Kudos & Catastrophe

Kudos
The kids finished their last week of school - YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Max has now finished kindergarten. He had his last day on Thursday and as I picked him up, his teacher gave him a hug and teared up. She looked at me and said, "Oh, I just want to keep him!" I know exactly how she feels. I'm going to be the one crying in the fall when he has to go to school all day as a first grader... sigh. Max has learned so much this year. He's been so responsible and grown so much. We're so proud of you, Max!

Gabe finished 2nd grade with straight "A"s all year. He's doing a fantastic job at multiplication and started writing in cursive at the end of the year. Gabe also won a class character award for KINDNESS. Awesome job, Gabe! We're so proud that you're kind to everybody.

Zach's two rounds of strep throat in the month May left him with a pile of make-up work, but he worked like a madman to get caught up before the end of the term. His final grades were great, and he received the "Eager to Learn" award in his class.

Lauren participated in the 6th grade talent show and sang her first solo (You Belong with Me, by Taylor Swift) She said it went great "I looked around and EVERYONE was clapping," she beamed. Way to go, Lauren! That takes a lot of courage.  She'd been struggling in a couple of her classes, but managed to pull her grades up even more than I expected. This has been such a tough year for her, but we're so grateful for all the things she's learned and the progress she's made.

Catastophe
   Spring has sprung, but in all of the family chaos of April and May, our yard has not had the attention is needs. It was looking like a jungle. This week, I was determined to get it mowed before the lawn service company came to spray fertilizer and weed killer. We bought a good mower about five years ago, but I admit that the machine has been neglected. On Thursday, I was paying the price for it.

   The mower was dying every 3 minutes, the blade getting clogged with grass and generally spitting out grass clippings all over the yard. It took a ridiculous amount of time to mow the front lawn and then I spent an equally ridiculous amount of time raking up the mess. The mower blade obviously needs sharpening or replacing, and the motor needs a tune up. I was so frustrated by the time the sun was setting on Thursday night, that I decided forgo mowing the back yard, and I went to the phone book to find a lawnmower repair shop.

   Friday morning I dropped the older kids at school for the their last day, and I headed home to dismantle the van interior and load the lawnmower. Someone should have had a camera rolling as a very pregnant me and five-year-old Max tried to lift the beast into the back of van. Somehow, we got it in, but it was NOT gracefully.

   I thought that the lawnmower would be secure on the drive to the shop... WRONG! SO WRONG!!!!
We made it through a few intersections, but while driving up the free way on-ramp, the mower flew backwards and the handle smashed right through the back window.

GLASS EVERYWHERE!

I'm just glad that the guy on the motorcycle behind me, didn't get hurt.

There was nowhere for me to pull off the road, because of the construction, so we just kept trucking to the repair shop, with the mower and glass rattling in the back of the van. Sigh.

After dropping off the mower, I found an auto glass shop where I ordered the glass and made arrangements for the repair that afternoon.

I spent the rest of the morning vacuuming glass from every nook and cranny of the van, which, by the way, was one of the most tedious and nerve-wracking tasks I've ever done. My hands felt like I'd wrestled a porcupine by the time I was finished.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU to my neighbor Laura and her daughter Rachel, who shuttled me to drop off and pick up the van, AND to pick up Zach from a schools-out-pool-party he attended.

The window repair is complete, and so far, so good. Matt has forgiven me. The mower should be ready next week. My yard will have to go another weekend without mowing, but we have a million other things to work on this weekend anyway. Summer is here! And we're all excited for it.

I'm taking the weekend off from blogging. Have a great Memorial Weekend!

Easy Turkey Pot Pie

My Mom cooked a turkey for the kids while Matt & I were in Hawaii, so I came home to a pound of meat in my fridge just beckoning me to make something delicious - Deep Dish Turkey Pot Pie.

Meat pies are a fast and easy way for me to repurpose a variety of leftovers, and my family LOVES to eat them. This recipe can be used for any kind of meat pie: turkey, chicken or roast beef. It's also flexible, so you can vary the proportions of meat, vegetables and gravy and still have a delicious result!

Perfect Pie Crust
(Makes two crusts)

• 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup shortening (I use a butter flavored shortening stick)
• 1/4 ice water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter. Stir in ice water using a fork until dough just holds together in a ball. *Tip: Don't over-handle the dough or it will become tough and lose it's flakiness. Break off 1/3 of the dough ball and set aside. 

Roll out the remaining 2/3 dough into a large circle about 1/4" thick and then wrap the dough around the rolling pin to easily transport it to your baking dish.  I use a 9" round casserole dish. Fit the crust around the bottom of the pan and trim the edges.

Add any leftover crust pieces to your 1/3 dough ball and roll out the ball into a smaller circle to be used as the top crust. *The crust is the most work and it still only takes 5 to 10 minutes depending on how practiced you are at making pastry. You could also buy prepared pie crusts in the refrigerated section of your grocery store.

Pie Filling

• About 1 lb. of cooked meat, cubed (turkey, chicken, roast beef) *I always use leftovers, and sometimes I've even used canned chicken.
• About 8 cups of frozen or leftover mixed vegetables (any of the following: peas, carrots, corn, green beans, & southern style hash brown potatoes)
• 2 Tbls. dried onion flakes
• 1 quart of gravy (*again using leftovers, or a gravy mix that goes along with the meat)

Just mix the meat, vegetables, onion flakes & gravy in a large bowl. Pour the filling into your prepared bottom crust, and then put your top crust in place. Fold & crimp the edges of the pie crust and put a few cuts in the center to allow steam to escape.

Cover the edges of the crust with tin foil or a crust shield, and bake at 375 for about an hour and 15 minutes. *Remove the foil during the last 15 minutes of baking. Check the center of the pie to make sure it's hot and ready to serve.

I can throw this together in 15 minutes of prep time, and then sit back during baking. For instance, I made the pie earlier in the day and just popped it in the oven while the kids were at piano lessons.  

The house is filled with the aroma of an old fashioned home-cooked meal, but it's really SO EASY, and leftovers never tasted SO GOOD! Enjoy!

*Shepherd's Pie Variation: We'll often have leftover mashed potatoes along with meat and gravy, so instead of topping the pie with a second crust, I'll spread a few cups of mashed potatoes over the top of the pie (omitting the hash browns in the filling.) Cut a few venting holes for steam and bake as usual. You can roll out and freeze the second pie crust, or better yet, make a single crust dessert pie to go with the meal. YUM!

Making Summer Meaningful

I LOVE summertime with my kids!

When the kids were little, I tried to simply fill the summer with activities (movies, swimming, soccer camp, etc.,) but as the kids grew, I realized that there was a lot more 

I wanted to be doing as a parent to use this time wisely.

These months together are PRECIOUS!

I've learned to take our summer planning seriously and look for ways to 

teach my children according to their needs, help them reach goals, 

build our family relationships and have lots of fun together.

As a result, each summer has been very different, but I'm so grateful for how we've used that time.

While in Hawaii, I decided to take advantage of a quiet morning to pray, think and plan.

(*Seriously, quiet time like this is rare and invaluable in my life - It was great!)

I started by asking myself all kinds of questions about what is going on with each child...

~ How is my relationship with this child?

~ How can I express more love and strengthen our relationship?

~ What character traits do they need to work on right now?

~ What programs are they involved in? 

~ And how can I help them be successful?

~ What life skills are they ready to develop?

~ What family projects should we work on?

~ What fun activities should we plan?

When thinking about how to show more love and build our relationships, I kept thinking about the need for one-on-one time. I decided that the best way to do that was to give each child a weekday afternoon (while Jared is asleep) for "Mom Time." 

Monday: Lauren

Tuesday: Zach

Wednesday: Gabe

Thursday: Max

This idea felt so right, and then it paved the way for so many of the other answers too!

For instance, Lauren is just beginning the Personal Progress program in Young Womens, so "Mom Time" affords us an afternoon each week to work on skills & goals she's expressed a desire to learn (namely cooking and sewing.)  Gabe is just beginning cub scouts and the Wolf program involves a lot of at home goals and activities that we can do during our "Mom Time." He could also use some help with he piano practice. Zach and I can work on Webelos requirements, and Max would really benefit from reading together and reviewing phonograms.

I want "Mom Time" to include life skills development from 

The Parenting Breakthrough (click here to see the previous post on this great book.)

So I broke out the book this week to see what skills the kids can be developing this summer.

However, I decided that I don't want "Mom Time" to be all work or something entirely dictated by me. I hope to include lots of talking and listening, spending some days doing a fun activity of that child's choosing, and then we also need to take a few minutes to plan the next weeks "Mom Time."

Making this time valuable will need planning & supplies, which I want to buy, gather and prepare ahead of time. Hopefully that means I can put Jared down for his nap, and we can jump right into our "Mom Time" plans.

As for family projects, I think I'll have to post more about this later, but the kids have already been very vocal about the kinds of fun they want to have (camping, swimming, biking, etc.)  

I'm grateful they're thinking of active things, because I've noticed how the kids are becoming more sedentary as they get older. They'd rather sit and play video games or watch a movie than go outside and play. Lauren's move to middle school meant no more recess for active play either, so I've been thinking about ways to build good habits for our family to stay active. 

One of my ideas included turning an old Chutes and Ladders game spinner into 

a "Wheel of Fun" spinner. I want include things like baseball, tennis, basketball, biking, Tag games, swimming, etc., and then have a child spin the wheel each morning, and we'll head out the door to do the activity for 30 minutes to an hour.

I thought about ways to improve our Family Devotional each day. Our lives have been so jam-packed for the last two months that we've stopped writing in journals. There's barely been enough time for prayers and a few minutes of scripture study. So, I want to reincorporate journal time and add singing a hymn or primary song as well. 

I've talk to the kids about these plans and so far, they're enthusiastic. The kids are finishing up their last week of school, and I'm getting so excited about our summer together!
I hope we're able to make it a really meaningful time for our family.

Aloha!

Wailua Falls

Matt and I just returned from our 9 day trip to Hawaii. We went with all the adults on Matt's side of the family as a Christmas gift from his parents.  The family has spent months planning this trip, and we were gathering from all over the country (Minnesota, Virginia, Illinois, Idaho, Utah & California.) We haven't seen some of these family members in over a year, so this was a fantastic reunion. We spent most of our time on the garden island of Kauai, but Matt and I also took a day trip tour of Oahu. There was so much packed into that tour that I feel like I saw the whole island of Oahu too. 

We took HUNDREDS of pictures and hours of video, but here are a very few photo highlight:

Kauai

Smith Family Luau: Gardens, Imu ceremony, dinner and dancing show.
The fire dancing was the best! We have video footage, but the still photos are difficult to see clearly.

Day trip to Secret Falls & the swimming hole

   Kauai is so mountainous and tropical that many parts of the island can only be seen from the air. We took this air tour with Jerry and Trich on Friday. My favorite part was seeing all the places we'd hiked and visited throughout the rest of the trip.

Boarding Air Ventures

The large photo (above left) shows Poipu where we stayed.
We spent a lot of time on this beach swimming, snorkeling and body surfing.

The beach on the left of this photo is Ke'e Beach and the beginning of the Kalalua Trail. We took a rigorous 4 mile jungle hike back and forth across the mountain to the secluded Hanakai'ai Beach that you can see on the right. A river empties into the ocean at Hanakai'ai Beach and we even found some caves/tunnels. This is the last reachable beach area on the Napali Coast and a dangerous beach because of the powerful currents along the shore - no swimming on this beach - but the cool river water was a welcome relief from the long hike and we picnicked in a small cave area.

Oahu

Pearl Harbor: USS Arizona Memorial

Polynesian Cultural Center

Byodo In Temple: Replica of temple in Japan, built entirely without nails.

We also visited the Dole Plantation, Tropical Farms, and numerous beaches on Oahu including Wikiki Beach (which was the most crowded beaches I've ever seen.) Honolulu was like a New York in the tropics - a very crowded bustling city, with high fashion shopping & large buildings. The whole island was much more populated and industrialized than Kauai. It had a different feel, and it was really fun to experience both places.

This was a once in a lifetime experience, and 

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Jerry & Trich! 

As much fun as the sights were, being with these people made it extraordinary. 

We love you guys - we're missing you already!

Homemade Pizza Night

I've been wanting to try these two new recipes for a while, I got them from my friend's blog (Thank you, Jesse!) When Lauren helped me plan the meals for this week, she asked for a homemade pizza night. We decided to make both the regular pizza for dinner and a fruit pizza for dessert. This was the result:

Regular Pizza Crust
*Makes one large or two small crusts.

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour

Combine water, yeast and sugar and allow the yeast to develop for a couple of minutes. Add oil, salt and flour. Knead for 7-8 minutes until smooth. Let the dough rest for 8-10 minutes. Roll out onto a greased  pan, and spread with sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-13 minutes, or until crust is light brown and cheese has melted.

*We really liked this pizza crust! It's so simple. The dough is easier to work with than my previous recipe, and it was very tasty. I used a double batch to make this cookie sheet sized pizza, but the dough was a bit too thick. The kids loved it anyway, but next time, I'll try a 1 1/2 sized batch.

Fruit Pizza

*Makes at least 12+ slices

• CRUST
• 1 Yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup,) melted

Mix these ingredients and roll out dough onto a pizza pan that is covered with wax paper and sprayed with cooking oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool before adding frosting and fruit.

• FROSTING
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cups powdered sugar
• 4 oz whipped topping

Whisk these ingredients together and spread over cooled crust.

Add your favorite FRUIT TOPPINGS: Bananas, mandarin oranges, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc.

*I liked these ease of this crust, but it was EXTREMELY rich. Lauren & I couldn't finish our slices because it was too rich. Some good things about the crust were it's flexibility, it sliced easily, served easily and didn't fall to pieces when you took a bite. I loved the frosting and the toppings we used, but I think I might experiment with the crust. I'll either try replacing some of the butter with water next time or try a different sugar cookie recipe.

Overall, the pizza night was a big hit.

Taking Correction FROM Your Children

Last Thursday, I was exhausted. I had very little sleep the night before, and I'd spent the day paying bills and taking care of three sick kids including a toddler who was miserable and difficult to appease. I was still trying to get the kids to finish their homework and clean up after dinner, when low and behold, the doorbell rings.

All the kids RACED to the door, including two sick ones who were dressed in pajamas. Jared bolted into the front yard and Lauren was chasing after him by the time I even reached the doorway.  General chaos erupted, with children scattering everywhere in an attempt to dodge the remaining homework and clean-up. They all seem to KNOW that the two door-to-door salesman on my front porch were the distraction they'd been waiting for, and now was the time to make a break for it.

Ah.... door-to-door salesmen. I keep meaning to hang a "No Soliciting" sign by the doorbell, but I haven't gotten around to it.

them: "Hello, we're with Utopia," they say. (The guy nearest the door seems like the trainee, and the guy at the back must be the trainer)


me: (in my guarded voice) "Hello?"

them: "We're just in the neighborhood talking to people about how they like their internet service."

me: "Listen, my husband chooses the internet service, and we're really happy with what we have." (hint... I'm not interested)

them: "Oh, we're not selling anything."

me: (yah, right. You're knocking on my door for fun.)

them: "We're just TALKING with people about Utopia. Is your husband the Tech Guy one of your neighbors mentioned?"

me: (I'm thinking... I don't know if he's the Tech Guy someone mentioned, and I DON'T KNOW YOU.  I'm not giving you any more information about my family) "There are several people on this street who work in the computer industry." I say - which is true.

them: "Well, you ARE wired-in aren't you?" says the trainer "You use fiber-optic cable?" 

me: "Yes, in fact, I think we use Utopia, and like I said, we're very happy with our internet service." (Hint, hint... nothing to sell here. Move along.)

*I can hear Jared screaming and I can see that Lauren is having a hard time keeping the bare-foot pajama-clad toddler out of the street. Gabe & Max are hopping on their bikes & trying to race off before their distraction leaves. Zach is still standing by my side in his pajamas, but I'm getting really worried about Jared and the scattering kids.

them: (the trainer decided to take charge of the conversation, and give the trainee a demonstration of how this should be done.) "Well, you seem like you don't know much about Utopia." He says in his lecture voice, "We're an organization that's been est..."


me: (all patience gone! I've got to get Jared back inside, and I'm not going to play this game.) "No, listen. I'm not interested in learning more about Utopia." (They're visibly taken back.) "In fact, we've got a lot going on right now, and it's time for you to go." (They're eyes are wide and they're walking backwards, saying goodbye. One almost trips over a pile of lumber I've got in the drive way.)
I can see that Lauren has just caught hold of Jared and I holler, "Lauren, bring him inside!"
I usher ALL the kids back in the house in a huff, and Zach says with a little disbelief,


Zach: "That was kind of rude!"


me: (still annoyed,  I snap...) "Zach, they're door-to-door salesman, and they probably have the worst job in the world. However, that doesn't mean I have to stand there talking to them all day. I have a million better things to do!"


Zach: "Well, there's a lesson!" He says and then adds "I'm not sure I should learn that one."

me: (ouch!) 

It took me while to think this over. Later that evening...

me: "Zach, you were right. I WAS rude to those salesmen. In fact... I'm sure I could have found a nicer way to let them know I was done talking with them. I'm sorry I embarrassed you, buddy."

Zach: "Thank you... it's okay." he shrugs.


I'm convinced that children are SUPREME hypocrisy detectors! Maybe a sign that we've done a good job teaching them our values and principles is when they can look back at us and say, "Hey! You're not practicing what you preached to me!"

No doubt, I would have chastised Zach for talking to people that way, and he recognized it.

Two days later, I was loading a couple of  kids in the van, and saw the two Utopia guys walking down the sidewalk. I stopped them and apologized for the way I spoke to them the other evening. The trainer felt he still needed to share his thoughts about Utopia with me. I listened patiently this time as a form of penance even though I was anxious to get on the road. (By the way, we really DO like Utopia cable, I just don't like door-to-door sales.) Zach wasn't around when this conversation happened, so I made a point of telling him that I'd apologized to the men I had been rude to. Zach approved ;D

It's funny, but maybe one of the best examples we can give our kids is how to behave after we've messed up. I always appreciated that quality in my Dad. If he got after me by mistake or behaved badly in front of us, he would acknowledge it, sincerely apologize and we'd move on. I really respected that. I think I always aspired to be a PERFECT example - yah, that hasn't happened! I DO make mistakes and so do my kids, but I don't want any of us to hide from it, deny it, blame others, or play the victim. You can't grow if you do that. Of course, we need to teach our kids what is good and we should strive to set a wonderful example, but now I've learned the value of a different kind of example "Teach your children what to do when they mess up..."

Admit it.
     Apologize.
          Try to make it right.
                Move forward.

Discover Your Interior Design Style

My friend posted about this online quiz for determining 

your interior design style and I had to pass it on...

I was 67% Zen Style and 33% Contemporary. Both emphasized CLEAN spaces and clean lines. I added full descriptions of these styles and their design tips below for my own reference, but here's the link so you can read up on YOUR style. SO FUN!!!

Click Here for:  The Style Quiz

Zen Style

Goodbye clutter, hello clean! However in Zen Style, unlike some other contemporary design, the consistent level of natural materials keep the spaces from feeling cold and sterile. Zen Style has a nice mix of rustic with chic so that there is an incredible level of ease and sophistication about the space. Plants and greenery are very important in helping achieve the warm and natural feel of the space. When at all possible, natural lighting is used in spaces to help create the openness in the space.

Materials

Natural materials with their calming effects, are very prominent. Indoor water features, natural tatami or sea grass floor coverings are often used on top of wood or natural stone flooring. Bamboo is very popular in its living and dried form, as are dark hardwoods. Floral arrangements are very common and orchids and bonsais are very popular for their simplicity and beauty. With Zen Style, you will often see very clean lined furniture paired with rustic and sometimes ornate antiques (or replicas). However, the key is minimalism so the more ornate pieces are tempered by the lack of nearby items.

Colors

When it comes to color, subtle is key. Shades of gray, brown, green and white are common because of their simplicity and calming nature. Color, or lack there of, is intended to highlight the openness of the space and simplicity of the design. Very often you see light fabric and upholstery paired next to dark hardwoods, and this subtle contrast is enough to provide interest while still remaining subtle.

Space Planning

When it comes to furniture arranging, less is more. And a lot less is even that much more! Think minimal and avoid clutter at all cost. Furniture pieces are usually clean-lined and many times are low to the ground. Intimate spaces are created with furniture groupings as well as carefully placed floor mats and area rugs. You will often see floor cushions for additional or even the main seating.

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Contemporary

So fresh and so clean! Antiques? No thanks! Vintage collections and clutter of any type? Not for you! You like your space new and sleek. Each piece is chosen carefully as if it was a piece of art, and your love of minimalism is expressed throughout each room. Furniture has clean lines and geometric shapes are preferred. You're not afraid of color; in fact bold color options only highlight the minimal items you choose for your home. But, the key is clean! To master the minimalist interior you not only have to be selective in the few furniture items you bring into the space, but you must also find a way to hide all of the real life items as well.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Everybody!

Healthy Habit: Everyday Exercise

EXERCISE

 Bad Habit: Not enough exercise

Not consistently.

Not long enough.

Not intense enough.

In my previous efforts to lose weight, I would try to exercise 30 minutes 3 times a week. Which may work if you're already maintaining a healthy weight, but you won't lose weight that way. In truth, my three times a week goal would wither to 2 times a week for 15-20 minutes. 

To lose weight, I needed to exercise 45 minutes to an hour a session (long enough) for 4 to 6 days a week. Training for the triathlon was a HUGE help. It gave me a goal. I wasn't just exercising, I was "IN TRAINING." That mental shift was extremely helpful. I was exercising almost daily because I didn't want to be the last to finish the race (consistency.) I started to push myself (intensity). I wanted to improve my race time, so I worked harder instead of simply going through the motions. Signing up for some kind of "race" is really helpful. You could start with a 5k and work forward from there.

CONSISTENCY: Exercise requires a lot of patience and committment. Everyone has to START somewhere, but I still recommend Monday through Saturday exercise at any level. Building the daily habit of exercise is critical. It's the length and the intensity of exercise that should improve over time. Carve out a time of day that will work. It doesn't have to be 5 a.m.; 5 pm will work just fine. Years ago, I worked with a guy who was totally committed to fitness. He made an appointment with himself to exercising the hour he got off work (5:30-6:30,) and he wouldn't schedule any appointments that would interfere with his personal appointment. I love that example of making an appointment with yourself and keeping it.

For years, I thought that I had to exercise first thing in the morning to lose weight. I just set myself up for failure, since I was always too exhausted in the morning, I would get caught up in getting kids out the door for school. I finally decided to find a time that worked best for me. It happens to be 8am. I'm most consistent if I dress for exercise first thing in the morning, drop the kids off at school and drive straight to the gym on the way home. If I don't go home, I don't get side-tracked. I decided that the money spent on childcare at the gym (for 1 child) was worth it. My health and happiness are worth it. 

INTENSITY: I see a lot of walkers at the gym. If you haven't exercised in years, then you will definitely start slowly, but you're going to reach a point when you're capable of more. I think one of the biggest weight loss mistakes is that we get into habits that are comfortable. If your exercise is very 'comfortable' then you aren't working hard enough. You shouldn't be totally out of breath, but your breathing should be increased. You should be able to utter a sentence, but if you can talk at length or sing, then you really need to step up the activity. Keep monitoring your intensity so you don't ever settle for a weak workout. Don't waste your time! You've bothered to get out there and move your body, so get the most out of it!

LENGTH OF TIME: I'll say it again... for me, I wouldn't lose weight if I only worked out for 30 minutes. I lost pounds and inches when I exercised for an hour. I started talking to myself in those terms. After the first 30 minutes, I'd think, "That was for maintenance... the next 30 is for fat burning." 

VARIETY: I touched on this two weeks ago in the Overcoming Obstacles post, if you missed that one, there are some good tips for handling exercise obstacles as well. Exercise can become boring and doing the same exercise every day will only work one set of muscles. By mixing up your workout, you'll be more engaged by the variety and using more muscle groups. You also allow the previously used muscle groups to rest. I highly recommend adding weight training twice a week, and make sure to work the upper and lower body groups. 

Include a variety of aerobic exercises: running, spinning, Zumba, whatever! And don't hesitate to add sports: basketball, tennis, racquetball, soccer, etc. Have some fun!

SHAPING UP: The best thing about exercise is the way you feel afterward. You have more energy, and you feel fit and strong. I love feeling strong! I also LOVE the shape that exercise gives the body. I know thin people that aren't very shapely, and if you have problem areas like me, it's encouraging to DO something about those spots. I feel like I lose more weight in the right places when I include exercise.

*Words of caution: Exercise can do funny things to appetite. Immediately after exercising, my appetite is decreased, but I sometimes feel an increase in appetite later in the day. Weight Watchers had a good plan for dealing with exercise. You could eat a few more points worth of food based on the time and intensity spent exercising. You can do that and still lose weight if you are already using wise weight loss eating practices.

Exercise can do funny things to the scale. The last month before my fall triathlon, I was really pushing myself during my workouts, and I was hungry in the afternoons. The scale DID NOT drop during that time frame HOWEVER, I DROPPED AN ENTIRE PANTS SIZE. My body was replacing fat with muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat but takes up less space. I was frustrated at my Weight Watchers weigh-ins, but I was THRILLED to buy new skinny jeans. ;D

Good luck! You can do it!

Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dough balls for freezing

If my Dad ever took us to the Mall when I was growing up, you can bet we found our way to the Mrs. Field's Cookie Store. He LOVED the semi-sweet cookies with walnuts. YUM!

My Mom eventually ran into this copycat recipe, and it became our family's favorite. I made a batch for the bake sale last week, and was reminded of how yummy they are. This batch makes 60 cookies (using my cookie scoop.) *I can fit 15 cookies on a baking sheet.

I baked half of the batch immediately, and used the following trick for the remaining dough. I make dough balls with my cookie scoop and store them in a tupperware container in the freezer. If I'm putting multiple layers of dough in the container, I simply separate them by cutting a circle of wax paper. This freezer method is SO convenient. Cookies are ready to bake in a snap. It's much easier than pulling out a log or lump of hard-as-a-rock dough and trying to cut uniform cookies. I highly recommend this tip!

And now for the recipe...

Mrs. Field's 

Chocolate Chip Cookies 

• 1/2 lb. butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 1/4 cup, white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 regular bag chocolate chips
• 1/2 to 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Cream butter and sugar together, and then add the remaining ingredients in the order listed.

Make sure the dough itself is well blended before adding chocolate chips and nuts.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly. 

*These cookies are heavenly when eaten warm. Enjoy! 

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

As a parent, I've developed a deep appreciation for the dedicated teachers who've worked with my kids. Teacher Appreciation week was held recently, and when it comes to busy teachers, I wanted to give them something that made life a little easier. So, I tried to look beyond the standard candy & school supplies, and I discovered this little gem.

A box of beautiful All Occasion Greeting Cards... thank you's, birthday cards, wedding and congratulations, new baby or sympathy, and even blank note cards. 

Then we wrapped the box & wrote a card like this:

Dear Miss ________,

Many "thank you's" for a being a wonderful teacher on all occasions.
We really appreciate you!
 
Sincerely,
    (signed from Matt & I and our student)

This has become one of my favorite teacher appreciation gifts. It's versatile too. You could simply give a box of "thank you's," or if you're one of those beautiful scrapbookers, you could give a set of your wonderful homemade cards.

Here's sending a BIG THANK YOU to all great teachers!!!

8 Tips for Decluttering the Sentimental Stuff

I'm still in the process of decluttering our basement, so I'm sharing these tips about getting rid of "Sentimental Stuff."

1. Photos: We all have boxes of pictures waiting to be organized into albums. Luckily, the Digital Age has made this easier to tackle. When photos are digital, they're preserved for the ages on a DVD. Plus, you can create photo books in minutes. Sites such as shutterfly.com and snapfish.com walk you through every step of creating a photo book, from uploading and organizing photos to adding captions. (And they're affordable - for example, a 40-page notebook-size photo book is $19.95 at blurb.com, and smaller flipbooks are just $4.99 at snap fish.com.) That way, you can ditch the clunky, mismatched albums and boxes of disorganized, never looked at photos.

2. Children's artwork and school work: Each child in our family has a file in our filing cabinet labeled by their year in school. I put in their artwork, school work, team sports pictures, awards, etc. during that time frame. If something is 3 dimensional, or too big for the file, it gets displayed in the house for a few weeks and then we take a photograph of the child holding the item, and the photo is kept. Then periodically throughout the year, I toss the meaningless math assignments and spelling lists, keep a few good samples of artwork, tests, awards and photos and create an album to be treasured. A photo of your child holding their work is pretty precious and much more valuable than the trail glitter the project left. ;D

3. Kids' rooms: The dolls and the trophies don't have to live with you forever. One family reportedly has the antidote for children going away to college. They buy an appliance box at a moving-supplies store, and make an agreement with their college-bound kid to store everything he or she wants to keep that fits in the box until after college. In four years, most of that memorabilia won't seem important. Hopefully you can to edit the children's stuff as they age to a few key objects and present them with one special box or trunk. One mother said, "I really want them to have their history accessible to them in a fashion that isn't overwhelming." A small collection of scrapbooks/photo albums should do the trick.

4. Souvenirs: Charlotte Steill is a professional organizer who said a lot of clients have trouble getting rid of travel tchotchkes - the majority of which end up in boxes rather than on display. Again, she suggests taking photos of the objects and adding them to the trip's photo album.

"You have the memory, but not the three-dimensional object taking up space," she said. For special items, place them in a shadow box that hangs on the wall along with a few favorite photos from the trip.

5. Books: "I find a lot of people hold on to books for sentimental reasons," Steill said. One client purged his beloved law-school books after making shadow boxes from his favorite textbook covers. The rest of the textbooks were recycled. For years, I was horrified at the idea of getting rid of a book. I felt like some sort of Nazi book-burner. I finally dumped the guilt and donate the books! Donate to the local library, Deseret Industries or sell them online or at a yard sale or to a used book store. Visit booksforsoldiers.com to send paperback books to those in the service. I'm really starting to gravitate to digital books. The kindle or Audible app on my ipod touch is lot easier to pack for a vacation than bulky books that I MIGHT have time to read.

6. Parents' belongings: Baby Boomers are grappling with the belongings of parents who have downsized, moved into an assisted- living home or passed away. Julie Hall, an estate expert and author of "The Boomer Burden" urges people to cut back their own clutter before burdening loved ones. She also said aging parents should talk to their children about what items they want with them, and leave detailed documents about their final wishes.

"My goal is to make both generations aware that the burden is not our parents, the burden is their stuff. Their children don't know what their things are worth or what to keep and what to sell," she said. Have an appraiser evaluate items before anything is distributed or sold. Capture the home and contents with still and/or video cameras, for warm memories while helping loved ones let go of all but a few cherished heirlooms. "Keep the stuff that really, really means something to you, and let the rest go," Hall said. "Let people make new memories."

7. Family heirlooms: One woman inherited her mother's collection of china figurines. They just weren't her thing at all, but her mother had loved them. She finally decided to set them out at an estate sale and take solace when buyers fell in love with them. Organizers have this test for keeping heirlooms: If having it around me makes a client feel really happy, then keep it. But if it's up in the attic when someone else could use it, give it away or sell it.

8. Correspondence and documents: There's no way you can hang on to every Christmas card or letter. Treat holiday cards like kids' art. Keep only the best or only the photographs. Then make a holiday album you store with the seasonal decor to remember great holidays past. I've even seen craft ideas that use old Christmas cards to make tree ornaments.

If you're cleaning years of paperwork out of a den, a shredder is heaven-sent. Remember that almost any bill or statement can be retrieved online, so there are few essential documents you must keep. Keep your tax records for the previous three years, warranties or valuable receipts, but little else.

Pearls of Testimony

Testimony meeting was uncommonly good.

During Ward Counsel, the Bishop had invited ward leaders to share their testimonies today, so we heard from people with strong testimonies of our Savior and of the plan of salvation. The spirit in the meeting was beautiful, and I felt touched by everyone who spoke.

I was particularly impressed by the testimony of a young man in our ward. This week held several moving experiences for him. He told us of going to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, and somehow he cut his hand while in the temple. He was lead through several areas of the temple in search of a first aid kit, and he testified so sincerely of how he could feel the Spirit in the Baptismal area... in the hall ways... in the rooms... and even in the laundry area. It was a beautiful testimony-building experience for this young man as he realized that the Spirit of the Lord permeated every space in the temple. It is truly the house of God.

He then shared an experience about picking up his date from prom, and as he met his date and looked at her, he thanked her for dressing modestly for the dance.

I LOVED THAT!!!

What would this world be like if girls understand their value as daughters of God and not as objects of gratification?  What if they knew they could be appreciated and recognized for being beautiful while maintaining the highest standards?

I have a feeling I'll be sharing this story with my sons and daughter(s) repeatedly.

This young man is not sappy or unusually spiritual. He's a regular kid who's letting the gospel work in his life, and the growth the gospel brings is truly amazing!

He testified of faith-building experiences that I hope my kids will have one day, and I just had to share it with you.

Healthy Habits: Enough Sleep

Sleep

Bad Habit: Staying up late, and never getting enough sleep.

Sleep is a reservoir of strength!

Strength of will!

Strength of character!

And increased energy!

One of my earlier posts was titled Beauty Sleep, so if you struggle with getting enough sleep at night, I recommend reading that post and the book that shares it's title.

“It’s not so much that if you sleep, you will lose weight, but if you are sleep-deprived, meaning that you are not getting enough minutes of sleep or good quality sleep, your metabolism will not function properly,” explains Michael Breus, PhD, author of Beauty Sleep and the clinical director of the sleep division for Arrowhead Health in Glendale, Ariz.

On average, we need about 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night, he says. “If you are getting this already, another half hour will not help you lose 10 pounds, but if you are a five-hour sleeper and start to sleep for seven hours a night, you will start dropping weight.”

Exactly how lack of sleep affects our ability to lose weight has a lot to do with our nightly hormones, explains Breus.

Three hormones are key in this process are ghrelin, leptin, and cortisol. “Ghrelin is the ‘go’ hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep-deprived, you have more ghrelin,” Breus says. “Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating, and when you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin.”

Sleep deprivation also raises cortisol levels in your blood, which makes your body hold onto it's fat reserves, and also makes you crave high fat, high sugar, and highly caffeinated foods.

“You are eating more, plus your metabolism is slower when you are sleep-deprived,” Breus says.

More ghrelin and more cortisol plus less leptin equals weight gain.

When I added a full night's sleep (7 1/2 hours for me) to my weight loss plan, I was amazed by the drop in my sweet cravings, by the amount of self-control I gained, and by how much happier I felt about everything in life. Sleep is a FANTASTIC weight loss tool.

Family Friday: April 29th, 2011

Last Friday

Max's "Daddy Donut's Day" was held last Friday in Max's kindergarten class. Matt arranged to be in town for it, and they had a BLAST. The Dad's got a quick review of what the kids have learned this year and donuts were served. Max showed his Dad around his classroom and introduced him to his friends (Matt's comment: "Boy! Max has a LOT of friends." - But of course, I'm convinced that everyone must love Max :D) and then they went outside and had recess together. So FUN! Max has been looking forward to this for weeks, and Matt came home delighted. 

As we drove home from our Spring Break Trip on Sunday, we were listening to conference talks in the car, and we heard Elder Oaks talk about "Good, Better & Best." He spoke about a family who had some wonderful BIG experiences (kind of like our trip,) but when the father asked his son what was his favorite thing about that summer the boy said, "I loved it when you and I looked at the stars and talked." Elder Oaks was pointing out that nothing beats one-on-one time with a parent, and I think that Daddy Donuts Day was that kind of moment for Matt & Max.
Matt said, "I'm SO glad I made arrangements to come." Me too.

The Hunt!

Saturday: Easter Celebration

At our house, the Easter Bunny visits on the Friday before Easter. That way we keep the fun, egg hunt part on Saturday and focus on the real meaning of Easter on Sunday.

Max takes after me because Easter is his FAVORITE holiday. 

He LOVES to color eggs, eat eggs, and who

doesn't love a treasure hunt for CHOCOLATE!

When I was a kid, these were my favorite things about Easter, 

but now it's my favorite holiday for it's REAL meaning in my life.

Coloring Eggs & Zach's Egyptian Chicken Dance

Easter Sunday
was spent as a family.
After church, we had a simple dinner and later that night we watched a really fascinating documentary titled, "Dragons or Dinosaurs." It's a series of interviews with these scientists (geologist, chemist, biologist, sociologist, historians etc.) who also are Christians, and they talk about the scientific evidence that supports the idea of creation instead of evolution, evidence of Noah's flood, and evidence that dinosaurs co-existed with humans and are really the dragons spoken of by historians and in the Bible. It has slow in the beginning, but it gets really interesting! I highly recommend it.

Max was throwing up throughout the night,
so I begin the rest of this whirlwind week with little sleep.

Monday & Tuesday:
These days are a blur of activity. Matt flew to Atlanta at 1 am on Monday, and I was SWAMPED with lots of cleaning and laundry, sick Max and building Zach's pinewood derby car.
We had to have the car ready for the weigh-in on Tuesday night.

On Tuesday afternoon, Lauren called me from school to ask permission to run for Student Body Vice President. Oh yah... and the campaign ran from Wednesday to Friday. So, can you guess what we were doing into the wee hours of the night? That's right, making posters, flyers and stickers. This is the campaign slogan Lauren came up with: Next year will be SWEET with Lauren as Vice President! And she passed out candy as she met people and asked for their vote.

Grandma Hunny was heaven sent when she showed up to watch Max's soccer game Tuesday evening. She ended up taking him to his game, so I could finish the derby car with Zach, get it weighed, throw dinner together and move onto the campaign prep.  Gma Hunny even donated huge bags of candy for the campaign ... boy, we're happy she works for Hershey's candy company.
Thanks Again, Gma Hunny!

Wednesday
I spent the morning preparing decorations and the pre-race activities for the pinewood derby.
 I picked the kids up from school, and drove the boys straight to piano lessons. Lauren's first day of campaigning went well. She needed more stickers to pass out so we made more of those and I raced across town to pick up pizza and the boys.
While I was busy with Lauren, Max had asked to play with Britton and Talon, so he'd been gone for an hour when I called their house to have Max come home...
NO MAX!!! In fact, they claimed they hadn't seen him.
He wasn't at Benjamin's...
Not at Tyler's...
Not at Michael's....
Who's left in the neighborhood?!?!?
Adam and Spencer's? He's never gone there before.
Sure enough. That's where he was.
So this panicked mother saw to it that he made it home and started dinner, while I ran to the church to set  up for the Derby. (Oh, and Max is grounded from friends for a while)

I admit it. I'm a nervous wreck at the Pinewood Derby's.
I put so much time and work into these cars.
Zach and I have studied Derby Guides,
and spent hours choosing the design, filing axles, polishing wheels, baking and
cutting wood, and working to achieve the perfect weight.
This is Zach's last race as a cub scout, and he REALLY wanted to be among the top 3. He wanted it even more when he saw that for the first time, the top three racers would be getting trophies.

His first heat... 1st place

Second Heat... 1st place

Third Heat... 1st place

Fourth heat... 1st place

They identified the 4 fastest cars and those cars raced each other 4 times....

Final result: Zach's Car "The Reflection" wins third.

YAY!!!!

There was only 1 point difference between the second and third place cars. So close!
Zach also recieved a slew of awards he's been earning since becoming a Webelos.

Zach wanted to celebrate with a trip to Krispy Kreme and upon arriving home, he said, "Oh, by the way Mom, I have a book report project due tomorrow."
WHAT!?!?
I'd had him write the book report on Monday, and simply thought it was due on Friday. Oops!
So another late night was spent getting the poster and his presentation ready. sigh.

Will I ever get some sleep?

Thursday:
You heard my flat tire sob story on Thursday. We piled in the van and were pulling out of the drive way when I had that sinking feeling AGAIN... we've got a flat tire. The bolt was still in the hole, so the leak was slow enough that I could refill the tire and take the kids to school. On the way back from school, I stopped at Macey's to pick up 3 dozen donuts for the school's Birthday Club Celebration I was running that afternoon, and drove straight to Discount Tire Co. The waiting room was swamped. I've never seen it so full, so Jared and I walked the strip mall for an hour as we waited for them to fix the tire. They finished in just enough time for me to run home, grab the B-day club supplies, drop Jared off at the sitters, and arrive at the school without a second to lose. Whew!
After Birthday Club, I took Max and Jared home, put them straight the shower ('cause Jared had really enjoyed the sandbox at Lisa's) and put them down for naps.

Much to my surprise, my neighbor Marie, arrives on my doorstep. She's moving and prepping a yard sale, but was offering me any baby girl clothes I'd like, if I would just come look through the boxes at her house. HOORAY!!! I had twenty minutes to go through 6 boxes & bags of fun clothes and take what I'd like. It was SO fun! Baby girl things are adorable!
Thank you! Thank you, Marie!!!

Zach & Gabe both had soccer games that night. Grandpa & Grandma Hunny came to watch too.
The boys always love playing for an audience.

After tucking the boys in bed, Lauren and I were working on her campaign speech which turned into a skit. And Matt arrived home, late that evening.

Friday:
I went to the school, to help Lauren set up for her skit and show some moral support.
She got a lot of compliments on the skit, but alas...
She didn't win the race. sigh.
She's handling it like a champ though. She said her favorite parts of the experience were,
meeting new people, passing out candy, and doing the skit.
Matt and I are so proud of her for trying.
I hope we have a family culture that says, "GIVE IT A SHOT!
Win or lose, we still love you, and there are great things to learn not matter the outcome."

My friend Stephanie and I were talking about how this time of year is more insane and jam-packed than the Holidays. INSANELY busy is a fair description for this week, but it was still filled with good things.
I have to run now. We're still doing our Friday Clean-up,
and I have to bake something for the Boy Scout Bake Sale tonight.