That about sums it up.
I could be down about a lot of things. But I'm choosing not to be. I could be frustrated with the destruction and mayhem my children like to cause, but I am choosing to find a bright side. It's like constant spring cleaning here lately!
I could get sick of Daniel wanting to sleep with Mommy and Daddy. But I choose to focus on the smile he has when he wakes up next to me. And remember that he will slowly do better and better.
I could be upset at the amount of time Mark has to spend at work, and at school, and at his mom's doing homework. But I am choosing to remember that he is doing this for our family's future. And I am choosing to be glad he has such a great place to go study that is so close. He is also choosing to study elsewhere so he isn't here yelling at the kids to be quiet because in such small quarters it really isn't possible.
I could be disappointed in myself for sliding back up to my heavy weight again. I am choosing instead to accept the fact that until we are insured and I have access to the medications that keep my mood stable, sticking to a weight loss plan will be extremely difficult. I am choosing to dress myself in clothes that I feel good in for the meantime and learn how to use accessories to define the bits of myself that I like.
I choose to be happy about the 3 things I managed to get put away, and not angry about the 4 messes the kids made. I choose to pat myself on the back for using the can of soup Daniel opened with his teeth even though it wasn't what I wanted for lunch.
Life is what you make of it.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Just taking off!
All of a sudden I blink, and Daniel is growing up.
He says "Please." "I want it!" "A drink." "In." (referring to putting clothes in the dryer, forks in the drawer, and lego's in the bucket.) Today brought "I want out." (He was in his chair.)
He is better about staying out of the trash can. Thankfully. But discovered how to climb up onto his brother's bunk bed. If we had enough space to un-bunk the beds, we would. It's so cute how proud of himself he is getting up there, just the biggest smile! Saturday night we were cleaning, and a toy hit me on the head. I looked up and he's bouncing up there waving at me!
My little baby is in a big boy bed! It's been going well, although the bigger boys have been jumping on it and guess what. Yep. They've broken a couple of the slats holding up the mattress... I'm about to pull my hair out, and it's thinner after having babies anyway. Grrr! We're just going to see if the lumber yard can cut a piece of plywood or MDF and lay that over the slats. I wonder if they could break a slab an inch thick? (Something tells me I don't want to find out.)
Nursery starts next month, and we can't wait. This is the age where things get progressively harder during 2nd and 3rd blocks to keep him entertained and semi-quiet. Until his nap anyway. That should make nursery fun for the leaders. :-)
He says "Please." "I want it!" "A drink." "In." (referring to putting clothes in the dryer, forks in the drawer, and lego's in the bucket.) Today brought "I want out." (He was in his chair.)
He is better about staying out of the trash can. Thankfully. But discovered how to climb up onto his brother's bunk bed. If we had enough space to un-bunk the beds, we would. It's so cute how proud of himself he is getting up there, just the biggest smile! Saturday night we were cleaning, and a toy hit me on the head. I looked up and he's bouncing up there waving at me!
My little baby is in a big boy bed! It's been going well, although the bigger boys have been jumping on it and guess what. Yep. They've broken a couple of the slats holding up the mattress... I'm about to pull my hair out, and it's thinner after having babies anyway. Grrr! We're just going to see if the lumber yard can cut a piece of plywood or MDF and lay that over the slats. I wonder if they could break a slab an inch thick? (Something tells me I don't want to find out.)
Nursery starts next month, and we can't wait. This is the age where things get progressively harder during 2nd and 3rd blocks to keep him entertained and semi-quiet. Until his nap anyway. That should make nursery fun for the leaders. :-)
Monday, February 28, 2011
At least I can laugh!
The boys got up on their own this morning, plenty early to get dressed and even eat breakfast at home! They were ready to go about 10 minutes before it was time to head to the bus stop, so I told them they could watch a little tv.
15 minutes later, I look up at the clock and realize they will miss the bus if they don't leave RIGHT NOW! They grabbed their coats, and we opened the door. Nobody was at the bus stop. Ooops! I guessed it had come earlier than usual. I had been planning on going into Rexburg anyway, Oren's prescription was out and I needed to see his doctor for a refill. So I hurried and got the 2 younger boys dressed, and we ran out the door to take the older boys to school.
When we pulled into the parking lot, there were only 3 cars there! What on earth? Then I see the sign that says there is no school today. Oh. (I'm fairly certain I never saw anything about no school today, or I would have remembered.) Is it funny that they were both really bummed about not having school? :-)
So I ended up taking all 4 kids with me to the doctor's office for Oren's prescription; then to the pharmacy in Rigby (who only took about 2 minutes, bless them!) ; then all the way to Idaho Falls to Winco; Joann's to see what I could find a good deal on (since they are closing the old store and moving across town and every thing is 50% off or more... and I wanted to see what sort of fabric I could find for some new skirts and dresses for me.) ; and then to a place I had heard about called Prepared Pantry, that was supposed to have good quality cocoa and a sale on good gel food colors.
All these places were on my list of errands that needed run, I didn't downsize just because all the kids were with me. But it certainly made for a longer day! They did great, plied with promises of Smarties candy.
And a little update for anyone who read my facebook posts about our crib and playpen mishaps! Just for kicks, and just in case it worked, I took down the crib and through it and the playpen out. Then we got out our toddler bed and set it up. He enjoyed crawling around on it, and jumping a little. But we knew bedtime was going to be an issue. William had a lot of trouble when we moved him to a bed but we let him cry it out and he did great, and we are frankly tired of catering to Daniel and his "high maintenance" sleeping. So we tucked Daniel into his new big boy bed, gave him kisses, and shut the door. Every 15 minutes we'd go back in and re-tuck him in. After an hour of screaming and banging on the door, he finally got quiet. We carefully opened the door to find him asleep on the floor behind the door, which we expected, and moved him. He slept on his own bed all night, suprisingly.
Tonight, I made sure he was tired. Tucked him in with a "friend", a little stuffed animal since he is used to touching something when he sleeps. And in a flash of inspiration, we (I) said a little bedtime prayer. Gave kisses and shut the door. He fussed, not screamed, for a minute or two, and now it's quiet. I haven't checked to see if he's on his bed or on the floor, but it didn't take an hour! We may be able to bypass the crib! Which would save us quite a bit of money.
15 minutes later, I look up at the clock and realize they will miss the bus if they don't leave RIGHT NOW! They grabbed their coats, and we opened the door. Nobody was at the bus stop. Ooops! I guessed it had come earlier than usual. I had been planning on going into Rexburg anyway, Oren's prescription was out and I needed to see his doctor for a refill. So I hurried and got the 2 younger boys dressed, and we ran out the door to take the older boys to school.
When we pulled into the parking lot, there were only 3 cars there! What on earth? Then I see the sign that says there is no school today. Oh. (I'm fairly certain I never saw anything about no school today, or I would have remembered.) Is it funny that they were both really bummed about not having school? :-)
So I ended up taking all 4 kids with me to the doctor's office for Oren's prescription; then to the pharmacy in Rigby (who only took about 2 minutes, bless them!) ; then all the way to Idaho Falls to Winco; Joann's to see what I could find a good deal on (since they are closing the old store and moving across town and every thing is 50% off or more... and I wanted to see what sort of fabric I could find for some new skirts and dresses for me.) ; and then to a place I had heard about called Prepared Pantry, that was supposed to have good quality cocoa and a sale on good gel food colors.
All these places were on my list of errands that needed run, I didn't downsize just because all the kids were with me. But it certainly made for a longer day! They did great, plied with promises of Smarties candy.
And a little update for anyone who read my facebook posts about our crib and playpen mishaps! Just for kicks, and just in case it worked, I took down the crib and through it and the playpen out. Then we got out our toddler bed and set it up. He enjoyed crawling around on it, and jumping a little. But we knew bedtime was going to be an issue. William had a lot of trouble when we moved him to a bed but we let him cry it out and he did great, and we are frankly tired of catering to Daniel and his "high maintenance" sleeping. So we tucked Daniel into his new big boy bed, gave him kisses, and shut the door. Every 15 minutes we'd go back in and re-tuck him in. After an hour of screaming and banging on the door, he finally got quiet. We carefully opened the door to find him asleep on the floor behind the door, which we expected, and moved him. He slept on his own bed all night, suprisingly.
Tonight, I made sure he was tired. Tucked him in with a "friend", a little stuffed animal since he is used to touching something when he sleeps. And in a flash of inspiration, we (I) said a little bedtime prayer. Gave kisses and shut the door. He fussed, not screamed, for a minute or two, and now it's quiet. I haven't checked to see if he's on his bed or on the floor, but it didn't take an hour! We may be able to bypass the crib! Which would save us quite a bit of money.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sugar!!!!!!!
There's about 10 pounds of powdered sugar on my counter, just waiting to be turned into frosting and fondant. Another 3 pounds of marshmallows waiting for the same thing. And a big batch of fondant waiting to be formed into pineapples, palm trees, and flowers!
Yesterday and this morning I crafted a royal icing tiara, and painted it silver. I'll be putting on teal/blue isomalt gems tomorrow morning before delivering the princess cake. And yes, I'll be taking pictures!
I've also finalized my idea for our Blue and Gold banquet cake. We're wanting it to feed 50-60 people, so I'm doing tiers. I'm thinking the bottom tier will have a fondant grass skirt. A "lei" of blue and gold fondant flowers will go around the top of the grass skirt. Chocolate fondant coconuts will sit between the two tiers, like they dropped off the palm trees that will be around the sides of the top tier. A big "29" will be sort of a topper, for our pack number, and I'll have some pineapples formed from rice krispy treats and covered in fondant and buttercream sitting around the numbers.
Mark and I talked about it, and decided to hold off on the gum paste class. This isn't the only series she'll be doing this year, and there are other things right now that need the money that class would cost. But it's definitely on the list of things I want to do at some point, and until then I will just teach myself what I can!
Yesterday and this morning I crafted a royal icing tiara, and painted it silver. I'll be putting on teal/blue isomalt gems tomorrow morning before delivering the princess cake. And yes, I'll be taking pictures!
I've also finalized my idea for our Blue and Gold banquet cake. We're wanting it to feed 50-60 people, so I'm doing tiers. I'm thinking the bottom tier will have a fondant grass skirt. A "lei" of blue and gold fondant flowers will go around the top of the grass skirt. Chocolate fondant coconuts will sit between the two tiers, like they dropped off the palm trees that will be around the sides of the top tier. A big "29" will be sort of a topper, for our pack number, and I'll have some pineapples formed from rice krispy treats and covered in fondant and buttercream sitting around the numbers.
Mark and I talked about it, and decided to hold off on the gum paste class. This isn't the only series she'll be doing this year, and there are other things right now that need the money that class would cost. But it's definitely on the list of things I want to do at some point, and until then I will just teach myself what I can!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Yawn.....
Because I am tired! But as late as it is, a little break from cleaning to update my blog won't hurt.
Let's see....
Oren came home a couple weeks ago with a letter from his teacher that the science fair was coming up, and that he had 2 weeks. Then, the next week, there was another reminder letter. Finally, 2 days prior to turning it in, she tracks me down while picking the boys up for an appointment to ask if I ever got the booklet on how to do the projects! Which I hadn't! Procrastination has unfortunately been a problem for me as of late, but how did those 2 weeks fly by so fast?
So the night before they were due, Oren and I scrambled up a quick experiment on "What Yeast Eats!" He basically labeled a whole bunch of cups, poured in some warm water, dissolved a bunch of different things in them, and then added yeast. We checked every few minutes to see which ones were doing well and which ones were sitting there.
Did you know that potato flakes and sugar produced the best results? While molasses did nothing at all? Fascinating!
And this was between scouts and Relief Society Choco-Rama night, where I was helping provide chocolate goodies. We came home, and he drew some charts and pictures, and we got his wording worked out, and I sent him to bed. Then Mommy was up until an unearthly hour pasting and positioning and making things look nice.
Oren ended up in a 3-way tie for 1st place in the 3rd grade catagory for his school! He got a chocolate bar prize, which he shared with all of his classmates, and a medal. Then his teacher sent home a note to inform me that his project needed to be brought to the district offices to the district science fair! And to think his project almost ended up in the trash a couple days ago, except that we figured Grandma W would want to see it at some point! He didn't win at District, but I was very proud that his slap-together rushed project had done well at all. And he was so happy about it, that boy loves anything science!
I, myself, have been in love with some new cake stuff lately. There is a sugar art supply store close by, and I went by the other day. They had isomalt, a sugar substitute used in sugar gems, pulled sugar, molded sugar.... This stuff is awesome! And dangerous too, since it has to be heated to about 340 degrees, and you work with it at around 275 (I believe?). Very hot stuff. But if poured into the right molds, it can create very real-looking edible jewels!
And I now have the opportunity to try this for myself. While talking with the lady at the eye doctor's, choosing my new glasses, we got talking about cakes and this sugar jewel thing came up. I mentioned how it would be so much fun to make an edible tiara and have little jewels on it, to put on a small cake or cupcakes. She ordered a small cake, in blue, with a jeweled tiara for her daughter's birthday next week! Sweet! (And I'm getting some cute glasses to boot. :-P) My first job since moving here. I've been trying to get the word out, and finally a bite!
So hopefully they turn out well, and I don't sustain any serious burns while using this stuff. This will be a naptime/bedtime enterprise, for sure. I've been researching what sort of equipment to use for pouring the molten stuff, and what sort of precautions to take. The supply store owner also does decorating classes, and so I will be signing up tomorrow for a series of gum paste classes, to learn about flowers and pearls and all sorts of other edible decorations. This is better stuff than just what Wilton teaches, and I can't wait!
Let's see....
Oren came home a couple weeks ago with a letter from his teacher that the science fair was coming up, and that he had 2 weeks. Then, the next week, there was another reminder letter. Finally, 2 days prior to turning it in, she tracks me down while picking the boys up for an appointment to ask if I ever got the booklet on how to do the projects! Which I hadn't! Procrastination has unfortunately been a problem for me as of late, but how did those 2 weeks fly by so fast?
So the night before they were due, Oren and I scrambled up a quick experiment on "What Yeast Eats!" He basically labeled a whole bunch of cups, poured in some warm water, dissolved a bunch of different things in them, and then added yeast. We checked every few minutes to see which ones were doing well and which ones were sitting there.
Did you know that potato flakes and sugar produced the best results? While molasses did nothing at all? Fascinating!
And this was between scouts and Relief Society Choco-Rama night, where I was helping provide chocolate goodies. We came home, and he drew some charts and pictures, and we got his wording worked out, and I sent him to bed. Then Mommy was up until an unearthly hour pasting and positioning and making things look nice.
Oren ended up in a 3-way tie for 1st place in the 3rd grade catagory for his school! He got a chocolate bar prize, which he shared with all of his classmates, and a medal. Then his teacher sent home a note to inform me that his project needed to be brought to the district offices to the district science fair! And to think his project almost ended up in the trash a couple days ago, except that we figured Grandma W would want to see it at some point! He didn't win at District, but I was very proud that his slap-together rushed project had done well at all. And he was so happy about it, that boy loves anything science!
I, myself, have been in love with some new cake stuff lately. There is a sugar art supply store close by, and I went by the other day. They had isomalt, a sugar substitute used in sugar gems, pulled sugar, molded sugar.... This stuff is awesome! And dangerous too, since it has to be heated to about 340 degrees, and you work with it at around 275 (I believe?). Very hot stuff. But if poured into the right molds, it can create very real-looking edible jewels!
And I now have the opportunity to try this for myself. While talking with the lady at the eye doctor's, choosing my new glasses, we got talking about cakes and this sugar jewel thing came up. I mentioned how it would be so much fun to make an edible tiara and have little jewels on it, to put on a small cake or cupcakes. She ordered a small cake, in blue, with a jeweled tiara for her daughter's birthday next week! Sweet! (And I'm getting some cute glasses to boot. :-P) My first job since moving here. I've been trying to get the word out, and finally a bite!
So hopefully they turn out well, and I don't sustain any serious burns while using this stuff. This will be a naptime/bedtime enterprise, for sure. I've been researching what sort of equipment to use for pouring the molten stuff, and what sort of precautions to take. The supply store owner also does decorating classes, and so I will be signing up tomorrow for a series of gum paste classes, to learn about flowers and pearls and all sorts of other edible decorations. This is better stuff than just what Wilton teaches, and I can't wait!
Monday, February 7, 2011
It's the little things...
that make me happy.
The snowboots that I bought the older boys at the beginning of the winter season have fallen apart. Very dissapointing! The back seams cracked open and there are now huge gaping holes in both pairs. I had the boys put on their shoes this morning, just to find that both pairs of their shoes have holes where the sole meets the leather!
Enter Shopko. They have a Payless in the store, so I took Daniel and William with me in the morning. I jotted down the size from Oren and Nathan's shoes at home and figured they'd work still. Payless had two different colors of waterproof boots, the kind that look like men's workboots or hiking boots. Good and sturdy, and should last! Plus, there was a sale. Payless's usual Buy One Get One half off.
When the boys got home I had them try on their boots. A little snug of a fit. *oh man!* Their feet had grown just enough that the boots wouldn't last the rest of the winter up here. So I had to pack all the boys back into the van and head back into town. New shoes really couldn't wait until tomorrow, with holes in everything they had to wear their feet were getting wet every day. With this being the second trip into town, I was pretty much worn out and just hoping that Shopko had what I needed.
We got there, measured the boys' feet and figured that we just needed to go the next 1/2 size, as a full size would be far too big. They only had 1 pair of boots in that size, and I needed 2! That's right, they wear the same size! But you know what made my day? The sales lady called over to another Payless store to check if they what I needed in stock. They did. To make it even better, they said that the other store would not only honor the 1/2 off my second pair, but I'd get an additional $3 off coupon since I had to drive to another store for the shoes! That's right!
So I paid the full price on the pair at Shopko, drove to the other Payless, and got 1/2 off the boots I got there. Plus extra off from my coupon. That, right there, is a little thing that made me very happy. Thanks to the sales lady that went the extra mile for me, since I didn't even know there was a Payless somewhere else!
The snowboots that I bought the older boys at the beginning of the winter season have fallen apart. Very dissapointing! The back seams cracked open and there are now huge gaping holes in both pairs. I had the boys put on their shoes this morning, just to find that both pairs of their shoes have holes where the sole meets the leather!
Enter Shopko. They have a Payless in the store, so I took Daniel and William with me in the morning. I jotted down the size from Oren and Nathan's shoes at home and figured they'd work still. Payless had two different colors of waterproof boots, the kind that look like men's workboots or hiking boots. Good and sturdy, and should last! Plus, there was a sale. Payless's usual Buy One Get One half off.
When the boys got home I had them try on their boots. A little snug of a fit. *oh man!* Their feet had grown just enough that the boots wouldn't last the rest of the winter up here. So I had to pack all the boys back into the van and head back into town. New shoes really couldn't wait until tomorrow, with holes in everything they had to wear their feet were getting wet every day. With this being the second trip into town, I was pretty much worn out and just hoping that Shopko had what I needed.
We got there, measured the boys' feet and figured that we just needed to go the next 1/2 size, as a full size would be far too big. They only had 1 pair of boots in that size, and I needed 2! That's right, they wear the same size! But you know what made my day? The sales lady called over to another Payless store to check if they what I needed in stock. They did. To make it even better, they said that the other store would not only honor the 1/2 off my second pair, but I'd get an additional $3 off coupon since I had to drive to another store for the shoes! That's right!
So I paid the full price on the pair at Shopko, drove to the other Payless, and got 1/2 off the boots I got there. Plus extra off from my coupon. That, right there, is a little thing that made me very happy. Thanks to the sales lady that went the extra mile for me, since I didn't even know there was a Payless somewhere else!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Pinewood Derby
Oren had his first Pinewood Derby last night! And, as I've already posted on Facebook, he won! This car was his design, I had him draw lots of ideas on paper and decide what shape he wanted it. He chose the colors, and requested the flames. I just did the cutting and painting for him since our evenings were busy.
We tried to have Daniel in the nursery while the weigh-in was going on. Oren's car was nowhere near the 5 oz weight limit, so the men taped a bunch of change on top. Grandma closed the nursery door and walked off for a minute, and someone let Daniel out. I heard him laughing and turned around, there he was! Since the derby was at 7, it just made sense to have him in pajamas...
We tried to have Daniel in the nursery while the weigh-in was going on. Oren's car was nowhere near the 5 oz weight limit, so the men taped a bunch of change on top. Grandma closed the nursery door and walked off for a minute, and someone let Daniel out. I heard him laughing and turned around, there he was! Since the derby was at 7, it just made sense to have him in pajamas...
Nathan tried to contain Daniel for me. It didn't work so well. :-) That face is priceless!
It was really nice having Grandma and Grandpa there. Grandma took over Daniel again, and William just chilled by Grandpa. Since Mark had to work until 7pm, I definitely appreciated the helping hands.
The guy that we had come to the derby for us had a really nice electronic track, complete with computers to start the race, track the speed, and configure the races. The computer added sounds: engines reving, the starting shot, cars racing, and the screech of brakes at the end. Way cool! Oren's is the blue-green blur on the right, winning. He only lost 2 races, one by 1,oooth of a second, and the other because he decided to race his car backwards. That was funny. :-)
They started the awards with the miscellaneous ones: Best themed, best paint job, heaviest car. Then we did the 3rd, , and 1st place awards. When Oren didn't win the best paint job, he was a little upset. His flames were really cool, and he thought it was better than the black and yellow striped car that won it. I just wanted to laugh, since I was the one that filled out the names on the awards and knew he'd won 1st place. At the end, when they announced 2nd place, one of the scouts figured out Oren was the only one left and told him "You won!" Oren didn't believe it, which did have me laughing.
It was really nice having Grandma and Grandpa there. Grandma took over Daniel again, and William just chilled by Grandpa. Since Mark had to work until 7pm, I definitely appreciated the helping hands.
The guy that we had come to the derby for us had a really nice electronic track, complete with computers to start the race, track the speed, and configure the races. The computer added sounds: engines reving, the starting shot, cars racing, and the screech of brakes at the end. Way cool! Oren's is the blue-green blur on the right, winning. He only lost 2 races, one by 1,oooth of a second, and the other because he decided to race his car backwards. That was funny. :-)
They started the awards with the miscellaneous ones: Best themed, best paint job, heaviest car. Then we did the 3rd, , and 1st place awards. When Oren didn't win the best paint job, he was a little upset. His flames were really cool, and he thought it was better than the black and yellow striped car that won it. I just wanted to laugh, since I was the one that filled out the names on the awards and knew he'd won 1st place. At the end, when they announced 2nd place, one of the scouts figured out Oren was the only one left and told him "You won!" Oren didn't believe it, which did have me laughing.
The cubmaster was talking about the winner being a "dark horse", because his wheels were crooked, and we had to add a lot of weight. His axles had to be glued in place with purple nail polish because they wouldn't stay in very well. Nobody expected him to do well, which made it all the more fun!
And, our yummy refreshments at the end. Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting, and Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudgy Buttercream frosting. The cars on top are white chocolate. I traced the design on wax paper, filled in the details like the tires and small circle first, then the color car, and then piped white chocolate over the whole thing so it would be sturdy. They turned out really yummy, and everyone loved the chocolate cars. I only had about 6 cupcakes left out of around 50!
And, our yummy refreshments at the end. Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese frosting, and Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudgy Buttercream frosting. The cars on top are white chocolate. I traced the design on wax paper, filled in the details like the tires and small circle first, then the color car, and then piped white chocolate over the whole thing so it would be sturdy. They turned out really yummy, and everyone loved the chocolate cars. I only had about 6 cupcakes left out of around 50!
The cakes are completely from scratch, and that vanilla recipe is going to be my standard vanilla cake recipe. They were moist without being too heavy or too crumby. Perfect! Also not too sweet, so the cream cheese frosting was perfect with it. I will be posting the recipes at some point on my recipe blog, if anyone is interested. The vanilla used both vanilla extract and vanilla bean, where you split it open and scrape the seeds out so you have little vanilla bean specks in the cupcake and the frosting. Yum! (But a little pricey... so I think the vanilla bean would be optional.)
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