You skallywag!

disclaimer: no children were hurt or ended up crying for any reason.

From scratch: Microwave popcorn

I am not sure that this can really be considered as a "from scratch" recipe or even really a recipe. I think of it more as a tip. And a really great and easy one.

 It has been a few years since I have bought microwave popcorn, but it was because it is cheaper and tastes better to make it on the stove. But I really dislike the mess it makes and I really dislike using that much oil when cooking it on the stove. 

Then I found this nifty trick!

Microwave popcorn:

You need a paper lunch bag, a 1/4 measure cup and popping corn.

Put a quarter cup of the popping corn in the bag and fold the top over a few times.

Put it in the microwave and cook for about 2 minutes or until the popping almost stops completely.

(It took me a few tries to figure out the perfect time on my microwave to not burn it).

Pour popcorn in bowl and butter and season however you like. 

I use one bag twice and it makes a full bowl of popcorn to enjoy.

ENJOY!

From scratch: Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I ate two slices of this loaf before I remembered to take a picture of it. Boy was it yummy! And the white stuff on the top is melted butter.

I really love making this bread because it doesn't take a whole lot of work. It does however take a lot of time. I would say from start to finish it takes at least two and a half hours. But like I said, it doesn't take much work, just a lot of waiting. But it IS really yummy and great for sandwiches or toast. When I got the recipe from a dear friend, her recipe made four loaves, but I have a Kitchen Aid and it doesn't hold enough to make a four loaf recipe. So this recipe will make two loaves.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Step 1:

2 3/4 cups of warm water

1/3 cup of honey (or sugar)

2 1/2 cups of flour*

1 Tbs of dry yeast

Mix together and let sit in the bowl for about 30 minutes or until it has risen and is bubbly.

Step 2:

To the mixture above add

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbs salt

Mix well.

Step 3:

To the mixture above add

about 4 cups of flour* (add more or less until the dough has cleaned off the sides of the bowl)

Knead it or let the mixer knead it for about 10 minutes. 

Step 4:

Oil hands. Remove dough from mixer and half it. Mold dough into loaves. Place loaves in oiled bread pans. Cover loaves with a damp cloth. Let them rise 1/3 in bulk for approx 35-40 minutes.

Step 5:

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Remove from pans immediately. Put on rack and butter the tops of bread and then let cool. 

(We rarely let it cool before we cut into it because fresh out of the oven bread tastes too delish!)

*I use white whole wheat which makes it a bit less denser than whole wheat. Sometimes I will do half white whole wheat and half bread flour just to make it a bit less denser. But use what ever you prefer.

Guest Blogging about adoption...

I have the privilege of being a guest blogger over at Shaun, Lanette and Iris. I am talking about our experience with open adoption with Mac's birth family. 

Shaun and Lanette are doing an adoption week on their blog to promote their hope to adopt again. They have the sweetest little girl who wants to be a big sister! You will find alot of really great information about adoption as well some awesome giveaways. So check out their blog!

Sunday Gratitude

I am grateful...

01. that my new nephew came to this world safe and sound. It was a little scary for a bit, and I cried when I got the text that he was here and doing great.

02.  to see my really good friend two days in a row. She is one of my closest long time friends and sometimes we go months without seeing each other. Silly, since we only live like 30 minutes from each other.

03.  for those that wished me a Happy Birthday. I don't like a big fuss about it, but grateful to those that remembered. 

04.  for really special, amazing friends who brought me the most amazingly beautiful and thoughtful gifts for my birthday.

05.  to get a date night every month. It is nice to get some alone time outside of our house with my hubby. And for a neighbor willing to do a date/babysitting swap with us.

06.  to an amazing Home Teacher that came and made us "roll up pancakes" with strawberries and whip cream for lunch today after church. 

07.  for the birthday money that I received that will allow me to buy some new Chacos. I am so excited I can hardly stand waiting to buy them!

08.  for awesome parents who sent me a plant (instead of flowers) for my birthday. My green thumb died when I became a mom, so hopefully I won't kill it.

09. that busy season will be over in three weeks!!

10. to be another year older and have the life I have. I am one lucky girl!

From scratch: No-Bake Energy Bites (Cookie balls)

My kids call these cookie balls, and they love them. They are pretty yummy and really handy when needing a  filling snack on the go. And super easy and quick to make.

No-Bake Energy Bites

(Cookie Balls)

Ingredients:

1 Cup of dry oatmeal (I use quick oats)

1/2 Cup of peanut butter

1/2 Cup of ground flax seed or wheat germ (I use 1/4 cup of each)

1/2 Cup of chocolate chips 

1/3 Cup of honey

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (I make mine about 1 inch). Store in airtight container and keep refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Just so you know...

This is what my counter looks like most of the time. This picture was taken less than 24 hours after it was completely cleaned off and all the dishes were clean and put away. And the only reason it was done the day before is because a friend was coming over for dinner. I hate doing dishes and we use a lot of dishes when making meals and snacks because we make so much from scratch.

I feel like all of my posts lately have been sappy and happy lately. Don't get me wrong, everything I have shared has been real life. Life is really great right now, I don't feel like I have much to complain about.

The reason for my sappy and happy posts have been because I am trying to get more out of my life, trying to be happier and find the good and great in my life instead of focusing on the hard parts. I want to enjoy the little things and not miss out on what I have in front of me. Because life really is great!

Just so you know my life as a stay at home mom looks a lot like yours. I lose my patience, my kids throw massive temper tantrums over nothing, I want to pull my hair out by the end of the day most days, my house is a complete disaster, I don't always have dinner ready when my hubby gets home, my master bathroom should have a bio-hazard sign on the door right now, I haven't put away any clean clothes in at least two weeks, we have been digging for clothes through laundry baskets and piles on the floor, we don't get dressed  on days that we don't plan on going anywhere or going outside to play, sometimes my kids go a whole week without taking a bath because I just forgot or was just too lazy, I rarely have done Oak's hair and most days she looks like a rag-a-muffin because I don't want to wrestle her to get dressed in what I want her to wear, some days I spend way too much time on the computer, some days it takes every thing in me to just do the basics, and most nights I go to bed feeling guilty and sad that I wasn't the best mother and wife I could have been that day.

Life is hard, but life is good!

9 a.m.

already this morning...

I was woken at 5am by a child with an owie on his foot that really hurt,

I took a shower and got dressed,

 we said family prayer before my husband left for work,

a child wet their bed,

that child got a quick bath,

that child also got dressed for the day,

then changed her clothes into her ballerina outfit (won't be the last time today),

I have found a love note from my son (see above pic),

got a text from my hubs just telling me he loves me (swoon),

got two texts with pictures of my new nephew (hopefully not the last today),

made and eaten breakfast,

had to talk my daughter down from a meltdown over not getting to say the breakfast prayer,

read scriptures to my kids (first time in awhile),

Sully and Mike from Monsters Inc came to visit (they are planning on staying the night),

watched Oak dance (somebody get this girl in some dance classes),

watched Mac draw and write the word "stop" all on his own (so proud).

been called "hun" when being asked a question by my two year old,

"Mom, I love you more than my toys!" from Mac on his way out the door,

a hug and a kiss for my boy heading off to preschool.

After last night with my two kids driving me nuts and testing my patience to the max and me just wanting to scream and run away, it has been a lovely morning.

1000 and a BIRTHday!

I am so excited that for my 1000th post I get share that my beautiful nephew was born this morning!

We are so excited that Mr. C has joined our family.

Isn't he so cute!? Oh I love him!

And the best thing is that he has strawberry blond hair, and lots of it, no fuzz!

Congrats to my sister-in-law and her husband on their first baby.

And yes! Can you believe that this is my 1000th post? It makes me happy that I have kept a good record of my little family for the past six and a half years. I have been working on putting 2012 into book form. I am starting with last year and working my way back. It will be a long process with that many posts to deal with. 

Sunday Gratitude...

One of the talks in church today was on gratitude, so I thought I would start up my "Sunday Gratitude" posts again. 

I am grateful...

01. for my cute, little, future missionary. I love how he prays for his cousins on their missions in almost every prayer he gives.

02. for the BEAUTIFUL weather we had this last week. It was beyond amazing!

03. for our beautiful birth mothers. They are simply amazing and I am beyond blessed to know them. 

04. that our kids are finally well after two weeks of sickness. Mac was sick one week and Oak was sick the other. It was their first time being sick all winter.

05. only four weeks left of busy season. Which also means four weeks until our 12 year wedding anniversary.

06. that my new nephew will be born with in the next 24 hours. I have been so anxious for him to join our family. I am SO hoping he has red hair!

07. that grapes and strawberries are actually starting to look yummy in the grocery store. We have consumed alot of those this week, yum!

08. for my new camera! I LOVE THAT THING! I am so enjoying taking beautiful pictures of my kids everyday. I can't get enough. 

09. to start seeing  blossoms on trees. YAY SPRING!! I love the Spring.

10. for a hard working husband. And his desire to take care of his family and to make sure all of our needs are met.

Friday: The honey farm

There is a cute little organic produce farm not far from where we live where we like to go and get our honey. (Little health tip: Eating local honey helps with seasonal allergies). My kids call it "the honey farm". I like to make it fun for the kids, so I always let them get a honey stick and sometimes another little treat. On the nice days we will stay a bit and sit at the picnic table while we are enjoying our honey sticks. 

Today when we sat down at the table we found a little birds nest on the ground under the table. Mac loved it, and loved seeing that this bird had used bits of trash to make it's nest. We showed the lady at the farm and she said we could take it home. Then the kids spent a good thirty minutes rolling down a little hill in the wet grass. Pretty sure they had a blast. It was fun to watch them having so much fun. 

fruits & veggies

I was  putting my groceries away and was filling my crispers to the rim with fruits and veggies and realized that I hadn't really talked about that part of our diet change. Fruits and veggies are an important part, a really important part.

I have to admit that for most of my married years, that I rarely bought fresh fruits and veggies. It wasn't that I didn't like to eat them. It was actually that I was a bit scared. I was scared to pick out fruit that wasn't ripe, wasn't going to taste good, or was going to go bad too quickly and then it would be a waste of money. Also, I wasn't sure how to cook with veggies to make them taste good and I am also a bit picky about ripeness of fruit, so I rarely ate fruit as a snack. Also, it is expensive!! 

So, when we decided to make a diet change, I just jumped in and decided to just learn. Even if I ended up wasting food and money, I would eventually figure it out, right?. Also, I decided that money and budget didn't matter much when it came to eating healthy. 

Well, I have to say that a year later, I stuff my crispers full of assorted fruits and veggies and rarely does any of it go to waste. I have learned how to cook veggies that taste so good, that we eat them with every dinner meal (thank you Pinterest). And all those recipes for snacks made from scratch actually don't get made all that often,  they are more of a treat than a snack. We eat fruit galore for snacks in between meals. And my kids have really learned to love fruit and rarely ask for anything else when it comes to snacks. And let me tell you that has been no easy task for them to get that way about snacks. 

I have fallen in love with fruits and veggies this year. And I am pretty proud of myself for sticking with something like this and for how far we have come. I really love the feeling I get when I sit down with my family at the dinner table and I know that what we are eating is healthy. And I am grateful that it is teaching my kids good eating habits for life. We still eat way more junk than we should, but it is the habit of eating healthy that I am going for, not dieting.

 I don't share this to say I am better than anyone else, please don't misinterpret. I do not judge anyone by how or what they eat, we eat this way for very specific health reasons for every member of my family.  I am sharing this to show it is possible if it is something that you have been thinking about and wanting to do, but maybe just feel so overwhelmed with it all.  It is possible with a leap or with baby steps. I love the way we eat so much, that it gets me excited and I want to share it with every one. 

From scratch: Fluffy pancakes & tasty syrup

For a while now, I have been searching for the perfect pancake recipe. It has been a hard battle, because seriously, every single recipe is different by just a smidge. Actually it was annoying, not really a battle. All I wanted in a pancake, was fluffy and buttery. Why was the perfect recipe so hard to find?

But guess what? I FOUND IT!!! Are you as excited as I am? You should be, especially if you really like pancakes.  I am not much of a pancake fan (but my kids are, I prefer french toast) and I LOVE these. They cook perfectly, they are so fluffy without being raw in the middle and they have the yummiest buttery taste. 

I found the recipe on allrecipes.com HERE.

Fluffy Pancakes

makes about 9-10

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of milk

2 Tbs white vinegar

1 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbs white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 Tbs butter, melted

cooking spray

Directions:

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

3. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. 

4. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

(Batter will be super thick!)

5. heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and coat with cooking spray.

6. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto skillet (the batter is so thick you have to spread out the batter a bit to get it to pancake size) and cook until bubbles appear then flip and brown the other side. 

~~~

Because syrup goes with pancakes I want to share my favorite syrup recipe. I have to say that I have NEVER bought a bottle of syrup in my life (well at least for my home). I grew up with warm home made syrup and I really hated it when I would stay the night at a friends and we would have pancakes and they would put a bottle of cold store bought syrup on the table to use. yuck! I have always just done the standard boil water, sugar and maple until I found this recipe. I have no clue where I got it, but I love it.

Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp of maple

1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Boil water on the stove then add sugars and boil until dissolved. 

(Don't walk away or stop stirring, it will boil over very quickly and make a HUGE mess.) 

Take off burner and stir in maple and vanilla.

funnies and sweeties

Mac was upset at Oak because he wanted to hold her ladybug, hence the face.

funnies:

Oak: Mac can we fight the bad guys? Cause they tickled my baby!

I told her that my stomach hurts...

Oak: Mom if your stomach hurts, you should go lay down.

Oak: I'm a great jumper!

Mom: You are! How did you get to be such a great jumper?

Oak: Because I'm beautiful.

Hubs had put on The Mormon Channel on our ROKU and pulled up the scripture reader for kids where it shows just pictures and narrates them. When breakfast was ready Mac asked if we could watch it during breakfast, I told him we couldn't and reminded him of our rule of no tv while eating meals (except on Friday and/or Saturday). He got really mad (lately he feels that rules don't apply to him anymore) and said, "I guess you don't want me to learn the Gospel!!" Kind of hard to argue with that :) Actually I still didn't let him because I explained to him why we don't watch tv while we are eating and that I really wanted to talk with him. He wasn't buying it.

The kids hate when hubs and I kiss. And one night when I was putting Mac to bed he told me I could kiss him and Oak all I wanted but I couldn't kiss dad, but could just give him high fives. He was dead serious!!

We were eating at my in-laws house and the missionaries were over for dinner also. Oak was really wanting to talk to the missionaries and for them to pay more attention to her. So she got there attention and said, "Elders, do you know what?...My mom....my mom is cute!"

Oak got a new pair of crocks since she has outgrown her old ones. Every time she would put them in the first couple of days having them she would say, "These aren't just any crocks...these are girl shoes."

Mac woke me up at a little after 6 am with "I need you mom, I have a special occasion for you." I was already awake and was thinking he was going to surprise me with something special since he has kind of been doing little sweet surprises for us lately, so I got up. I then found him in the bathroom where he announces he has diarrhea and he had an accident in his underwear. At first I was thinking that he still had a surprise for me, but after talking with him, I found out I was wrong and me helping him get cleaned up WAS the special occasion. Luckiest mama in the world, right here!!

We were playing outside and my kids were fighting over who got to hold Bobo's leash (our neighbor's dog). At one point Oak was holding the leash and Mac was pretending to be scared or something and ran away from Oak and Bobo. Oak then shouted to Mac, "It's just Bobo, not a monster". She said it in a tone of "are you blind?!?!"

Sweet Moments:

Hubs decided he wanted to give the kids "Father's blessings". Oak was very excited about it, and sat on the chair perfectly still, arms, folded, head bowed, and eyes closed for the whole blessing. Then she stood up and daddy went to give her a hug, and she stuck out her hand to shake daddy's hand instead. Then she just walked away with a big smile on her face. It was so precious and sweet!

Oak had asked me about where the trees came from. I explained to her that Heavenly Father made them, and mentioned a few other things that He also made. Then Mac walked up to Oak and said he wanted to tell her something. He put his hand on her shoulder and got really close to her and gently said, "Oak, Heavenly Father made YOU." Talk about tugging at my mommy heart strings.

One night after I had put Oak to bed (and daddy was at a church meeting), I asked Mac if he wanted to play a game before he went to bed. He chose a game, and I asked him if when we were done with that game if we could play Sequence Jr. (my favorite game). He said that was fine and when we were done with his game he went and got Go Fish instead. I reminded him that he said it was okay if we played Sequence, and that I really wanted to play Sequence. He got all pouty, and I decided to let it go (which I am trying to do more off) and told him that we could play Go Fish, and told him that it wasn't because he was pouting, but because I love him. And I meant that. He got kind of serious and then kind of mumbled to himself that he had a hard decision to make. And sat there for a bit, then got up, put the Go Fish game back and got the Sequence game out instead. I was a bit shocked and so proud of him for putting someone before himself and his wants. I talked to him about how proud I was of him, and how proud Heavenly Father was of him for making such a selfless choice. And I told him that I really was okay with playing Go Fish, if that is what he really wanted to play. 

Mac: "brownies, cookies, cakes and  muffins...I love you more than all of those things mommy!"

why today was awesome...

...I woke up at 3am with a headache and couldn't go back to sleep, but my headache went away.

...Mac woke up at 6am and wet his bed and I was able to help him.

...Oak woke up at 6:45 and she had wet her bed and I was able to help her.

...I got a whole load of dishes done and the counters cleaned off.

...I watched as daddy rough housed with the kids for a long time before he headed off to work for a few hours.

...I sat on the couch and snuggled my two cuties most of the morning.

...Oak went down for a nap and actually fell asleep.

...The sun was shining and it was warm enough to be outside without a coat or even a sweater.

...Mac and I headed outside to try to help him learn to ride his bike without training wheels.

...Daddy came home from work.

...Mac and daddy planted some seeds in the garden.

...I went to Bi-mart and got some flowers to plant and a car washing brush to wash my big van. And bubbles!

...I washed the van with a little "help" from Mac.

...I planted flowers in my flower containers on the front porch.

...Daddy worked on the lawn mower and fixed it.

...Mac and I had a water fight, at his request. 

...and I asked daddy take a picture of it :)

...Oak woke up, and although sick, wanted to come out side.

...I blew bubbles with my kids for at least 30 minutes.

...after playing outside for about four hours we finally we went inside.

...Oak just wanted to snuggle (she usually never sits still) because she didn't feel good. 

...I got to go grocery shopping without kids.

...And because of my self defense class, I wasn't scared to go grocery shopping at night.

...I filled the gas tank up in my hubby's car so he wouldn't have to.

...I came home to one kid sound asleep and the other one completely ready for bed and waiting for me to get home to put her to bed.

...I am headed to bed to snuggle my already sleeping handsome hubs.

I love sunny, happy, lazy, productive, fun, snuggly days with my family.

...

From scratch: Chicken Taquitos

These are seriously AMAZING!! And they are worth every effort that it takes to make them. This makes A LOT! About 40. I usually will cook all of them and freeze what we don’t eat. The frozen ones you can pull out and stick in the microwave or back in the oven for a bit. But they still don't last long, because they are too yummy to stop eating. I thought I had originally got this recipe from a PIN on Pinterest, but when my sister-in-law asked for the recipe, I couldn't find my exact recipe in any of the links. 

Creamy baked chicken Taquitos

Ingredients:

12 oz cream cheese (softened in the microwave)

1 small can green chiles

1T lime juice

½ t cumin

1 t chili powder

¼ t garlic powder

3 T chopped cilantro ( I like it with this, Hubs doesn’t, so I don't usually use it)

2 T sliced green onions (optional, I have never added any)

4 C shredded cooked chicken**

1 C cheddar cheese

Small corn tortillas

Olive oil cooking spray

Directions:

1.       Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray

2.       Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so its soft and easy to stir. Add green 

chiles, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and/or green onions (if you are using them). Then add chicken and cheese and combine well. You can prepare all of this ahead of time and stick it in the fridge until you are ready to make them.

3.       Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat them in the microwave in between a damp cloth or 

paper towel. They need to be pretty soft or they will crack when rolling.

4.       Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla then roll it up as tight as you can.

5.       Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Make sure that none are touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle a bit of salt on top.

6.       Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get 

golden brown.

**I have cooked my chicken in the oven or crock pot. (I am not a fan of boiled chicken) For the oven, all I do is put it in a glass baking dish (sometimes I line it with tinfoil) and cook on 350 until it is done, about 30 to 40 minutes depending on how thick the chicken is and how much is in the pan. Crockpot, I just put it in with a bit of water and cook on high for about 3 to 4 hours.

happenings...

-So I had decided to delete my Facebook account completely. I scheduled it to be done, which takes two weeks. After about a week, I decided to not delete it completely and to just keep it deactivated for now.

--So I started to do a little mommy preschool with Oak. Last week we only ended up doing one day of it but that was all she needed to learn the letter A. Since then she has continually pointed out evey A that she sees. She loved doing it and we will continue to do it a couple a days a week when Mac is at preschool.

--One day I was just getting tired of Mac's room and I wanted to clean it, move his bed and take down the rain gutter bookshelves (which I hated) and make room for a little table so he can have a place to play legos and draw. Mac actually helped me a lot, although he didn't really like it. We took down the bookshelves, washed the walls and baseboards, vacuumed, moved his bed, cleaned out his closet, boxed up clothes that don't fit him anymore, and organized and got rid of some toys. I then worked on Oak's a little bit too, but didn't do as thorough of a job.

--I took Mac to the allergist for his yearly visit. They retested him for two nuts that he showed just a slight reaction to with his previous testing. He wanted to see if it was a false positive or if the reaction was less or  more. It happened to be a bit more of a reaction. It was hard to talk Mac into getting the testing done, but the nurse was patient with me and I finally got Mac to do it although he was not happy about it.

--After the allergist Mac and I went on a little date to get a Happy Meal and then to see the movie The Rise of The Guardians at the movie theater. He was so excited about it. It is fun to take just one of my kids out with me at a time. I feel like they are a totally different kid when they are by themselves.

--A couple of weeks ago, Mac woke up close to midnight and wanted me to come snuggle him. After he went to the bathroom I layed down and snuggled him in his bed. After a few minutes he told me his stomach hurt and asked him if he needed to go potty. He said he already had, which clued me into the possibility of him throwing up. So I went a grabbed a bowl and set it next to him and told him if he needed to throw up to do it in the bowl. A few minutes after that he sat up and threw up his entire stomach into the bowl (thankfully). He felt so much better after that. He woke up in the morning with a low grade fever, but had alot of energy and was not liking the fact that I was making him stay on the couch and rest. He had a another low grade fever late afternoon. But once that was gone, he was fine and never got sick again. Thankfully Oak didn't get it.

-So I had ordered essential oils from doTerra and was excited to when we finally got our package. I opened it up and they had packed everything but our oils (The Family Physician Kit). So I emailed me friend who helped me get all set up through doTerra, and she got it all taken care of. It was just an over sight and I had my oils within a few more days. And I was able to use them alot while my kids were sick this past week.

-So there is an adoption blog that I enjoy reading and she was doing a giveaway for a CD and so I entered and won. I was so excited!

-My friend is certified to teach children yoga and she was teaching a class at a neighboring towns library. So we decided to go because it sounded fun and to support my friend. It was so much fun, and the kids keep talking about going again. But while we were there, I did see a lady with a video camera but didn't think much of it. But the next day a friend from my ward texted me saying she had seen my kids on the news. He then emailed me the clip and sure enough my kids were in the short clip ALOT. Mac thinks he is the coolest kid ever because he was on the news. (If you are at all interested here is the link http://www.kmtr.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=3961918&navCatId=19833 then go to the "Ducks win civil war, third Coos Bay murder arrest" link and it is the last 45 seconds of the clip. Which unfortunately you have to watch the whole clip to get to the end.)

 -Both of the kids have had diarrhea for a couple of days, then Mac got a bad cough, then a fever, then a sneezy, snotty nose. Thankfully Oaks never got that far. We had a few sleepless nights and early mornings watching movies because he just couldn't sleep. Yesterday, at about 10:30am he said he was tired and wanted to take a nap. I took him to his room, and he fell asleep within a couple of minutes, and slept for nearly four hours. When he woke up, he seemed to be feeling A LOT better. As of today, he seems to be over everything but the cough. Which we can probably count on staying for a bit. Unfortunately he has missed preschool and Taekwondo for the entire week. We haven't left the house in three days, and you can tell that we are going to go crazy if we don't get outside or just somewhere else soon.

And a few pictures from a beautiful day last week...

oak giving her favorite dog, Bobo, a hug.

the ladybug oak carried around for a few hours. pretty sure the poor thing was traumatized. it did live and I finally talked her into laying it on a leaf so it could go find it's family.

From scratch: English Muffin Bread

I love this bread, it makes the yummiest toast. It tastes just like english muffins, and I LOVE english muffins. This is a quick and easy recipe. I don't remember where I got it, off of a blog somewhere in blog land. 

english muffin bread

ingredients:

2 3/4 cups of warm water

1.5 packages of RAPID RISE yeast

1 Tbs of salt

1 1/2 Tbs of sugar

5 1/2 cups of bread flour

directions:

mix all ingredients together, then spoonful into two greased bread loaf pans. 

let rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pans.

bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

From scratch: Pizza crust

On Friday nights we like to have a pizza picnic on the floor while watching a movie. We have loved making pizza from scratch this past year. It is so easy and so much cheaper than buying pizza. I have tried a few different recipes and the one I am about to share we have loved the most. It really is quick and easy and it tastes great. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com 

Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1.5 tsp of active dry yeast

1 tsp of white sugar

1 Cup of warm water (hot water from tap)
2 1/2 cups of bread flour
2 Tbs of olive oil
1 tsp salt

directions:
1.Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. In a medium bowl (I use my kitchen aid) dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about ten minutes.
3. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for about five minutes.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan. Add toppings and then bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. 

fresh air...

the kids have been a bit under the weather and were getting a bit stir crazy, so we headed over to grandma and grandpa's for a bit to do a little swinging, jumping and doggy loving. Just what the doctor ordered.

Self defense...

The place that Mac goes to Taekwondo is run by a man and his wife. They are both black belts. Mr. Duer does most of the instructing and Miss J (his wife) does most of the business part with occasional instructing. When we first started going there, Miss J came up to me to tell me that she had gone to high school with my sister-in-law Brooke (she wasn't friends with her but knew her), and that Brooke was a huge reason she is so passionate about teaching woman self-defense. 

They offer woman's self defense classes every other month and charge only $35 for a two hour hands-on class. I finally was able to go yesterday, and I have to just say that I was blown away. Miss J truly is passionate about this, and she did an amazing job teaching the 20 or so woman that were there. She also had five men there (that are either instructors or taking classes there) to be our "dummies" because she believes that to learn this you have to feel the actual emotions you might have when being grabbed or assaulted. She really did a great job at instructing us and the men did a great job at letting us hurt them a bit. 

I learned so much about how to defend myself and left feeling very empowered. Just to give you an idea of  how hands on we were and how hard we worked, I woke up really sore this morning. Way more sore than after doing the Insanity workouts this last month. I am sure that the guys are even more sore and probably a bit bruised up too.

 At one point Miss J offered to put us in a hold to choke us (just as much as we could handle) so that we could feel what it is actually like and at how quickly we would have to react if someone ever came up behind us to choke us. Which let me just say, was only about one second. 

I am grateful for the tools I learned there, so grateful. And I plan on taking the class again before the end of the year. I really encourage all woman to take a woman's self defense class. And if you have taken one before, and it has been awhile, take it again. It could save your life!

Yellow Belt

Mac just tested for his yellow belt. He was very excited and would tell anyone he could that he was going to get it and then after he got it he wanted to tell anyone he could that he had gotten it. Cute kid! He did a great job, and we are very proud of him. It is alot of work and time to take him 3 to 4 days a week, but it is so worth it. 

Bowing to Mr. Duer his instructor.

Officially getting his yellow belt.

It was a small group for testing this time around.

So proud! He looks so stinking cute in this picture.

And one with daddy! Love my boys!

February in photos...

So excited February is over...it means we are that much closer to the end of tax season and nicer weather. Now hopefully March will go by just as quick :)

Oak found almost every play phone we had in our house and had to have one in each pocket, then she had to take them with her when we walked to go pick up brother from preschool.  Her pants were about to fall off of her, so funny.

Oak's first self portrait! After she made the squigly line, she said, "That's my curly hair!" I can't even explain how much I love this!

One of our Taekwondo friends. She was adopted form Ethiopia. And she is just the cutest thing, we love her!

Babysitting for date night and trying to get the kids to calm down with a movie. Didn't work, they were up and running around with in 5 minutes of this picture being taken.

Oak with her cousin at the grandkid v-day party.

My in-law's dog, Benji. Mac isn't afraid of dogs, but he hasn't really liked Benji much because he is a bit of a hyper dog and gets really excited when visitors come and tends to be loud, pushy and jumpy. But Mac has finally made friends with him and has realized if he just lets Benji come and snuggle him a bit he calms down.

This was Oak really sad to wake up and find out she had to stay home with grandma instead of getting to go to taekwondo with mommy and brother.

We have been pretty healthy in our house this year, but one night Mac threw up and then had a slight fever and that was the end of it. I did however make him take it easy for at least 24 hours. He did not like it that much.

Oak got a stamp at grandma's v-day party so we got some ink at the store and the kids went to town with it. You can see Oak got a little crazy and stamped up and down both of her arms. She got a bath after this.

Our neighbor friends ended up coming over for our v-day candle light dinner because their mom needed to take their dad to the hospital for an injury he got while working. All the kids loved it!

We have been having glow stick dance parties alot lately. This night we took lots of cool pictures painting with the light.

Playing with neighbor friends on nice days. We can hardly wait for the real nice weather to show up!

Just a cute one of our cute girl!

v-day breakfast for the kids!