Hannah's Place for Everything

I like this

2011-03-15T09:46:00.001-07:00

And the winner is...

2010-06-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Mary Ellen!
Watch out for an email from me. Congratuations and thank you to everyone who entered.

$50 Gift Card Giveaway!

2010-06-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

It's time again for another give away from CSN stores. They have generously agreed to give on of my readers a $50 gift certificate to one of their 200+ stores online!

You could pick from wall sconces or toys or furniture. You can put it towards a larger purchase if you want.
I think I would pick a mandolin slicer, or a nice outdoor planter, or maybe another toy for my kids. Last time I was able to give away a Bilibo Play Shell from CSN. My kids still love it.

What will you choose?

If you would like to enter, just leave me a comment below and tell me what you might pick. If you would like to enter more than once, do one (or more!) of the following and leave one comment for EACH entry. The contest ends on June 26th at midnight PST, so get commenting!

Extra Entries Activities:

follow my blog or let me know if you already do
follow me on twitter
blog about it with this link
tweet about it with this link
email 5 friends about it
tell your Facebook friends about it

here's the link again: http://tiny.cc/0yd2b

Good Luck! I'll announce the winner on Monday.

* Oh, and one more thing, this is open to USA and Canadian residents only.

chalky family

2010-06-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

Sidewalk chalk= fun

What a lovely family, don’t you think?

Want to join the Fit Kid Challenge?

2010-06-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

The Cardon’s Children Hospital is hosting Fit Kid Challenge this summer. This past Saturday was their kickoff event. We had fruit and bagels for breakfast. Hickman eggs gave away hard boiled eggs on a stick that were a big hit with my kids. There were booths with games for everyone, a truck with Wii games for up to 16 people, and other activities. We couldn’t pry Lily away from the hula hoops. Everyone received a water bottle, a jump rope and a pedometer. Ashley has been wearing his pedometer everywhere. They came home and played with their new jump ropes. Anyone (any-kid) can sign up for the Fit Kid Challenge online. It consists of choosing from a variety of healthful activities for 4 weeks. When you finish, send in your results for prizes. We can definitely use a little help around here to be more active and healthy.

My Happiness Project

2010-06-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

I heard about this book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. So she encourages others to start their own Happiness Projects. She recommends making small goals throughout the year to increase happiness. So I’m doing some of her suggestions and some of my own. I’m a little stuck on February. But it’s never too late to get back on track right? I have a little widget off to the side here where you can see what I’ve been working on.

If you haven’t clicked on the happiness project button yet, go ahead and check it out. She has an online Happiness Project Toolbox here where you can track your goals and share them if you would like. I love using the list there. It helps me remember my priorities and make decision based on what I really want.

We can all use a little more happiness in our lives.

(if you are wondering, I bought the book myself and I’m not receiving anything for this post. I just like to share what I like!)

Progression of a Garden

2010-06-15T09:20:00.001-07:00

My mom keeps asking for pictures of my garden. So this post is for you mom! If any of you were wondering why you haven’t heard from me in a while, it is because I have been out here in my garden. Warning: this is a picture heavy post!

Here is the start back on the last weekend in February. I wanted to go a little bigger this year, so we rented a rototiller. Adrian was having so much fun, that my 10X12 plot turned into HUGE.A month later, we had lots of lettuce, and lots of hope for everything else.

My helpers made sure most of the green strawberries were picked on a regular basis. Sometimes we get lucky and enjoy some red ones. This was the first ripe tomato. It ripened about 3 weeks before any others. It was SOOOOO good.

Little yellow tomatoes.

Weeds: easy to keep out

Grass: not so easy to keep out

cantaloupe!

marigolds that grew nearly 6’ high. I have no idea how it happened. sunflowers, hollyhocks, and cosmos

And this is what I picked from the garden yesterday. The rest of the counter is filled with zucchini and other summer squash. The fridge has bags of carrots and cucumbers. As the weather here in Arizona continues to get hotter, I’m not sure how much longer this will last. But it has been so wonderful to have a garden this spring.

Gettin’ a Round Tuit

2010-05-05T08:41:00.001-07:00

My father-in-law gave us all a little token on his first anniversary of being cancer free. It was a round wooden coin with the word TUIT handwritten with a black sharpie. He wanted us all to remember to get around to-it. That was 2 years ago. The cancer came back and didn’t give him any more time. Today is the anniversary of his passing. I’m glad he had the chance to spend another year getting around to doing things.

So in honor of my father-in-law I invite you to “get a round TUIT.”

Time to start getting around to doing things, because someday is now.

Disneyland Trip Slideshow

2010-04-23T16:58:00.001-07:00

Here's a few pictures of our trip:

Easter pictures

2010-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

For easter we went to the Easter Pageant at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Mesa Temple grounds. The actors walk around before the show. Mason had this look of awe whenever one of them came by. He would just stare and stare. He especially liked this Roman soldier, probably because of all the shiny things he had. But even when people were dressed in pretty plain costumes, he recognised that they looked different and wanted to get a better look. During the pageant, we sat next to some missionaries who couldn't stop laughing at Lily's commentary of the show. She would shout out, "There's Jesus! He's a baby! Now he's grown up!" and "Look it's Joseph, he's not a baby!"

Then Saturday we colored the eggs. I bought a ton of eggs. The first 36 were taken out the the fridge by a certain 1 year old and cracked. So we had to buy more. We have eggs coming out our ears.

The three of them hunted through the yard for all the eggs on Sunday morning. And of course, ate way too much candy. Yum... chocolate bunnies! I've been a little busy lately taking some classes over HERE. I'll be busy with that for a while longer, then I will be back to write all about our vacation. I can't wait! Disneyland here we come.

I put my kids on a pedestal

2010-03-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your kids can't sit still in the Verizon store? Take them outside and put them on top of a concrete pillar. Hold on tight!

Sometimes when they drive me crazy it provides little moments of bliss like this.

Parada Del Sol- My first Rodeo

2010-03-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago we went to the Parada Del Sol rodeo. A friend of Adrian's volunteers every year and gave us VIP tickets. What did the VIP section get us? If we had been there an hour or so earlier, we would have gotten lunch. Instead we had some corn chips and dippin' dots which was just fine because we ate lunch before we arrived. The seats were in one of the corners of the arena so we had a good view of the team roping event. One of the highlights of the show was this guy who herded two bison up onto the TOP of this trailer and down. sorry the photo is a little dark. You can see the cowboy standing on his horses saddle and the two bison behind him on the top of the trailer. We watched the festivities, but our kids were the most excited about getting to ride the mechanical bull and take a ride on a pony. Ashley was so excited, that is all he wanted to do. He need help up, and it didn't take long for him to fall off, but he had the time of his life. Lily rode the ponies. She was thrilled. I tried not to think about the sad lives those little ponies lead. After watching a few more events, eating some popcorn and root beer we headed out across the dusty parking lot, saddled up in our Mazda 5, and headed home.

Auction for Africa

2010-03-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

My friend Burgess is hosting an online auction to benefit Heart of Africa. Last year her and a friend volunteered for the Heart of Africa Program and raised their own funds to travel to Swaziland. Her experience helping the children in an orphanage lit a fire under her to continue to help.

There are some spectacular items being auctioned. The auction ends March 17th so get over there and let's make a difference!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Choker By Whippy Cake. She has a ton of stuff in the auction. yummy Whippy Cake!

Audrey Roberts Hair cut, style and bag of goodies

headbands by Britta

cakes by Shye- if you know someone who is getting married, you must RUN and tell them to get over there and bid. This is for a cake of your choice. ANY size. How cool is that? Seriously, call them now. Of course, this could be for any occasion, not just a wedding.

Lloyd Zeffler photography- His photography is stunning.

So what are you waiting for?

Winner for Bilibo Play Shell!

2010-03-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

The winner for the Bilibo Play Shell is

Deb K!

Congratulations!

I wanted everyone to win, but the random number generator would only give me one number. hmmm. Math is picky like that. I am hilarious, don't you think?

Thank you to CSN Stores for sponsoring this giveaway.

Last Day to Enter

2010-03-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

If you haven't entered to Win a Bilibo Play Shell, today is your last chance, so scroll down and enter yourself to win.
Mason who is 18 months, brings it to me everyday so we can play with it together. He giggles as I spin him around.
So much fun!

Like Digi Scrapping?

2010-03-01T10:23:00.001-08:00

If you like digital scrapbooking or hybrid or just looking at pretty things, the Blog Train Blog just posted 107 free kits. YES 107 free scrapbooking kits!
*HERE*

Look! It Sticks!

2010-02-28T07:45:00.000-08:00

Lily made an amazing discovery. Some of her Littlest Pet Shop pets stick to the fridge. She says "It has metal mom!" I love it when she experiments and it doesn't result in a 1/2 hour of cleaning. It makes me REALLY happy. Yesterday she got out my paints again (after I said no we were not painting today) and she had purple watercolors in her hair and Mason chewed on a tube of oil paints. Even though it was just a little green oil paint on his teeth I called poison control and they said not to worry. Whew! I never called poison control with my oldest. The other day someone told me I just need to put things up high out of reach. lol. Everything is up high, locked up and out of reach, but this girl is clever and resourceful and fast. She is really amazing. It will serve her well one day, but until then, I will do what I can to keep her safe and keep the number for poison control handy.

Bilibo Play Shell Giveaway!

2010-02-27T07:04:00.000-08:00

Sometimes kids get all the fun. We received this Bilibo Play shell compliments of CSN stores to try out. I picked yellow. If it's blue Ashley thinks it's his, Pink and Lily thinks it's hers, and Mason doesn't really care, he just wants to play. After the first ten minutes of fighting over taking turns playing with it they got the hang of sharing. They spun around, rocked back and forth, sat, climbed, stuck it on there head, they just had a ball. And over the last couple of days they keep having fun.

It is a magnet for silliness of the best kind.

I had never heard or Bilibo before, but CSN has a ton of learning toys and play things that are unique and fun like this. They have just about everything for your home on their site. So now that we had our fun, it's your turn!

CSN stores is giving away a Bilibo Play shell to one of you!

You get to pick the color. Go HERE to check out all the bright colors.

*****************************CLOSED****************************

To enter:

1. subscribe to/follow my blog

AND leave a comment telling me what color you pick.

For extra entries:

1. follow me on Twitter @hannahsplace
2. Tweet this: Giveaway! Bilibo Play Shell from CSN @hannahsplace http://ow.ly/1bWWh
3. blog about this giveaway, leave the link in your comments

Please leave one comment for each entry. I will pick a winner on March 3!

and the winner is....

Deb K!

of Ice cream and Ikea

2010-02-26T06:47:00.000-08:00

So my children love to go places, anywhere really. When the front door opens they are running to the car whether you want them to or not. A week or so ago we needed something from Ikea. We knew exactly what it was so this was going to be a short trip. Everybody piled in the car. Adrian promised that if they behaved, we could get ice cream while we were there. Our kids love ice cream and it is really frozen yogurt there, but they love that too. So everything starts out well, then they start running around. and running farther, and not coming back when we call them, and generally losing all ice cream privileges all together. So what did we do? We reminded them. and reminded them. and gave them another chance. And nothing worked. So when we got to the ice cream counter we tried a little love and logic. Mason had been an angel the whole time so he got ice cream. I got a cinnamon roll, and Adrian got an ice cream. Ashley and Lily didn't get anything. There was crying and pleading and sincere apologies, but still no ice cream.

Last week we had a chance to go back for something, but I think the real reason was to follow up with out little Love and Logic lesson. We went to Ikea and walked around. It worked great. They helped each other to remember to stay close. They were so funny because they decided they would jog instead of run, but never out of our sight. They listened to our directions. It really was like magic. And everybody got ice cream. 1 situation down, 10 million to go.

look what's coming!

2010-02-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of CSN stores? I had not ever heard of them until this last week when they asked if they could do a giveaway on my blog. So I looked them up and I was impressed. If you are looking for something cool for your kids or you house and you need a good price, check them out. They have everything: educational toys, games, furniture, kids bedding, bikes, kitchen, and more. I kept finding more and more stuff that I loved. How did I not find this site before? Subsrcribe to my blog today so you don't miss out. I can't wait to tell you what I picked to give to you! But I will save it as a surprise.

This boy loves Salsa

2010-02-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

Adrian left the salsa in a bowl on the counter to snack on with some chips. This guy got it first. It's medium Salsa but he doesn't mind. If mom and dad eat it, it's good enough for him. He pretty much aate the whole bowl!

I wish my other kids had the same philosophy. It is a challenge to get vegies into them. Any suggestions?

Scrap Retreat

2010-02-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

A couple times a year I go away. It's just me and a few lovely ladies who have one thing in common. We like to scrapbook. I mostly don't scrapbook except when we get together, I'm more of a social scrapbooker. So I spent the weekend in a little cabin next to a river cutting, pasting and thinking of all the good things that happened this last year. There were a lot of not so good things that happened last year so it was good to focus on the good memories without any distractions like cleaning red lipstick off of my 3 year-old's entire leg. Of course we were too busy scrapbooking to think of taking any pictures. I didn't even bring my camera! But I did eat way too many peanut M&M's, finished 18 pages and had a great time. I think it may have inspired me to do some scrapbooking again soon. I can't say I haven't done any scrapbooking since our last retreat, it has just been digital. If you need a good place to start learning digital scrapbooking, go here. She's awesome.

Here is my favorite layout from the weekend, displayed Vanna style by Lily's finger.

Eye Candy from the Typophile Film Festival

2010-01-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

I found this in my BYU magazine and thought I would share. It was done by a group of students.
I was totally blown away by it. The students documented their process, so check it out here. enjoy.

Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles from Brent Barson on Vimeo.

I heart my Wii fit plus

2010-01-11T21:39:00.001-08:00

I liked Wii fit. It was fun. Then I got out of the habit of playing. It seemed so easy to do. too easy. I wasn’t sure it was helping. And it was easy to forget. So I didn’t use it for a long long while. Then my birthday rolls around and a new game walks in my door. Wii fit plus. (thanks Adrian!) It is good old Wii fit, but with more stuff. More fun, and loads more silliness to help you forget that you are running out of breath (did that thing just make me jog for 12 minutes straight with a smile on my face?) I think I am going to enjoy using it. frequently. I can’t help but laugh when I am flapping my wings though the air. My 1 year old makes it interesting when he gets on the balance board with me and I plummet into the ocean. I do alright with most things, but some I can’t even seem to do at all. Like juggling. I’m sure I look hilarious. It will give me something to work on.

Goodbye 31

2010-01-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

Today is my last day of being 31.

Today I:

-slept in a little
-made french toast with cumin instead of cinnamon, but thankfully noticed before I dipped the bread in the egg mixture. I had a good laugh about that one! I must have gone to bed too late last night or something.
-almost went to the zoo, but plans with a friend fell through.
-did (well I am still doing) all the laundry because the washer freaked out and flooded the laundry room again, and I was a little behind on the laundry so now everything is soaked...again. (it happened last month too)
-read 2 chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to Ashley who is 6 and I think he listens because he doesn't want me to stop reading, and Lily who just sang "tomorrow! tomorrow! I love ya! I love ya!" over and over, which is her version of Annie's "Tomorrow" so I don't think she actually listened, but she was happy while we were reading anyway.
- made apple cinnamon muffins at the request of my son. I adapted a favorite blueberry muffin recipe for it. it was good, but I need to find a way to make them more apple-y.

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

As I was writing this I realized that I could hear the washer filling and filling and it had been way too long. So while washing the laundry that had been soaked by my washer earlier today, the laundry room flooded again. I quickly found the wet dry/vac and sucked up 20 or 30 gallons of water from the floor. Not what I expected my evening to be.

It was a good day anyway. And tomorrow and 32 will be better too.
I'm sure of it.

Welcome 2010!

2009-12-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

This past year has taught me more than I could have imagined. Sometimes I wonder if I learned the right lessons or not, but if not, I'm sure I will get another chance to learn those things the hard way...again.

1. Time runs quickly. We get only so much time, and with children, they just race throught it. So I have learned that I need to make the most out of it. Less "let's wait and see" and more "let's do it now"

2. Listen to who you know you are. Don't let anyone tell you differently, even those who you think are on your side.

3. life is bumpy and there is very little we can do about the bumps. We can only decide what it makes us.

So this year along with the usual things I want to do like lose weight, blog more, blah blah blah...I am going to make for my resolutions a few ideas and themes to follow.

The first is The Happiness Project. It is a new book (which I have not yet read, that would be step 1) by Gretchen Rubin. It's about some studies and theories she did about happiness so it sounds nice and analytical, right up my alley. I hear it has an agenda for the year, so look for weekly updates from me here on how it is going.

Second my theme for this year is going to be PEACE. Peace within myself, in my family, and in the world around me. I will write more about why later.

So that's it. A nice very cliche "Peace and Happiness" theme for me this year. But really, aren't those some of the most important things?

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T20:54:00.003-08:00

Merry Christmas to All and to All a good night!

traditions:
-watched the nativity on Christmas eve, maybe next year we will act it out
-open one present-new jammies on Christmas Eve
-presents from santa aren't wrapped
-stockings first, that way you can spoil your breakfast
-breadfast is eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce (this year "holiday" sauce, because I didn't feel brave enough to do the real thing)and lots of other stuff.
-open presents after breakfast
-play all day
-phone calls by phone, skype and chat
-big Christmas feast, this year: ham, but my preference is Salmon
-sparkling cider

I look forward to the coming year. It has been a good day.

Oh, Christmas Tree freebie and tutorial

2009-12-16T10:25:00.001-08:00

I am not sure how to make this available for direct download, but you can either save the picture to your computer and print it as a full sheet, or you can follow the link to flickr and get the full sized image there. It is meant to be printed on a full 8.5 X 11 " sheet. Merry Christmas!! I have included a tutorial right here. First, cut out each layer. Then fold each circle 4 times. You will end up with 16 folds on each circle. On the last fold you will have to do it in sections, doing it all at once would be too hard and wouldn't give you a good fold. Next glue the largest circle to the circle just a little smaller. Use the dots as guidelines, but don't worry too much about making it perfect. The farther you glue down on the upper circle the better, your tree will be taller. Alternate where you glue each one, otherwise your tree will be lopsided. Use a good glue that dries fast or glue dots. (I did a few more and used glue dots and I would reccomend not messing around with glue at all, just go straight for the glue dots!) The glue I am using in the picture didn't work very well. I ran out of my favorite glue (Nuetral pH Adhesive by Lineco) the other day. It is the best! It dries very quickly, stays flexible, and pretty much bonds forever. When you get to the end you might not be able to glue in two places. glue the top piece onto the next lower piece before attaching them to the rest, it will be easier. Those are my daughters toes in the picture. I didn't notice that she had climbed onto the table to see what I was up to. When you are finished, make another, add decorations, make a whole forest! Send me pictures, I could love to see how yours turn out.
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Carol Train Adventure

2009-10-09T14:55:00.001-07:00

View Full Album

We went to see the Disney Train touring the country to promote the new “A Christmas Carol.” and apparently this is what we would look like if we were Tiny Tim. We had the choice of becoming Scrooge or someone else, but Tiny Tim worked out best for all of us.

My watermelon loves me.

2009-10-09T14:42:00.001-07:00

I sliced this open and found it like this. Watermelon love.

Here again

2009-05-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

It doesn’t take a lot to wait one more day to post... then another… and before you know it it has been a month or longer. So here I am again writing. It isn’t that I haven’t been writing. I just haven’t been publishing. I think more has happened in my life in the last few weeks than has happened in the last few years. Good, bad, crazy, happy, sad. But not all of it is for a wide audience. And so instead of weeding it out I just didn’t write anything. Through this brief moment of internet silence I learned that writing is like breathing to me. In order to function I need to write. Otherwise my thoughts and emotions get all mixed up and mushy and I can’t tell which end is up. Writing gives me clarity. It reminds me of my purpose and that I am a daughter of God with infinite worth. And no matter how well I know it, I have to remind myself of it everyday because all the noise in life likes to block out that little detail first.

My Favorite Salad

2009-03-09T21:36:00.001-07:00

This is my favorite salad. I thought I would share the recipe here. This is a variation of the salad that I ate nearly every day after Lily was born and I lost 30lbs. the trick is to use good ingredients, not just plain old iceburg lettuce and tasteless tomatoes, use the good stuff. It makes a difference. It seems too good to be good for you. I love it. I had it for dinner tonight.

-Lettuce (prepackaged spring mix is nice)

-tomatoes

-green onion

-carrots

-fresh strawberries (or dried cranberries )

-feta cheese

-walnuts

-extra virgin olive oil

-balsamic vinegar

-toddler spit.

Mound the lettuce on your plate, add the vegies and fruit, nuts, then drizzle on the oil and vinegar. Take your beautiful salad to the table and prop up your baby on your lap to nurse while you lean over to eat your mouth watering salad very carefully. (balsamic vinegar stains sometimes) Listen to your toddler enter the room and throw out all of your thoughts about eating slow to enjoy your meal and help your brain notice you are full and satified. Here she comes, eat faster. Adjust yourself to accomodate the baby and the toddler trying to climb on to your chair and check out what is on your plate. Eat another bite. Watch helplessly as she starts to lean over the salad and wonder what could be so yummy about it. Watch her adventurous side come out as she picks through to find a carrot to put in her mouth. She likes to chew carrots (they are crunchy) but has no desire to swallow them. Eat another bite quickly. Take a deep breath as she, while still leaning over your plate, spits the masticated carrot back into the middle of your salad, sits up and does a generous "raspberry" spray across the rest of your salad. ENJOY!

Real Value

2009-02-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

I believe there is value in paying full price. Yes, I use coupons, and yes, I love the thrill of a great deal, but I think that the Walmart effect has warped our sense of value for things. We often subsitute quantity for quality. As our country is sinking deeper into a recession I'm afraid we are adopting the depression-era hording mentality of our grandparents. There is nothing wrong with being frugal, it can be a virtue, but it seems that in the hunt for a deal, gluttony, greed and wastefulness are confused with frugality, thrift and prudence.

When we pay full price for something, we need to realize that we are paying everyone down the line who put that product in our hands full price as well. The store and it's employees, the distribotur, the manufacturor, the layborers. Do we value their jobs? Thier hard work? When we buy "homemade" we seem to get this concept, we pay a little more because we see the face of who made it. We value thier time and the care they put into making the product. Do we care about the single mother in Indonesia who is making pennies a day? Do we care about the farmer who is worried that he will have to stop growing and find a new livelihood?

I started coupon shopping a few months ago. It is very exciting to go to the store and buy a cart full of groceries and only pay 20% of the retail price. When they say "you saved $120 today!" it is thrilling. But then I 've noticed a few things. I buy more junk and more processed foods because they were only this much or they were free. I stopped reading labels. I read prices instead. I came home with foods filled with salt, HFCS, MSG, trans fats, calories. We have easily 3-4 more bags of garbage per week now.

I'm not saying coupons are bad. I wonder though about the real cost. Is this thriftyness really greed and gluttony? Buying things I don't need certainly fits into the gluttony category. Is is better to spend a little more on healthful things, less of them, and be healthier? (We already eat too much.) I'm not ready to stop couponing just yet, but I think I'm going to "save less" by passing up a few of the great deals in favor of reading labels and making REAL frugal choices. And when I pay full price for something I want, I will do it with gratitude instead of guilt.

Mother’s Cinnamon Rolls - A little family Love for you.

2009-02-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

This is my grandma's recipe for cinnamon rolls. They are the best. Sticky, goey, tons of yummy cinnamon. I always thought it was weird that people put icing on their cinnamon rolls because I grew up with these. I will try to get a picture up later.

Thanks Mom!

Mother's Cinnamon Rolls

Submitted by my mom- a recipe by her mother- Grandma Opal who is pictured here with Lily the day before she passed away.

This recipe was our family favorite, since the cinnamon rolls
always came out wonderful, airy, and with a sticky, soft
caramelized bottom, as you flip them over, and out of the pan.

Any sweet roll dough, will do. We prefer one without eggs
in the mix, so the rolls are lighter and airy.
Even thawed frozen bread dough will work.
Other ingredients: butter, light brown sugar, nuts, raisins,
granulated white sugar, cinnamon, canned milk.

First prepare a 13 x 9 inch pan - or larger high sided cookie sheet. Generously butter the bottom and sides. Add a generous 1/4 inch
or more layer of light brown sugar on the bottom of the pan/s.

After dough raises and is pushed down once, roll out onto
“greased” surface into large round rectangle shape about 3/8 in. thick.

Then smear finger-fulls of soft butter across the rolled out dough.
Sprinkle white sugar across the top of the butter - almost covering
the surface 1/8th inch. Next, generously sprinkle with cinnamon.

Smear the cinnamon across the sugar to even out.

If desired, add coarsely chopped walnuts (about ½ cup) to one
18 in x 12 in rounded rectangle of dough, and/or ½ cup raisins.

Then roll from the long side to the long side, forming an 18 inch
roll of dough, containing the added ingredients inside.

With a serrated knife, gently cut ½ inch rounds. Place each one
in the pan on top of the brown sugar, with at least 1/4 inch space
around each one, for rising space.

When the pan is full of rolls, gently drizzle the canned milk over the
spaces between the rolls, to moisten some of the brown sugar below.

Drizzle a small amount over the top of the rolls, or brush
it over the top ( Be sure to drizzle lightly since you don’t want soggy rolls). This acts as a browning agent, too.

Let the rolls rise to double again, even if they pop out & up in the centers.

Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Release the sides, with a knife. Turn out onto drying rack with foil under to catch drips.

Let cool, if you can keep them from disappearing first! The canned milk forms a soft caramel on the bottoms, not hardened or cracked.

[I’m not sure if this has southern Missouri origins, but some recipes she used seemed to.]

The Daily Disaster, or, Life with a Creative Toddler

2009-02-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

I sit down at the computer to check the email and seconds later hear a jubilant squeal, like too much fun is being had. This is what is known at our house as the Daily Disaster. This time, sweet little Lily took her container of yogurt from the table to the leather couch. Next she went back into the kitchen and pulled out her favorite utensil, the silicone BBQ brush. Next, she retrieved her brother’s toy Mac truck and trailer and positioned them on the couch in from of her where she could begin her carefully thought out painting session which took a little under two minutes to compete. What was the medium? Yogurt of course! Yogurt all over the toy truck, all over the couch, painted with that ever so useful and paintbrush-like BBQ basting utensil. (This time she managed not to paint herself as well. Thank you! Maybe I just caught it in time. She usually slathers herself with yogurt too. “(L)Otion, mom!” )

So I catch the little Monet at work on her masterpiece and when I question her about it she says confidently. “I just did it, mom!”

The Last Hurrah of Holidays

2009-01-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

The Phoenix Zoo puts on Zoolights every year. This year we didn't go, but noticed that in the paper on sunday that they were opening it up to the public once more before it came down for another year.

And it was free...

So we braved the crowds on a perfect winter night in Arizona. We packed up the kiddos and found a parkingspot at the far side of the lot. The place was packed. They asked that in lieu of admission to bring cans of food for the local food banks. We made our way in. We came prepared with stroller and coats and blankets. I tied my coat around my waist, the weather was kind and made us remember why we life in Arizona. (These are the moments we look to in August when we forget why we thought it was liveable here.)

Ashley saw that the he could get a camel ride- why not! So we climbed the platform and he changed his mind. Lily did too. I guess she didn't want to get on an animal whose head was as big as her. :) We strolled along the route that was open and watched the musical light dance in the trees that played every 15 mintues or so. The little ones were enchanted.

the highlight of the evening was meeting "Jengo" the giraffe. He is a life sized talking giraffe who will answer all your questions and talk to the children. Adrian noticed the attendent there and gave him Lily's name. Jengo started talking to her and I think it took her breath away. She buried her head in my shoulder. She was scared, but I couldn't drag her away from Jengo! They were friends now. He talked to her for several minutes, waved his ears at her, and made a friend. Jengo was definitely the best part of the evening.

Someone took this picture of our exausted little family before we went home.

So next year I think we will go on a night when we pay our own way and we will march straight over to our friend Jengo. I know Lily will look forward to it all year.

Etsy- The New Face of Organised Crime in America?

2009-01-16T10:10:00.000-08:00

Come February 10th every person who sells items intended for children who does not or cannot comply with the new CPSIA legislation will be a criminal. The law designed to protect our children from dangerous lead and phthalates is so overreaching and vague that it gives a blank check to shut down small American Business owners(think Etsy shops!), children's libraries, crafters and consignment stores. It includes restrictions on ANYTHING marketed to children 12 and under. I will not list all the details here, so many others have already done that. Read what Marcy has to say about it here and forward her letter to all your friends.

You might think- "Oh, but they won't shut down children's libraries or some sahm's online craft boutique!" But the point is that they CAN, because under the new law these businesses will be operating illegally. And what if someone gets a fine or is shut down? Do you think a judge is going to buy "I didn't think that they were going to enforce the law," as an argument?

Please help save handmade and call your Senators. This law needs some major reworking, so it can do what it was intended to do- protect children, not hurt hardworking American families. For more info and at Etsy

B.B.E. Best Birthday Ever!

2009-01-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

So my 31st birthday was one of the best birthdays ever! I woke up and the little ones had already had breakfast. Adrian made breakfast. In fact, he sent Lily in to tell me breakfast was ready. We had Scarce Eggs (secret family recipe for pancakes). Then after a lazy morning we all got ready and went hiking in the Usury mountains. I picked an easy hike, a VERY easy hike. But when we got there we saw that instead of taking the loop around the hill, we could go straight over the top. The trail wan't too difficult and I thought it would be good for Ashley to have a challenge, so up we went. The way down was a little harder and Adrian ended up carrying Ashley with Lily on his back. I was carrying Mason in the sling.

The park had a playground so we had a good time there before finishing the other part of the "hike" and heading back to the car. That night I burned our pork chops for dinner. Oops! Sometimes you need to laugh at yourself right? And Ashley and Lily helped make my birthday cake. It was lemon with lemon frosting. Yum! I'm usually a chocolate girl, but I felt like Lemon. Ashley and Lily bought me a game. They couldn't wait for me to open it! Ashley whispered what it was to me in my ear because it was a secret! I guess he will figure that on out later. So we played this silly game with these cards you put up to your face and quess "Who am I?" We made up our own rules so that it was fun for everyone. Ahh, another day of Fun. I think it is the secret to a good life.

I Resolve...

2009-01-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

My New Year's resolutions come at at interesting time because jan 2 happens to be my birthday. Most years I have just let the time pass without official resolutions, but this year is different. I want the year to mean something. I want to see some real momentum in my life. So here are a few things I resolve to do:

-Be true to Myself
-Get my household running smoothly
-hug more
-be willing to do "hard things" to reach my objectives
-be more reliable
-be a better friend
-become self-sufficient
-take better care of my body

I'm looking forward to the new adventures, new friends, and blessings that this year will bring to us and to you as well.

Happy New Year Everyone!

What made it different?

2008-12-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was great. Waking up to my 5 year old yelling, "Santa brought me a skate board!" took the sleep right out of my eyes and drew a smile across my face. Some of the presents had already been opened because it is awfully hard for a 5 year old and a 2 year old to keep from ripping off all that beautiful crisp wrapping paper and finding a treasure inside. I admit that oldest knows better, but it isn't fair to him if his sister opens something and he doesn't, right? I'm sure that he had some part in helping her find a present to open in the first place. e

So after a fabulously happy day filled with candy, presents, rich food (I only buy bacon on holidays, mmmm, bacon) and just being together as a family I thought about this:

What makes today different?

Is it the presents? They are nice, but don't ususally bring this kind of happiness.

The food? No, it's great, and I Love food, but a sugar high can only last so long.

Being together? No, we are together every day.

What about faith, hope and Charity?- yes, but not really the cause of the difference I don't think.

What did We do to make it such a special day? then I realized it- it is FUN. Fun! We quit worrying about everything and played with play-doh. We enjoyed making our meal. We filled our home with the fun anticipation of Celebrating the birth of Christ, giving presents, and enjoying each other. We played all day. At the end of the day no one had trouble going to bed, the kids just crashed. Adrian and I enjoyed a movie together. By having fun we were able to get to a place in our hearts of meaningful worship and love for one another.

That's what Joy is.

That's how Christmas can stay in my heart all year round- I can have more fun. Fabulous!

"This Christmas..."

2008-12-21T22:41:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage Youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a Promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it AGAIN.

- Howard W. Hunter, McCalls Magazine Dec 1959

Christmas Time Again!

2008-12-20T22:39:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. My son couldn't wait to bring out the Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving. I'm glad he "motivated" me to do it- like it was hard. So here I am now, just a few days before Christmas and I am starting some projects for Christmas presents. I am a little crazy, but things seem to get busy so I think I am going to have a few late nights. I went to the craft store tonight and just made it before closing time. I was on the hunt for fabric and notions to make a quiet book for Lily. I will post some pics of my project. It should be cool. I like to do SOMETHING homemade every year. Homemade seems like it makes the gift more real. It's just too easy to buy something, not personal enough you know? But don't let that stop you from giving me a gift. :)

VOTE!!

2008-10-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

Birth Video

2008-10-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

Some friends of ours are starting a new company called Go Baby Video. We agreed to be test subjects for them to do thier first birth video. So here is a shortened version of our birth video. I used HypBirth - no drugs. This was the second time I went natural and I am so glad. It was a wonderful experience. After they sent this out to ALL thier friends it hit me that everyonewould see it and I got a little nervous. So I'm posting the link here, taking a deep breath and saying ENJOY!

This season's new trend

2008-10-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

Perfectionism is out of style. What is in style? The way things actually happen, real life, messes, anxiety, magical moments, anxiety, worry, hope, a brighter future. Spread it around- real life is in fashion. I keep thinking that I started living without guilt a long time ago. Then I realize that the guilt I have for my less than perfect life means that I stop myself from doing the things that matter most in my life. This past weekend I spent some quality time in the hospital with my son. A mix of constant worry and gratitude that I could just hold him and be with him through his illness. We got to share a room with some crack-heads and a group of thier friends hanging out ALL DAY LONG. Curtains never really give you any privacy. I tend to be very private person, so that was an interesting experience for me. I kept thinking the whole time- this isn't about me. It kept me from feeling sorry for myself. I was there for my new little baby and not for me. We are home now and he is fine. I am so grateful. When I got back I needed to start taking care of the other things in life, worrying about whether my son is in the right school for kindergarten, paying the bills, and various other things. I see that while I was there in the hospital I didn't worry about anything else, I didn't feel guilty for not worrying about everything all at once. Guilt is out of style when it comes to mom stuff. This season I'm going to concentrate on one thing at a time and be happy about it. At least I'm going to try.

Beautiful Boy

2008-09-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

Sterling Mason

Christmas Eve!

2007-12-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to my son, Ashley, running in the room yelling "It's Christmas Morning! It's Christmas Morning!" With all the enthusiasm of a 4 year old. I got up and we went to the calendar and we put one more sticker up. I explained that it was Christmas Eve and that Christmas was tomorrow. I'm so glad I made that calendar. Ususally he would argue with me about it, but he could see what today was and when Christmas was and he was okay about it.

As today is the last day of my Gifts of Christmas, I would like to know about your experiences. If you would like, please share in the comments about using these Gifts of Christmas this year. I would love to know about what you have done to make your Christmas special this year.

I also have another request. My brother is taking the trip of his dreams. He left on his bicycle from Seattle just before Thanksgiving and he is headed for the tip of South America. Right now he is somewhere in California and he will not be with any friends or family for Christmas. Please visit his blog, Ride South and send him an email wishing him a Merry Christmas. Thank you and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Gifts of Christmas Day 1
My Gift to Christ Today is to call someone who is far away who I haven't talked to in a long time, wish them and Merry Christmas and then just Listen.

2007-12-23T14:15:00.000-08:00

Gifts of Christmas Day 2
My gift to Christ today is to share my testimony of the Savior with someone

almost there!

2007-12-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

Gifts of Christmas Day 3
My gift to Christ Today is the gift of Industry- I will go and do!

More holidays to Celebrate

2007-12-21T08:22:00.000-08:00

My cousin Melanie is getting married today. My friend Jenny is getting married today. Congratulations to you both! The more holidays this time of year the better! My birthday is on January 2nd, so when everyone else has finished thier celebrations, mine continues another day. Some people think that having a birthday or anniversary around Christmas takes away from the event, but I love it.
We had a little scare this morning because it rained and Jenny's wedding is supposed to be outside. But it just sounded scary with lots of thunder and a downpour that lasted about 4 minutes. Whew! Now its blue skies, perfect for an Arizona wedding!

Gifts of Christmas Day 4
My Gift to Christ Today is to reflect on my covenants.

Christmas in Arizona

2007-12-20T08:51:00.000-08:00

I grew up on an island in Washington State. It was beautiful and green and in the winter we looked forward to that winter storm that would bring something magical-SNOW. It only happened a few times a year, and when it did the snow would only stay until the next rain. I guess that made every snowfall even more special. We would pile on our jackets and sweaters, warm gloves and boots and tromp out into the winter wonderland. Trees and bushes covered with snow transported us to another world. This was utopia, if only for a few days. If we were lucky enough, it would snow during a school day. No school! Just play. The rest of the winter was just damp and cold, but it didn't matter, the hope for a day of snow carried us all the way through until the crocuses peeked out of the ground. Winter in Arizona is very different. We get cold when the temperature drops below 70 degrees. There is no hope for snow, but we celebrate Christmas just the same, and snowy decorations are a part of that. My children may not know how snow and Christmas go together, but I do.

Gifts of Christmas Day 5
My Gift to Christ today is to strive to have a PRAYER in my HEART for everyone I see.

Last Minute gift ideas-they might even get them in time!

2007-12-19T12:11:00.001-08:00

I found this and thought it would be a nice Christmas Gift for anyone with children:
Christ is Born, Luke 2:1-16 Illustrated Scripture Verse by Layne Haacke
Anyone you know who loves to play with thier hair? Trash Ties are brand new and fabulous!
Need something for the crafty person? Try The Book Binding Guy Video Workshop
The gardener? Square Foot Gardening will take them to a whole new level.
So those are just a few of my ideas. Now on the the true gifts of Christmas...

Gifts of Christmas Day 6
My gift to Christ Today is to have an attitude of SERVICE in everything I do.

'Twas the week before Christmas

2007-12-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight was enrichmment night for the women at church. We had a special guest visitor, a rare treat as she usually doesn't make too many appearances. Mrs. Clause came and read us all the Christmas Oranges Story. Her hair was grey and pulled back neatly in a bun. She wore a white shawl and a Christmas Plaid taffetta skirt. She had square little reading glasses that sat on the end of her nose and when she spoke, she spoke with love and a gentle softness. We all ate too many cookies and enjoyed each others company. Everyone went home with a bag of cookies, a Christmas Orange, a candy cane and a book of seven gifts to give to Christ this last week before Christmas. The idea came from what I have been writing in this blog. So from here till Christmas I really will be writing every day! Some of these may be repeats, but it doesn't hurt to do something good again. If you would like your own book of 7 gifts to give to Christ I will post the insructions after Christmas so that you can have it as a keepsake to hang on your tree this year. I think it is good to start your own traditions that bring peace into your home.

Gifts of Christmas Day 7

My Gift to Christ Today is to Look for the Attributes of Christ in those around me.

Working Hard like a Snail- Gifts of Christmas Day 17

2007-12-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

My gift to Christ today has been the gift of industry. Out of nowhere I was thinking about what I should do today and how I just wanted to go back to bed, and I remembered I had a choice. I still wanted to go back to bed, but I didn't. I got up and showered and got dressed. I laced up my shoes and began to get the house in order. Garbage, dishes, laundry (done, folded and put away!) Maybe I just realized without even telling myself, that I really wanted to be industrious instead of lazy. How does this qualify? It blesses my family and increases peace in my home and heart.

So the other day we got a snail for our freshwater tank. His name is Gary...or her name. Ashley marched right up to the lady in the pet store and announced we were there to get a snail and his name is Gary. Ashley pointed to a snail front and center in the tank and she scooped it up for him. I'm glad the one he picked looked like a healthy one. Gary as in Spongebob's pet snail. Spongbob's snail says "meow." It turns out snails are a lot like cats. They clean themselves with their tongue. They do whatever they want. They eat whatever is available. I haven't heard him purr yet, but I wouldn't be surprised. And this snail is very entertaining. We gather 'round the fish tank as a family and watch it. The fish tank hasn't had this much action in a long while! She picks up rocks with her foot, using it like hands, climbs the glass, twists around, digs up the fake plants, moves them around and torments the poor plecostamus. Clever little thing. And it has nearly doubled in size. It grows at an alarming rate. Probably about an 1/8th" a day. I wonder how long it can keep that up? Long live the feline apple snail. Welcome to the family.

Gifts of Christmas Day 21

2007-12-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

My Gift to Christ Today is to look for the attributes of Christ in my husband.
I want to look a little deeper and see what I think I have probably overlooked on a daily basis. I will look for the light shining in his eyes. I know that by doing this I will also grow in love for my Savior.

Gifts of Christmas Day 22

2007-12-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming and things seem especially festive around here. The day after Thanksgiving we all decorated the Christmas tree. Usually Adrian opts out, but he had a great time getting out ornaments for Ashley and Lily to put on the tree. Lily learned to climb the ladder and pull ornaments off the tree.
So I am in the Relief Society Presidency as the 2nd counselor. I have this idea for our Christmas enrichment meeting. I want to do a little booklet of the week before christmas with ideas of devotionals and gifts to give of yourself that last week. It's all in my head but not totally formed yet. We plan on sharing cookies and milk and reading a Christmas story and having a VERY SPECIAL surprise that only the RS Pres and I know about. When we planned it we were full of schoolgirl giggles about it. So much fun and I'm not telling! After the 18th I will post the great secret and maybe even photos. tee hee! So... any ideas? anyone? I think I will start here. I will post every day until Christmas. A little advent calendar of my own.

My gift to Christ Today is JOY in Motherhood.
I have two beautiful children who amaze me every day. They bring me joy and hope. I can more clearly understand HIS LOVE for me through the love I feel for them. I will remember to treat my Children as if they were the Christ child.

2007-11-05T10:50:00.000-08:00

This is very cool. Beautiful.

Mom Power Meter

2007-10-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

If you have every played any video games like Halo or watched your kids play, there is always some kind of a power or energy meter that depletes over time or when you are hit by the "enemy". In Halo, in order to recharge, you have to get away from the danger and find a place to hide out until you recharge. As stay at home mom, or probably anybody for that matter, sometimes I don't get away from the stuff that zaps my power long enough to recharge. I get a little bit of energy but it is quickly used up and I am in serious trouble again. Certain things help me "respawn" completely like a trip to Hawaii, laughing at something funny for hours on end, any other vacation, you know stuff like that. Most of the time though I get just a small recharge with chocolate, hanging out with friends, a good movie, watching the sunset, seeing the stars (we don't see htem much here in the city) So this week I have been all the way down to zero and all the way back up. I found a blog about funny things that people do in church- I laughed myself to tears! I haven't done that in a long time. Here is the link http://www.mormonmommywars.com/?p=659 it is a long one, but worth it. And it reminds you to not get so frustrated when church is not what it seems it should be. It's good to laugh at ourselves.

So while I didn't get to Hawaii this week, I did get to laugh and I feel great! Oh, and I always get my daily dose of total cuteness from my darling kids. It always makes stress melt away for a little while. Life is good.

Beneath my computer desk, the floor is covered with junk mail. I don't throw it there. I put it in the trash. Lily decided it was fun to pull the papers out of the trash and line the floor with them. Some of them sound cool when you crinkle them up. (Don't worry, the trash under the desk is always JUST junk mail) I used to put them back in. Then she would get bak to work and cover the floor again. I decided that unless I am putting the paper back in the trashcan to take directly outside, then we will just have a nice carpet of junk mail for our DD to play in. Isn't it funny how a bunch of paper is more fun than a room full of toys? She will be ONE next week. I can hardly believe it.

Flowers for today

2007-10-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Adrian came home with a bouquet of flowers for me. Just because. I love it when he does that. He says that when it has been long enough that you don't remember the last time he bought flowers for me, its time to get me flowers.

For a while I had a hard time when he would buy them for me. I had guilt that he we should spend the money on more practical things. Sometimes guilt can be our friend. In this instance, it was my enemy.

I seem to have an overly active sense of guilt. I am trying to catch myself now when I feel that and look to see whether it is a real and useful feeling or if it is holding me back and making me miserable. After all, it is good to feel guilt some of the time. Guilt keeps me in line, helps me to turn around and rethink what the consequenses of my choices are. But when it comes to feeling guilty about getting flowers, I went a little too far.

Today I will enjoy the flowers. They will last a little while and then they will be gone. I seperated them into 3 different vases to put all over the house. That way I can smell them, love them, let them be something special that doesn't just blend into the walls and become invisible. So thank you Adrian for the beautiful flowers. I love them.

My first post

2007-10-07T22:25:00.000-07:00

Hello to everyone who may have found my blog. I have been reading blogs all day and thought it was time to post my own.

A little bit about me:

I grew up on Whidbey Island in Washington state and now live in the hot state of Arizona. I graduated from BYU and served a mission in San Antonio Texas. I have 2 children, Ashley (4) and (Lily 11 months) and my husband is Adrian. He is a realtor, and I stay at home. If you need a good realtor in Arizona, I know one! In addition, we have started a new business from home.

I have a genetic tendency to pick up new hobbies like knitting and playing guitar, on a regular basis, and I used to be fairly accomplished on the flute. Time goes by and priorities change. That is why this blog is about EVERYTHING. I also need a place to excersize my brain and and communicate with adults- Something about spending day after day at home with 2 little ones. I love it, but sometimes I wonder where my brain disappeared to. Anybody have that same experience?

Where did my brain go? I used to revel in scouring through books and articles to write papers in college. I loved to talk deep into the night about politics, theology, anything that would give my little nuerons a workout. Then motherhood hit and during my first pregnancy my memory started turning a little mushy. Who has time to think when you are just worried about sleeping and wiping little bottoms? My brother says when people get married their conversations change from intelligent topics to kitchen appliances. It is only a short walk from appliances to the color of baby poop.