2 Doors Down ;)

I bought 5 solid wood doors that all match off Craigslist for $40 each =) Saved us a lot of money, but then again, they were A LOT of work sanding them down, prepping and painting!

Got Brady's doors in - took us 1 evening, amazing how much time everything takes to do:
We are getting carpet on Friday morning - oh, and 1/2 price (yup, another Craigslist find) - whoop, whoop! LoL

more jewelry

Still making more jewelry . . . wonder if I should make some for Christmas presents?? =)

I tore apart a very ugly necklace from World Market that I got on clearance for $4 and made these earrings out of semi-precious freshwater pearls.

I made a smaller pair for a trade with someone and will probably make a bracelet and a necklace to match my earrings as well. Should help Jonathan upstairs before playing around too much more ;)

Gingersnap Cookie Recipe

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 cubes)

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, (or grated fresh if you have it)

1/2 tsp ground ginger, (fresh is good too)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add in egg and molasses.

Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and salt together. Mix together and then add half to butter mixture and mix just until combined. Add second half of flour mixture until combined. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 3 hours.

Roll into balls and coat balls with white sugar and place on greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or convection oven for about 8 minutes.

Makes about 30 cookies.

YW Handout for the Second Coming

I had to fill in for the lesson last minute on Sunday. Lesson handout for the Second Coming. Made a shrinky dink crown, glued gems on it and put a jump ring through a hole for the girls.

Coconut Macaroon Recipe

Baking today . . . we're going to a cookie party!

Keaton: What are those!!!???

Me: Cookies - they only have a little coconut in them. ;)

Brady: NO!! Those are ALL coconut!

Keaton: Those cookies look gross!

Me: Maybe I made them with the intention of knowing you don't like them so you won't eat them all.

Brady: That's mean.

Me: Well, Keaton said 'ewwww, those cookies look gross'.

Brady: You told me that I can't say something mean back even when someone's just said something mean to me.

Keaton: Hypocrite!

Me: That's true, but I'm the parent you can't say that to me - LoL You will always have to respect me because I'm your elder.

Keaton: Not when we're missionaries though! (haha)

Too quick ;)

Dipped the bottoms in melted dark chocolate and then drizzled the tops:

14 oz sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

14 oz sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp almond extract

3 eggs whites

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped almonds

6-8 oz melted chocolate

Preheat convection oven to 325 degrees (toast your coconut while the oven is warming up)

Whip egg whites and salt until stiff peak. Combine coconut, milk and extract in a separate bowl. Fold in egg whites. Refrigerate 1 hour. Use cookie scoop (spray with Pam) and line 2 cookies sheets. Bake both pans at the same time, switching top rack with bottom rack after 10 minutes - full baking time is 20 minutes. Allow to cool, melt chocolate and dip bottom of cookie in it and once that dries, melt the chocolate again and drizzle on top.

Makes 24 cookies.

Possible Halloween Costume?

I don't think he minded he couldn't even see . . . where he was going OR what he looked like - this is Keaton's hat and Keaton never thought of this trick, but it was the first thing Andrew thought of when he saw it ;)

Entertaining! =)

Vertical Stripes Done!

Brady's chore yesterday was to stick up long pieces of tape where I marked off the sections - the tape is only stuck on at the top of the wall - and it was VERY helpful =)

Jonathan & I then leveled out the tape lines and secured them to the walls today. Long process and extremely nice to have help with this =)

I love it . . . but now there is touch up work . . . I'll have to tackle it tomorrow or the next day!

Another great task to assign as a chore is rinsing out the paint rollers - LoL I am a mean mom ;)

Paint Permit?

Research says most of us are scared of color on our walls and stick to neutral colors with the most popular color being taupe. (and I only painted Keaton's color neutral brown because I am letting him have his walls as a canvas - he's going to paint right on it!) Hmmmm, I might be the complete opposite end of that spectrum ;) So much so that my boys are actually scared of the color I chose for their closet - LoL We designed a Jack-n-Jill closet between their 2 bedrooms. It's very practical and fun to have something out of the ordinary:

Yup, that is a spice orange on the closet wall. Still have to put in the bead board and trim (it's SO nice not having to tape everything off! but taping off 50 straight lines for Brady's room makes up for that - haha). Orange is one of my favorite colors and this is what (someone who thinks they're the expert) states about orange: likely to be outgoing, creative, expressive and young at heart. I like that definition =)

Window sills and window trim - ahhhhh, it's coming together people!

Love those finishing touches - it is finally feeling almost done =)

Keaton's bedroom

Keaton & Brady's rooms before:

With the new window:

Redone and primed:

Painted with brown walls and ceiling:

The bead board in Keaton's room will be dark brown as will the moulding be too. Looks like we're almost ready to order the carpet . . . yea!

A lot of work!!

Working on the upstairs remodeling it from scratch is a lot of work . . . so much so that I don't recommend YOU ever thinking you'd like to do it one day ;)

Skylight framed in, new lights, electrical outlets, bay window seat, walls completely mudded (so there's no bumpy texture), sanded and primed. It takes a lot of time to do it yourself - thanks Jonathan =)

I just like the painting and decorating part myself, but I try to help out with the grunt work a little ;) Brady's room is 4 shades of blue, the lightest blue being on the ceiling only. I started today and did the smallest wall with random stripes. I was going to do horizontal stripes, but Brady wanted vertical - I think it'll look cool when it's done. We're going to put bead board on the bottom and a chair rail around the top of that. We'll add crown moulding to the top so painting isn't that bad when I don't have to be exact!

And still have to finish the bench seat, order the ceiling fan, give the window a sill, carpet, closet, construct a Murphy bed, 2 doors - ahhhhh, I think I will stop with my list as it is seeming like a long ways a way to be done still =(

Matching Beaded Jewelry

I made some matching jewelry using pinks and purples, this is the bracelet:
Earrings:
Necklace:
Hair pin:

The bobby pin in my hair:

The whole ensemble:

Now to check my closet to see if I have to buy an outfit that will match it - LoL

YW Value Colors Charm

For our YW activity tonight, I was in charge of the craft, so I came up with this dangling charm which has each value color - we added it to a chain to wear as a necklace:

We attempted shrinky dinks too - but I couldn't supervise both, so sad to report the shrinky dinks did not turn out - LoL I guess I need to communicate directions better =)

Education YW Lesson Handout

I made a paper graduation cap with green paper (for the YW knowledge value color) and put a quote on the top 'The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. Light and truth forsake that evil one.' and side quote is from President Kimball 'Some are inclined toward formal university training, and some are inclined more toward the practical vocational training. We feel that our people should received that kind of training which is the most consistent with their interests and talents. Whether it be in the professions, the arts, or the vocations; whether it be university or vocational training, we applaud and encourage it.'

I filled it with miniature graduation caps made from rolos (similar shape!):

Lesson 46, Manual 1

Lariat Necklace and Matching Jewelry

I wanted to make a Lariat Necklace - so I got out my cable chain and beads and put it together in about 10 minutes! Loved how quick it was =) I also made a matching bracelet and earrings:
Then the next day I made a hair pin:
it's cute in:
I think I need to make some MORE jewelry now . . .

Grandma

Andrew says Grandma's name is Cynthia and knows her last name too. Ask Andrew what her middle name is and he'll tell you 'Grandma Cindy'. Ohhhh, of course it is!

Personally, I think she was going for the shrek look or something ;) LoL
I can't believe she LET me take those pics - haha

Catch Phrase

Natalie (9 years old): This is Kaylee's favorite thing.

Andrew (5 years old): Oatmeal!

Natalie: Noooo! This is Kaylee's favorite animal.

Andrew: (pause and then exclaims:) Baby cheetah!!

Natalie: Well, this is what baby cheetah's grow up to be.

Andrew: (so excited) Parents!

Auntie Cheri: (laughing - how cute!)

Natalie: (giving clues now) Baby boy cheetah's grow up to be lion's and baby girl cheetah's grow up to be . . .

Andrew: Tigers!

Auntie Cheri: (huh? at least they're on the same thinking level)

Natalie: Right. Okay, this word is a place and it's 2 words. First word is Tiger and second word is what trees are.

Andrew: Bark!

Natalie: We burn it in the camp fire.

Andrew: Wood!

Natalie: Right. Tiger Woods

Auntie Cheri: Uhhhh, Tiger Woods is not a place, he's a person . . . a famous golfer.

Natalie: (Pause) Whatever.

That was definitely an entertaining game - the kids played it in the car driving from one park to another on Orcas Island - we should have played it more! LoL

Squirrel

Awww, cute shot of a squirrel . . . Jonathan took this picture - nicely framed!

Wildlife

Don't try and play the childhood game 'freeze' with a squirrel, because the squirrel would win! This squirrel froze in place as I approached it - like it thought I wouldn't notice it - that makes me laugh =) I stood still for less than a minute and she continued on - she came over to our hose and took a nice long drink where it was dripping - smart animal . . . unless it's responsible for the drip in the first place ;) Doesn't that look like a nipple - I think she's a mama. If I knew where the nest was, I would capture (okay, kidnap) the baby for Jonathan - that would make him happy to have a squirrel as a pet - LoL
Awhile back, I was shooing away birds that I thought were pigeons from my bird feeders. About the 3rd time I saw them, I saw them fly into some trees. They always seemed to stay together in a pair - but then I heard them cooing. It dawned on me they were Doves, besides, why would pigeons be so far from the water? hehe I found that Dove's are easily startled, but I got a photo of one today.

Our state bird is the golden finch and we have lots visiting throughout the day, some are golden and some are bright yellow - once there was like 10 or more right on the feeder and it was cool - except they all flew away when I tried to get their photo ;)

I enjoy blue jays - although they are easily startled as well, they keep the crows away - gotta love that! I don't find them pesky at all. I feed them our old peanuts - they do eat from our bird feeders & take baths in our bird bath too. But this one scared all the finches away, guess it wanted some food too:

This woodpecker was a little skittish too, amazingly detailed:

I saved my favorite picture for last - we still have hummingbirds (I guess they start migrating around August 20th) and they love the flowers in our yard. It's super cute to watch them fluttering from each variety of flower. They get in our honeysuckle and it looks like the plant itself is moving.

Well, that was my day in a nutshell - between dishes and laundry, I just took a few photos. I suppose that's what mother's do, they constantly work and stop to reflect on those precious moments to enjoy the sweetness of their children's amazement . . . between the refereeing and exhausting moments - ha! Well, my kids weren't here today, so I found happiness in the wildlife in my own backyard =)

P.S. still jealous of the people who have hummingbirds land on their fingers! One day I'll find the time to learn that trick . . .

Chicken Tomato Soup

Saute together for 5 minutes or so

4 Tbsp butter

1 onion, diced

2 Tbsp fresh garlic

Add in

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 tsp lemon juice

Stir together, then add

1 can diced green chilies

6 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 cups fat-free half & half

2-14 oz cans petite diced tomatoes (don't drain)

14 oz chicken broth

6-8 oz pepper jack cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2-3 cooked, cubed chicken breasts

Serve in bowls, add tiny bit raw cilantro and serve with chips.

Caring for our Physical Bodies YW lesson

YW lesson, Caring for our Physical Bodies, Manual 1, lesson #37

Found a free site online that had paper doll templates:

As we talked about each subject, the girls added a piece to the paper doll on the opposite side and then they drew faces on their dolls. I only had 5 items to add to the doll to tie into the lesson exactly.

We made & ate yummy sandwiches at the end of class!

Blackberry Crisp

This recipe came from my sister Sarah - Jonathan said it was yummy! I don't enjoy cooked, warm fruit ;) And I assumed Jonathan would bring this into work to share - nope, nope, nope. He kept it in the fridge and dished out a serving a night - must be really good if he wanted it all to himself!

8 cups blackberries

Zest of 1 lemon

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 + 3 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 cup oats

1 cup butter

Combine blackberries, lemon zest, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 3 tbsp flour. Pour into deep baking dish (9x13 too small). Mix topping into a bowl: remaining sugars, flour, salt and oats and sprinkle evenly over berry mixture. Drizzle melted butter and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

White Bread Recipe

This recipe makes 4 loaves or a lot of mini loaves and some bigger ones too ;)

Dissolve and let stand 5-10 minutes:

-3 cups warm water

-3 Tbsp dry yeast

-2 tsp sugar

In a separate bowl mix:

-2 Tbsp kosher salt

-2 cups cold milk

-3/4 cup oil

-1 cup honey

-2 cups hot water

Add dissolved yeast mixture and stir well. Add 2 cups at at time:

-14-16 cups all purpose flour (or mix in 8 cups all purpose and remaining cups from wheat, white rice, oat flour, etc.)

Knead 10-15 minutes and let rise 1 hour or so.

Knead again 2-3 minutes more.

Divide dough into half and then half again so you have 4 equal sections.

Grease pans and let rise in warm place for 20-30 minutes

Bake 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

YUMMY!!