated through.

Outdoor Painting

2011-08-07T00:24:00.000-06:00

Lately, I've been struggling a little with cheap things to keep my little guy busy. Especially since I'm super lazy pregnant and mostly just want to stick around our home. We go outside and his attention span bounces him from activity to activity... but this one actually kept him occupied for a good 45 minutes. Hooray!

We painted the patio.

And all that was required was a plastic bucket with water... and a paint brush. I think the fact that it was a real paint brush might have kept his interest longer.

He painted trains, trees, dinosaurs and the like all over our patio, and by the time he got to the other end... his first pictures had evaporated - leaving a clean canvas for more artwork. Then he saw our patio posts really needed a new paint job, so he painted them as well as his slide, his car, and his shoes. I didn't mind one bit. :)

Have you tried this??

After he was done I offered to get him a popsicle and when I came back outside, I saw this... and it made me smile. His dad likes to sit out on the patio just like this and admire his hard work in the yard.

101 Things in 1001 Days - V.2

2011-07-27T23:48:00.006-06:00

Guess what? It's already been 1001 Days since I started my first 101 list. I didn't finish everything on the list. In fact, I didn't really come that close. I learned that 2 and a half years is enough time for my interests to change, and there were things on the list that I just didn't care to do anymore. But I'm still thrilled at what I was able to accomplish because of that list, so I'm doing another one.

If you're interested in this idea, you can find more information on a website called Day Zero. Join me!

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific with a result that is either measurable, or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of stretching on your part.)

Starting Date: July 28, 2011
Completion Date: April 24, 2014

Here's the new list: (Check out my progress on this list HERE.)

Family:
1. Have new family pictures taken.
2. Cook & freeze 30 meals by the time I go into labor.
3. Play in the rain.
4. Build a snowman.
5. Have a photo taken in a photobooth.6. Fly a kite.
7. Plan a fabulous birthday party for Justin.
8. Plan a fabulous birthday party for Harvey.
9. Plan a fabulous birthday party for Avery.
10. Hold Family Home Evening every Monday for 5 weeks.

Social:
11. Plan and host a Girls' Night.
12. Treat my mom to a mom/daughter date where I actually pay for everything.
13. Attend book club 5 times.
14. Write to 5 different people who have inspired me.
15. Host a Murder Mystery Party.
16. Plan and host a non-birthday party for children.
17. Make a new friend via Visiting Teaching.

Health / Fitness / Outdoors:
18. Hike Mt. Timpanogas.
19. Get down to pre-Avery weight.
20. Donate blood.
21. Prepare for and participate in a 5K race.
22. Set up or participate in a walking/running group.
23. Buy a blender for green smoothies.
24. Don't eat out for a month.

House / Organization:
25. Complete and update our 72-hour kits.
26. Put together an auto emergency kit for each car.
27. Buy a new mattress.
28. Organize the office / my craft room.
29. Scan and upload all the Yanda negatives.
30. Organize and upload all Keetch negatives.
31. Buy another tote tray organizer from IKEA to organize Avery's room.
32. Have our carpets professionally cleaned.
33. List (and hopefully sell) the large items we didn't get rid of at the yard sale.
34. Organize all of our warranties in an accordion-style folder.
35. Paint Harvey's bunk beds and dresser.

Finance:
36. Start a Roth IRA.
37. Pay off the white Camry.
38. Conduct a household inventory and catalog (and film) all valuables.
39. Check to see that all of our insurance coverage is up to date.
40. Pay off the baby.

Learning & Growing:
41. Take a photography class.
42. Read the whole New Testament.
43. Read the Book of Mormon again.
44. Read the Doctrine & Covenants.
45. Read the Pearl of Great Price.
46. Learn to drive a stick shift.
47. Play the piano in church 3 times.
48. Learn how to do my hair in a messy bun.
49. Take an Institute class.
50. Learn to play Love Story/Viva La Vida on the piano.

Travel / Going Places:
51. See a play at Hale Theatre.
52. Visit This is the Place Heritage Park.
53. Visit Ensign Peak.
54. Visit the Brigham Young House.
55. Visit church history sites in and around Temple Square.
56. Visit 6 different temples.
57. See a drive-in-movie.
58. Go SCUBA diving.
59. Go on a sans-kids vacation with Justin.
60. Visit the beach. (Lakes don't count.)
61. Go to Disneyland.
62. Visit the Arches in Moab.
63. Visit Bryce Canyon National Park.
64. Visit Canyonlands in Moab.
65. Visit Antelope Island.
66. Visit Starvation State Park.
67. Visit the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum.

Getting Crafty:
68. Finish my Church History Scrapbook.
69. Sew a blessing dress for Avery.
70. Make Halloween trick-or-treat bags.
71. Make duvet covers for Harvey's bunk beds.
72. Bake and decorate a multi-tier cake.
73. Bake and decorate a cake with fondant.
74. Make a blog book for 2011 on blurb.com.
75. Make a blog book for 2012 on blurb.com.
76. Make a custom recipe book with my favorite recipes.
77. Finish and print the Bear Lake scrapbook.
78. Finish the "baby book" part of Harvey's scrapbook.
79. Take a photo of my house during each season.
80. Make a slideshow movie for each year starting in 2005.

Food:
81. Can pizza sauce.
82. Buy something from a Farmer's Market.
83. Try a food I have never eaten before.
84. Join a CSA Cooperative.
85. Buy enough water bottles to fill the bottom of our chest freezer.
86. Do an inventory of our short and long term food storage.
87. Set up a plan to build our food storage to 1 year.
88. Try 5 different zucchini recipies.
89. Learn a new pie crust design.
90. Find a good recipe for breadsticks.
91. Grind my own wheat.
92. Make homemade wheat bread.

Me:
93. Whiten my teeth.
94. Have a professional bra fitting.
95. Buy some cute, close-toed, black shoes for winter time.
96. Get 3 pedicures.
97. Get 3 massages.
98. Do something fun for my 30th birthday.
99. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the alphabet.
100. Learn to curl my hair.
101. Make a new 101/1001 list.

Operation: Baby Book

2011-07-15T15:47:00.001-06:00

When I was pregnant with Harvey, I found this fun and funny pregnancy journal: The Belly Book. I adored it.

This book includes pages for each doctor's visit, a monthly spot for cravings/aversions, ultrasound pictures, one page for each week with a spot for a picture and journaling, pages for why and how we chose his name, the labor and delivery story, and MUCH more.

Plus it does it all with a humorous twist:

Is the baby a girl? a boy? or a boxer?
What is my current disposition? sunshine and happiness? partly sunny with a chance of showers? hormonal hurricane?
I'm starting to feel like.... a fertility goddess? Humpty Dumpty?

I thoroughly enjoyed filling it out. And no - I didn't take a belly pic EVERY week. In fact, some weeks are empty. Or sometimes I added a pic of other stuff going on; the house we just purchased, or Justin and I in our Halloween costumes. Sometimes I filled in the prompts, and other times I crossed them out and used the lines for journaling about other things.

However, when I started looking for a baby book... they all included things my Belly Book already took care of: how and why we chose his name, baby shower momentos, how we prepared for the baby, a place for his birth announcement, hand/foot prints, etc. And I didn't want a duplicate book...

So, I decided I would "make my own." And well, anyone with kids knows that it's much easier said than done to keep up with something like that when it's just a fill-in-the-blank-er. I kind of feel like I dropped the ball because I didn't even have a plan.

However. This blog saved my butt. I DID take monthly photos of the kid and posted them with a list of all the current fun/embarrassing milestones he was going through. Plus, I got lucky and made it onto a couple of creative teams which ~~forced~~ encouraged me to keep up with scrapbooking pictures of the kid.

Here's what I've done with the milestone lists: (I used the fonts Century Schoolbook and Century Gothic, as well as Ali Edwards Hand Drawn Brushes for the 'you'.)

I'm not sure what happened around 3 months, but I didn't have a list on my blog. Maybe I'll try to compile one from photos and videos, but maybe not. My plan is to insert these pages on the opposite side of his "montly photoshoot layouts" in his scrapbook. The colors match his outfits, or the paper I used, etc.

I flipped through a couple of baby books at Walmart, and I found a few ideas that my belly book didn't include:

a family tree
immunization fill-in-the-blank page
what things cost (when he was born)
a letter from Mom / Dad / Grandparents

Besides my monthly stat pages, the regular story-told scrapbook pages and the above list, am I missing anything? What else should go in a Baby Book? What systems have you put in place for recording your children's memories?

Refine, V.3

2011-07-10T15:55:00.000-06:00

Whew! I can't believe how fast this year is moving;... it's halfway over! As I told you last month, I decided to focus on refining the "system" I had for our finances. Well, if you could call it a system. Anyway, I'm happy to say I have set up a Cash Flow Plan (because "budget" just sounds evil), a debt snowball, and we are well on our way to becoming completely debt free in just a couple of years (well, except for the house). I have to say it will be a sweet day when I never have to see another cent go out of our bank account for a student loan.

I'm not sure why I haven't done this before. Dave's Plan is really straightforward, and fairly simple to put into place. But then again, I have been given some major motivation because those cute girls I used to babysit on a regular basis are now much older, and my hours have been drastically cut. (By the way, if any of you are in need of a massage my hours are pretty open...)

Regardless, this whole process of refining our finances has been really good for me. I've also stumbled on quite a bit of information that makes me REALLY want to be debt free. Like even having our home paid off. The direction our economy is headed just makes me a little nervous. Whether our country is headed for an economic depression or whether we are headed toward more fruitful times, I will feel much more secure with my family knowing that we are prepared for it all. Which brings me to July...

This month I have decided to finish up a project I started earlier this year: Emergency Preparedness. I spent lots of time on our 72 hour kits in March, but I want to completely refine our Emergency Plan. I want to make sure that not only will my family have things they need... but know what they need to do, and where to go during an emergency. Fun stuff!

The 4th: Recap

2011-07-08T17:35:00.001-06:00

Our annual 4th of July family bash was a blast (pun intended..) and I'm actually kind of sad that it's over. I had so much fun planning and preparing everything for the party!

We made our usual teriyaki marinated chicken (seriously, it's heavenly), and all the guests brought a variety of yummy sides. Really though, at our family parties, food is never lacking.

I'm surprised I actually got a shot of this kid... he was SO excited to have all of his cousins around and could hardly focus enough to eat some fruit salad and a bite of chicken.

After eating, we snuck in some traditional family photos:

And I'm so glad my cute cousin was able to come! And of course, my sweet mother.

And of course, the crazy "cousin" picture:

Then the kids dispersed to play some games. The Flag Tag Relay was lots of fun: have everyone line up into two lines; each team marches toward their own bucket (filled with sand and enough flags for each person) plucks a flag out, and marches back to the line.

It was hilarious to watch the kids try to march fast, and they wanted to do the race a couple of times. Although a word of advice for those who want to try it out: make sure you put the buckets away after the race is over. Little ones like to dump the sand into the grass.

The other game I put together was this beanbag toss game. I cut squares out of a tarp, painted around the holes and added scores for each hole. I also sewed 4 beanbags in each color (light blue, dark blue, and red) and the kids could take turns. I thought they could either try to beat each others' score within a timed period, or with only 4 throws each, etc, but everyone kind of just went crazy and started throwing any and all beanbags all at once.

And, well, this is the only picture I got of the whole game. But that's because I was majorly distracted. It was the plan to move my piano from my mom's house to ours during the party because of all the man-labor that would be present (my hubby has 4 very muscular brothers). We headed over and transported my baby:

Please excuse the blurry pic. I was way too excited to think about camera settings at this point. Oops.

Once the piano was safely nestled in it's new home, we brought out the dessert...

I served these adorable sprinkled ice cream sandwiches (via livinglocurto.com) along with some birthday cupcakes (we have a couple of patriotic babies in our family). They were a big hit. I thought I made plenty, but I should have made a double batch!

And after dessert, it started to get dark enough to enjoy the fireworks. As everyone got settled in their seats, I brought out a showtime snack:

I have to admit, I can't remember ever popping popcorn with an air popper! Funny to say, but it was so satisfying to yield SO much popcorn from just a tiny handful of kernels. I must invest in an air popper soon. (Haha, invest: they are like 8 bucks at Walmart.) I had some random white marketing cups from Johnson & Johnson per my sister-in-law, so I just painted stripes over the logos. But note to self (and anyone else interested), I saw a packet of 10 popcorn sacks at the dollar store for next year!

And my all time favorite part of this year's party was taking fun pictures of the fireworks...

And because the "aerial" fireworks are now sold at our local grocery store... we loaded up.

I wasn't kidding. Here's the aftermath:

I hope all of you had a fun and safe holiday!

Homemade Play-Doh

2011-06-23T18:33:00.001-06:00

This afternoon, Harvey and I made Play-Doh.

My mom gave me a recipe a while back that I have been meaning to try, and to be honest... I wasn't a fan. The batch turned out way too moist. Sticky almost. So I did some research.

I mixed and matched things from a few different recipes and I made another batch. And, well, it turned out pretty much perfect. The consistency is just wonderful!

Here's the final recipe I used:
(Makes about 3 cups)

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup salt
1 tablespoon alum (or you could use cream of tartar, both found in the spice section)
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
food coloring

1. In a medium saucepan, mix flour, salt and alum.

2. Add in the water and oil. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly until the dough pulls away from the sides and sticks together. (About 5 minutes).

3. Remove from heat and add in vanilla. This is optional, but it smells much better than the regular recipe.

4. Divide the batch into balls, and knead in food coloring of your desired colors. Use the Wilton Gel food colors for vibrant colors. I divided my batch into 3, and the amount fit perfectly into the 1 cup-sized freezer jars made by Ball (you can find the purple-lidded jars in the canning section of the grocery store). Or a ziplock bag would work great as well...

We decided to make ours patriotic for Harvey and his cousins to play with at our annual 4th of July barbeque. Can't wait!

Choo Choo... All Aboard the Birthday Train!

2011-06-17T07:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome to my little 'ol blog!

You should have arrived here from Ophelia's blog. As part of Wendy's fabulous creative team, I got to make a little gift for you using her adorable new birthday kit (in honor of her birthday yesterday). I decided to make up a printable card. Enjoy!

Download HERE!

Your next stop on the birthday blog train is... the fabulous Fran! If you're lost, or you just want to start over from the beginning, check out the master list on Wendy's blog. Have fun, and thanks for stopping by!

Scrap Saturday -

2011-06-12T16:11:00.001-06:00

Mostly for my blog book... here are my recent creations. But if you're interested - take a look! :)

(credits & comments)

Credits: EZ Date Stickyz, Early Bird, and Hard Hat 101 all by Erica Zane;Heart Scatter from Love Potion #9, andApple/Ruler/Clock from: School Days by wm[squared]; Font: Tiffy's Hand (my handwriting)
featured here

(credits & comments)

Refine, V.2

2011-06-01T23:01:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted lately (umm.. since the end of JANUARY!) how I've been doing with my one little word for the year. But I have been keeping up with it. Here's a little recap:

March:
I was in the exhaustion phase of being pregnant. It was seriously all I could do to keep up with Harvey and the basic things going on in my life. I decided to refine the focus on myself. Gosh, that sounds selfish. But it was good for me. I know, at least with myself, it is so hard to say "No." Especially when it's something good, but just not the right time, or I just didn't have the energy to pull it off.

But since I was refining my focus, I allowed myself to say - without guilt - that I needed a nap more than those dishes needed to be cleaned. That it was perfectly okay for me to tell a neighbor that I just wouldn't be able to do a favor that they had asked me. That I needed to accept my mother's offer to clean around my house a bit. I learned that sometimes, it's essential and healthy to put your needs above others.

April:
Sometime around the end of March, I stumbled upon a blog that has seriously inspired me. Shannon from The Red Headed Hostess, is a Seminary Teacher (teaching religion to high school students), and has spoken for the (awesome) LDS program Especially For Youth, among many other things. Please - check out her blog.

My favorite idea on her blog are her Scripture Journals. From a young age, I have kept "church notebooks" - notes and handouts from youth classes, notes from speeches at EFY, inspiration I've received at church, and all of my notes from classes while attending BYU-Nauvoo. Now that I'm a church teacher for the young women ages 14-17 in my church... I've learned the value of having written all of that down. But there was a major problem with my system. Every time I remembered some specific tidbit of info, I have to hunt it down. Literally sift through a pile of notebooks until I found what I was looking for.

Sharron solved my problem with her system. I took the month of April to refine all of my notes, handouts and inspiration. I made myself a new scripture journal, set up her system inside, and transferred a TON of info from some of my notebooks. In fact, I have already merged all of my youth notebooks into my new journal. I'm still working on all of my Nauvoo stuff, but it will take a while. And the best part? I actually look forward to studying the scriptures, and relearning all of the amazing doctrine I wrote down!

May:
Last month, we were in the final stages of finishing our basement. And for the last 2 and a half years, our basement has been the catch-all for junk. Yikes! I decided to refine our home, and get rid of anything and everything we didn't absolutely cherish or weren't currently using. *Phew!* It took a LOT of patience, work, and WILLPOWER to go through it all. And I was brutal. My mom's neighborhood is having a yard sale (she lives in a gated community) and I'm participating this Saturday. Anything that doesn't sell, is going straight to Goodwill. I am seriously LOVING the space. It just feels lighter.

As I told my mom: "If I haven't used it in 5 years, then why keep it? When I buy something that I really will use... but have no room for it, I just have to go through and reorganize all of the junk that I'm not using to make room. I spend too much time sorting and moving all the junk - or worse - searching through the junk for the stuff I love and need. I'm over it."

June:
Okay. I'm going to admit something embarrassing: I'm not great with money. In the past I've blamed it on all sorts of things, but I'm done with that. What I do with my (our) money is completely my (our) responsibility. No more blaming. Just change. I have been blessed with the knowledge of Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover for 5 years now, and it's about time I put it into practice. I'll let you know how refining my money habits goes..

Catching Up: Mother's Day

2011-05-23T11:52:00.002-06:00

For Mother's Day I invited both of our mothers over for dinner. We had a gift certificate for a honey baked ham (courtesy of Justin's Christmas Work Party) and it was SO delicious! I was skeptical when the gal at the ham store told me not to warm up the ham, but she was right. It was so yummy just at room temperature.

Anyway, after our dinner, Justin's parents had to run to another party with his siblings (we went a little later), and we busted out the camera. I'm sad I didn't think about it while they were still there!

Anyway, I've kinda sorta fizzled with the 3 people 12 times gig. Although I did take a pic on Feb 28th at like 9:30 and we look simply terrible and Justin told me I'd be in trouble if I posted it online for everyone to see. I completely forgot about it during the month of March, but we do have lots of family photos of us at Zion National Park (more on that later) so I'll count them for April. 11 family pictures at the end of the year will be better then giving up, so I'll keep on trekkin'.

My first thought when I look at this photo is how puffy I look, but I have a good excuse, so it's all good. I can't decide if I am carrying this baby the same as with Harvey. Everything definitely seems to be going by faster this go around though. I can't believe I'm already halfway done!

I love that Harvey is sitting on his Dad's lap. He's been going through a "Mommy Only" phase, and it's been driving me nuts, and I'm sure making Jud feel a little sad. I'm not sure why Harvey is so clingy with me, but hopefully he grows past it soon! I'm sure either way this new baby's arrival will be hard on him. I also love how he's folding his arms.. we say that to him when we want him to calm down or sit still. It started as part of "time out" because Justin thought it would promote calm behavior, and now it has spread into other areas. I love it.

Our church always gives out a little gift for the women 18 or older. In the past we've gotten geraniums, and I love that Justin can plant them in our yard for us to enjoy year after year. One of those plants still comes back every year! But now (maybe because of cost?) our ward gives out candy bars. I got to enjoy a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup, although it won't come back every year! Lol..

Justin knows how much I love Glee, and it has been taking over our DVR because I can't delete one episode, so he got me a DVD set of all the episodes. I'm so excited that I can watch them throughout the summer! Harvey colored me a little picture and gave me a little box with a cute poem about keeping all the little treasures he will give me throughout his childhood. It was pretty funny though, Justin said, "Give the present to Mommy," and Harvey said, "No! That's mine!" Haha!

Too bad we didn't take the picture in our new almost-finished-basement. I'll have to do an update soon on that exciting venture!

Catching Up: Easter

2011-05-19T15:37:00.002-06:00

Easter was so great this year...

On Saturday, we partied with Justin's side. His mom always does a little egg hunt for all of the grandchildren, and they love it. I'm not sure Harvey really "got it" until all the eggs were already snatched, but it was fun to see him try to do what the big kids were doing.

He took his time with those eggs; inspecting and shaking each one.

Then he'd set it in his plastic sack. We found out later there was a large hole in it. It's the process that counts, right? ;)

During the hunt I spotted a nest in one of the trees, so I tried to get close enough for a picture...

But I scared that poor mother away... which I did feel bad about, until I got this shot as well:

Isn't nature simply beautiful? I want to recreate a clay version for my mantel (okay, we don't have a fireplace, rather my entertainment center top) next year!

After the hunt maddness was over, all the kids gathered around on the grass to count their loot. Harvey just wanted to munch on jelly beans (and told me he I could have all of his Twix bars - Woot!).

Some of the kids landed some extra cash...

So we had the kids thank Grandma and it sorta turned into a photo session. Too bad not all of the kids were there at the same time...

The next morning we woke to find our hidden Easter Baskets. He went easy on Harvey and put his in the coat closet... but for some reason hid mine under the velcro flap of fabric on the back of our recliner! It took me FOREVER to find that sucker. And well, the Bunny knows how little time Justin spends in the kitchen, so he was pretty tricky to hide his basket in the back of the Lazy Susan.

Harvey didn't love the Peeps as much as last year. But he sure was excited for more jelly beans!

(please excuse the missing pants and blur/grainyness of the photos...)

After church, where I taught some amazing doctine about the Ressurection and played a piano solo, we headed over to my mom's for dinner. And, then my mom brought out an Easter gift to top that Bunny. (Wouldn't be the first time she's known Harvey better than a holiday icon.)

Harvey promptly wore the batteries out in about 22 hours. Too bad he didn't have that thing to help Justin out with the basement!

Out of the three pics I got of the whole crowd, I like this one the best. We were trying to get Harvey to look at the camera before the timer went off and right before it did he said... "Huh?!" and looked in that direction. Good times.

I have GOT to figure out indoor lighting/flash photography soon. :)

We did end up dying Easter eggs about a week after the fact... but I have NO idea what happened to those pictures. I think I might have thought I was taking them, but didn't have a memory card in my camera. Oh well.

Next year I hope to incorporate more spiritual Easter traditions. Like these Resurrection Rolls or an FHE about the resurrection using plastic easter eggs.

Indoor Sandbox

2011-05-17T15:09:00.000-06:00

I am so ready for it to warm up for good. Around here it has been 50 degrees one day, and almost 80 the next! I'm done with the teasing...

Today Harvey and I woke up to rain. And he was sad that he couldn't go outside to play in his sandbox. So, I got out the trusty "indoor" version. (We've been playing with it on and off all winter.)

All you need to make one of your own is:
- rice or wheat (I used both, because I had some rice in food storage that was WAY bad - like 6 years old - and one of our muscle relaxing bags made from wheat had ripped open.)

- a tub to put it in (I don't store the wheat/rice in this. I pour it back into a big ziplock bag when we're done, and replace the extra bags & purses that go in this bigger tote.)

- toys: bowls, cups, trucks, spoons, buckets, shovels, etc.

- sheet to lay underneath to catch any spills*. I fold the sheet in half and dump all of the spills back into the tub at the end. It doesn't catch everything, but wheat or rice vacuums up nicely so I don't sweat it.

**Harvey has learned not to throw the rice/wheat (or sand outside), so it doesn't get that messy. It took a couple of times of putting the fun away immediately after throwing it for him to understand, and the vacuum quickly cleaned up his mess.

What do you do with your kids inside while it's cold or rainy? Do tell!!

Official Announcement: It's A...

2011-05-14T16:07:00.000-06:00

Wait. Before I show the entire world my baby's private area... here is the adorable little face:

I'm actually shocked at how similar it is to Harvey's profile. (But then again... maybe all of these little profile ultrasound pics look the same.)

And while you're there... check to see if this pic looks the same as Harvey's:

What do you think?? Did you vote on the poll a few days ago? Well, it was removed during all of that craziness with blogger. So vote again - pretty please?

Okay, am I driving you crazy? :) HA! Well if you REALLY want to know, and you promise to vote BEFORE you click... here is the answer!

Guesses Anyone?

2011-05-11T13:47:00.000-06:00

When I was pregnant with Harvey, the ultrasound couldn't come fast enough. I just had to know if I was having a boy or a girl.

With this pregnancy... I just felt different. I wanted to be a surprised. I wanted to build up suspense. And most of all - I wasn't leaning toward either gender. If we have another boy we'll be able to use all the same clothes (Harvey was born in Nov, and I'm due in Oct), they can share a room in the future, and they will be interested in a lot of the same things.

If we have a girl, then I have at least one of each, I get to buy dresses, bows, and those cute little socks that look like dress shoes. I'll be able to "do hair", and make cute decorations for her nursery.

I didn't want to find out the gender until I was done delivering this baby. But Justin didn't feel the same way. So I got talked into it.

Any thoughts or guesses on what's in store for us? Leave a comment or vote on the poll on the right!

We have a WINNER!.. (and the rest of my scrap pages)

2011-05-09T11:22:00.001-06:00

Drumroll please....

The Winner of the $5 Gift Certificate to Peppermint Creative is...

Congrats Shauna! I can't wait to see the new baby book! :) Look for an e-mail from Miss Mint in your e-mail inbox.

Here are my favorite pages I've done with other designers' goodies (sorta) recently:

(credits & comments)

I changed the background paper of this one to match my other AAM book pages:

(credits & comments)

If you are interested in seeing ALL the pages I haven't posted to the ol' blog, keep on reading.... :)

(credits & comments)

Thanks for looking!!

Birthday Wreath

2011-05-07T10:14:00.000-06:00

I love tradition.

So when I saw this adorable wreath on How Does She? I knew I wanted to make one for my family. (Check out the link for the full tutorial - it was super easy!)

I've already made up a Happy Birthday banner, as well as some sweet felt garlands, but what is better than announcing a birthday to the entire neighborhood? In the future, I'll put it up for the week before a special birthday in our family.

What traditions does your family have to celebrate birthdays?

My Scrap Stuff... and a Giveaway!

2011-05-04T15:31:00.002-06:00

Tap... Tap...

Is anyone still out there? Please excuse the lack of activity around here in the recent weeks. I've decided my brain goes into hibernation during the first half of my pregnancies. Although, I have forced small trickles of craftiness to seep out and have managed to stay busy with some fun stuff. I'll try to get it all posted in the near future.

Anyway, in Scrapbooking Land there's a little (okay - huge) holiday coming up. [inter]National Scrapbooking Day is on May 7th, 2011, and almost every scrapbooking-related site is having some kind of celebration. Now that I'm on the Creative Design Team at PeppermintCreative.com... Miss Mint is letting me give away a gift certificate to her store!

Wanna win?

Just leave a comment (one only please) and don't forget to include your e-mail address!
Contest ends: Sunday, May 8, 2011 11:59pm MST

Her designs are SO adorable... here are the newest pages I've done with her awesome creations....

(credits & comments)

AND... the I made the last page into a template for the Pimp My Page challenge running through the whole month of May... so head on over and download it for free and join the challenge!

Just Wondering...

2011-04-19T11:06:00.000-06:00

How do you all do it?

We just went on a little (much needed) camping vacation with my hubby's family to Zion National Park. I was pretty much a total basket case before we left trying to remember to pack every plausible thing we would need. (Don't you worry... I forgot my camera battery charger!) We left our messy house behind: the floor needed to be mopped, the dirty laundry was piled up in the corner, and dishes that needed to be washed were in the sink and on the counter.

Then we show up at my in-law's house. Her trailer is all packed and ready to go. Her bathrooms are scrubbed, and not a thing is out of place in her whole house!

How can I learn to be like that? I would have loved to come home from vacation to a sparkling house. But instead I had to spend the next two days "catching" up with my cleaning routine... (still not done.) Boo. Maybe it helps when you don't have a two year-old undoing everything right behind you.

General Conference Ideas

2011-04-01T14:57:00.001-06:00

Twice a year, the church I belong to has what we call General Conference. We assemble together in the conference center, in church buildings around the world, or in our homes to watch and listen (through satellite, television, radio or internet) to their messages. I love it. Although some say it's hard to listen for 8 total hours (in two hour sessions over two days)... I actually really enjoy listening to speakers. And this year I've been getting so excited to add more insight to my revamped Church Journal (more on that later).

And then I started thinking. If I wanted to spend my time during Conference taking notes and gaining knowledge... what in the world was Harvey going to do? And wouldn't I be distracted? And irritated? Not exactly what I had in mind.

My wheels started turning... and the more I looked for ideas, the more I found. Here is my plan for this weekend of General Conference.

1. Traditional Meals:
- Crockpot Breakfast for Saturday, and Monkey Bread for Sunday. We ate both of these at Christmas time and I LOVED them. I'll share the recipes after this weekend.

- Special dessert for after Priesthood session?

2. Taking Notes:
- There are TONS of packets available for all ages of children. Seriously. And a lot of them update their versions every Conference! I printed a couple from Sugardoodle.net (love that they have a nursery age one!)
- I also plan on using my General Conference notebook a little differently this year. I'm going to draw a line right down the center of the page, and I'll write things the speaker says and scriptures on one side, then write personal impressions or revelation on the other side. We'll see how that goes. :)

3. Atmosphere:
- The Friend magazine had an article about telling the story of King Benjamin speaking to his people from a tower - who set up tents to sit in and listen. Then you can set up a big fort - turning the "door" to the television of course - and watch General Conference that way. I'm not sure if we'll do it this year.. but I definitely see this as a tradition in our family in the near future.
- Establishing a "Quiet/Reverence Zone." I know it's important to realize that kids (adults too) need a break from being quiet and still. So, as long as "the zone" stays quiet for those who want to watch and listen, I don't see anything wrong with someone leaving to get some energy out for a little while.

4. Incentives for Paying Attention:
Many of these activities wouldn't work with my two-year-old, but I'm definitely planning on incorporating them in the future!

- General Conference Wall (2 different ideas):

@ beinglds

@ Chocolate on my Cranium

-Treat Buckets @ Brown Paper Packages:

- Church Collage Game @ Blissful & Domestic:

- She also gives her kids a treat when they can identify all the apostles on the pulpit, and lets them run crazy during the songs to get some energy out. (Love it!)

5. Getting Prepared:
- Lately I've been a little obsessed with emergency preparedness. I can't stand watching the coverage of those people in Japan without wondering what would happen to my little family in a similar situation (earthquake, fire, etc.). So, just like I did when I saw the coverage on Hurricane Katrina, I got out our 72-hour kits and started evaluating. I decided that revamping my kits each time a big disaster hit somewhere in the world probably wasn't the best rotation system, so I decided to use General Conference (we have these every six months) as a reminder. I'll share LOTS more on this later.

Festive Food

2011-03-17T01:02:00.000-06:00

Intentions. I've got a whole list full, and sadly, only one or two checked off.

I even prepared these two adorable ideas early in order to post them for all of you - and yet, you still get them on St. Patrick's Day. Oh well. Save them for next year.

First up: Rainbow Waffles

I really love the idea of incorporating ideas and colors other than the traditional green. So when my friend posted these super cute Rainbow Pancakes on her blog, I fell in love. But I really don't like making pancakes. In fact, I only recently have been able to handle the flipping of those darn things. Inevitably, I always botch one or two. The second reason I'm not a fan of pancakes - is that I can't ever eat with the family. They must be made in batches, and the first batch is always gobbled up before I can even finish making the second. So I knew my version of a beautiful rainbow pancake photo wouldn't ever happen. I mean... there are NEVER 6 pancakes on the table at the same time.
(For you picky folk. I am aware that there are actually 7 colors in a rainbow. But Wilton has yet to release an Indigo colored Icing Gel.)

So... when I saw these adorable Rainbow Waffles, I knew it was a perfect compromise. I love my waffle maker. And 2 "squares" is just about right for a kid, which means I get to eat the second batch - with the family.

Although I thought I had whipped cream in the fridge and actually did not, and I have a square waffle maker instead of a circular one... they were WELL received. (Make sure you check out the original to see how adorable the whipped cream clouds are.)

Next up... Pot O' Gold

Super simple. Just whip up a batch of lemon JELL-O Jigglers, cut 'em up and stick them in a black bowl. I even spotted tiny little "witches cauldrons" at the party store but didn't buy any. Or stick them in cleaned out lime-halves like Family Fun (the geniuses behind the idea...)

Also well received.

In the Spotlight...

2011-03-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

My Daily Docket post is being featured on This and That Creative today. I'm so excited!!

(Okay. I had an in. One of my amazing friends - one I've known since middle school - blogs there, and she decided to feature me. But still. A feature nonetheless! I'm stoked!)

Check out my feature and keep reading. That blog is full of great creative ideas!

Why I'm a Binging Blogger...

2011-03-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

For real. I blog everyday for 2 weeks, then I don't write a single thing for another two weeks. Good thing my blog doesn't have feelings, or I'd be in trouble. And hopefully all of you forgive me.

But... I do have a good excuse. I was making this little appliqued t-shirt (and dealing with the side effects of all the craft implies):

We decided to use this shirt to spill the beans to our families. And it seemed like FOREVER before there was a party where all of us would be together.

First, we headed to a Sunday dinner with my side of the family. It is a pretty small group, so once we were all sitting around the table, we took off Harvey's jacket to show them the shirt. It was pretty fun to see the reactions...

After dinner, we headed to a party with Justin's side of the family. We were one of the first families there and we thought about driving around a bit so we would be the last to arrive, but decided it would be fun to see how long it took each family to notice Harvey's shirt. We headed in, took off his jacket and waited... and waited... for 2 and a half hours. It was hilarious. Harvey even ran to his Grandma with arms wide open to give her a hug. But no one noticed the message.

In retrospect, I think the fabric design I picked out was a little hard to read. I'm sure everyone would have noticed much sooner if had just cut the letters out in plain ol' white.

Finally, toward the end of the night, Justin asked his mom if she had seen Harvey's shirt.

"No. What does it say?"
"Just look at Harvey's shirt..."

After she figured it out, she came into the kitchen and told everyone else to check it out. And that's how we told the family our good news.

We sure are excited about it around here...

And for all you friends from Primary that thought I couldn't keep a secret for more than 3 days... I'm 9 weeks along! (I even surprised myself that I made it that long.)

Window Love

2011-02-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I saw these adorable gel window clings at Target. I knew the minute I saw them that Harvey would love them. And I was right.

He hasn't gone one day without checking in on that dinosaur. So fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T16:46:00.001-07:00

I can't wait for tonight. Every year since our first Valentine's Day together, Justin and I have gone out to dinner at PF Changs. And it's SO heavenly. If you haven't eaten there.. you must try it out! If you're not sure why this is our Valentine's Day tradition, read this post.

Because I've been sick, I haven't really done the best at the 12 Days of Valentines for my boys. But I've done okay, they feel loved, and that was the point. I think my favorite was making the heart pancakes. I was really surprised how easy it was to make a heart shape!

And yesterday my hubby gave me the best gift I could have ever asked for (even though I didn't even have to ask). He let me take a 3 hour nap while he took Harvey outside and kept him occupied on a walk, in the tree swing, and poking around the flowers and such. I was in heaven. And I actually slept because I didn't have my natural alarm clock in the house. (Do any of you have that problem? I cannot fall asleep if I hear Harvey at all.)

Anyway, I know you've seen the similar layout I did.. but Harvey and I wanted to wish you the sweetest holiday. Hope it's fabulous!

Recent Scrapbook Pages

2011-02-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Man.. I hate being sick. I have zero motivation to get anything done. So, there's no Photoshop tutorial today. But my pages are building up, so I wanted to post my recent creations:

Here's the cover for my 2011 Calendar including my favorite pictures of Harvey throughout the year (each topper was resized from one of my favorite layouts during each month of 2010):

(credits & comments)

And, some oldies but goodies that never made it onto the blog:

(credits & comments)

Love Juice

2011-02-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

Do you have your kids Valentine's all purchased and ready to go to school?? If not, here's one that will only take an afternoon to put together with your kids - and I'm sure it will be a big hit!

I saw this cute idea featured on tatertots and jello recently, and I had to make my own version. It was super easy, and turned out simply adorable!

I made my labels in Photoshop with some digital scrapbooking supplies, but the original just used Valentine-related wrapping paper. Both are cute.

Print out instructions on an Avery label, and stick it to a Kool Aid Singles packet - preferably red!

Then I punched a hole in the top corner of the packet, and tied it on with a matching ribbon.

Simple, sweet, and yummy!

Playing Catch (up)

2011-02-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

So.. I landed something nasty. I've been so exhausted - going to bed at 10pm is at least 3 hours early for me. I've had an awful sore throat, and an annoying cough. Bleh.

I had some great ideas to show you... but I decided to go to bed instead of blog.

But here I am now. Showing you the cute cookies I made for the Superbowl, which we were going to host at our house, but ended up not hosting. (Although I was disappointed, it was better for everyone.)

Regardless... this is a Fabulous From-Scratch Sugar Cookie recipe - a must try:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.

And the Royal Icing:
4 egg whites
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond (or lemon) extract

1. Beat egg whites in a large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar an extract. Beat at high speed until thickened. NOTE: When dry, Royal Icing is very hard and resistant to damage that can occur during shipping/handling.

Simply delicious.

All Aboard!

2011-02-04T06:30:00.001-07:00

I never go to the mall. But on my mom's last visit there, she saw the most adorable train hauling people around the mall and knew Harvey would love it.

And when she told me about it... I knew Harvey would love it too. So the whole family took a trip to the mall - not to buy anything - but to ride the train.

(sorry for the camera shake.. apparently I was just as excited as Harvey!)

And since that sweet train conductor had only our family to entertain, he even invited Harvey into the engine. He loved ringing the bell...

Then he got to pick out the car to ride in. He chose the back - conveniently for me to take photos like this one.

(Bah. Camera shake again...)

We had so much fun!

How to Embed Links Into Your Header Image

2011-02-03T06:27:00.000-07:00

When I was in school at the University of Utah, I learned in my HTML class that if you wanted to link different parts of an image to different pages, you had to splice them, load them individually and hope that you could get them all lined up exactly using a table in HTML.

If I lost you.. just know it was a LOT of work and headache to get everything to look just right.

But when blog hopping the other day, I saw someone's header and checked out their page source (the html behind the page) to see how they did it.. and I learned something new: Image Maps.

Holy Moses, I'm excited about this!

Basically, using HTML code, you give the computer a "hot spot" using coordinates, that if clicked, will direct to another page just like a text link.

So I redid my header using an image map. Isn't it great? :)

Here's how you can do one too:
1. Create your header image.

2. Upload your header image to your blog.

Go to Design > Page Elements, and click on the Edit link in the Header Section.
Upload your image, and save.

3. Edit the HTML of your header image so it will recognize the Image Map (you will create this in a second.)

Go to Design > Edit HTML, and click the "Download Full Template" link, just in case you need to revert back. It will save a backup on your computer.
Above the template editor, click the Expand Widget Templates box.
Find this line of code (Edit>Find, and you can type some of it in to search):

Add in the bolded words.
Click Preview to make sure the template still works, then Save.

4. Create the code for your Image Map.

Go to Image-Maps.com, and upload your picture. The website says it cannot host your photo, but don't worry about it. Your photo is already hosted - you uploaded it into the header already, and we won't be using that part of the code anyway.
Click "Start Mapping Your Image." (Click through again when the "successful" message comes up.)
Create rectangle or circle shapes, move and resize them so they are over the spaces you want to link, and add in the information the website asks for. The "ALT id" is just the page name - like About Me.
Scroll down and add in your "base url" (your main blog address), uncheck the box "Show Text Links", and then click Create Code.

5. Preview your Image Map code.

Click the tab: HTML Output. What you see is what you get. Go back to change things you don't like.
Click the tab: HTML Code. Highlight and Copy everything from to
Basically, don't highlight/copy the first three lines of code, and the last tag . You don't need them.

6. Add your Image Map code to your blog.

Go to Blogger>Design>Page Elements.
Add a gadget for HTML/JavaScript (It doesn't matter where; I put mine in the footer).
Title your gadget: Image Map.
Right click in the box, and choose Paste. You should see all the code you copied from the Image-Maps website.
Now copy and paste this above the code you just entered:

Click Save. And view blog.

Now you should have a header image with "hot spots" linking wherever you specified! Yay!

Questions? Comments?

Snowman Party

2011-01-31T06:16:00.007-07:00

For my third annual Snowman Party, I decided to change things up a bit. Instead of just doing it with my nieces and their friends, I made up some invites and hosted the party here with Harvey's friends (and their moms - my friends).

Anyway, funny story: I strapped Harvey in his car seat and headed out to deliver the invites. I drove up to the first house, left the car running, and ran up to the door. As I came back to the car and started backing up... Harvey started freaking out. He realized that we were at his little friend's house and wanted to stay and play. Imagine his horror when we had several other similar stops!

For decorations, I wanted to keep everything clean and simple. I mean, snow is beautiful in its own right, so why shy away from that? Plus the cheezy snowmen I've collected throughout the years were already on display.

I made up a cute (easy) little garland out of thread and cotton balls...

I stuck with blue and orange as my colors, and I think it made for a really classy color scheme!

We had Snowman Smiles (orange slices), Snowman Noses (mini carrots), Eyes and Buttons (chocolate chips), Snow (popcorn), Liquid Snow (milk), and Snow Dusted Branches (pretzels dipped in white chocolate):

I used Braided Twists and they turned out SO yummy!

I also made up a few snowmen...

I used mini powdered donuts, molded half of a circus peanut into a nose and carefully fitted it in the center, and added the eyes and mouth with black decorating gel. Aren't they adorable?

And to drink... what else? More snowmen!

I removed the labels from milk chugs and drew on some buttons with permanant marker. Then I poked through some powdered donut holes with orange straws. A bit of the donut got stuck in the bottom of the straw, so I just cut the end off. After removing the lids of the chugs, I tied on a crochetted orange scarf (one row of chain, then every other double crochet on the way back) and set the donut/straw head on top. The kids could even sip their milk right "through" the donut!

**Just a tip. Buy the chugs with the shrink-wrapped labels instead of sticky ones. I bought mine on sale, and tried to remove the sticky labels... and after driving to 3 different stores in search of Goo Gone my hubby told me just to stick white paper around them. It would have been so much easier just to cut the shrink-wrapped labels off!**

I didn't have time to draw faces on these guys before this party, but I did get faces on the snowmen for my niece's party... I think both are darling:

We also had our traditional Melted Snowman Soup (potato chowder):

And for the entertainment...

Throw the Snowballs in the Bucket:

For my party.. it was totally unstructured. I mean, they are two year-olds.

But for my nieces' party, I set out three small buckets and the girls could earn 1, 2 or 3 points depending on the bucket. I thought it might be too simple for them, but they loved it just as much!

I made the snowballs out of white nylons with polyfill inside. I just tied a couple of tight knots on either end. I can invision many indoor "snowball fights" with these babies in the future.

Pin the Nose on the Snowman:

and Whipped Cream Snowmen:

I had the hats and noses pre-cut. All the little ones had to do was spread their whipped cream around into a snowman figure and stick the hat and nose where they wanted. Harvey got ahold of the noses and "sprinkled" them on his snowman. I was too busy "helping" to get a photo...

Seriously.. this party was a blast. I had lots of fun preparing everything, and more fun mingling with my friends on the day of the party. Thanks gals for coming!

~
Joining:

Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple, Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter, Market Yourself Mondays @ Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Craftastic Mondays @ Sew Can Do, Motivated Monday @ Be Colorful, It's So Very Creative @ It's So Very Cheri, Mad Skills @ Mad In Crafts, Craft-O-Maniac Monday @ Craft-O-Maniac, Get Your Craft On @ The Creative Blog

Refine, V.1

2011-01-30T05:30:00.000-07:00

For the month of January I decided to "refine" my cleaning/organization routine. Which I did - and shared with you. So far, it's been working great. My laundry has been washed and folded, my dishwasher got cleaned out, and I've even been making my bed each morning.

While the routine part has been going well, I had also kinda, sorta planned to get down and dirty with the clutter spots in my home. That hasn't happened. Boo. Probably because I only kinda, sorta planned it in the back of my head instead of making it a top priority goal. But other things have been going on around here. (More on that later.)

My original plan for my one little word, was to pick out a temporal and a spiritual theme for each month to focus on, but the spiritual one for January never quite did get figured out either.

February will be different. For the month of love... I've decided to focus on refining my relationships.

... with Justin:
- sincerely compliment him at least once per day (honestly, this should be easy.. I think lots of great things about him already, I just need to vocalize them so he knows about them!)

- do the 12 Days of Valentines for him.

- make sure I kiss him - before anything else - when he or I comes home each day.

- try really hard to make this a month of little or no contention. Not that I want to have a perfect utopia, but I think if I concentrate on accentuating the positive.. or building him up, I'll let the little things slide off my back instead of creating needless tension. It's just a little experiment.

... with Harvey:
- get down on the floor and play with him - and his choice of toys - for at least one hour every day. I mean, we do things together a lot, but it's usually what I want. It's sad, but one hour sounds like a long time for me. But I love that little guy, and I want him to know I do. I know I tell him, but I need to show him too.

- say "yes" more. I feel like I'm constantly telling him no. No, you can't touch that. No, we can't go there. No, that's not nice. My goal is to say yes - even if in between the lines I mean no. Yes, you can play with another toy. Yes, we can go there (even if that means - heaven forbid - I have to put on a jacket and play outside with him for a while). Yes! Let's distract you from whatever it is I don't want you to do...

- do the 12 Days of Valentines for him, too.

... with Jesus Christ:
- pray every morning and every night.

- finish reading my "How well do you know Jesus Christ?" scripture chain.

Whew! How are you doing with your goals? What are you going to do this month?

12 Days of Valentines

2011-01-28T17:59:00.009-07:00

My friend, Anna, is doing this for her hubby this year, and I've decided that I really want to do something special for my two boys as well.

First up.. I made this advent calendar (just like my Halloween one). I LOVE that I can use the cupcake tin for things other than baking, and that all the pieces don't take up any room in my storage boxes throughout the year.

(credits & comments)

I added some fun "lovey-dovey" candy and a little activity on a slip of paper for each day:

Here's what Harvey and I are going to do:

- Watch a "love story" movie. (We'll probably watch Lady and the Tramp, but other options are The Princess Bride, The Love Bug, or any Disney Princess movie.)
- Color a Valentine Picture.
- Eat an ice cream sundae - decorated with hot fudge and pink sprinkles!
- Drink hot chocolate with a heart shaped marshmallow.
- Decorate the house with hearts/streamers
- Pink pancakes for breakfast
- Create homemade valentine cards
- Make a heart shaped treat
- Make a Valentine hat
- Make Crayon Hearts
- Eat dinner by candlelight
- Eat a heart shaped sandwich for lunch

For those of you with older kids.. here are a few more ideas I can't wait to incorporate when Harvey is older:

- Bake some sweet treats and give them to a neighbor
- Sow seeds of love... start seedlings on our windowsill for Spring.
- Make a bouquet of paper flowers
- Play love song charades
- Play Valentine bingo
- Play steal my heart

Now.. onto my number one, Justin. I printed the same circles that I made for the advent calender at half-size, and laminated them to use as tags. I can write the sentiment on the back with permanent marker, and use them year after year (by erasing the marker with rubbing alcohol.)

Day 12: 12 love songs on a CD.
Day 11: 1 "one night from heaven". Umm. That was probably too much information. ;)
Day 10: 10 "sweet treats" (of whatever Harvey and I make for his advent... hehe)
Day 9: 9 sticks of gum (did you know most come with that many in a pack?)
Day 8: 8 chocolate kisses
Day 7: 7 chocolate covered strawberries
Day 6: 6-pack of his favorite soda
Day 5: 5 ways to say I Love You. I think I'll call, e-mail, text, facebook, and write him a note on this day.
Day 4: 4 of his favorite candy bars
Day 3: Make him breakfast in bed. 3 heart shaped pancakes...? Or this cute version of eggs/toast.
Day 2: 2 tickets to a movie.. of his choice
Day 1: 1 little book...

... made out of a deck of cards.

I got the idea, and the free downloadable template from Miss Mint at peppermintcreative.

What are you doing to make the special people in your life feel special this holiday??

~

Joining:
Weekend Wrap-up Party @ Tatortots and Jello, I'm Lovin It Fridays @ Tidy Mom, Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge, Friday Fun Finds @ Kojo Designs, Frugalicious Fridays @ Finding Fabulous, Flaunt It Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring, Link Up @ Simply Designing, It's a Hodgepodge Friday @ It's a Hodgepodge Life, Favorite Things Friday @ A Few of My Favorite Things, Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different... Act Normal

Celebrating Favorites

2011-01-27T07:00:00.005-07:00

I got to help my friend, Kathie, with her little guy's third birthday party. He had requested a couple of things that didn't really match any one theme, so I came up with a "Favorites Party." We decided to showcase lots of things that Ammon loves.

First up.. the adorable cakes:
Kathie made the requested fire engine cake...

and I made cute little flame cupcakes to match:

I just searched for flame clip art on google, printed out 6 copies on one sheet of paper, and laid some parchment paper over the top. Then I melted the colored "meltaways" and put them in my frosting decorator tool with a small tip opening, and traced the clip art with each color.

Pretty easy, but I had to be super careful when pressing them onto the frosting. I broke a couple of the really good ones. Bummer. But I love how they turned out.

{source here}

At Ammon's party, the guests did a little activity pertaining to something he loves to do. So, if you have a hard time deciding on just one theme... do a little of everything, and just call it a "Favorites Party."

Candy Cane Hearts

2011-01-25T15:56:00.002-07:00

I first saw this idea without the chocolate filling, but then I got February's issue of Family Fun magazine with the improvement, and I knew I had to make some. In case you haven't seen them... here's the how-to:

1. Lay candy canes on a sheet of parchment paper in heart shapes. Stagger them so there will be room to add the sticks.

2. Bake candy canes at 235 degrees for 10 minutes. Quickly lay sucker sticks and pinch the candy canes so they mold to the sticks.

3. Melt white chocolate in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring each time. Spoon the white chocolate into the center of the hearts. (I used a baby spoon for more precision). Add sprinkles.

4. Let harden, and wrap with a little cellophane bag and ribbon.

I'm linking to:

Also joining...
I'm Lovin It Fridays @ Tidy Mom, Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge, Friday Fun Finds @ Kojo Designs, Frugalicious Fridays @ Finding Fabulous, Flaunt It Friday @ Chic on a Shoestring, Link Up @ Simply Designing, It's a Hodgepodge Friday @ It's a Hodgepodge Life, Favorite Things Friday @ A Few of My Favorite Things, Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different... Act Normal

Three People Twelve Times

2011-01-23T22:59:00.003-07:00

January. Hmm - where to start.

I still can't believe 2010 is over. Where the heck does time go? It makes my heart beat just a little faster realizing that if I don't stop what I'm doing, right now, and live in this life.. I'm going to miss it.

I already blinked, and Harvey is a boy. Not my sweet little baby from two Christmases ago.

January always does this to me. every year, I get this itch. An urgency to clear out the clutter - in my house and in my life - so I can focus, really focus, on the things going on around me. The important stuff. This year it was a little different... somehow instead of just getting busy with all this clearing out, I got a little down. Lazy, moody, dark almost. But whatever. I feel like the air is clearing and I'm on my way out.

I've been busy planning parties, making business cards, envisioning a new business in the future.

Justin has been busy playing ball, getting over multiple random colds, and sheet rocking the basement. (It looks so fabulous, by-the-way, and I can't wait until we have all that finished space!)

Harvey... well, he stayed busy keeping me busy, making messes, figuring out how to open doors, playing with the darn sink in the half bathroom, and dipping random things in the toilet. It drives me batty, but when he looks at me with those little, curious eyes, I can't help but let all that frustration melt away. No wonder he keeps doing it.

We headed over to Justin's parents' house for a BYU basketball game last night and took this snapshot. Although I hardly ever get a "normal" smile out of Justin, I do love his cheezy grins in most of our snapshots. It's just him. And I love that he put his arm around me for the photo.

I think it's funny that Harvey has a chunk of bread in his hand - and it's 9 pm, and that I was so happy because I landed two pairs of earrings for just a buck-fifty each at the mall right before the picture was taken. I'm wearing one pair, and the other is in that bright yellow bag in my pocket. I like that little things can make my day.

I like that we have a "team". Not that I know much about them... the players or the team, or even the game. But it's fun to dress up, get together, and have a good time in the name of sports. And it's funny. I bought a sweatshirt from the U (of Utah) because I graduated there, and Justin's family was appalled. They even joked that I couldn't use any of their season tickets (to BYU) because I had that sweatshirt. So I searched for a blue and white sweatshirt... and it took forever to find one that zipped up the front. When I saw it at Costco I snatched it up. And I love it. It's so comfy.

Harvey's shirt was just as hard to get! I saw bunches of teams at Old Navy, but there weren't any from BYU. When I asked a kid who worked there.. he said they had sent all of them to Provo because "no one wanted them here." I had to beg my cousin to grab one from the University Mall and bring it up with her.

I love that Harvey is waving. Even if his hand is right in front of his face. I asked him to say "hi" and he obeyed. That just makes me happy.

~

I know this post was random. But this is the deal.

I love looking at photos of the whole family, but that rarely happens for obvious reasons. So I decided (and was inspired by Tara) to take a photo of all three of us once per month. Timer, hand the camera to someone else, whatever. Just get it done.

And.. once I post that photo, I'll add some of my thoughts about it, or things that happened that month, etc. Just a snapshot of our life at the moment. I would love for you to join me.

Innocent Wonder

2011-01-21T15:17:00.002-07:00

I decided to take my camera with me yesterday morning when I went in to get Harvey.

I love the way his hair is scrunched up from where he slept on it.
I love they way his eyes still look a little sleepy.
And I especially love the way he clutches that little green blanket of his.

Every morning... I get to see this adorable face. And it melts my heart.

I'm entering:

In other news.. I just hosted my Snowman Party this morning, and I can't wait to show you the cute treats and activities from the party. But first.. I have to post some awesome Valentine's crafts so you have plenty of time to do them before the holiday gets here. Keep an eye out!

Recycling Candles

2011-01-20T06:06:00.003-07:00

I got lucky this year. My sister-in-law gave me a Scentsy candle warmer for Christmas. (I didn't even know what a Scentsy candle warmer was until November, but that's beside the point.) I was/am super excited!

But at the same time, I was a little sad because Scentsy doesn't have my all-time favorite candle sent: Grapefruit Vanilla. And what was I supposed to do with my precious candle? Throw it in the garbage?

Umm. No.

First, I melted it down using a candle warmer. (Yeah - it took forever; one of the reasons I'm super excited to make the switch to my Scentsy warmer.)

Then I poured it into an ice cube tray, and set it in the freezer for about 20 minutes for it to harden. To remove the wax, I just wrung the tray over a paper towel and the cubes popped right out. (If you'd like to do the same, don't skip the freezer; it's the key to removing the cubes with ease.)

I got excited, and did the same to every candle in the house! Let's just say Justin is happy I've settled on one scent for a while...

***ETA: Apparently, I've upset some people. When I posted this DIY idea I had no idea of the amount of traffic that it would generate, and I had zero intentions of hurting sales of any company or self employed persons, and I apologize!

For the record, I am a Scentsy customer. I really love their wax and this idea was just a way for me to use up some of my favorite scents already on hand. Unfortunately, I didn't know about the lifetime warranty of my Scentsy warmer, or the fact that using any wax other than from their company voids that warranty.

Also, for those of you who own other warmers or (taking the above into consideration) still want to try this trick, I haven't had any issues with the couple of Salt City candles I "converted." They have melted fine at the low heat, smelled great, and wiped out of my warmer just as easily as the Scentsy wax I regularly use.

Daily Docket - Printable!

2011-01-19T15:36:00.005-07:00

Okay. I made up a general version of my Daily Docket.

Here's a preview:

**Edit: I am no longer e-mailing these. They are uploaded to a file sharing site, so just click here to download a copy for yourself! I'd love to hear what you think of it!**

Cookie Exchange

2011-01-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

I think it's a brilliant idea. You make 3 dozen of your favorite cookies, bring them to a party and give them away in exchange for everyone else's favorites.

This is the second year I've attended Diana's party... and I didn't leave disappointed. Not only did I leave with 3 dozen delicious cookies, and Diana's peppermint/chocolate bark, but I got to mingle with sweet gals from the neighborhood, and snack on scrumptious, toasted deli sandwiches. Seriously - I have got to get over to Jason's Deli more often.

Have you ever been to a cookie exchange party?

Daily Docket

2011-01-18T12:07:00.005-07:00

About a year ago, I stumbled across the amazing concept of a daily docket on SimpleMom.net. At first, I started implementing her system, but it has evolved over time. (If you want to see the actual printouts SimpleMom uses, check out her Downloads section.)

First off, I didn't like having to print an entire page out every day. I felt that it was a little wasteful. I wanted something smaller that I could reuse over and over. Plus, I really liked her weekly checklist, but realistically, there was no way I could get all of that done in just one week. Here's how I solved those problems:

I divided it up. I made up a monthly checklist:

Of everything that needs to "get done" around here at least once per month. I laminated it, and taped it to the outside of one of my kitchen cabinets.

I also made a weekly checklist with the things that need to be done more often:

And a daily one, with a very flexible "schedule" (with only 5 spots, because I really don't have more than that each day), and with lots of to-do spaces. I like to add things as I think of them, but don't really expect myself to accomplish all 15 in one day:

I put those two back-to-back and laminated them as well.

I started out using a dry erase marker, but a dry erase marker doesn't like filling in the bubbles. It starts to erase itself when you go over the same spot twice. Plus I would accidentally bump it and it would erase something important.

So then I moved on to a wet erase marker. And it proved to be much more "temporarily" permanent. But if I had it in the kitchen and it got wet, or Harvey drooled on it, or I didn't dry my hands all the way after washing.... it would smear all over the place. And when I would spray it down and wipe it off at the end of the day, inevitably it would get on my hands and take a few washes before it would come off.

Then my sister-in-law told me I could use a permanent marker, and it would come off with Expo Dry Erase Cleaner. It is the perfect solution. I use a fine tip Sharpie, and all my information stays put. Plus, I tried plain 'ol rubbing alcohol to remove it , and it works great too.

My lists are kind of specific to me, but if there's enough interest in a more generalized version I could make one up for download. Leave a comment!

**EDIT: I've now made up a .pdf with the more specific-to-me-items omitted. Check out the preview, or click HERE to download a copy for yourself!**

What do you do to stay organized day-to-day?

~

I'm linking to Get Your Craft On, Tatortots and Jello, and

This Face...

2011-01-16T21:50:00.003-07:00

...is my favorite.

I love that Harvey has no inhibitions - he just wants to have fun wherever and whenever possible. He begs me to put on his snowsuit so he can go outside in freezing cold weather and sit in the snow. And then laugh about it.

I love how cute he is in that snow suit, and how he has kind of a hard time menuvering around in that thing.

I love that he remembered the one time Justin stuck him on a pile of shoveled show and Harvey slid down the side... so now every time I'm out there with him he asks me to do the same.

And I really love the way his little nose and cheeks get red from the cold, and bits of snow get stuck in his boots, or up his sleeves... but he really doesn't mind one bit.

I'm entering this photo in the i{heart}faces challenge this week, not to win (because there are professionals that enter this contest, and I'm far from that!), but to branch out a little in my photography. Heck. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two.

The Blahs.

2011-01-16T06:15:00.004-07:00

I don't really know what's up. But I'm kind of in a funk.

I don't feel sick.
I don't feel sad.
I do feel exhausted, negative, and unmotivated.
Oh, and easily frustrated.

So I've been thinking. Maybe a way to get out of this funk (besides taking more Vitamin D to supplement the lack of sunshine around these parts) is to start focusing on things that make me happy, energized, and positive. I mean.. if you are what you eat, then feeling what you think sounds pretty reasonable.

So here goes. I've been trying to focus on getting organized (more on that later). And that's a start.

Here are my plans for the future (I mean, it is January after all; the month for new beginnings):

(credits & comments)

Oh, and I'm also on this once-a-month kick. I just feel like 2010 flew by. I remember just getting settled into October, when all of a sudden I realized November was almost over.

I decided that if I can try to get some great things done just one time per month, I'll be doing great. Here are some things I've thought of...

share my testimony
make it to the temple
3 people 12 times (more on this later)
come up with one fun activity to do with Harvey
actually get a babysitter and go on a date with my hubby
evaluate my progress and set goals for next month pertaining to my one little word
try to plan or be involved with one party
participate in at least one i{heart}faces challenge
participate in at least one crafty challenge
go Visiting TEACHING!

And.. that list is already starting to intimidate me. Baby steps, Tiff.

What do you to get motivated and/or positive?

Scrap Saturday - Manipulating Drop Shadows

2011-01-15T05:54:00.035-07:00

Sometimes I can't get a drop shadow to look just right when only using the layer effects. Especially when I want something to look a little curled, or I have a vellum element and I don't want the shadow to show up underneath - or both - like my layout...

Once you've mastered the basics of drop shadows, I'll show you a couple tricks to help you have more control over them. Let's get started.

1. Create a drop shadow. Then right click on the words "drop shadow" and choose "Create Layer."

2. You should now see your original layer (mine is Layer 21), and an additional layer below it with the words "Drop Shadow" added on. Select the new drop shadow layer. Now, we are going to use the Warp tool to make it look like my sticky tab is curling a little away from the paper. Click Edit>Transform>Warp. Drag the borders around until you like what you see. I pushed the borders under the tag where it would be fully "stuck" to the page, and I drug the right corner down a bit, so as to make the tag appear further away from the page. Hit Enter when you're satisfied.

If your layer wasn't transparent... you're done. But if it is, then lets keep going:

3. If I really had a see-thru tag stuck to the paper, I wouldn't see any drop shadow underneath, so lets get rid of that. Select the original layer again (mine is Layer 21) by right clicking. Choose "Select Pixels" in the menu. You should now see marching ants around your element.

4. Now select the layer we want to erase - the Drop Shadow layer. Choose the eraser tool, and erase inside the marching ants. (You don't have to be too careful - the eraser will only work inside your selection). Now you're done!

Here's my finished layout... See how the sticky tabs seem more like they are actually stuck to the page?? It's a really fun way to make your pages look more realistic. You can try this with all sorts of things - photos, ribbons, etc. Have fun!

(credits & comments)

And here are lots more pages I've completed in the last few weeks... (I've kind of been a slacker on posting them!)

(credits & comments)

Another page for my Bear Lake book...

(credits & comments)

Thanks for reading!

Happy Holidays!

2011-01-14T05:03:00.001-07:00

Okay. I know this seems like an afterthought - especially since the next holiday is Valentine's Day - but I swear I meant to do this all. month. long. (Meaning the month of December).

So, really. From the bottom of my heart I want to wish you all a successful year, with all the happiest holidays all year long!