Wilkins Family

Hanging Out

2012-01-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

Kirk decided it would be fun for the littles to practice repelling off the back deck. Some how I got roped (ha ha) into throwing them off the deck one handed.

Family update!

2012-01-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

Capri hanging from our bed.

Sorry for being in hiding so long! It has been an interesting few months to say the least. Here is our family update!

Capri- Is turning into such a big girl! Myla and Sariah both talked really early and were talking complete sentences before they were 1 1/2 yrs. Not Capri, she has talked in her own time but has totally taken off the past few months and is putting words together. We have always loved this age (21 months) and are enjoying EVERY second with her!

Sariah- Is sooo funny! Sariah will be four in March and has really blossomed into this funny, outgoing, sweet little girl. At 3 years old, she decided she wanted to read and is now reading books really well, with just about no effort on my part. Sariah also joins in on home school with Myla and is doing a great job on keeping up.

Myla- Myla just turned 6!!! It always makes me sad as my kids get older because I sure enjoy being their mommy and they are just growing WAY to fast! My LOVES learning and we are having so much fun in home school. It was such a natural transition going from being mom to mom and teacher. Myla relapsed about a month ago but that was the first time in 7 months!! That was the longest break her body has had from steroids in three years. I enjoyed every second of getting to know my non-steroid daughter. Myla is such a peace making in our home. If mommy is grumpy and will make me a card or if her sisters are upset about something she does what ever it takes to make them happy. She even gives up her toys or what she is playing with to make them happy. It is pretty rare to see Myla not smiling!!

Tiffany- The beginning of December I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand. That has made life really interesting.... I am right handed and I can not use my hand for 8 weeks. The first two weeks hurt to even move my fingers and house work has been a challenge but I can sleep at night!!! Back in Cali I had some friends into Essential oils but I was too overwhelmed with all there was to know about them to really get into it. Since I moved to Utah I started taking classes on Essential oils and I am SHOCKED at how well and fast they work. The biggest blessing they have given me is they have completely taken away my back and neck pain!!
Kirk- Is totally in love with his job working for the LDS church. He is getting a promotion to project management and will be attending some classes in San Francisco at the end of January. He is also serving in the Elders Quorum presidency and helping get home teaching on track in our new ward.
We love Utah and are having so much fun with all the activities Utah has to offer. We really feel so blessed living here! Also come Spring, we found out we can have chickens again and honey bees!

Our new house pictures

2011-11-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

We are finally starting to feel settled and not in constraint transition, which has been our life since earlier this year. In my old house, I never felt like it was permanent, so decorating was never an interest of mine. Now let us just say I have big plans for our new space. It looks really plain right now so you

will have to use some imagination.

Our Kitchen

The sliding door next to the dinning table leads out to our patio.

Master Bath

Not much to look at.... yet!!

Master Bedroom

This is my favorite place in the morning. We keep the blinds up at
night so we can wake up with the sun.

Our Alarm Clock

Picture taken from my bed.

Living Room/ Great Room

The basement is coming along and we are hoping to have it finished by Christmas.

We had a few setbacks since Kirk came down with pneumonia but he is

feeling much better now so full steam ahead.

We are loving Utah, our neighborhood, and our new ward family.

We also had just a few of my cousins over for dinner,

tipping the scales at over 20 people. We have lots and lots of family out here.

Kirk is LOVING his job. Not only has the spirit touched Kirk

from working for the LDS church but it has touched our whole family.

We are looking forward to a WHITE Christmas.

My new homemade blog!

2011-11-18T14:45:00.000-08:00

I have received some comments about all my homemade ramblings combined with my family blog... so here you go, two blogs rather than one. For anyone that is interested in following my homemade addictions, check out my new blog.

Homemadeaddiction.blogspot.com

Enjoy!!

Halloween at Daddy's Work

2011-10-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

Dressed up and ready to go, the girls and I headed over to Kirk’s work for lots and lots of Trick or Treating. The Riverton Church Office building opens the whole 4-story building to families of all the employees for Halloween. The kids go from floor to floor Trick or Treating each person’s desk/office, they also get to enjoy a haunted house and Wizard of Oz on the 4th floor.

The Wizard of Oz was so cute! each scene had the move playing

in the exact spot as the scene was decorated.

This is how Capri says please. I love how she shapes her lips. That whole

bucket is full of candy that Kirk was passing out!

Sassy pants Myla

Did I mention Capri LOVED the bucket???

The bunny tail was so cute!!

The kids had so much fun and I think Kirk really enjoyed having his family with him at work.

How we ended up here

2011-10-30T18:18:00.000-07:00

Most stories have a beginning, middle and an end, but not this story. For those of you who have wondered how we ended up in Utah here you go.

Last year, as Kirk was finishing his Master’s, we knew it would lead us on a new path in life. We thought that this path would only entail a new job, but little did we know what was in store!

Kirk began his job search in November of 2010 with no luck at all. Due to the economic downturn and financial reform, it has become common for job seekers to search for a position for many months and sometimes years, in the financial industry. In California, jobs were more scarce, and where there used to be many opportunities, they seemed to have dried up.

At the beginning of March 2011, we started talking about leaving the state, possibly Arizona or Utah to search for a job. Because that would mean leaving behind Paige and Dillon, the conversation quickly ended. The only problem was, the thought of moving to Utah would not leave me alone.

Most of you, if not all, will think I am crazy… (What’s new?) but I have always wanted to move to Utah. I have some of my best childhood memories during summertime at my grandma’s house, playing with cousins. Yes, I know that you may have caught “summer time”… and no, I have never lived in the snow let alone driven in it. This will be a new adventure.

I love that there is a church on every corner, and a temple on every hill. I love that you can buy LDS items at any store you go, even at second hand stores and Costco. I really just thought moving to Utah was purely selfish of me and I just chalked it up as such. However, those feeling would not go away! It got to the point that the thought of moving to Utah would keep me up to all hours of the night and sometimes wake me up in the middle of the night. I was exhausted, and each attempt I made to talk to Kirk about Utah always ended the same, “I am not leaving my kids!” I really struggled with this because I was getting such a strong feeling that we needed to move yet I completely understood him not wanting to leave his kids. I did not want this to be a source of contention for us but at this point, I needed sleep and peace in my life.

So finally, I told him not to shoot the messenger and asked him to pray about it for himself. He went to the temple the following day and when he returned home, I asked him how it went. He said, “Well I guess we are moving to Utah.”

That night he had a thought to search for job working for the LDS church. We both never knew that you could work for the LDS church. However, Kirk was lead in that direction to apply for some jobs working with the church. Soon after he submitted his resume, he received a call from the church and they wanted to interview him. The first interview was just a phone screen. The HR rep asked general qualifying questions. Shortly after that screen, they called him to have a phone interview. At the close of the interview, they told him that he should get a call in about a week. In less than an hour, he received a call to setup an interview in Riverton Utah, and to setup flight arrangements.

He talked to the travel department and they decided to let him rent a car so they whole family could come out with him. There just happened to be a family reunion in Utah at the time, and it worked out perfectly for us all to go. The morning of the interview Kirk woke up at 4am and could not sleep. He had several questions in his head that he felt the need to write down. He interview with three different groups of people lasting about two hours. The last interview was in a telepresence room with a connection to the Church office building with a span of video monitors on the wall, with a camera in the middle, to the left and the right. There were 4 interviewing managers on the screens and one seated to his right. At the completion of the interview, he got the same speech; once they made a decision, they would call him in about a week and let him know if he got the position. He left the building and did not even make it two minutes down the road before they called him and asked him to meet at the church office building in Salt Lake City. At the Church Office Building is where they offered him the job.

We thought it was a little odd that they kept saying, “We will let you know in a week”, and then following up right away. We later found out that when apply for a job with the church it takes a long time. It is normally hurry up and wait!

The decision to hire someone for the church is strictly by inspiration. Even once they offered him the job, they asked that both Kirk and I go to the temple to pray about it before he accepted the job. Two weeks after his interview, Kirk moved to Utah and we were soon to follow.

We also felt guided to where we live now, in Saratoga Springs. We looked at probably over 30 homes and none of them felt right. Then someone told us to check out Saratoga Springs and the second we did, we knew it was the place. However, it was not just the city we felt lead to it was also the house. We looked at some houses here and one we even made an offer on but then did not feel right about it. On a last-minute decision, on a Saturday to go and look at houses we went to a model home. The model home was not what we were looking for, but the person showing the house said he had a friend that was building a house down the road, and he could show it to us. The house was about half way finished and covered with plastic but we just knew it was the one for us.

So… this is the beginning of our story in Utah. We still do not know why we were lead here and I miss my family and friends like crazy back home but we love it here. It was nothing short of miraculous how everything fell into place so easily. The sale of our old home, finding the new home, the new job, and how we are happy to be here… it was not forced, not unnatural…. It was smooth.

Random Homeschool

2011-10-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

Five points for whoever knows what Myla built. Answer at the bottom!

(I wish I would have got a better picture of Sariah)

Each morning we start the day with scriptures but normally I am reading from them to the girls. This morning Myla asked if she could do her daily reading from the Book of Mormon Reader. I explained to her that she could but that I would probably need to help her with the big words. Boy was I wrong! She read the whole chapter as if she had read it a million times. It was awesome that the words I thought would be hard for her to read, she has heard them so much that she already knew them. She is growing up so fast and surprises me each day!

I just found a really cool Pre-school blog that has FREE printable kits that Sariah just LOVES!!

Here she is sitting down working on a puzzle that she had to put into numerical order and create a cool Halloween picture. They just posted a Thankgiving kit if anyone is interested in checking it out!

I was a little worried about finding the best way to teach Sariah before but she

is a smart little girl that so badly wants to learn and keep up with Myla!

Answer- Myla was playing around and asked me to come over and see what she built. Before that day, Myla had not learned about balance scales but she explained to me how her scale worked and how adding water to one side effected the other side. So cute! I can't say enough how much I LOVE homeschool!

Family Home Evening Activity

2011-10-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Can I just say Myla ROCKS at golf! This was her first time playing and she gave Kirk a run for his money. She came in only ONE point behind Kirk and he is really good. Sariah, you take after your mom I'm sorry to say!

Capri trying to learn as daddy was teaching Sariah.

Golf is NOT my game but we still had a lot of fun!

Witchfest

2011-10-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Can I just say how much I LOVE Utah!!! It is amazing all the activities that Utah has to offer to families and most are FREE or really cheap. Today my friend that just moved her from Cali and I went to Witchfest with the kids. Witchfest was located at one of the best outdoor malls I have ever seen! Why you ask?? Because they have some RAD fabric stores with some amazing patterns. Kirk is going to regret the day I found that store!!

Anyway, this day was not suppose to be about me.... We took the kids to enjoy a scavenger hunt, to hunt for witches. Ha ha ha. They decorated the grounds of the mall with life size witches, each doing a fun activity. We had so much fun and will add this to our family traditions list!

Success in Life

2011-09-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

Success in Life.... Does anyone else feel the same way as I do? That the only way you feel successful is if you do EVERYTHING?

Here is my SHORT list.

House clean (not just straightened but really clean)
Sheets clean and beds made
Every cabinet/closet clean and organized
Homeschool done
Dishes done and dishwasher empty
Laundry clean, folded and put away
Yard mowed, weeded, and looking nice
Kids clean, dressed nice, hair done
Mom showered, make-up done, hair done
Play with kids
Read lots of books to kids
All three meals made fresh and healthy
Dad and kids happy

So this is my short list. I won't even start of religious goals, mom goals,crafts, or journal goals.

Does anyone else feel that if everything is not done and perfect each day they are not succeeding for that day?

Let me just say it is hard to live up to my own standards and most days I fail.

I would love if you would share your best ideas on house cleaning or organizing. I think it would be great to put the best ideas from all my friends into action. I bet together would make a great stay at home mom/wife.

Favorite part of my day

2011-09-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

Homeschool is going really well and Myla is loving it! Since we started using Explode the Code in January she has flown through the books and really enjoys doing them. Myla is learning about writing and simple sentence structures.

I wrote some simple sentences down for Myla. I asked her to rewrite
the sentences and add words to make them more interesting.

These were all her ideas. I love how 5 year olds think like, "I stand in the fancy line." Such a girl!

Myla gets excited to read age appropriate chapter books to her sisters. I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach my daughter and get to celebrate her little accomplishments together.

Our trip to Payson

2011-09-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we took a drive to Payson, Utah to pick some raspberries. This place is beautiful and it is full of large farms, fruit trees and lots of farm animals. I can't believe I did not take pictures of the area but at least I got some of berry picking. After we weighed in and paid for them we ate them by handfulls. Yum!

We enjoyed this huge family owned berry patch. You could pick berries until your hearts content and the bushes would still be full. Plus, the raspberries were only $2.50 per pound!!

Capri is a berry picking pro. She was used to picking raspberries in our backyard in California so she knew just what to do. Pick them and shove them in your mouth as fast as you can.

Family Planning

2011-09-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

WOW! This lady is crazy organized. Great ideas and lots of stuff to think about.

Check it out!

Our new house

2011-09-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

After searching and searching.... we found our new house! We looked in many different area's and decided on Saratoga Springs. Saratoga Springs is surrounded by mountains, Utah Lake and a huge golf course. It almost feels like a mini Lake Tahoe with all the lake views.

Our house is currently being built and should be completed the first week in October. It is just over 3200 sq feet and is probably one of the smallest houses in our neighborhood. The thing that we love the most about our house is the 180 degree views of Utah Lake and the 360 degree views of the mountains. There are even views from the walkout basement.

But the VERY BEST part, I will finally have my own sewing/craft room. I can not wait!!!

We checked out our new ward and I think we will really like it. There are three nurseries, three CTR 5 classes (Myla's class) and a huge primary.

It is amazing how at home we feel already. We really really like Utah so far!

Here is the house as of Friday.

views from Kitchen, Living room, and Master bedroom/

Back of house. There will be a large deck coming off the right side sliding doors.

This is a different house made by the same builder just a smaller version.
Our kitchen will look the same just a little bigger

The bathroom in this picture has the same finishings as our house except ours will be a few feet bigger. On the right there will be a separate shower surrounded by glass and the vanity will have 2 sinks.

We can't wait to finally be settled in our new community, ward and home.

Random Pictures

2011-09-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Our favorite pass time in temporary housing.... Swimming!!

The mountains and sky are AMAZING here.

The sky changes all day long and it is so beautiful!

These are just pictures off our back deck.

A little homemade..... Baby shower Invites and gifts

2011-09-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some projects I have been working on this month.

Baby Shower Invites

Capri got to them before I could take a picture. Bummer

Sensory Tag blanket with pocket, wipe case and matching bunny

Homemade diaper rash cream, sunblock, and chapstick. Headband with flower and last binky strap.

Homeschool field trip

2011-09-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

Right before we left California we were given the chance to take a field trip to Six Flags Animal Kingdom. It was already a crazy week getting ready to move and put on a baby shower but I did not want my kids to miss out on see the amazing animals. I remember going when I was little and falling in love with the whales and dolphins. I thought it would be fun for the girls to see some of the animals they would be learning about in school this year.

Three adults and thirteen kids made me a little nervous but it was so much fun and we did not loose any kids!

We had just finished a lesson about Symbols of America.
I was so excited for the girls to see a American Bald Eagle!

Signatures on our lives

2011-08-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Before leaving to Utah a little over a week ago, I was talking to my realtor who just so happens to be LDS. She was telling me about this book she just read and how much it has touched her life. It is called

Divine Signatures: The Confirming Hand of God

By Gerald N. Lund

"Sometimes blessings come in such an unusual manner and with such precise timing that they accomplish something in addition to blessing us. They so clearly confirm the reality of God's existence that they buoy us up in times of trials."

This book talks about things that we normally consider coincidence but really in most cases it is the Lord blessing us. This has been on my mind for months. I see the Lord so clearly in my life, that I cannot understand those that deny that He lives.

The drive to Utah was for the most part uneventful and really peaceful. My mom being the SAINT that she is, drove down with us, just to drop her off at the airport as soon as we got to Salt Lake.

We were just about an hour or so outside of Salt Lake. When all the sudden Sariah had to go the bathroom right that second! No warning! Of course we were in the middle of nowhere. So we had to pull over on the side of the road.
We get everything taken care of and get back on the road. Not one minute later Myla has to go to the bathroom right that second. Once again no warning, a complete bathroom emergency. So yet again we have to pull over on the side of the Highway. Finally we get back on the road. We drive less that five minutes and we see a accident that just happened. It involved three diesels and a truck pulling a trailer. It appeared that the truck pulling a trailer had blown a trailer tire causes his quad (4 wheeler) to fly off into the road. As soon as we drove passed the accident my mom said that all the bathroom breaks must have happened to keep us from that accident. I could not agree more. We saw the Lord's signature that day.

I can't wait to buy this book. It sounds amazing!!!

I feel so blessed to have the Lord in my life. I see His signature everyday and am so grateful for the blessing of knowing He lives and loves me!

"The Lords hand is in our lives, We can grasp it and be lifted thereby." Gerald Lund

Rewards for reading!

2011-08-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is for all you homeschool mommies or parents that want to get their school involved!

Pizza Hut does a fun reading reward program for K-12 kids. You set reading goals with your kids and than at the end of each month they get a personal pan pizza for meeting their reading goals. Check out all the details here and enroll here.

Homemade diaper rash cream

2011-08-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

Since I cloth diaper my babies, we don't really have diaper rash problems. On the rare occasions we did but I never knew just what to do. I would normally switch them over to disposable for a few days until the rash was gone. The reason why is you are not suppose to use traditional rash creams with cloth. Rash creams form a water proof barrier that will hurt the cloth diaper.

Capri came down with a diaper rash two days ago. Rather than pulling out a tube of chemicals, I mean rash cream I made my own. This is a natural cream that smells amazing so I thought I would share! (Keep in mind this is not just a diaper rash cream. It is great on many different rashes or irritations).
.75 oz beeswax
4.5 oz coconut oil
1 tbs zinc oxide

FYI- zinc oxide -is an earth mineral that is non-irritating, non-allergenic, and is a common ingredient in rash ointments and sunscreens

First I melted down the beeswax and coconut oil in a double boiler. Then I blended with a wooden spoon the zinc in until fully blended.

Pour into any container you want to use. Rash cream will be ready in just a few hours.

That's it! Homemade does not have to be hard or time consuming!

Where to find these products? Here are just some ideas-
Beeswax - local http://www.soapsalon.net/ or http://www.glorybeefoods.com/gbf/Shop_ProductDetail.cfm?PC=&PSC=0&P=22575&Product_Name=beeswax,
Coconut Oil - local http://www.soapsalon.net/ or http://www.glorybeefoods.com/gbf/Shop_List.cfm?Token=75.45.106.44:{ts_2011-08-12_00:24:25}-962118
Zinc Oxide - here http://www.amazon.com/Zinc-Oxide-Powder-Quality-Resealable/dp/B003IGOL8U or http://www.hardlotion.com/diy-hard-lotion-kit/

Probiotics- Homemade water Kefir

2011-08-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

Probiotics are wonderful! In plain English, probiotics are a type of living bacteria that actually benefit your health. When mention the word probiotic, most people either think of yogurt or a supplement.

With Myla having an auto-immune decease (Nephrotic Syndrome, aka kideny decease) I'm always on the search for natural ways to help her. One of our biggest challenges with her is she can not get sick. Even a simple cold causes her to relapse and get put back onto heavy drugs. Which is what just happened. She probably got sick from someone at church. A simple cold has now caused her to relapse yet again.

I don't believe that probiotics is a cure all. I just know it helps. The supplements are expensive and let me tell you, we already pay way to much for all of her current meds as it is. So I started a few months ago making my own water kefir. I have this ~~love~~ obsession with anything homemade. I love being able to make the things I need rather than running to the store all the time.

You have most likely seen Kefir in dairy form at the store. Water Kefir is close but rather than a buttermilk taste, it taste more like a juice. My favorite right now a lemonade kefir. Perfect on a hot summer day.

Milk kefir grains you can buy at your local health food store but water kefir grains are much different. You can either buy them online or get them from someone that makes water kefir.

Everyone makes it a little different but here is my recipe

1/3 cup water kefir grains
1/3 sugar (yes sugar)
1 quart (canning jar) filtered, Chlorine-free Water or well water

2 fresh lemons
1 12 oz flip top bottle (I bought mine at Ikea)
top off with filtered, Chlorine-free Water or well water

First mix sugar and 1 quart water until sugar has dissolved. Add Kefir grains. I cover with a coffee filter and then the screw just the ring on the jar. Leave for 24 hours, out of direct sunlight.

Once the 24 hours have laps, drain the water into your flip top bottle, staining the kefir grains as you pour. They say to not use a metal strainer but I have not found this a problem. I squeeze two lemons in the bottle and then top off with filtered water.

I like it nice and cold before we drink some. They say that 1/4 cup -1 cup is more than plenty per day.

When looking online there are a lot of ideas and recipes out there. Most places will tell you to let it sit out closed tight for 1-4 days to ferment. With anything fermented there is an alcohol content. That is why I only let mine sit out for 24 hours and I do an open jar. That is my personal preference. They longer you let it sit out the bubblier it gets. More like soda.

The following health benefits are associated with the intake of daily doses of probiotics.

Enhanced immune system response

Reduces negative affects of taking many types of antibiotics

Aids in preventing and treating colon inflammation following surgery

Helps to prevent eczema in youth

Increased ability to digest food

Therapeutic for viral respiratory tract infections by enhancing the overall immune system

Reduces lactose intolerance

Reduces incidence of yeast infections, vaginitis and candidiasis

Increases ability to assimilate the nutrients from food

Alleviates many common digestive disorders such as constipation, diarrhea and IBS

Acts as a remedy for bad breath (halitosis)

Increases ability to synthesize vitamin B

Increases ability to absorb calcium

Promotes anti-tumor and anti-cancer activity in the body

Many common leafy greens are also excellent sources of probiotics

Give it a try!!

We are moving!

2011-07-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

As most of you know we are moving to Utah! Kirk got a new job working for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We feel so blessed to have him working for such a great place. I really feel our family will grow so much from this experience.

I am excited and nervous at the same time! Our current insurance ends today but we have new health insurance in Utah. That is great in all but the girls and I are not in Utah. Since we are here until the house sells, I had to stock up on Myla's meds. We are a regular pharmacy over here!

I think one of the best things about being in limbo is having our house on the market. Why you ask? Because I have been keeping my house immaculate! It is work with three little destroyers but I love how good it feels. I "plan" to keep my new house like this also. It feels so nice and peaceful!

Not actually my bed.
Do you really think I would get white bedding with my kids???

We are just praying that our house sells fast, so our family can be back together!!

Getting ready for school!

2011-07-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

School is right around the corner.... homeschool that is. Can I just say how excited I am!!! Since December, Myla and I have been working on Kindergarten and some of 1st grade. This new school year, we will be focusing on 1st grade curriculum, sign language, Spanish, and music theory/reading music.

My goal this year is to do as much hands on learn as possible. I have found some great file folder games, centers, and learning games to make learning fun! We will still use some textbooks and work sheets but I don't want to have my kids work only out of workbooks and completely independently. I think independent learn is important but I also think there is so much learning done together.

I took a risk and bought a really cheap laminator at Target ($26.00) and LOVE it. I can't believe how well it works at that price. I have been a laminating machine this past week. I went through a box of 50 laminating pockets in two days. That way all the hard work I put into Myla's school work can be passed to Sariah next year.

Homemade lotion & chapstick

2011-07-24T00:11:00.000-07:00

I have serious lotion issues. No really I do. My hands are normally dry, chap and sometimes cracked and bleeding but I hate to put on lotion. There is just something about the feel of lotion that sits on my skin all day that just does me in. Have you noticed that a lot of lotions do not full absorb into the skin? I finally found a lotion that I just love, but at $20 for a small bottle I struggled justifying it.

When I found a recipe for a lotion that is not greasy, actually absorbs and works, I thought I would give it a try!

Have you ever heard of hard hand lotion? Well, it is so rad. It looks like a bar of soap but the warmth of your hands gently melts it as you apply it to your skin. It is made from 3 simply ingredients. Coconut oil (I love this stuff), Shea butter, and beeswax. You could also add essential oils for different scents or even cocoa powder for a soft chocolate scent. That's it!

I took the three ingredients, melted them down in a double boiler, poured into molds, and that is it. It takes less than 20 minutes to be able to enjoy silky smooth hands! As a added benefit, the smell of beeswax and coconut oil is just heavenly!

Beeswax

Beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter

All melted down and ready to pour into the chapstick container

Poor Myla always has really chap lips for her medication. I'm confident this will help!

Ready to enjoy in less than 20 minutes.

This week I plan to make homemade natural sunblock, bug repellent, diaper rash cream and whipped Shea butter!

Our house - Before and After

2011-07-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Six years ago we bought our first house. The other day I came across the original pictures of this house when we purchased it and I was completely surprised.

Check this out!

Before

Follow the jump to see all the after pics
After

Backyard view

Before

Kitchen view

(What you can't see was the ceiling was a drop ceiling, falling down)

After

(Not my dream kitchen but a HUGE improvement!)

Before

(I hated this fireplace!)

After

(I love travertine)

We also had a wall separating the front room/dinning room from

the living room/kitchen. We took that down the wall a few months ago, riped out the

old carpet and put in these new floors.

With girls like mine, I needed something easy to clean.

Removing the wall and putting new floors in was probably the

best thing we did.

I wish we had a before of the hall bathroom. Part of the shower was riped up

so we redid just about everything. We just put in travertine and that looks soooo

much better.

Yesterday we put our house up for sale.

I will be sad to see it go. We have a lot of memories here. The sweetest

memories would be bring each one of my new babies home here.

Seeing their first steps, hearing their first words, and all the laughter....

We will miss our first home!

Tahoe

2011-07-11T00:41:00.000-07:00

Life has been so crazy the past few weeks. First it started with a surprise party for my best friend that was not easy. For some reason I struggle keeping secrets for Nikki and so keeping a party for her a secret was sooooo hard. But worth it. Then the next day we left for a last minute trip to Utah (more to follow on that soon). We were in Utah for a week, home for three days and then in Tahoe for a week. Let me just say how happy I am to be "home" for the next few weeks.

Now back to the original post, our trip to Tahoe. We left for Tahoe on July 4th. My mom rented a pontoon boat for our whole family to party on and watch Tahoe's unbelievable fireworks. Seriously, my mom kept telling me that they were amazing but they were by far the best I have EVER seen. If you ever get a chance to enjoy Tahoe on the 4th you will not be disappointed.

Getting settled on the boat

This is my sister smiling at Sariah. She is such a cute aunt.

The fireworks were so amazing, but it was even better watching them from the water.

Myla's face was classic. She LOVED it

My sisters 95lb puppy is crazy spoiled but so cute

Capri loves the bake trailers as long as we don't go over any bumps. Silly girl

Vacation + SODA = this smile

Imagine being at the beach next to these guys..... Makes getting in a bathing suit pretty tough.

The END!

Surprise...... Party

2011-07-10T23:19:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, Adam and I threw a surprise 30th birthday party for Nikki (the coolest person ever). It was the best day I have had in a long time. The day started off with Adam giving Nikki a CD for her birthday with the instructions to put it in the car. The CD Adam give her was AMAZING! It was him giving driving directions to my house and then to a spa in El Dorado Hills. She has no idea where she was going and laughed when she showed up at my door to pick me up. The CD driving directions were perfect. I could not believe that he had timed for stop lights and everything.

The start of the adventure!

All ready to go!

Our spa date included a massage, facial, and pedi!

After the spa date she stopped by my house to "pick up her plants" little did she know

that house was full of friends and family! I am still shocked that we were able to pull it off.

Adam's sister made two VERY cute cakes. One a slab of meat and the second one a large head of broccoli.

Two cute bellies!

Capri enjoying the party

Happy 30th Birthday Nikki!!!!

Double the trouble

2011-06-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Sariah helping "teach" her baby sister.

Thank you Sariah!

New Family Pictures

2011-06-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

New family pictures were way over due!! Since my favorite photographer moved away (lame I know) I struggled knowing which way to go. We have a really talented couple in our area that I wanted to use but Kirk wanted the rights to the pics and they do not offer that. Then my friend mentioned her sister was a photographer and coming into town. She had great prices and of course she had to be good since it was my friends sister right??

Here you go!

Living off the grid with only 2 acres

2011-05-29T22:26:00.000-07:00

I can not explain how much I love the idea of this. I know I sound crazy (really, whats new) but I would LOVE to live off the grid. I would love to buy a house on a piece of land, only depend on my land and some hard work to provide for our needs. Just fresh produce, eating food within its season and peace..... and quiet.

In my dream world (since I am dreaming) I would like more than two acres. I would love a piece of land that I can not see or hear my neighbors. Ahhhhhhh

Mrs. Meyer's

2011-05-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

I have always been affected by smells both good and both. I really like homemade cleaners but the problem I have is it does not leave that smell of being clean (even though that is what most people love about homemade products). I do not really care for the chemical smell of most cleaners but I still want my house to have a clean fresh scent throughout the day. I really love Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products, they are both mild and eco friendly yet they smell AMAZING. My favorite is the basil scent products. They are aroma therapeutic cleaning products using naturally occurring ingredients and essential oils.

The bottle reads, “The BASIL herb has a cool, crisp scent that is said to revive the senses, clear the head and CALM the nerves. Just think all this and a clean house too!"

I could not agree more. My house has such a clean scent all day and it makes me want to keep it clean just so I can enjoy the smell and peace a clean house brings. I think they are well worth the few extra bucks.

If anyone is interested in trying any of their products out, you can find that at Target, Bel Air, here and here.

And she is off.....

2011-05-22T00:16:00.000-07:00

Not a great picture but it's all I was able to get before my battery died.

Myla walked at 10 months, Sariah walked and 10 1/2 months and FINALLY Capri took off at 12 months. Capri has been walking around furniture since she was 8 months old and really ready to walk at about 10 1/2 months old.

It just took until last week for her to decide she needed to. I think partly because either I carry her around or Myla does but she loves her new found freedom!

I went out with a friend on Friday and I put Capri down and asked her to show my friend how she can walk. She looked at my friend, walked across the room and then looked back at her like, did you see that? It was so cute.

Capri is just so much fun and listens really well. I can ask Capri to clean something up or put something away and she does it and puts it in the right spot. Maybe most babies do that but Sariah was such a "spirited child" that it took until she was almost three before she would consistently follow simple directions.

I always forget how much I love this age. I'm just trying to enjoy every second I have with her since I know it just goes by so fast.

Myla Update

2011-05-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone that has ever had a sick child could probably understand not just how hard it is to see your child suffer but also what kind of games your mind plays on you. Myla got a much needed break from relapsing for almost four months. I felt like I could take a deep breath for the first time in almost two years. Myla slimmed down and she lost the dark circles under her eyes that I was so use to seeing.

Well that nice break has now ended. She relapsed a month ago and just relapsed again today. I see her face taking the round shape, double chin and dark circles under her eyes. I am seeing her slow down a little more and have more mood swings due to all the medication.

To be honest it is really, really, hard. I feel like everything is ok and that I am so strong and then days like today happen and all I want to do is hold my child and cry. I love my kids more than anything in the world and Myla has always held such a special place in my heart. I wish there was more I could do.

I know I have said this so many times but I really struggle with worrying about all the side effects she will have for the rest of her life because of the drugs that are saving her life.

Myla told me the other day that after she dies, she will not have to take medicine or have bruises again. She has also asked me why God made her this way. After we talk about it she just says, "Oh ok". That makes everything ok for her. Why can't we be as brave, strong, forgiving and loving as children???

I love you Myla.

World's Best Homemade Hot Chocolate!

2011-05-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

Crazy weather calls for...... chocolate in our house. To be specific homemade hot chocolate.

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsweetened dark cacao powder *

3/4 cup sugar

1 pinch salt

1/3 cup boiling water

3 1/2 cups WHOLE milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional (whip up some heavy whipping cream and a splash of vanilla and sugar. Add a dollop to finished hot chocolate.
Directions

1.Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.

* I really think the secret ingredient is the cacao powder. Cacao and cocoa powder are close but different. The short answer is cocoa powder is the cacao bean roasted and then ground to a powder. Cacao is the bean ground to a powder not roasted first. I love earth circle organics cacao powder dark found at my local health food store or here.

Farmers Market Fresh

2011-05-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

I first bought one bunch of carrots and by the time we were almost done
shopping I had to stop and buy another one because my girls almost ate them all.

A new take on the traditional salad

Raw spaghetti with raw corn

The best find at the Farmer's Market this week would have to be the corn on the cob HANDS DOWN!!
I was really surprised they were in season and for the price I was worried about trying it out. But I am soooo glad I did. It was the best corn on the cob I have EVER had! I ate two ears raw. Yummy. I will definitely buy more this Saturday.

Yearly Garden Update

2011-05-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

Each year around this time I'm completely enthralled with my garden. This year we are doing a much smaller garden just because we do not know where we end up. Moving or not moving?

I just could not let May pass without planting something! One of the wonderful things about having a garden I have worked on for a few years, there are a lot of things that come back year after year.

Since I took this picture our strawberries have started to bloom
and we are even able to enjoy some juicy strawberries.

This is just some of our blackberries, blueberries and raspberries.
These plants are so beautiful at the beginning of Spring, the way they
reach toward the sun.

Swiss Chard

I planted a lot of lettuce this year and all different kinds.
I wish lettuce grew all summer.

The first baby

"Little" Capri

2011-05-10T00:31:00.000-07:00

Since Capri was born she has been small and falls around 5% for weight. At her one year check up this week the doctor was concerned because she has now fallen off the chart (meaning below 0%). She is 12.5 months old and weights a whopping 15lbs.

To be honest I am not completely concerned because I was 15 lbs at one and 20 lbs at two years old. Also she nurses, eats food and I offer her a bottle just to make sure she is totally full. The thing is she will only drink maybe 1oz of the bottle. I think she is just small like I use to be.

Her doctor wants me to put olive oil on everything she eats and lots of butter on toast. We have a follow-up weight check in two months.

Capri this is the one time in your life you can get away with eating fatty foods and not feel bad. Enjoy~

Feeding My Soul

2011-05-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

My friend (Naomi) once told me if you are having a bad day or just not feeling at peace with the world go outside and stand in the grass without your shoes on.

Heavenly Father built this beautiful earth for us to enjoy and for it to heal us. From the garlic and cranberry that healed my mastitis (breast infection) yesterday to being out in nature that helped bring my spirit peace.

He also send me wonderful friends. Especially Nikki. I always tease her that we are soul sisters but really she understands me more than anyone else in this world.

Anyway, she could see today that I needed something only the "ranch" could give me. Her in-laws own a little peace of heaven on earth. No really, they own 10 acres of lush green soft hills that scream for someone to roll down them. Without a neighbor in site, kids can roam free without worries, kayak or canoe down your own river all surrounded by BLM land. Where you can almost taste nature.... HEAVEN

For me (and my girls), nothing feeds the soul faster....

Thanks Nikki and Adam!

Until next time...... I will still dream!

Garden Leeks

2011-05-06T22:52:00.000-07:00

My garden is exploding with leeks this time of year. It has been way to warm to make a leek and cauliflower soup (a family favorite) so I went on a search to find something yummy and fresh to make.

I found a Garden Leek Salad here that sounded really good.

Garden Leek Salad

Ingredients

Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

3 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced thinly crosswise

2 ripe tomatoes or cherry tomatoes

1 cucumber

1/2 cup chopped parsley or cilantro leaves for garnish

Method

1. Whisk together lemon and oil with a healthy pinch of salt and several grindings of pepper. Toss with leeks.

2. Core large tomatoes, cut them in half horizontally, and shake out their seeds, squeezing gently. Chop. Peel the cucumber if necessary, cut in two lengthwise, and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Slice thinly.

3. Combine all ingredients, and taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish, and serve.

Really fast, fresh and easy. What a great lunch or snack idea!

Farmers Market Tomatoes

2011-05-06T22:43:00.000-07:00

Yes they are that good!

Snacks

2011-05-04T01:05:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else struggle with church snack ideas??? Since we don't do processed snacks our options are limited on things that will not make a sticky mess. Even when we use to do crackers and such there was a crumb mess so that it did not work either.

Ideally I should be able to feed my kiddos before we leave for church but my children graze. I feel that is a healthy way to eat, small HEALTHY meals through out the day. So church is a long time for them to go without a snack.

They enjoy raw nuts, grapes and other easy choices but I just thought up some new ideas that I am really excited about.

Dehydrated foods.

Really any dehydrated fruits are a big hit but also carrots and corn or really yummy and sweet. I was shocked when I tried the corn. It was crispy and sweet.

Last night I did yogurt drops. These are really good and unbelievable easy. I saw a friend give her child gerber freeze dried yogurt melts. Check out the nutrition label for these.
CULTURED REDUCED FAT MILK, SUGAR, STRAWBERRY PUREE, NONFAT DRY MILK, TAPIOCA STARCH, GELATIN, NATURAL STRAWBERRY FLAVOR, LACTIC ACID ESTERS OF MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, FRUIT AND VEGETABLE JUICE COLORS, SODIUM ASCORBATE (VITAMIN C), ALPHA TOCOPHERYL ACETATE (VITAMIN E), VITAMIN A ACETATE

I did not have to see the label to know that these were not for use BUT I thought hey I can make something like that. So I came home and searched online and there you go. Yogurt drops.

All you need is a FULL fat, quality yogurt (or homemade, tutorial to follow soon) and don't be afraid to read the label. If you can't read it or understand what it is, than chances are you should not be eating it.

Anyway, just drop nickle size dropson your dehydrating tray (the one made for liquid) and dehydrate until it easily comes off the tray. Once complete keep in a air tight container. Enjoy!

Tonight I'm dehydrating sweet potatoes with seasonings so they will be like a healthy potato chip.

Why Dehydrate? According to the Energise for Life website, "The dehydration process retains almost 100% of the nutritional content of the food, retains the alkalinity of fresh produce and actually inhibits the growth of microforms such as bacteria."

Any other ideas?

Sprouted, Sprout Whole Wheat Bread

2011-05-04T00:25:00.000-07:00

Making sprouted whole wheat bread has always been on my to do list but lets be honest my list is quite large and growing everyday. I just can not shut off my brain. Anyone else like that???

So I finally thought I would try my hand at sprouting my own wheat for some yummy bread. If you have ever had an interest or wondered how they made it here you go.

What sprouting?? Sprouting increases the protein, essential amino acids, enzymatic activity, vitamins, and fiber content of the seeds. In fact, if you consult the Wikipedia article on “Sprouting” you’ll read that sprouting can increase the protein content of a seed by up to 50% and the vitamin content to 20 or 30 times its original value. Not to mention it also adds increased digestibility.

OK Now back to the tutorial....

First you take wheat berries. Most stores sell them in the bulk section but I just happen to get them from my church cannery for crazy cheap. You will want to fill a large bowl half way full of wheat berries and then rinse and fill the bowl to the top with water. Let sit over night or at least 8 hours.

Then there are many ways to sprout your wheat, I happen to have a sprouting tray but a jar will work just fine. I follow the rule of sprouting in the the dark but some say it does not matter. I would recommend that if you use a jar just cover it with a towel. Here is a store my friends parents own. They have good prices and a nice selection. Once you have decided what you want to use, drain your sprouts and then set aside. Wheat sprouts pretty fast, about a day or so. You will want to rinse your sprouts two to three times each day. The rule is you sprout to either the length of the seed or half the length.

Sprouted and then dehydrated

Once sprouted they need to be dehydrated for 12-24 hours at 120 degrees. If you have a oven that will cook at a low enough temp I heard you can cook it in the oven.

Ground sprouted wheat flour

Make sure your sprouts are completely dry and then you can grind in your wheat grinder or I just used my Vita Mix since it was out and close. Now you have sprouted wheat flour.

Really easy.

Quinoa Sprouts

Lentil sprouts

Now that you have flour you can make your favorite whole wheat bread or you can even go one step further and add sprouts. You can add 2 cups of your favorite sprouts (even mix and match) to your bread recipe. At first I thought it would add more a nutty texture to the bread but your really can not even taste them.

Eat Your Beets

2011-05-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

I found a new recipe for beets that even your kids will LOVE. Myla and Sariah ate a whole bowl each in one sitting and then asked for more. Myla said it was delicious and taste like heaven. Silly girl!

But really if you like apples or applesauce you will love this. The apples really give the beets a sweet taste.

Ingredients
Raw beets unpeeled*
Raw apple unpeeled*

On the small side of a cheese grater, grate 1 beet to every one to two apples. I think one to one is a perfect ration but see what works best for your family.

*I keep the peels on my veggies because they have such high amounts of nutrients. In beets they have a high concentration of betalains in the peel. Ideally I would like to use organic especially since I am using the peel.

Beets have a lot of health benefits such as powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.

Easter

2011-04-29T22:50:00.000-07:00

We had such a nice Easter this year. We celebrated the "bunny" side of Easter on Saturday with family and also Capri's first birthday.

We went to the park by my sisters house in Roseville and had such a great time. I think the kid's favorite part was the Easter egg hunt, of course!

Daddy showing Capri what was inside the eggs..... I was surprised she was not a huge fan. She took a few bits and then was done. Such self control!!

My mom has a little problem with over doing it! She does such a great job at making all our events so fun!
This is my mom and Myla, Sariah and Capri's adopted grandma, Judy.

Capri checking out the new shoes grandma bought her.

This was the most amazing cake I have had in a long time. Capri liked to play with it but not really eat it.

Eating Raw

2011-04-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

I have always been interested in raw eating mostly because the way I feel when I it raw. I do eat some raw but have always been lost on recipes and ideas until now....

My friend gave me this set of DVD's on raw cooking and eating called Chef Teton's Essential Cuisine. . Love them! It is a set of six DVD's covering;

Raw food basics & entrees
Raw desserts & salads
Oils
Cultured foods

Today's lunch was a hearty salad. One of my favorite lunches!

When I make a salad I don't just do lettuce and tomatoes. No way, check this one out.

Spinach, sprouts, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, raw pumpkin seeds, cracked pepper, and olive oil. I think fresh basil would have been a great addition. So yummy and I had so much energy all day!

Food effects my mood and energy levels so much. I try to eat mostly things that come from the earth in their natural state. When life gets busy I sometimes don't eat as clean as I should and I can really feel the deference. I'm sure most people would not be willing to do 100% raw but even trying to do some meals raw or even adding more fruits and veggies to your diet would help.

Fresh herbs

2011-04-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

I use to get so bummed that during the winter I would buy fresh cilantro or basil and it would go bad before I had a chance to use it all. Then I found a way to keep it fresh for even longer so I thought I would share.

Take a bunch of cilantro or any fresh herb and cut the bottom of the stems under running water. Then fill a glass with fresh water or I like to use a jar. Put the herb in the jar like you would flowers and here is the key, cover it with the produce bag it came in. This will keep it from drying out.

I than trim it right off the plant as needed.
It stays crisp and fresh just like the day you purchased it.

Food, food and more food

2011-04-21T22:47:00.000-07:00

OK definitely not local or Eco friendly (because how far it has to travel to get to us) but fresh coconut is so yummy. The girls and I cracked this baby open (not easy), drank the milk and then enjoyed the meat. I really love fresh food. It is amazing how much better food taste fresh, not processed, not packaged, and not messed with.

I can't believe we have never tried these before. Fresh garbanzo beans in the produce isle.

My kids just love veggies for snacks but Sariah ate a whole bowl of these before bed. Big hit!

I know I am obsessed with food but one of my favorite shows has just started its second season.

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution ( I did a post about this show before here). I love Jamie's passion for REAL food to be served in our schools. He cares about people and teaching them about how food affects us and our children. I promise it is worth your time to watch. Great FHE!!

You can check out all the episodes on hulu.com here.

Wordless Dreaming

2011-04-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

Capri turns 1

2011-04-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

I think I have said this with each passing year, with each child, but I can't believe that Capri is already one. This past year has been such a blessing with little Capri in our family. She is such a sweet spirit and truly just fits right in our family.

Capri is such a love bug and really just loves her family. I love how excited she gets when Kirk comes home. Or how she squeezes my neck or pulls her legs up like a little frog when I pick her up.

Capri we love you so much, Happy first birthday!

Miso Soup Recipe

2011-04-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

We had a sweet friend come over and teach us how to make EASY yummy miso soup (the kind you get when you go to a sushi restaurant).

Miso soup is one of the easiest, lightest, healthiest and most restorative soups out there. And it's made with one of the healthiest forms of soy, miso. Miso is fermented so it's good for the digestion and has other healthy properties. Some misos are fermented with grains such as barley and rice. There are many different types of miso exhibiting different colors and strength of flavor. (The main three are white, yellow, and red.) A good rule of thumb is that a dark miso will be more intensely flavored and saltier than a lighter miso.

Follow the jump for the recipe!

Items needed:

Red Soybean paste
Hondashi
Extra firm tofu
Green onions
water
small sauce pan

We have a wonderful store called Koreana Plaza not to far from us but you can get the ingredients at any Asian food store.

2 person serving

1 tbsp red soybean paste
1 tsp Hondashi powder
diced tofu to taste
diced green onion

Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Then reduce water to a low simmer and add one heaping tablespoon of soybean paste (you can add more to taste). Slowly dissolve in the water. Once dissolved add just shy of one tsp Hondashi powder (do not add more). Add diced tofu and thinly sliced green onion. Do not boil. Serve hot.

You can always substitute the tofu with egg or rice. If you are wanting to try the egg, first you crack an egg in a bowl, mix it and then slowly drizzle in the miso soup while stirring.

Enjoy!!

(Info and one of the pictures taken from Ecosalon.com)

Inspiration

2011-04-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Inspiration comes in many forms. In my life I have noticed two main ways I receive inspiration. The first would be the way I almost always feel inspiration. It normally is a small prompting almost a whisper on things I should do in my day/life. It is so faint that it is sometimes easy for me to miss these tiny promptings if I am not careful.

The second has only happened four times that I can think of and the prompting has been so strong it has been impossible for me to ignore.

The first prompting was when I felt inspired to have Capri. Kirk was just getting ready to start his Masters program and we have a lot going on in life. We both could think of a million reasons why we should wait but I felt really strong that we should not wait. The prompting was so strong that I could not shake it. It took over all my thoughts. Once we decided to have another baby I INSTANTLY felt at piece. I could believe how much I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. It took a few months to get pregnant and I did not even think about it or worry about the time it took. I knew it was going to happen.

Second prompting was about a close friend and her family. One night I was out talking with a few friends and I got an overwhelming feeling that something bad was going to or was happening. I asked them if they had a bad feeling and they said no, they felt fine. I drove home and prayed the whole time that everything was ok with my family, thinking that was where the feeling was coming from. I just kept getting this feeling to protect my family. When I got home everyone was asleep. The house was peaceful. I struggled sleeping that night trying to understand what that feeling was about. I kept getting a sick feeling and could not place it. On the following Sunday I told Kirk what I was feeling and the second I said it out loud I knew who it was for. Not me but my friend. I went straight home and called my friend and told her what I was feeling. As I spoke with her I literally had goose bumps! I felt at peace and the bad feeling went away.

Third was about homeschooling Myla. If you feel so inclined you can read about it here. Same thing as before it took over my thoughts until we decided to homeschool her. As soon as we decided I felt at peace and no longer worried about it.

I find it so amazing that not all inspiration makes sense or is what we have planned for our life. The things is that it all works out in the Lord's plan and timing.

We are feeling really strongly about some changes in our life and now is just the waiting game to see it all fall into place (after we have done everything we can).

Book Review

2011-04-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

My girls and I are completely obsessed with the library. We go every week to story time and rent/read 20-30 children's books a week. Sometimes we come across books we would love to add to our personal library. This book is no different.

Chalk by Bill Thomson is a picture book but tells a fun, sweet story. The story is about a group of friends that went to the park in the rain and found a bag of magic sidewalk chalk. Each child drew something onto the ground and it came to life. The pictures are amazing and I just love the imagination of children.

Service for Japan

2011-04-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

Giving Hope to the Children of Japan

My heart goes out to the the families effected by recent events in Japan. Until I heard about what Carters/OshKosh are offering. For every paper crane made, a piece of clothing will be donated to the children of Japan.

This is such a great activity for the whole family. What a wonderful blessing to teach young children about serving others in need. Myla and Sariah are a little young yet they have helped me make about 40 cranes just this weekend.

You can pick up instructions and paper from OshKosh or go to their website HERE to print out the instructions. You have until April 25th and then you can either bring your cranes to any OshKosh store or take a picture and upload them to their Facebook page HERE.

If anyone would like to come over and learn how to make them just let me know. We have plenty of paper and would love the company!

20 minute Shirt to Skirt tutorial

2011-04-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

When one of my favorite shirts went through the dryer and the collar was ruined. I wanted to find a way to still use it. So I turned it into a skirt for Myla and matching flower for her hair.

Here is my 20 minute skirt and hair bow tutorial.

(Myla picked out the shirt. I will need to get one that will match better but you get the idea right.)

First I measured the shirt against Myla to see how long I wanted it and then cut it.

Then I turned it inside out and folded the top down about one inch. I sewed all the way around at the bottom of the fold allowing enough room for the elastic to be slipped through. Don't forget to leave a small area open to slip the elastic through.

I could only find small elastic (errr) but it will work just fine. First you will want to figure out what size elastic you will need. I measured mine against Myla's waist. I like to put a safety pin on the end of the elastic so it slides through really easy. Now thread the tip of the safety pin and elastic through the opening on the waist band.

Once you have pulled the elastic through the skirt you will need to sew both ends of the elastic together. Then close your opening shut.

I put the skirt on Myla to check for fit. I decided to sew in the side a little. I took the skirt off her, turned it inside out and sewed on each side of the skirt as needed.

Perfect. In all the skirt only took about 20 minutes to take something I normally would have gotten rid of and now turned it into something Myla loves!

So I know you are wondering what I'm going to do with the top part of the shirt. Of course Myla will need a matching flower for her hair.

So I cut a two inch strip of the top section of the shirt. Lengthened the stitch on my sewing machine to the longest I can. I sewed from one side of the strip to the other making sure I did not knot it at the beginning or ending of the the stitch. You should have two threads on each side. Take one of those strings and carefully pull the string. It should bunch up the fabric by pulling the string. Keep pushing the bunched fabric down to the bottom of the strip. Making sure it is evenly bunched. Then tie the ends of the lose string.

Then I took one end of the ruffled strip and turned the rest into a circle. I would put small hot glue dots in the center as I turned the fabric. At the end you should have something that looks like a flower.

I then covered a clip with ribbon and glued the flower onto it.

That's my Sassy girl.

Traditions

2011-04-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

I love family traditions! With the mention of Conference, the kids all say, "Hooray for Crepes"!

First each Conference we indulge in homemade vanilla crepes full of yummy fresh ingredients. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, bananas, cream cheese, Nutella, syrup, powder sugar, etc.

I double the batch and use half for a savory crepe dinner. Ummmmmm

Second tradition, after Priesthood session Kirk comes home and while we eat pie he tells us all about what he learned.

Tonight I made homemade Caramel Apple Pie and homemade vanilla ice cream. AFTER tomorrow I will not be able to eat for a week. More big plans for tomorrow.

On a side note, but has anyone else ever noticed that Saturday's conference is always the best? I LOVE CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!

Blog Worthy

2011-03-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

For the first time in a LONG time I cooked meat, crazy I know. I can count on one hand how many times in the past three or four years. Tonight's dinner, Brown Sugar Meatloaf. Is that meaty enough?

Sweet and savory. Big hit in the house. Recipe after the jump.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Ingredients

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup (the real stuff, no HFC)
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (5x9 inch loaf pan)
Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar.
In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup.
Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.

Snack Time

2011-03-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

Today's snack, homemade caramel sauce with sliced apples. Yummy! Need I say more.

Movie Review

2011-03-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last night Kirk and I were lucky enough to sneak away for a date. Myla and Sariah's FAVORITE person in the WHOLE world watched them so we could have some time alone. That person would be my mom. She is probably the worlds best grandma, no joke! From the second they walk in the door the world stops. The only thing she cares about is playing and loving on them. And of course what kind of grandma would she be if her house did not smell like homemade cookies baking in the oven. EVERY TIME we come over.

Sorry, back on track. Date night.... Last night we went and saw "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. I loved this movie. It was well made, it had Kirk likes, action and what I like, Romance. But most of all it was a good clean movie. I only counted one bad word and very little violence.

It is so rare to go to a movie that I do not feel like I should walk out on. Even the new kids movie Rango is full of bad words and adult humor.

Not to mention Matt Damon is HOT. Its ok for me to say that as a married woman because I think Kirk looks just like him.

I think it was a must see!

My New Etsy Shop

2011-03-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to announce that I have opened my first Etsy shop.

Etsy.com is like Ebay.com but everything on their site is handmade. Such a fun site and you must check it out if you have never been on there before.

This has been on my To Do list for a long time and I finally took the time to put one together. This is just the beginning. There are a lot more items to be added soon and hopefully I can add more each week. Right now I am just showcasing baby items but I have some plans to showcase some of my other hobbies.

You can check it out here or on the right side of my blog will be a link to my shop. Feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested.

Baby traditions

2011-03-21T23:15:00.000-07:00

With each new baby, as soon as they are old enough to stand Kirk has to take a picture of them standing in his hand. You can see here a previous post off the other kids as babies.

This tradition comes from Kirk's father. I will have to find some of those pictures and post them.

HTC Droid Incredible Glass Repair

2011-03-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

I cracked my HTC Droid Incredible phone about 6 months ago. After months of searching the only choices I could find was either pay $100 for someone else to fix my phone or $70 for the parts to fix it myself. That just seemed like a lot of money for a phone that still worked but the glass was just cracked or maybe I'm just too frugal.

Then Kirk found this, the replacement glass for only $20.

The glass came in the mail today and Kirk got right to work on my phone. The Internet is an amazing place! He went to YouTube.com and found a video that explains how to take apart the phone, replace the glass and then put it back together. Check here and here.

Now my phone is good as new. Hooray!! Thanks Kirk!

Myla Update

2011-03-19T23:38:00.000-07:00

I have been delaying sending out an update on Myla because I am scared that if I say something things will magically come tumbling down.

Myla's last relapse was in December. That means it has been over three months since she last relapsed. Can I tell you how good that feels. No really, it feels so good I want to cry or shout at the top of my lungs. Something!!

Myla is on a really low dose of steroids and a low dose of Prograf. Prograf is the drug that involves a juggle. If the dose is too low she will relapse, if it is too high, it will cause kidney damage. Just the right amount and fingers crossed she is where she is now. Happy.... not puffy, and most importantly not in pain!

Myla has slimmed down and looks so healthy right now. We feel sooooo blessed and just pray that we can keep her in remission. There have been some nasty cold and flu's going around our church so we have just been laying low. I am hoping that she will make it through without getting sick.

Thank you to our friends and family for your love, support and always checking in and her. We feel so loved!

Homemade Gnocchi

2011-03-19T23:24:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a family favorite, homemade Gnocchi. Kirk learned how to make gnocchi in Argentina and I have since carried on that tradition with our family. I love them since they are so versatile. They work just like a pasta but taste so much better. So here is what I made last night. I cheated a little and used potato flakes (so much faster). Traditionally you boil potatoes and go from there.

Follow the jump for the recipes.

"Quick" Gnocchi

1 cup dry potato flakes

1 cup boiling water

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups white or wheat flour

Place potato flakes in a medium-size bowl. Pour in boiling water; stir until blended. Let cool.
Stir in egg, salt, and pepper. Blend in enough flour to make a fairly stiff dough. Turn dough out on a well floured board. Knead lightly.
Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a long thin roll, the thickness of a breadstick. With a knife dipped in flour, cut into bite-size pieces.
Place a few gnocchi in boiling water. As the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot, remove them with a slotted spoon. Repeat until all are cooked.

I have seen special tools to make the right shape with the gnocchi but Kirk taught me to take a small piece of dough, roll it over a fork with my thumb to form a shell. It takes some practice. Homemade gnocchi take time if you roll them all by hand but the idea is to have the whole family in the kitchen helping. It is a great time to talk and enjoy preparing a meal together.

I added homemade pesto sauce over top of them and my family could not get enough! I doubled the recipe so there was plenty for lunch today.

Homemade Pesto Sauce

3 cups fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cups chopped raw pine nuts
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

I put everything in my Vita Mix and blended until it was smooth but a food processor would work perfect also.

Enjoy!

Baby Boom

2011-03-18T00:11:00.000-07:00

So I bet you thought this post might be an announcement. Not by me but apparently EVERYONE else!!

So I have a very interesting ward (My church has group of people divided into wards depending on the location of where they live). As long as I have lived in my ward there has always been groups of people pregnant at a time (anywhere from 6-10 +). I do not live in Utah and my ward is not huge. It is really fun to be pregnant during the baby boom as it is happening.

Now is no exception, it seems that just about every week I hear about someone else that is pregnant in my ward, tonight included. This time around I can count at least eight and I feel like I am forgetting at least one or two pregnant women.

I am not ready for another baby yet since I STILL have a baby and I am loving where are family is now but a little part of me is a little bummed to miss this train. I have been pregnant with some many of these women in the past and it is such a fun experience to share with each other. The only time I complain is when I am pregnant with "those" women that do not gain any weight, no puffy face, and walk out of the hospital wearing their pre-pregnancy clothes. Other than that it is soooo fun.

My "crafty" friend is due in just two short weeks and I can't wait to meet her new little boy. I have another friend that has tried for many years (7?) and is now pregnant with a little girl. How sweet is that. Another one that was the only reason why my kids and I made it through the first 20 weeks of my pregnancy with Capri. I feel completely lame, she was crazy sick with the flu a couple of weeks back and really needed some help but because she was sick with the flu I could not come over (Myla).

Anyway, what a huge blessing for their families and I can not wait to snuggle some cute new babies soon!

Lastly, my thoughts and prayers are also going to a wonderful friend of mine that would love a baby of her own. Every time I hear of someone else getting pregnant I think of her and can not wait for the day I get that call from her. Love you guys and I know it will be soon!

I thought this picture was so perfect. All the babies up in heaven just waiting to come down.

Butter versus Margarine

2011-03-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever Kirk came home with margarine. Really???

Can I just say that Margarine GROSSES me out!!

Have you ever looked at the packaging? It is made of oil, oil , oil and heavily processed.

If you were to take away the salt, artificial color, and artificial flavoring in margarine, you'd be left with our good friend, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, a.k.a. vegetable shortening, a.k.a. Crisco.

More things you may not know about margarine:

Some of the oils used in making margarine, such as cottonseed oil, are not suitable for human consumption in the first place because they contain naturally toxic substances.

At the end of the hydrogenation process, the resulting margarine is grey and smell – certainly not something you want to accompany your sandwich. To counteract this problem, the product is bleached and deodorised, artificially flavoured and dyed yellow.
Margarine lowers quality of breast milk- margarine is high in trans fatty acid mother's eating of trans fats affects the level of trans fats in her milk

Margarine decreases immune system

Margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter.

Butter comes from a COW. Made from Cream. That's it.

Butter, even though it is a saturated animal fat, is the far superior option. Margarine, on the other hand, is said to be one molecule away from plastic.Margarine is typically made from cheap, poor quality oils that have already turned rancid – because the oils had been extracted from oil seeds using high temperature, and high temperature damages oil, causing rancidity.

Homeschool reasons

2011-03-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

Since I moved to the town I live in six years ago I have grown and learned so much. I have been exposed to a lot of really different ways of thinking. I have taken bits and pieces and built on them for myself and my family.

One of the ideas I learned about was homeschooling. Like most people my first thought was, really? What about socialization? The more I researched it the more I understood the benefits and soon started to feel like that was a gift I wanted to give to my children.

Myla was still young and so I did not think about it for a while. And really she was so sick we were just in survival mode for some time. For the past year I started thinking about it more and more. I was not sure if it was just something I wanted or if I was being prompted to homeschool. I prayed about it and the next night I got an overwhelming feeling that that was something we needed to do. The feeling was so strong, almost like I felt a panic about putting Myla in school.

The concern I had was Kirk and most of our family are not supporters of homeschool. I prayed that night and said if this is something that needs to happen then the Lord would need to pave a way.

The very next day Myla had her monthly appointment with her Nephrologist. In that appointment her doctor brought up vaccinations and school. The medicines Myla is on shuts down her immune system and so she has not been able to get vaccinations since she was three years old. In discussing Myla's options for school her doctor said it would be risky to put her in school. As it is now she can not be around anyone that is sick. We can not have her live in a bubble we are just very careful if we know someone is sick.

In a classroom that has around 25 students, that is 25 germ carriers and 25 kids that could and will come to school sick. That is not a risk we are willing to take.

Then her primary care doctor said the same thing. Keep her out of public school until her body can handle the germs that come a long with school.

Complete answer to prayer. Kirk and I agreed with the doctors and we have now since enrolled Myla in a wonderful charter school in our area.

As promised, here are just a few reasons why I love homeschooling. The more I researched it the more I fell in love with it. Myla is excelling and Sariah is learning so much just from listening. So far it really has been a blessing for our whole family.

1.) Your child gets one on one teaching. Most children learn better, faster, gain a love for learning and really excel.

2.) You can go at your child's pace. Work on areas they struggle with more and areas they get easy, you can cover a lot more curriculum faster.

3.) You know exactly what your child is learning and what your child is NOT learning.

4.) You can teach your child age appropriate things as you see fit rather than them learning from their peers.

5.) No peer pressure.

6.) Their family is the role model not their peers.

7.) Parents don't get tenure. (Not sure what I mean? Watch this and Saving Superman. I promise both are worth your time. Even if you are not interested in homeschool, they are great at helping you be a more proactive parent with your child's education!

8.) You can pray with your children throughout the day or have scriptures be part of their learning.

9.) There are some GREAT Homeschool Charters that give you a budget to pay for your curriculum and even pay for your child to do dance, piano (or any musical instrument), martial arts, etc.

The best teacher in the world, with the best abilities and character can only function within the system to the degree that the system allows him/her to function.

There is this great site that talks all about my church and homeschooling. Check it out here.

This is a quot from the site.

Joseph Smith
If children are to be brought up in the way they should go, to be good citizens here and happy hereafter, they must be taught. It is idle to suppose that children will grow up good, while surrounded with wickedness, without cultivation. It is folly to suppose that they can become learned without education. (Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 273)

Random

2011-03-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

Blogging is so past due I know. Life is just so crazy and sitting down at a computer has become next to impossible. Oh how I miss blogging. Ok so here are some updates in no order.

We started a small house remodel that keeps getting bigger and bigger. After our kids dumped a whole liter of Mexican Vanilla on the carpet (does not come out), and then some how our light tan carpet was covered with deep red polka dots (does not come out) we thought it was time to move away from carpet. Move to something our kids could not destroy in 5 minutes. We decided to put in new wood floors. Since we were doing the wood floors why not remove the giant wall between the front room/living room/dinning room and the living room/kitchen. We went from just bouncing the idea back and forth to the whole wall being removed within one hour. So now we have one great room with new wood floors and of course since we were replacing the floors in the living spaces why not pull up the tile in the hall bath and put in travertine, new vanity, sinks, etc. You get my drift, right? We are not completely finished and there is still some talk about pulling out the wood decks and laying cement out back. We will see.... Pictures to follow soon!

Sariah turned 3!! I really thing 3 will be a good age for Sariah. I have seen her blossom into this sweet, fun, loving, entertaining little lady. It has been so fun to watch her growing up. She really has her own style. We just love her!! She will be having a birthday party when we get back in town so pictures will follow soon on that one also.

Capri is soooo close to walking. She pushes her little chair all over the house and has even taken a few steps. Capri has no problem standing forever without anything to hold on to. I can't wait to see her take off. I love when babies learn to walk. She is now 10 months old and is really starting to come to life. She loves to screech as loud as she can (I have never heard a baby hit that high of notes before) just to make Myla laugh. Sariah keeps telling me her ears are ringing but they think it is so fun!

Kirk's graduation ceremony was today for his Masters. What a huge accomplishment and another check mark next to a life long goal for him.

Kirk graduated just in time for me to start school in two weeks. I am really excited!

Bad News- This is such a bummer but we received a notice saying that our chickens need a new home. I have never been a rule follower and this time was no exception. I know the rules for our area was that we needed to live on an acre or more to have livestock. It has been a great two years and I am very happy to that my sweet chickens will be going to my friends house who have land. I will be helping with the feed and in return I will still get eggs!!! I am sad to see them go but to be honest one less thing on my plate might be a nice change.

Last thing I have some big plans for my homemade addiction problem. Stay tuned.....

Sharing memories

2011-02-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went to my first leader training meeting for Myla's soon to be Girl Scout Troop. I had wonderful memories from Girl Scouts and I really wanted my girls to have a chance to enjoy it also.

Little Myla will be a Daisy with the new school year. She is really excited and can not wait to meet new friends!

This bad boy is on its way!

2011-02-03T16:27:00.000-08:00

I just ordered this bad boy today! I have really struggled trying to go running everyday without someone to watch the girls. Thanks to the neighbors cat we needed to buy one now since the cat sprayed our double stroller.

I have been looking at jogging strollers for some time now and this one had the best reviews for the price point. I really wanted the Bob stroller but at $500 it just did not make sense for a stroller to spend that much money.

This one has a swivel wheel and can lock in place for running.

My plan is to go each morning with the girls (weather permitting). It would have been nice to have this these past few weeks. The nights have been really cold but the days have been BEAUTIFUL!!

Go Kirk!

2011-01-31T13:20:00.001-08:00

I am so proud of Kirk. He has had a HUGE weight on his shoulders for a long time now with school, finishing his thesis while at the same time studying for his CFA, and well not always having the most supportive wife.

I really think it brightened his day when he got the following e-mail.

"Congratulations! As a result of your outstanding academic achievement, you are eligible to apply for the College of Business Administration's 2010-2011 Outstanding EMBA Student Award."

Kirk would need to turn in a one page essay and his transcripts. Then he would go to the 40th Annual College of Business Awards Banquet.

I have a handful of friends and family that have supported their spouse through the Masters program. It is not easy for anyone especially the person completing their Masters. Not to mention that he has five kids, 15 chickens, and working full time.

Great job Kirk!!

Capri

2011-01-28T23:25:00.000-08:00

Lets be honest, I am not very good at the whole mommy routine.

Every time I am pregnant I promise myself this baby will be the one that will sleep well. This will be the one I will let "soothe" herself to sleep. Not "cry it out" but let them fuss a little from day one so they can figure it out. Well you guessed it I have failed every time.

There is something wrong with me that I can not let my babies cry. I don't know what it is but I just can not do it. Every time when they get to be around 7-9 months I succumb to peer pressure and let them cry it out. It worked fine with Myla not at ALL with Sariah and Capri.... little 14 pound Capri. Yeah let me just tell you about that.

It all started about two weeks ago. I gave in and said ok fine I will let her cry it out for short times and keep going back in comforting her but let her soothe herself.

This went on for about four nights and without much change. OK well there was a change but not the change I was looking for. She started having crazy separation anxiety. This lasted about TWO WEEKS. She would not let me put her down for one second! Anytime someone would come near her even her family she would start screaming and squeeze me even tighter.

That is fun and all but day after day. Not being able to clean, cook or really live without her in my arms got a little old. Oh and did I mention she would not nap more than 5 minutes twice a day.

Then it got worse. She got really sick. I think she had the same flu like thing I had, with body aches and fever. Four days of the low grade fever and then as soon as that passes she got a crazy rash and thrush (yeast infection of the mouth). Really anything else???

So the bottom line Capri will not be four years old needing me to nurse her to sleep. Myla and Sariah go to sleep great and sleep through the night just fine. I think they are well adjusted and independent. So for now I am just going to enjoy my almost healthy happy baby and know that this brief moment in time will pass and she will no longer be my baby. So today I will just enjoy it!

Cure All

2011-01-28T23:02:00.000-08:00

Ok well almost a cure all!

I got Mastitis (breast Infection) probably around 15 plus times while nursing Sariah and each time I would call up my doctor and get put on antibiotics. I die now thinking how bad that was for my body but what choice did I have???

Oh yeah the cure all drug! My friend Naomi told me about garlic and cranberry a few years back and to be honest I was not sure if I believed they would work on an infection. Well the past few months our house has really proved it works.

Once again I am having mastitis over and over yet again. Myla had a few bladder infections (not uncommon in kidney disease patients) and Kirk just has a sinus infection.

It is completely amazing how fast the garlic and cranberry work. Kirk and I just take the pills for both and within hours we are feeling a ton better and by the next morning back to 100%.

For Myla I would give her the garlic gel capsules and she would chew them right up. For cranberry some of my friends would get the cranberry drops at health food store but that is really pricey. So I used my mortar and mashed them up and added them to some cranberry juice. Myla went from crying out in pain to within a few hours being as good as new.

It is such a blessing to be able to help my family without every having to leave the house. Now if only I could find a cure for Nephrotic Syndorme!

So cute!

2011-01-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

Last night while I was out, Kirk was working on his homework and Myla decided she was going to do her "homework". When I got home I saw her working on it but I did not get a chance to look it over until after she was in bed.

Normally I work with her but she did this one all by herself and did not have anyone to read it to her.

The idea is you look at the words on top, then the picture and decide what word matches the pictures and then write the word. I love how Myla wrote grl (girl) instead of Pam and duress (dress) instead of tag. Its so fun to see my little girl learning to write and spell words. I have really enjoyed teaching her at home.

On a side note I have spent a lot of time researching homeschool, the pros and cons. With Myla's health problems and the effect that small colds have on her I have really considered it. Myla does not start Kindergarten until August and she is doing 1st grade curriculum on almost all subjects. There is something amazing about watching your child learn something for the first time and get so excited. I did not realize how rewarding it is!

I will do a post soon on some cool things I learned about homeschool. Homeschool is not for everyone but I think it will be a great blessing for our family.

My Favorites!

2011-01-26T21:37:00.000-08:00

A couple new favorites that I wanted to share.

First of all clothing is really hard for me. It is a miracle if I find something that fits, looks ok and is modest. Really its almost impossible for the first two let alone but the third takes a lot of shopping.

1.) I found these things called Cami Secret at Bed Bath and Beyond around Christmas time and they are great. I had this exact idea a few years back and should have acted on it. I hate when that happens. Anyway you attach them to either side of your bra strap. They have this little piece of fabric that covers where your shirt lacks. They don't work for every shirt but for the shirts they do it is nice not to have one extra layer. For the shirts they do not work on I still use these.

2.) My friend turned my on to Lancome foundation a few months back and so far I love it. It covers really well without feeling like I am wearing anything at all. Also I have crazy sensitive skin and so far I have been fine.

3.) I also invested in the Lancome foundation brush and when I say invested I mean $35 for a foundation brush! I really think it was money well spent. My foundation goes on so smooth. Also not make up in my nails. LOVE IT!

4.) I have crazy thick hair. No really I mean it. It may not look like it from a distance but because it is so thick and thick I really struggle finding ways to keep it in place. I found Sally's Beauty Supply I found the BEST bobby pins ever. They are called Supreme Bobby Pins by Marianna. $5.00 for a half pound, they should last the rest of my life! The great thing is when I put them in my hair does not move!

Simple yet so yummy

2011-01-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share a couple yummy recipes. Enjoy!

My family LOVES homemade granola. Either in crumbles for cereal or in bars for healthy snack foods. This is my favorite recipe and I change it depending on the mood or what is in my cabinet.

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup of any seed or nut, i.e. almonds, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds
1 cup of any dried fruit, i.e. cranberries, raisins, apricot, etc.
1/3 cup coconut oil (you could use canola oil, olive oil, what ever you use.)
1/2 raw honey
1 tsp Mexican vanilla

Preheat oven 300

I just combine everything, dump in a cake pan, then throw in the oven.

I bake for 10 minutes, stir and cook for another 10 minutes. Let cool completely before storing.

No Rise Whole Wheat Biscuits

2 cups whole wheat flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp organic sugar or honey
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until it resembles course crumbs. Stir in milk until just moistened. For here you can either do drop biscuits, super easy but not as nice looking. Drop biscuits are just a spoon full of dough dropped on a baking sheet. OR the dough can be rolled out 3/4 inch thick and use a biscuit cutter (or circle cookie cutter) and cut 2 1/2 inch circles. Place on a ungreased baking sheet and cook at 450 for 10 - 12 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve warm.

Mock Potato Soup
(AKA Cauliflower Leek Soup)

Don't let the name fool you on this one. It truly is amazing and the whole family will love it.

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
3 leek, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finally chopped
8 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste (salt is a must)
1 cup heavy cream (optional)

Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot on medium heat, and saute leeks, cauliflower, and garlic for about 10 minutes. Stir in the vegetable broth, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes. (Sometimes I do less because of time and it turns out just fine)

Remove the soup from heat. Blend the soup with a immersion blender or hand mixer only if you like it smooth. My family likes it chunky. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in heavy cream.

Good bye my friend

2011-01-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

New year with new goals. A few years past I made a goal to do as much homemade as I could. That started with food, cleaning products, toys, clothes..... really you name it I tired it.

Changing from some processed foods to almost none was huge for me. We ever did that much processed food in our house. But the way I really started to understand food, the effects food has on every aspect of our lives, good or bad. The more I learned about what I was eating the better I felt. First my body had more energy. My body worked more efficient on less food. I slept better and most important my mood was better. I started paying attention to how different foods made me feel.

When I was pregnant with Sariah I had a few bad experience with meat and could not eat it the rest of the pregnancy. I assumed that once I was not pregnant any more I would be able to go back to meat. No such luck. Sariah is just about three years old and I still do not like it at all. I do eat it VERY sparingly but I did notice I feel better without it.

Also the less I ate refined sugars the less I craved them. In return the more I ate them the more I craved them.

The better I ate and put good locally grown, no processed, homemade food in my body the better I felt about myself. When I would put "bad" foods in my body the lower my self image would be.

OK so why I am I going on and on about food? Great question. Even though I ate really healthy I was still not in what I would consider a healthy weight rang. So as with a new year comes new goals.

My Goal
I still need to be very healthy in my food choices while watching my portion sizes but most of all I needed to move more. As a mom it is so hard to take time out for ourselves. But we HAVE to do it to be a good mommy and wife! So this year I have decided I want to start running.

Now keep in mind I have NEVER been a runner. I hated running in P.E. and have never ran since but I wanted to be a runner. So I thought if I accomplish nothing else this year I want to run.

Let me just say I went into this very worried but so far it has been great. I love the feeling of being outside in the fresh air and doing something so good for my body.

The best part is in just under two weeks I have lost 6 lbs. I still have like another 40 to go but that is a better start than I had two weeks ago. My plan is to work out 5 days per week between running, workout videos and walking if I have to.

Good bye my 40 pound friend, it is time for a change!

"Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs"

2011-01-16T21:15:00.000-08:00

I was reading this article here and tell me if you got the same message as I did.

Its titled, "Why I can't stop reading Mormon housewife blogs". The author is a young, feminist atheist who is addicted to Mormon blogs.

In the article she is questioning why she likes to read these blogs so much. She even dares to say they are "uplifting".

The whole time I was reading this article it was so clear to me why she was so drawn to them. She could feel the truth, feel the Spirit in these women. What life could be like with the Spirit.

I'm not saying that my life is perfect or easy at that but what I am saying is that my trials would be so much harder not knowing the truth. Harder if I did not have my Heavenly Father to turn to when times get hard.

A cheap date

2011-01-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

I normally do not jump on the band wagon with what everyone else is reading but these books are amazing.

I had heard about these books from EVERYONE. I gave up and on our trip to Utah we started listening to the first book on CD. Our 10 hour drive seemed like 30 minutes! We were hooked.

For Christmas I bought Kirk the second and third book. Each night once the kids were asleep Kirk and I snuggle up on the couch in front of the fire and I would read. It really is a great way to share something fun together and very inexpensive (or free if you rent from the library or borrow from a friend). I love the idea of reading together.

See you in three years!

2011-01-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

As most of you know Kirk just finished his Masters and will walk with his class in March. It was a life long goal for himself and we are so proud of all that he accomplished.

I have always wanted to go back to school. It was always an agreement that once he finished his Masters I would go back to school.

Growing up I always wanted to be a doctor. I even use to watch the surgery channel for fun! I gave up that idea because being a mom was more important. I knew that doctors worked a lot of hours and I would never see my kids.

With that said, my sister is such an inspiration to me. She is just about finished with her pre-requisites for nursing school. The more I talked to her about the classes she was taking and her plans the more I thought why can't I do that? It will take me probably around five years to do all the schooling I want and still be a mom and wife but it would be such a great example to my kids.

I think the perfect nursing job for me would be one day a week in the labor and delivery department.

So I started looking into what classes, what I needed to take and what my plan would be. Then Kirk came home and said he just enrolled in school again and it would take about three or four years to complete.

Kirk is going back to get his CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)

What is CFA?
The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is an international professional certification offered by the CFA Institute to financial analysts who complete a series of three examinations. To become a CFA Charterholder candidates must pass each of three six-hour exams, possess a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution (or have equivalent education or work experience) and [1] have 48 months of qualified, professional work experience. CFA charterholders are also obligated to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards governing their professional conduct.

Or as Kirk calls it, the big boys club for finance.

I am very grateful for Kirk's desire to provide for our family. This program is really really hard and it has about a 30% passing rate. I know he will do well. We many never see him but after this he will hopefully be able to apply for the top jobs. Also by the time he is finished Paige and Dillon will be out of the house so we can move to the big finance areas.

I am still planning on going back to school. I will probably only take on one or two classes a semester but I feel very strong about continuing school.

See you in three years Kirk!

(Maybe he will be so busy he won't notice if we had another baby or two) Heee heee

Myla's Birthday Party

2011-01-08T22:26:00.000-08:00

For Myla's fifth birthday we decided to do a party with some of her friends. According to some parents its not cool to have boys over at a girl party so I think this is the last year. Its so sad that kids have to grow up!

Myla's wanted a Fancy Nancy party so we did that but focused on just being fancy. Boys like to be fancy right. Ok apparently I do not know boys but I think they had fun!

With Christmas I did not start planning the party until really two days before but I think it turned out pretty cute considering the lack of planning.

So everyone was asked to dress up fancy and let me tell you I think that was the cutest part. We did blue and pink sandwiches cut out in castle shape, fancy cupcakes and cookies thanks to my mom, and lots of games and fun!! (No pictures of the other kids dressed up just in case some parents did not want them on a public blog)

I made Myla a Fancy Nancy dress with matching Fancy Nancy slippers

I made some crowns and tiaras for all the kids to take come.

Castle sandwiches with fancy toothpicks because everything taste better with fancy toothpicks!

My mom is a amazing!! I just love how these turned out.

Just Dance

2011-01-08T22:20:00.000-08:00

Myla's second dance recital and this time she actually danced!

Its so fun to see her come out of her shell and showing more confidence.

Myla has three of her friends in her class so it has made it so fun this year!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Finally playing catch up on the month of December!

Merry Christmas!!
Myla and Sariah at grandma's house for Christmas Eve. (Thanks Tamara for the pics)

The first picture is Sariah with her aunt Angie. Do you think Sariah or Myla liked their gifts????

I LOVE these two kids. My niece and nephew. Kylee is 10 now and is the most mature, sweetest girl I have ever met! Nathan lost his two front teeth just in time for Christmas. If I knew I would have a boy just like him I would order one today!

My dad, sister Tamara and her hubby Scott. It made my WHOLE Christmas to have my sister home with us!

Perspective

2010-12-13T00:23:00.000-08:00

Myla has relapsed again......

I saw this story tonight and my heart goes out to this sweet girl and her family.

The news story is about a little girl named Keyara Walls. She has Nephrotic Syndrome just like my Myla bear does. Keyara was diagnosed when she was only 1 and is now 6 years old. Her Nephrotic Syndrome does not seem in control like Myla's is for the moment but it scares me, really scares me to read this and think about how quickly Myla's life can change.

I have felt so blessed that Myla has had a break from high dose steroids for about a month. She has slimmed down some and her mood has been more even.....

But how as a mom do I not scream out and say no I do not want to give her the bad drugs any more. No I don't want to make her body hurt. No I do not want to cause anymore damage to her body or her eyes. No I do not want her to gain weight and then for her to feel embarrassed that she is wearing a leotard for her dance performance and people will see her "big belly" (Myla feels that way not me).

Then I think I want my daughter to live so I give her the bad drugs. Knowing that even if she one day grows out of this that there will still be last effects for everything we gave her to save her life.

I cry for my little girl, I cry for all the kids that have it so much worse than Myla.

Please take a few minutes to read Keyara's story. It really helps put life or trials in perspective.

(In Keyara's picture I know those cheeks all too well. Notice how large her face is but how little her ankles are. That is so Myla when she relapses)

Watch me grow!

2010-12-03T10:43:00.004-08:00

Seven months old, Really??? Time is going by so fast!

Tipping the scales at 13 pounds, Capri is a little lady.

To say that Capri is a mama's girl is a big understatement. She will only let me hold her. She will give daddy about two minutes and then she is done. She does a great job of making me feel special.

At six months old if someone was holding her and I went to go "save" her she would clap for me. Now everything is worthy of clapping.

She is so close to crawling and pulls herself to standing. Normally I welcome the idea of my babies being movable but this time around I really just want to keep her a baby just a little longer.

Clapping in action.

Our trip to Utah

2010-12-03T09:44:00.001-08:00

I LOVE every part of Utah. Yes you did read that right. I forget how much I enjoy it until I go back to visit and than as soon as I cross that Utah border it all comes right back.

Kirk's mom has a three story house that she rents out about two blocks from BYU. It so happened that it was vacant for a few months and she was kind enough to let us stay there for a week. We LOVED it.

It was a nice treat to go on vacation and have a whole house to ourselves. When we got snowed in I was so happy we were "stuck" a few more days.

Sariah just happened to be asleep every time we went out to play in the snow. I guess we wore her out!

Myla was pro at making snow angels.

This was where we were staying. What a beautiful winter wonderland!!

Christmas lights at the Salt Lake Temple. The pictures did not turn out that great since I only had one hand. It truly was beautiful there!

"Heeeey, it looks just like a Christmas tree."
Extra points if you can name that movie!

Our friends have a brother that owns Mo Bettah Steaks (Hawaiian food) in SLC. They told us to check it out since it is good. The were way wrong. It was AMAZING!! Even Capri was smiling!

Go Kirk!!

2010-12-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

After 18 months, an unbelievable amount of homework, and a husband that disappeared, Kirk has graduated from grad school with his MBA!!

Kirk was in the executive MBA program, for working professionals and graduated with straight A's!

He will walk with his class in February so I will include some pictures then but I wanted to celebrate that he is DONE!!

Hurray!!!!

Where I have been hiding

2010-11-15T11:38:00.000-08:00

I have been hiding behind my sewing machine and glue gun for quite some time. I just finished my first craft fair and had a really good time doing it! Here is just some of the things left that I created.

Tag blankets and I spy bags (these are great go with child toys).

Fancy socks

Baby and toddler dresses

I LOVE these diaper/wipe clutches. This was the only left and I like the fabric but I really loved some of the other ones. I wish I would have taken pictures before.

Binky strap and sippy cup straps. Capri is not a big binky baby but loves to chew on it and the strap. Also I am so excited for the sippy cup straps. These are great for car seats (for our upcoming road trip), strollers or even high chairs. It will hopefully save me the pick up game or lost sippy cups.

Headbands. I also made some hair bows but most of them sold.

Fancy wipe cases

Burp cloths

Halloween

2010-11-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

We have decided that trunk or treating is the way to go with three small kids.

This year as with every year we go to our church trunk or treat (no trick or treating on Halloween for us since it was Sunday). The kids had so much fun and got a big bag full of candy.

Myla was so funny. We were almost done with all the cars and Myla said, "Mom my bag is full, I am done!! I love how innocent they are at this age. Really they don't get candy that much so they would have been very happy with one or two pieces.

Election Day

2010-11-02T17:19:00.000-07:00

Election Day is always an important day for our family. I think I have voted every year since I turned 18. We have made it a family tradition to pull open the big Voter Information Pamphlet as a FHE. We go over each proposition and all the people elected and make the decision on who to vote for as a family (I promise our kids really enjoy it).

We want our children to grow up knowing that they have a voice in how our country and even our county is ran. We are very blessed to live in American! Now go out and vote.

Homemade Christmas

2010-11-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to make Christmas a little more about Christ and not so much about things, we have decided to go homemade. Ok well a compromise for the older children is 50/50.

I have a couple ideas that I would like to make but I thought I would see if anyone wants to join me. An idea would be we could get together once a week or every other week to share ideas and make some presents.

Are you in???

Sensory Tag Blanket Tutorial

2010-10-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is my version of the sensory tag blanket. I am not a rule-follower when it comes to sewing. I am self taught, so I hope this tutorial makes sense to you.

I like my tag blankets small because then they can fit into the diaper bag, go in the car, or be carried into church. Large blankets would also be nice to throw on the floor as an activities mat. Either way they are so cute.

Items Needed:
Top fabric
Bottom fabric
All different kinds of ribbon cut about 2 inches long
fabric pins
scissors
toy rings (optional)
button snaps (optional)
Iron (optional)
buttons (optional)

First, pre-wash the fabric you decide to use. Don't tell anyone but I never pre-wash. I know, I know, those are the rules but I don't like that rule and I have not had a problem yet...

Choose a size that works for your needs, then cut out two pieces of cloth, a top and a bottom.

With the wrong side face up I fold 1/4 inch all the way around the top and bottom of the fabric. You could either pin it in place or I like to iron it in place.

Fold your ribbons in half and pin them on the bottom fabric all the way around. I like to put my ribbon in a pattern so the whole thing matches. Either way works.

Pin the top fabric to the bottom fabric with "wrong sides" together.

Now sew a single stitch around the entire square close to the edge.

You could now be done or here are a few more options that I put on mine.

I like the idea of a pocket. It is great for small books or toys.

For the pocket, cut a piece that looks nice with the size of blanket you made. Next, fold down the top 1/4 inch and sew a straight line. Then pin/iron down 1/4 inch all the way around the pocket on the three other sides. Pin the pocket to the blanket and then sew the three sides down.

Last I like to add buttons to one tag on each side of the blanket. That way I can attach new toys to keep the blanket fun. There are many kinds of buttons at the fabric store. As you can see in the pictures are sewn in place. They work but are not my favorite. My favorite buttons are hammered in place.

Attach toys to the tags to make a super cute tag blanket!

20 Minute dessert

2010-10-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

For every birthday growing up my mom would make us our favorite homemade ice cream. She would pull out the wood barrel ice cream maker, fill it full of ice and rock salt and for hours (it seemed) we would hear that thing running. The ice cream was amazing!! I have since tried to pass that tradition down to my kids but it just seems like so much work.

Not any more!! For my birthday my mom bought me a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. Let me just tell you I am totally in love. It takes 20 minutes to whip up a batch of ice cream and you can either eat it then and have it be more a soft serve or freeze it for a few hours and it is more like store bought.

It makes the perfect size for our family and there is normally not a ton of left overs that will be calling me name for days.

Any ideas what color store bought vanilla ice cream is??? Yellow. Any ideas what color homemade vanilla ice cream is? White. Also I can read the names of everything I put into my mine. Just something to think about.

Almost guilt free dessert

2010-10-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here is to a almost guilt free dessert. Quinoa pudding! If you like quinoa you will love this.

If you do not know what quinoa is (pronounced as KEEN-WAH ) let me bore you for a minute. because it is amazing!
Quinoa is 100% whole grain and is close to being a perfect food source in the balance of nutrition it provides. Technically it's not a grain but they call it that. Quinoa is an excellent source of protein - 12% to 18%. According to The National Academy of Sciences, quinoa is "one of the best sources of protein in the vegetable kingdom". Quinoa contains the amino acid lysine which helps the body produce protein. It also helps the body process the protein in the quinoa and in other foods. The World Health Organization has rated the quality of protein in quinoa to be equivalent or superior to that found in milk products. See amazing!

This recipe I found here came from a beautiful blog. Worth checking out and drooling over.

Now go enjoy some dessert.

Quinoa Pudding with Macerated Strawberries

makes about 4 8 oz servings

3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream (optional but makes it creamer)
1 or 2 tsp vanilla (mexican of course)
1/4 cup organic sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup quinoa

1 cup strawberries, diced
1 Tbs organic sugar

chopped pistachios (I did not add them but a great idea if you like nuts on desserts)

Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse it with cold water.

Combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the quinoa and stir. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 30 minutes stirring every few minutes. If skin starts to form on top of the milk, just stir it back in. The milk will reduce and thicken. Ladle into bowls.

Place cut strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle them with sugar. Toss them and let them sit at room temperature for about an hour until juices start to come out.

Top the puddings with the strawberries and chopped pistachios.

Quinoa info found on http://www.quinoa-recipes.com/Quinoa_Pages/What_Is_Quinoa.html

Ready Set Read!

2010-10-18T23:24:00.001-07:00

Myla crawled for two days before she walked. I was always worried because I have heard that kids that don't crawl struggle with reading. Silly I know!

Well at four years old Myla is a reader! It is so fun to see how excited she gets each time she learns a new word. She even read friends today (seven letters)!! Good job Myla we are so happy for you and love watching you grow.

Take two

2010-10-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

Don't you just want to kiss this face??? (I love the hair)

For just over a month now Sariah has been having "episodes" (3) that look like seizures. Just to be safe we brought her into her doctor and from there they made an appointment for a EEG.

With the help of a great friend and my sister we went in today for her EEG. We had to sleep deprive Sariah so that she would sleep during the appointment. On a side note if you sleep deprive the child that also means you sleep deprive the mom (why am I still awake???) Since Kirk left early early this morning to Florida for business I was worried about how I was going to keep Sariah awake on the drive down. Nikki watched Myla for me and my sister drove all the way from Roseville to drive with me to Sacramento and also to take care of Capri during the appointment.

It went really well. I had to get Sariah to fall asleep so I gave her her drug of choice.... you guessed it raisins! I don't know what it is but raisins do it every time. She puts some in her mouth and starts sucking on them while she takes some in her hand and then rubs them on her lips, face, arms, eyes..... you name it. I know it sounds really weird and lets face it, it is ummm interesting but sooooo cute at the same time.

Once she was out they hooked her up to all kinds of wires then monitored her for about 25 minutes. After that they put on a strobe light for about 5-8 mins and then I had to wake her up and then they monitored her one last time. Then off we went. We should find out on Friday (which means next week sometime) the results. I really thing everything is ok but at least this will give us peace of mind!

Notice the box next to Sariah. See I was not kidding.

This picture was last month before I bit the bullet and potty trained Sariah. She was so ready and was potty trained in one day. For my kids so far 2 1/2 is the perfect age to potty train.

Gardening

2010-10-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

Even without having a real warm summer I was still pretty happy with our garden this year.

Our favorite garden find would definitely be the raspberries. I don't think I will ever be able to enjoy them from the store again!!

These are some others that grew really well this year and also here.

So the blackberries do not look that big in this picture but we got some of the biggest blackberries I have EVER seen.

Now time to start working on our winter garden!!

My therapy part 1

2010-10-04T11:19:00.001-07:00

With life so crazy, crafting is my therapy!

I always have a running list of crafts that I would like to make. This tag blanket has been on my list for a few years and I finally sat down to make it this past week. This was super easy and is one of Capri's favorite toys. I will do a tutorial soon on how easy it is to make.

I did this blanket a little different. Of course I did tags all around it with different ribbon for texture and then I also added snaps to four ribbons so I could attach toys. I like the snap idea so I can change out the toys as Capri gets bored with the current ones. I also added a pocket for a small board book or toy. I made this blanket small enough it can go in the car with us or in my diaper bag.

Then I made some baby sandals. The pictures do not do these justice. They are way cute. Since they were my first pair there are some things I would do differently but I still love them.

Its hard to tell but there is a cut out for the toes and a strap on the heel.

Crazy days

2010-09-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

When it rains it pours......

We were in a car accident July 4th and I have not had a good night sleep since then (whiplash).

Myla's new meds come with migraines and blood tests every other week.

Sariah is having episodes that look like seizures and she will be going to see the neurologist for a CT scan.

Kirk's in grad school, no need to say more.

OK I'm done whining.

She is blessed!

2010-09-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Finally at four months old we got Capri blessed. We had been waiting to see if family was going to come into town and then we decided to just get her blessed. We had left a message for the Bishop and he never got back to us until we showed up at church and they had all the paperwork for her to be blessed that day. So Kirk ran home to get her dress and she was blessed.

It was really funny how Capri acted. She acted like it was her special day. She LOVED her dress and was so excited to have me put it on her. Then during Sacrament meeting when Kirk stood up to walk her to the front she had the biggest smile on her face. The men that stood in for the prayer said that she smiled the WHOLE time.

We just love you little Capri!!

Green Friday

2010-09-09T23:11:00.001-07:00

Since I have been camping for I think three or four time this summer I thought a post on green camping would be appropriate.

There is so much waste done in camping so I thought I would share just a few ideas that my family does.

1.) We bring dishes (metal or plastic) and a tub to wash them in. Most camping meals are so simple either cooking over a fire or in a dutch oven that there are just a few dishes to wash. So why waste money and the environment on paper cups, plates, plastic forks, etc.

2.) The old Boy Scout rule, "What you take in, you must hike out". Well if you are taking it out anyway why not have two bags one garbage, the other recycling.

3.) So I know I have issues with processed food. But there are some really yummy alternatives than your regular camping foods. Like homemade whole wheat graham crackers and homemade marshmallows. I have made these before but this last camping trip I knew there was going to be some s'more action so I thought I would bring my own. Well that was a great idea until Dillon ate all the crackers on the way there. They must have been good. Anything homemade does take a little more planning but the taste is sooo much better and there is far less waste.

4.) Soda, juice and bottled water. Besides the fact that soda is horrible for you and instead of drinking juice doctors say it is so much better to just eat a piece of fruit. Think of all the waste each can, juice box or water bottle creates. Even if you recycle there is still so much waste in the item being produced and then recycled that really never needed to happen. So here are a couple alternatives. Water is best for your body and a 5 gallon water containers work great. If you have to have your soda or juice box think of buying the big 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon containers. It is normally less waste than all the individual containers.

That is just a couple ideas but even the smallest ideas help. I would love to hear some ideas that you can come up with.