Myth Busted...

...I found THIS on pinterest...no need to follow the pin it doesn't go anywhere.  It states that by spraying pinesol cleaner around your house you will drive the flies away.  We have been bombarded with the nasty little things.  We are talking major workout killing them all.  Yesterday I counted 10 on one cupboard...yuck!  So I was out to do something about it.  Bought me some Pinesol the other day and started using it to clean my kitchen...I think the picture alone busts this myth, but if not, take my word that counting this fly, there were a dozen others flying around taunting me and my bottle of pinesol...ha, jokes on me!  It doesn't work.  I will continue my search and maybe by the time I find the cure it will freeze and the flies will be gone...

does he look like he is laughing at me?  I think so!

Cloud Dough...

...the wonder of it!

made from 4 cups of flour, and 1/3 cups baby oil (good way to use up old flour) softens your hands while you play

super easy to make just mix it together with your hands, it is mold-able

It smells yummy!

is super good for young kids sensory development

What a brilliant idea...

HAHAHAHA what a joke!  Who would ever think this a good idea?  Unless of course you like to clean flour off of just about every surface of your house, and every square inch of your kids and their clothes, and their shoes, oh but remember you also added OIL to the mixture of fun so it isn't just a powdery dust-able mess.

I laughed (still do actually) at this picture...

this is not my picture...found it on pinterest and THIS site had to laugh at everyone pinning it because they thought it was such a good idea...yeah maybe if you turn the playpen upside down and trap the baby and the balls inside...otherwise all I see is a fun game of "how many balls will mom pick up before she realizes this was not a good idea?"

...and then fell for the "let your kids play with flour mixed with oil, it is good for them, they will love it" spoof!!  You got me, I will now add this to my "makes me laugh" board on pinterest.  And you all have been warned! 
I have to say Colt was highly entertained though, and for more than 10 minutes, but next time I think I will just let the kids play in the smoke filled air, dirt and water.  At least that way when they are done I can hose them off.

Check 'em Out...

... A friend of mine makes these darling bows and wanted some product photography for them and Skye was more than willing!







And then Jacey got in on the action...seriously these bows can dress up the simplest hairstyle...aren't they the cutest things ever?! LOVE! Check out www.groupdealz.com on Friday for them.

these are the colors she has for this round. (10 points if you can name the plant they are in)

A Productive Spring Cleaning...

...It feels so refreshing to have made a few changes and cleaned corners I didn't know I had.

But first, we did see a little, tiny bit of sun on Saturday so the kids enjoyed the day outside with a picnic
and some good, not so clean, fun. I think this is how I am going to garden this year.
and then on Tuesday the kids and Greg ran off to Utah. Greg had a convention in SLC and since I had to work 3 of the days we thought the kids would have more fun spending some time with grandparents they went with him, then shuffling around with me.

And my fun began on Wednesday! I started with the hair chop, close to 10 inches...I learned something as I sat in the parking lot trying to take a picture to show Greg (he didn't know I was doing it). I learned after 20 pictures that I am terrible at taking my own picture...this is the best, most accurate one. I have another one that is a good picture, but my hair looks red/purple. Pretty sure I scared Jacey with that one. I have to say I have missed short hair, and I love how this turned out.

and then we got creative, thanks to Martha Stewart (not a huge fan of the lady herself, but her team sure has some cool ideas) we now have a chalkboard wall. With 2 cups paint and 4 TBS grout (her recipe calls for unsanded, but our Ace only had sanded and guess what, it worked and I'll bet I had less sanding to do than she did in her final step.)

Thursday I didn't have anywhere to go so I completely emptied my kitchen (minus the fridge) and started scrubbing, places I have never reached in the 4 years we have lived here. Remember that metal shelf that used to sit next to the fridge, the one I hated every time I tried to take a picture in my kitchen? It was bulky, and impossible to keep organized. It is making better use elsewhere. I also moved my microwave, and utilities in hopes of discouraging Colton from playing in that corner (where the flour used to be, not to mention the power strip for my computer that had a very tempting button).
Friday I had to work, and do a few other errands, but when I got home we hit the boys room, more specifically the closet. I wish I would have taken a before picture, but I didn't. So imagine, this pile of diaper boxes plus 4 others (that are not pictured) full of this and that mostly stuff I use for photo shoots, piled randomly in the closet. Oh, but then imagine 4 little kids rummaging through them, climbing on top of them trying to hide in them (notice they are mostly bent and broken)...do you have that image? Double, or even triple it and you will have our closet before...
and after a few hours...our closet after! I can get to the things I want, I have stored the things I don't (yes, still in diaper boxes-what will I ever do when my kids are out of diapers?) and we now have a functioning closet. Oh and that little brown rocking chair, it is now black.
then it was on to a few odds and ends, projects I kept thinking Greg would take care of for me, yet projects that were so easy I should have done them myself if I wanted them done.

(needs a little paint)

the sun came out for about 45 minutes on Friday and I took that chance to get outside for my only outside project (and it is a good thing I started inside and that the weather wouldn't let me outside-or else my house would still be a mess) Meet my new herb wall...you will see more pictures later when there are loads of fresh herbs springing forth from my concrete blocks. I LOVE IT, and it almost makes my cracking walls seem on purpose :)

Saturday I spent inside on the couch listening to conference...ahhh what a nice break. I made a few hats, a couple Easter surprises and that is it!

Sunday during the conference break I made a second attempt at pretzel bites. I tried them last October during conference and I just wasn't impressed. THIS recipe is perfect and as soon as the kids got home they were quickly gobbled up...and so was the cheese sauce.

they didn't even pause to sit down, or get their own plates...that is how we roll sometimes.

So back to my chalkboard wall, the kids thought it was super cool! Colt thought I had gone crazy when I let/encouraged him to write on the walls.

"seriously?!"

*This morning when we were erasing the chalk and the sun was shining through I might regret the wall. It is DUSTY!! I guess the kids just got a new daily chore :)

It is soooooo good to have everyone home again! Colt laughed hysterically when he first saw me, and all the other kids ran around trying to find all the differences.

Had to add this silly video of Colt...my goodness he is a NUT!

Trying New Things...

...trying to get out of my winter slump (maybe I should stop taking January off so I don't become lazy!). I found a pattern for this cowl on pinterest and followed the link HERE (kirst I posted the pattern just for you) figured out the jest of it and went to town. I can't follow a pattern, no really, I can't, but I think it turned out similar enough that I am happy. I even wore it to church. It is soft and comfy, yet cute (don't burst my bubble, I think it is cute) and super simple to boot!



Okay on to a new food...cauliflower I have had it before. It is nasty raw! I love it in mashed potatoes, soups and pretty much pureed until it is unrecognizable. I don't dislike it like I do celery, but it is just not something I pick up at the grocery store very often, UNTIL I tried it roasted...oh my addicting yumminess. I think it is probably not far off to say that I ate at least half a head by myself. I made the kids try one. Jacey and Skye both went back for more, Dax not so much. All I did was cut the cauliflower up, toss it with a little oil and seasonings (I used cajun) and then roasted it at 350 for probably 20 minutes I took it out a couple of times to shake it around the pan, but that probably wasn't necessary. A little salt on top and indulge!
We finally got around to making the v-day boxes...aren't they cute?!

Clean Eating Movie Night...

...I knew tonight was going to be a challenge, because honestly this is the best night of the week to come to dinner. This is when we get creative, try new things and we don't often skimp on anything. We survived it and even had carmel popcorn as a treat, but let's start with dinner.
We made Manicotti with home made pasta (aka crespelle) this dinner was a little more involved tonight because I was not only making dinner for us tonight, but a dinner to freeze as well. I am not sure how it will freeze, ask me in a month or two when we rotate it out of the freezer.

We started with the pasta sauce. I used my go to pasta sauce recipe

Then we went to the filling (this was enough for 16 manacotti)
15 oz low fat ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (reserve 1/2 cup for the top)
1 egg
1 cup cooked spinach (squeeze all the water our-and chop it)
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 clove garlic (or 1 tsp garlic)
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
parm cheese for the top
mix it all together and set it aside

Now the Crespelle (some might call them crapes, as I imagine they are pretty similar) I found the recipe here Use whole grain flour for an even healthier version.

so my first crespelle ended up being scrapped into the garbage can, my second one is seen here on the right, but check out the ones that followed (funny enough the recipe says it will make 16 and sure enough I had 16 good ones in the end so don't worry it gives you two practice rounds)

check out that flip!! Here are a couple of my secrets
I used about 1/8 cup for each, I lightly greased my pan after every one, take your pan off the burner and hold it at a slight angle while pouring the batter, then start to roll the batter around making it big and thin, then add it back to the burner and cook until the pan lets go of it, then toss it (or if you are a chicken flip it)
DEVINE! Alright so my kids (besides Jacey) picked out every single piece of spinach so maybe next time I will just leave that out. Jacey devoured hers, Dax made a nice effort at his, and didn't complain once. Skye on the other had was a fight to take one single bite (without spinach in it) and Colt ended up eating a PB and honey sandwich, but too bad for them they get the dinner at least one more time, or maybe Greg, Jacey and I will enjoy it and they can have cold cereal. I really, really like this one!
Alright let's talk about sugar free carmel popcorn...oh buddy...yes please!
I found this on (none other than) the gracious pantry and it is simple, it is clean (other than the sticky fingers) and it was yum-o-lishious!!
take 6-8 cups air popped popcorn
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup peanut butter
bring your honey to a boil (in a pan of course) let it boil up 1 inch (I am not sure I got this part of the directions, I just let it boil for maybe 1 minute) remove from the heat and add in your PB. Whisk it all together and pour over the popcorn stir it with a spoon and let it cool.

it was a HIT, and as long as I share with the kids and Greg, not a bad little treat!!
Who said clean eating had to be tasteless and boring, not too mention treat free! Oh and today marks day 12 of being sugar free-I have to say I think I might like it...*gasp!*

I will do our movie reviews tomorrow, haven't watched our movie yet

Clean Eatin'...

...so last week I mentioned, ever so briefly, that my family was going to start a new challenge. Really it is mostly for my sake, I am tired of migraines and we are going to test a theory. We are going to eat CLEAN. I am not about to go full force throw out all processed foods, I hate waste, but we are dramatically reducing the amount of processed foods we now buy to zilch. We will still eat whole grain pasta and bread (that one is easy since that is all I ever buy) but we will eliminate white sugar and white flour if it falls in the first 5 ingredients. Before you start to think oh great next she will be raising her own chickens, and goats, rest assured, I have friends that are willing to do that for me and I will just buy their eggs from them :)

I am excited about this new challenge and for now we are going to aim for 4 weeks, and see what we think at the end of the month. The kids haven't been told that we are making changes, but I am really curious to see if it helps Skye too. We are going to incorporate our snack drawer in the fridge again. We did this when Jacey was little but then stopped for what ever reason. We fill the bottom drawer of the fridge with snacks the kids can eat whenever they want (actually I think I remember why we stopped, it got expensive letting the kids eat whenever they wanted too) we might have to limit it to 2 snack times a day. The snacks will be fruits veggies, whole grains and milk products that fall within "clean".

I knew the number one problem I would have would be desserts for Family Home Evening so I did some searching and came across this blog...The Gracious Pantry... and tried her Peanut Butter Cookies. OH MY GOODNESS-yum-o! No, they can't be labeled as "healthy", there is still about 145 calories per cookie, but they are clean! No sugar, whole grain flour, add a little dark chocolate and you are set. I so can't wait to try her strawberry ice cream.


1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey-I am considering getting my own hives...honey is my go to for everything!
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup peanuts (optional-we substituted dark chocolate)
mix it all together (I just used a spatula) scoop it out, squish them down (they don't flatten or spread when cooked) and bake at 350* for about 10-15 min. depending on how flat you made them. Just make sure they are not dough-y




Oh and ps) this will also fall under my no sugar for one month bucket list item...whoo!

Hello Spring...

...oh wait, is it really just the start of winter? It rained today, and it smelled like rain, not like rain about to freeze into snow. It felt like late March not the last week of December. They say one is never satisfied with the weather and yes, that is true, as I am about to complain that it is too warm to be winter. I WANT SNOW! I want my ugly brown grass covered up, I want to wake up to a winter wonderland. It is Winter Break after all. My kids went outside to play today and I had to convince them to wear a coat.

So since I am not satisfied I look at my wall with my giant snowflakes and I smile, at least I have them! I meant to post the how tos and what nots the other day, but I guess I forgot so here they are. I saw this post and then I saw my box of 1000 sticks (I may never get through that box) and we went to town. I did not use a protractor or anything fancy like that...snow flakes are supposed to be unique right. I took one stick and hot glued another onto it and continued to do that until I had the snowflake that I wanted. The kids and I had so much fun making them. After the paint dried we added salt to ours to make them look frosted.

Another look at ours...

That Is Very Pinteresting...

...brought us our dinner and project for the day. Since we are all about food here in our house let's start with that.
The inspired version is called "Weight Watchers Bubble Up Enchiladas" and this is their recipe:
Nutrition Info: Calories 390 | Fat 11.5g | Carbohydrate 36g | Fiber 2g | Protein 33g
Weight Watcher Recipes 6 points (old points)
Serves 6
1 pound ground turkey
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 can reduced fat refrigerator biscuits
1 ¼ cups shredded low fat Mexican Cheese

But we all know I cant'/wont/don't follow recipes here is our version. I asked the kids to name it for me and this is what they came up with:
Jacey: It should be called delicious
Skye: It should be called yuckiness 'cuz that is what it is! (it was one of those days but once she tried it she liked it and agreed with Dax)
Dax: Let's call it Mr. Goody
Greg came up with Biscaladas...so we will go with that one.

BISCALADAS:
our overall nutrition probably isn't too far off per serving the added beans just took if from 6 servings to 8
1 lb ground turkey (for those of you that don't know, not all ground turkey is lean-some has more fat than beef so LOOK)
cumin
paprika
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
1 small can enchilada sauce
1 pint tomatoes (I used my own)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can reduced fat biscuits (cut into 4ths)
1 cup grated cheese

Brown your turkey add 1/8 cup water and a little of all the seasonings (season to taste) pour in sauce and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Drop in the biscuits stir it up and dump it into a foil lined 9x13 dish. Cook at 350 for about 20 min. add the cheese to the top and cook for another 5-7 min. pull it out and let it sit for 5 min. I topped mine with a little ranch, fresh salsa, and avocados. It was DELISH!



now onto our project-this was probably one of the first things I pinned. My kids LOVE to color, but the boxes are usually destroyed within a day and a half so I thought maybe something like this will keep track of the pencils and crayons for more than a week and when it is time for homework we will know where the right colors are. Not to mention it is almost General Conferehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnce week and we all do a lot of coloring during that! I am going to recharge my drill batteries and dig the pencil ones a little deeper, they aren't in there far enough, I don't think. I also couldn't decide if I liked the stained wood or not. I think I will stain the other one...eventually :)

That Is Very Pinteresting...

...I can justify browsing Pinterest if I actually make/do some of the things I pin...right?! I saw these pizza puffs HERE and had to try them for the kids. And because I could not find my other big muffin tin we made hearts...for sweet!
I do have to say that I barely greased my pan and I had a hard time getting them out, so be sure to be generous on your grease. The kids LOVED them, and I thought they were pretty tasty myself.

That Is Very Pinteresting...

...I shared the site awhile back, but now I am going to share the usefulness of it. I learned a new heat-less way to do ringlets. SO easy and lots easier to sleep in than those big curlers. The video on the link above explains it so easily, but honestly it is LONG it took more time to watch the video than it did to do it on my own hair.
Excuse the darling pictures of yours truly...I am going to try it in the girls hair tomorrow night, but wanted to share today.
so you start out like this...I did it right after my shower last night, but my hair didn't fully dry until about lunch time today so next time I think I will mostly dry my hair first.

then you take it out and it looks like this

I took it out this morning and had cute loose wavy curls because my hair was still slightly damp so I twisted it back up for a couple more hours and got the tighter curls. I don't love the way the back turned out, but I think that is because I need more practice on it. Good thing I have 2 girls right :)

SO FUN, you have to start pinning!!

Pinterest...

...I was telling my sisters about this new addiction of mine, and since I have so much fun with it I thought it only fair to pass it on to those of you that don't know about it. It is www.pinterest.com and I know there are lots of different uses for the site, I use it most as a reminder of things I want to do, ideas I want to try. Pin it to my board and I always have something to work on.
Some of my recent pins are easy CUTE hair styles for ME! Goodbye are the ugly daily ponies I might actually keep my long hair. Arts and crafts for me AND the kids! Yummy things to make. Books I want to read. Trips I want to take. The list goes on and on...yeah, it might be a waste of time, but it might also be a good use of time. Search it, click it, and learn it...it took me a week to realize that you can usually click on the image and go to a blog or other site and learn more about it.

So if you start pinning come follow me so I can follow you and together we can have some awesome fun!

Summer Randomness.

...since we are one month into our summer routine and it still seems to be going well I thought I would share our process. First up CHORES...the dreaded chores...but at our house we don't dread them. We started a points system, they get 2 points for every chore they complete.

The CHORES:
getting dressed, cleaning room, making bed is all one chore
brushing teeth
comb hair
homework (more on this later)
pick up dirty clothes
put away clean clothes
Jacey cleans the bathroom
Dax takes out the garbage
Skye puts in new bags
yard chores usually consists of picking up garbage, picking up poop, weeding...
brush teeth (again)
We rotate these ones
setting the table (all day)
clearing the table (all day)
putting away clean dishes and sweeping under Colt's chair
I have a magnet board that has all of the above chores. I put one magnet (for each child) on each chore and when they complete the chore they move their magnet next to their name. At the end of the day (or usually the beginning of the next day) we tally up the totals and write it down.

The REWARD:
10 points=30 minutes of computer time
20 points=60 minutes of computer time
40 points=1 treat at Clarks
60 points=a friend over
100 points=1 day off, 1 treat, 1 hour of computer time

The RULES:
*you must complete all chores for the day before you can spend your points (with the exception of teeth and clearing/setting chores)
*if you fight, back talk, or have a bad attitude you will loose 2 points...no warnings!
*you can earn extra points by doing extra chores or a service to someone else

This has worked so well for us! They have all earned points and spent them wisely. The other day they all had enough points for a treat and so I sent them to Clarks (by themselves) with $10 they came back with the biggest grins on their faces and gave me my change...$9.08 I would have felt guilty if they weren't so pleased with their treats.

So back to this homework thing...I am a HUGE advocate for summer homework. They say that over the 3 months of summer vacation kids can loose 50% of what they learned. By doing simple reading and math exercises they not only retain the info but towards the end of the summer they are pushing themselves into the next level. It takes my kids maybe 30 minutes a day to complete their math and reading assignments and they actually look forward to it. In fact homework is usually the first chore done. Every other day we do a printable math sheet and the other days we do their flashcards. Reading is the same every day...books! My favorite go to site is education.com this is where I get their math pages, but if they are really good and get everything else done I will reward them with a different subject.

Our week looks like this: (this week we add swim lessons everyday too)
Monday: FHE
Tuesday: Library
Wednesday: Young Womens
Thursday: Jacey has art class
Friday: Movie Night
Saturday...everything else
Sunday: we are always ready for a day of rest...

and that is that...hopefully I didn't just jinx myself by posting this

Our Favorite Posts...

...there are a few posts (mostly of the food kind) that I am always referring back to on this here blog, and sometimes it takes me a good while to find them (even with my efficient tagging) so I thought it would be easier to link them all here and then add them to a less popular tag.

Olive Garden Lasagna

A Gram Nelson Kinda Day

Pollo Limone Rustica

Garlic Lime Shrimp

Cafe Rio

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Rice

Breadsticks in 30 Min.

Chili's Salsa

Our Favorite FHE and Cookies Put Together

More Favorites

Cake Mix Cookies-and don't forget the frosting too!

Hey did I mention that our BFF's are back?! And did I mention they aren't just visiting?! We are so very excited-too bad they didn't pack their warm sunshine with them though...there is only so much room on a trailer :(

Smart Shopping...

...THE ANSWERS!!!

Okay so what were your guesses? If you have forgotten scroll back down to last Saturday's post and review...

The FOOD: How many times do we just buy fresh produce and even look at the price? Do you know what is a good deal on fresh produce? Start paying attention to prices and you will soon learn what time of the year you should buy certain produce items.

_______1 bunch of spinach

_______2 bunches of celery

_______1 broccoli flower

_______3 red onions

_______7 tomatoes

_______1 medium bag of carrots

_______1 small watermelon

_______1 cantaloupe

_______1 small pkg of black berries

_______8 plums

_______7 apples

_______1 bag green grapes

_______2 bunches banana

Total Cost at a normal grocery store would be...$28.95 BUT if you start using www.bountifulbaskets.com it could cost you ONLY $16.50 (there is an extra $3 for your first basket)

KIDS CLOTHING: wow this is such a HUGE expense, but if you shop off season (meaning you buy your summer clothes in October) you can save $$

_______Beach Tote

_______ 1 Girl Swim Suit

_______Boys Swim Suit

_______7 Girls Shirts (4 T-shirts)

_______4 Boys Shirts (3 T-shirts)

_______Girl Flannel Pajama Bottom

_______Boys Flannel Pajama Bottom

_______Small stuffed monkey

_______Small Stuffed Dog

_______Child Size Fleece Blanket

Total Cost at Shopko would be $339.85...WOW huh?! Shopko has great quality if your kids wear out before they out grow the clothes they will replace them...warranty! I love to shop there but I could never afford their regular prices. I shopped off season and online using www.retailmenot.com for added savings and spent only $84.89

Now cleaning supplies...if you can make it yourself DO IT!

How much can you save making your own disinfecting spray? If you buy the gallon sized bleach bottle and a simple squirt bottle, follow the directions on the back you can make 92, that is NINETY TWO bottles and save $126.04

Comparing Walmart brand spray with bleach

How much can you save using your own spray instead of Clorox/Lysol Wipes? Did you think that previous savings was huge? Well if you use your spray bottle and a everyday dish rag instead of buying these you can save $435.16. Check out www.budget101.com for some other great homemade cleaning products and watch those savings!

If you have other great tips I would LOVE to hear them!