A good consequence

This was so cute, I just have to record it. I was teaching a lesson to the kids at church today, and we were talking about how we are free to make choices, but our choices have either good or bad consequences. The kids listed a bunch of good choices we can make, and I was asking what the consequences would be for each choice. I got to Hannah and I asked her, "What is the consequence of dressing modestly?" She thought for a minute and then said, "You stay warm." Ha! I couldn't help but laugh, and I hope I didn't embarrass her too much, but I loved it! She's right, I just wasn't expecting that answer!

The Food Nanny

I got a chance to see Liz Edmunds speak last night. She is such a fun, cute lady. She has a TV show called The Food Nanny where she does family dinner rescues on families kind of like how the Supernanny rescues families with out of control kids. It almost made me want satellite to see her show (but not quite :}). I think I mentioned before that I've been trying to simplify the whole menu-planning, recipe-organizing process. I was really excited because she basically suggested what I had decided to do. I did pick up a couple of great ideas, and I'm excited that a lot of her recipes are on her website. She demoed making her baguettes that will give you bread on the table in 45 minutes from the time you start it. It was delicious! Her husband was a pilot, so she has traveled the world. Then she would come home and try to recreate in her own kitchen whatever she had tasted in these great places like Italy or France. Sounds wonderful to me, and I am always up for trying a new recipe. She has a book, but I think I'm going to just explore her website for now.

So, here's my plan. I had already decided to do themed days of the week, and that is what she suggests. Friday nights are pizza night, Saturdays will be grilling night (or leftovers), Sundays will be slow-cooker or family tradition night. I really liked the family tradition idea. On Sundays she would cook meals that she remembered her mother and grandmother cooking and meals that her husband remembered from his childhood. What a great way to remember our ancestors and teach our children about their heritage. Mondays are breakfast night -- I usually end up cooking waffles on Mondays anyway, so I think I can mix it up a bit and add a few different breakfast ideas on Mondays. Always need something quick and delicious on that night. Tuesdays will be Italian or casseroles/comfort foods. Wednesdays are meatless/fish, and Thursdays are Mexican. I think it's going to be great.

She had the idea of planning two weeks of meals at a time, and I just thought -- well, of course. I completely agreed with her that planning one month is just too much for me, and I get tired of having to come back every week and make a new plan. Hopefully, two weeks at a time will help solve that problem.

As far as how I'm going to organize my recipes, I have decided that a binder just doesn't work for me. The old-fashioned recipe cards really are the best for me. I'm going to separate my dinner recipes into categories that correspond with my weekly themes. Then, when I'm planning my menus I will just take out the recipe that is at the front of each slot, and use that one for the week. Then, when I'm finished with that recipe I'll put it at the back of it's category and I'll be able to rotate through without ending up eating the same things all the time. We'll see how that works out.

Anyway, it was a really great experience last night to just be reminded of the importance of bringing our family together around the dinner table. It really is a wonderful work of love that yields incredible benefits for everyone in the family.

Chocolate party

This was such a fun cake to make. I don't even know how many heart cakes Hannah has had over the years, so when I saw this cake that looked like a box of chocolates I knew it would be perfect for her. She wanted to make it a chocolate party, so we served chocolate waffles for lunch and had chocolate ice cream to go with the cake. It was such a beautiful day, and the kids all went to the park across the street from our house and played for a while. I don't think that's ever happened before with her birthday being in February. :) It was a lot of fun. Thanks to the cousins and aunts and uncles for making it a fun day (we missed you, Sherrie).

On another note, just because I don't have time for a separate post, can I just say I LOVE HAVING NATE HOME!!! He is so wonderful, and I think there were over a hundred different ways he served me the past few days. Don't you know my kitchen counters are clean, the laundry is folded, the dishes are done, and the kids got some great time at the park with Dad yesterday. How does he do it? Thanks for everything, Nate!

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Happy birthday, Hannah! Wow, 10 years old!! Her birthday party isn't going to be until Saturday, so my cake pops came in handy this morning. At least she got to blow out one candle on her real birthday. She has so many qualities that I wish I had. She is loving and caring and always thinks of others first. I have never met anyone so naturally unselfish. I am so glad she is in our family. What a privilege to be her mother.

Cake Pops

I was swallowing one of these when I started my workout this morning. There is something seriously wrong with me.

 I love food blogs. I'm always amazed at the pictures. They are half of the fun of checking the websites. Obviously, I won't be starting my own food blog anytime soon. :) I've seen these cake pops in several places, but I think Bakerella gets the credit for them.

They look so cool and can be decorated in a thousand different ways. Nikki wants them for her birthday, and I thought I would go ahead and give them a try for Valentine's. Good thing I did. They are not nearly as easy as the beautiful pictures on the food blogs might make you think. These are the kinds of pictures they don't show you:

What happens when you don't follow directions.

And then what happens when you just don't have that hand-eye coordination and gift of art that probably comes along with the gene of great photography. And also what happens when your cute little helper just can't wait anymore!

In the end, I finally got some to turn out alright. I learned a few things, and maybe with a little more practice by the time May rolls around I'll be able to present some at a birthday party.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to my sweetheart! I love you!

This week I got adventurous and decided to try a couple of Valentine's crafts. Even though hot glue should be fool-proof, there were still a few moments of anxiety trying to make this wreath. I like how it turned out, though.

And these are some wax-paper crayon hearts that the girls helped me make. This was fun and easy, but it ended up taking a lot of time to cut them all out and tie the ribbon on.

Now I'm just about all crafted out. Time to head back to the kitchen! :) I'm making some Valentine's cake pops this afternoon. I'll try to remember to take a picture if I can get them to turn out.

Our Toothless Gymnast

Nikki had a gymnastics meet yesterday, and of course I forgot my camera! Then I forgot to have her pose for me in her leotard when we got home. At least I got a picture of her today. She did so well. There were 5 girls in her level and she placed 1st on the beam and 3rd all-around. It is so fun to watch her. Her first meet was last November, and I was really impressed with how much improvement she has made since then. I think I might claim all of her trophies and ribbons. With how much I have to remind her that she can't do handstands in a dress or nightgown, or that she can't do cartwheels when other people are close by, or that she should really make sure she is in the middle of the room so she doesn't break her foot when she kicks the wall, or that she has to finish getting ready in the morning before she practices her walkovers, or that gymnastics really doesn't invite reverence when we're gathering for scriptures -- I feel like I have earned an award to survived this long.

On another note, she has lost both of her front teeth in the last couple of weeks. It kind of made me sad when she lost the first one. It seems like once those new front teeth come in, they just start looking so much older. I'll miss my little girl, but then again, maybe growing up a little won't be all that bad. :)

I know I shouldn't complain, but...

I remember Chuck saying about me once that if I'm complaining then things are going pretty well. It's just when I stop whining that something is usually really wrong. I don't know if that's always true, but I'll accept it today because then I have permission to whine. :) Nate called last night and asked how I felt about him staying in Michigan another week. Do I really have a say in that matter? I appreciate him checking on how I am handling things with him gone, anyway. We will be okay with him gone, but he'll miss Valentine's, Hannah's birthday, and Nikki's gymnastics meet this weekend. He's been traveling a lot, but we have at least had him home on the weekends, so this weekend will be strange. Then, he was already scheduled to be gone the last week of February, and I'm not sure if that will change or not. So, in one breath I think about how it really stinks to have him gone for two or three weeks when I was just expecting 5 days. Then I think about Kim, whose husband has been deployed for months. Okay, so three weeks really is just a drop in the bucket. Or I think of Nate's brother who is in the process of selling his home because he has been out of work for a while. This really is a blessing that Nate has so much work that when he is in Michigan he is working close to 80-hour weeks and gaining some great new experience. And I really can see the blessing in it as long as I can look past the kitchen counters that I can not for the life of me keep clean. Or get to bed on time, which is so hard for me to do without him home. Thank goodness for modern technology that allows us to stay in contact with him everyday. One more reason I shouldn't complain. Also, one perk is that I can cook breakfast for supper every night this week and the kids will love it. :)

William and Ainsley

We watched by brother's two youngest kids this week, and it was a really great week. Ainsley is about 15 months and is just the happiest little girl. She would smile and play with me, but she didn't really want me to do much else with her. She wouldn't eat if I tried to feed her, but if Hannah fed her she just couldn't get enough. It was so nice having Hannah here all day! She was a huge help.

Then William is 3, and he and Ryan played really well together. He is such a calm, quiet kid. It made me realize that I'm not just spoiled from Nikki and Hannah when I think that Ryan is loud and crazy -- he really is! Hannah gave me a good laugh the first night as she was going to bed. She said, "Mom, I thought they would be just as loud as Lydia and Eliza (their older sisters), but they're pretty quiet." We love the life Lydia and Eliza bring when they come to visit, but there definitely was a difference this week! :)

Well, the boys mostly played well together. There was the one time I heard someone screaming, "Help me!!" When I rounded the corner Ryan was calmly leaning on top of the overturned Rubbermaid bin that holds the train tracks, only this time William was contained under the bin. Poor kid. I hope he's not too traumatized.