Motherhood for Dummies

My Little Pony EXTREME!

2012-01-12T17:02:00.005-09:00

My daughter Lucy has been in a My Little Pony dream cloud for the past year.. movies, toys, stickers... but who can blame her, those ponies are cute. But as cute as they are, my husband always thought there were a little frilly and girly. He always joke about girly things taking over the home... and well.. he might be a little right :)

But then my brother gave me this link on Facebook and well... I think it might be the answer to bring balance back into our house hold :) I don't think my husband could resist a pony that could kick his butt :)

So check out www.jodimoisan.com to see the full collection.

THOR Pony

MR.T Pony

Ronald McDonald Pony

The Thing Pony

Green Lantern Pony

Batman Pony

Spider Man Pony

Night Crawler Pony (Im an X-Men fan.. so I loove this one)

Eagles Pony (Now make it a 49er Pony and I'm in heaven)

Darth Maul Pony.... can you sense the awesomeness?

"The Christmas Shovel" A True Christmas Story

2011-12-28T22:47:00.003-09:00

My friend Tara has a blog called "Brain Surgery". Tara is an amazing mother, friend, writer, artist... and heck.. Tara is just perfect in a very Mary Popping way.

Every time I talk with her I am reminded about her strength, charity, and faith that she has. She is truly wonderful to know and I wanted to share a post that she just wrote.

If you are looking for a wonderful Christmas story or simply a chance to see that there is true kindness and generosity out there, please read her post "The Christmas Shovel"... it is short and will leave you in tears.

You Might Be An Alaskan If...

2011-12-22T00:01:00.003-09:00

Forget Rednecks, here is what Jeff Foxworthy should say about Alaskans:

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you may live in Alaska.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Alaska.

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Alaska. (So true)

If you know several people who have hit a moose more than once, you may live in Alaska.

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you may live in Alaska.

If you carry jumpers in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Alaska.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you may live in Alaska. (Ha ha ha... every year)

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you may live in Alaska.

If you know all 4 seasons: Summer, Almost Winter, Winter and Melt Down, you may live in Alaska.

If you have more miles on your snow machine than your car, you may live in Alaska.

If you find 10 degrees 'a little chilly', you may live in Alaska.

If you never heard the phrase, "Be home by dark", you may live in Alaska

Keep Calm On.....

2011-12-21T00:01:00.001-09:00

Have you been seeing those "Keep Calm and(something)On"? Well, they have been popping up every where. And I have to say that at first they were cute, but have you all noticed that they are seriously taking a down hill turn. People are making/posting them like crazy and now they aren't even rhyming... some just flat out don't make sense. Here is the time line of cuteness with them.

Kind of cute right? I thought so too when I first saw them... but then things started to get a little off track.

Okay... doesn't really rhyme... but I get what they are going for. Now here is where things get weird.

But you know what I have to say about this.....

Our Elf On The Shelf... Meet Ruxin

2011-12-17T14:56:00.004-09:00

Ever since our Elf Ruxin came to our family, Lucy has been over joyed. She absolutely loves him and has been waking us up early every morning to find her new friend... which we, do not love. But its hard not to get excited too when we see her face light up. Here is what our elf has been up to :)

Dinner Manners For Kids

2011-12-14T00:01:00.000-09:00

Trying to teach kids respect and manners can be a hard and long road for us parents. It isn't a simple rule or just a few tips... there are so many situations/rules/social settings and it can get very confusing for children... and well, us parents as well. But at least a fun way to help at the dinner table is a friend called Little Piggie.

Little Piggy is a dinner time companion that comes out every time someone burps, reaches across the table, doesn't say please and such. Who ever is left with the piggy when dinner is over has to clear table... which is a win for us parents.

Beauty and the Beast Contest

2011-12-12T15:13:00.006-09:00

Curtis and I love going to the theater, but sadly living in Alaska we don't get too many theatrical shows up here.... BUT... Beauty and the Beast is coming up to Alaska in Janurary and we are dying to go. But since we don't have $100 just flying around free right now, we wont be going unless we win tickets... WHICH WE ARE TRYING TO DO :)

We are trying to get as many votes for our photo as possible. Please follow this link and vote for our photo. http://magic989fm.clearcontests.com/front/image_contest2.asp?s=A6889271C4BCB3A3557BA5BEA5B19D84939EB49BB6B4678DD1CF8B998EAFA6BDBD777CA6CCC6C2BCA1897D61637F738E9250BEAA977868727993C2AD9171786175ADBE788389656772708E7B7A84A487A28A7659

Every time you vote for us, you will be entered into winning a $10 iTunes gift card, you can vote one time through every internet provider... like once through Explorer, once through Chrome, once through Safari and such. So leave a comment letting me know you voted (if you were able to vote with another internet provider than leave another comment) and I will pick a random winning with the comments :)

Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-09T09:49:00.006-09:00

Have you been hearing a lot about Elf on the Shelf this holiday season? No? Well let me enlighten you. Elf on the Shelf was a tradition that started with one family. When the children asked their parents, "How does Santa know when we are naughty or nice" their parents informed that each family has an elf that watches over them during the holiday seasons and every night it flies back to the North Pole and reports to Santa. Then the elf flies back home and hides some place new to watch some more.

It is a really cute story and amazing how one family's tradition has turned into such a world wide movement. People get really into and find the most creative ways to hide/pose their little elf. Some elves are simply hiders, while others play funny little pranks... some elves ever made naughty little choices and get into the strangest things.

You can buy Elf on the Shelf from Target for about $29. It comes in a really nice box set... it provides an elf (different colored elves and features too, so check the box to see what kind of elf you want), a book explaining the story of the elf, and it all comes in a nice case that helps you keep the book and elf safe while in storage during the year.

The way we introduces Lucy and Calvin to the elf was we places the book under the Christmas tree. When we woke up Curtis and I started complaining about hearing noises last night that kept waking us up. After a little bit we all noticed the book under the tree. After guessing discussing how it got there we decided to sit down and read the book. The book explains what the elf does, how his magic works, when he leaves, and his job. After the book Lucy looked up and saw the elf sitting in our Christmas tree.

She was very confused and a little skeptical. She started asking questions and looking through the book trying to get some questions answered; leave it to our child to question EVERYTHING :) . Finally after a few silent moments she looks up from the book and stares at the elf and whispers, "This must be real". Curtis and I about died.

Lucy keeps telling me to talk to the elf and tell him "I love him" and she asked me to tell him what she wants for Christmas. It is already pretty cute and we are loving it already. I just excited for how we are going to hide him tomorrow.

The book even comes with a page to write when you started this Christmas tradition and the name of your elf (because the book says you need to name your own family's elf). You can even go online and register your elf on the official website and see other families elf.

So if you are looking for a fun family tradition to add to your holiday season, check out, Elf on the Shelf.

Here are some of the cute elf mischief I've seen and here is a link to some wonderful Elf ideas.

Dr. Who Fans

2011-12-01T15:58:00.002-09:00

We are pretty big Dr. Who fans in our house so when we saw this... yea... it was pretty funny. But seriously if you haven't seen Dr. Who you need too :)

Winter Activities - Colored Ice Blocks

2011-11-18T10:29:00.006-09:00

Finding ways to play outside in the winter can be tough... especially if you have a little ones that need to stay close. Which is why I am LOVIN' these; homemade ice blocks

Collect some of yogurt cups, the Yoplait cups aren't good cause they have a inward edge. The off brand open cups are the best... plus cheaper :) You can wash the cups in the dishwasher (on the top rack) without them melting. Now just fill them with colored water and let the cold nature do the rest.

We are doing other containers too, old butter tubs, sour cream tubs, and old milk cartons that are cut down work nicely too. You can even make rainbow bricks if you want too and have the time.

How To Make An Infinity Scarf

2011-11-17T00:06:00.006-09:00

I have been wanting an infinity scarf sooooo long for myself and have probably bookmarked a dozen. I so need to make me one, but I thought first it would be cute to make my sweet Lucy one, and she does look pretty cute :) I made this one from an old shirt that I just don't wear any more.

First get a shirt that you don't wear anymore, I wanted to find some with a pattern or that had a good textured knit look.

Cute where you can get the biggest and longest continuing strip, cause the bigger and longer the strip.. the fluffy/more gathered your scarf will turn out.

Cute your fabric down one seam so it wont be attached, but in a flat strip like so.

Now just fold it hot dog style with the pattern facing inward and sew. Once that was done you can turn the fabric facing outward and sew the ends together. Now you should have a completed infinity scarf!

If you find your strip isn't long enough, feel free to get areas of fabric from other parts of the shirt, cause this scarf is bunchy so you wont really be able to see all the seams/mistakes :) Gatta love that :)

R2D2 Cake

2011-11-14T11:43:00.009-09:00

This is a cake that I have been wanting to post for a long time about. For Curtis's birthday this year I threw him a Star Wars party and with all the HUGE Star Wars fans out there on the web, I found so many wonderful ideas. But my favorite thing that I came up with was his R2D2 Cake, it was 7 layers of yellow cake simply baked in 9 inch round pans. For the head I made it out of Rice Krispies treats and molded them into a bowl that I had.

I bought some fondant at Joann's and used that for all the little pieces and used a marshmallow for his "eye" thingie :)

Sorry the picture is so sad, but I took this at like 2 am on Curtis's iPhone and I was ready to go to bed, thinking I would take more pictures in the morning all fancy like. Well, apparently the weight was too much for R2D2, and since I had never made a cake this big, this was all new for me. I guess I needed some cardboard layer or stick to help stable it :) hee he... well it was a learning process but I still loved it.

R2D2 in all his glory

This is what is looked like when I woke up in the morning... NOOOOOOOO

Oh So Long

2011-11-14T10:40:00.005-09:00

Well hello world, yet again I have taken a way too long of a brake. I don't know what has happened to me... its like around the time Lucy was 18months I lost all free time and it has just gotten worse since.

The worst part is that I have kept on crafty, baking, building, and creating... but I just have not been posting. But I have a goal that I want to get back into blogging. It was something that I loved for so long and I enjoyed how many people visited and enjoyed contributing and commenting.

So here is a little bit of what has been going on...

Lucy is now 4 and in preschool (it really does go by as fast as everyone says it does)

Calvin in now 1 and walking

We are still in Alaska and Curtis is getting really close to finishing school.... HALLELUJAH!

and as weird as it is, things are actually calm and cool right now. Nothing rocking the boat, no meteor that is going to hit, no natural disaster heading our way. For about 3 years there it seemed like every few months some huge damaging thing was happening. It is nice to have a little bit of smooth sailing.

So hopefully I will be posting again a few times a week with fun stuff... especially now that I have finally discovered Pinterest!!!!!

Curtis and the kids watching "Star Wars" majoring edited, but Star Wars still :)

Calvin's first sink bath and loved it

Us making silly faces on our Utah trip

Lucy's favorite part of the Hoogle Zoo was the dinosaurs. Didn't care about the animals, just dinos

Family camping trip, Grandpa paid for horseback riding for everyone. Lucy was in love with her horse Yankee

Camping

Halloween Race, Lucy was Snow White and Curtis was her Prince

First snow fall of the winter

Lucy as Ariel and Calvin as Flounder... so wish I had posted this Tutorial for Halloween, if anyone is interested email me :)

Block Letters

2011-02-22T00:01:00.000-09:00

I am so proud of myself!!!! I have been wanting to make a family plaque, sign, or letter blocks for years and I finally did it. (thanks to my sister-in-law) But I did them finally, they are awesome and they are easy!

All you need is...

Wood blocks

Paint

Scrapbooking Paper

Mod Podge

Brush

1. You need to get some wood blocks, by either buying them pre-cut or going to Home Depot and buying some lumber and having them cut it for you. I didn't measure them, I just had them cut my eyeballing it. I wanted my letters to look varied and unorganized.

2. Once they are cut you will need to sand them to get them smooth so the mod podge/paint/ and scrapbooking paper will lay flat. Plus I like the look for the soften edges.

3.Paint your block the color you want.

4. While you are letting your paint dry start cutting out the paper for the blocks background. You can either cut them nice and sharp to give a clean cut look. Or round the edges with a punch to give a cutie look (which is what I did). Or rip the edges/sand them to give a vintage rough look. DO NOT GLUE YET.

5. Cut out your letters, I used a Cricut to cut my letters out, but you c

ould use stencils or your printers and cut them out my hand.

6. Now you should have painted blocks, scrapbooking paper background cut out, and letters. Take your Mod Podge and brush Mod Podge on the back of the papers and stick it to the blocks, let them dry. If your paper starts to pucker and bunch just keep pushing the air bubbles out. Don't worry, it will dry nicer than it looks

7. Now that your blocks and paper are dry you can mod podge the letters. You will want to add Mod Podge to the back of the letters to glue them down AND brush Mod Podge all over the front of the block. Again, things might start to pucker, but just flatten it all down again and it will dry nicer.

Once all is dry (which it drys fast) you will have some awesomely beautiful name block. But be warned... Mod Podge is highly addictive and now all I can do is look through my apartment and see what else I can Mod Podge.

Valentine Crafts

2011-02-11T00:01:00.001-09:00

Every holiday I want to get into the spirit of things and I always start off by searching websites and blogs for fun crafts and decorations that I can have fun making. And... well.. um, that is about as far as it goes.

So, this weekend I am going to plan on playing catch up with my craft wish list. But here are some fun ideas for all of you guys out there.

Here is a cute pillow banner that is just as sweet as can be. I think I am going to make mine with ribbon instead of yarn to give it a nice pop and make it more durable.

Here is a festive wreath that probably the easiest that I have ever seen. It is as simple as poking a hole and gluing. Truly simple. I think I am going to make mine in a circle wreath and use a couple varieties of fabric squares.

LOOOOOVE IT! This Valentines canvas is simple and sleek looking; I love this look and I want to make several of these like a nice little collage.

These cute blocks are sweet and can be changed and used in many ways. You can spell out anything you want. I think I might do a heart and "XOXO".

This wreath is made out of tissue paper, not fabric, which give a beautiful soft elegant look. You could even do this with a picture framed and put you and your husband's wedding photo in it.

Yes, yes... another Valentine wreath, but what can I say I think they are so cute on the door tied up with a big fat ribbon. This one is made with fabric roses and put on. I think these would be cute mini wreath to tie on door knobs.

Red Pepper Creme

2011-02-10T00:01:00.000-09:00

Finding meals that Lucy sits down and eat with ease is a little tough. My sweet girl will try any thing, and I love that, but we have to fight her every meal to actually sit and finish her food. But anything pasta she will usually eat 4 helpings of... seriously :) This is our news pasta dish that Lucy has been enjoying.

All you need is...

12 oz Fettuccine noodles (tube pasta works great too and children eat tubes better)

2 Red Peppers sliced

3 clovers minced garlic

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream (I use fat free)

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

salt/pepper to taste

Directions

1. Start boiling noodles

2. Saute sliced pepper with minced garlic and cayenne.

3. Stir in sour cream and chicken, simmer, remove from heat and add parm cheese.

4. Drain noodles and toss together... add salt and pepper to taste.

We loooove this dish... the red peppers add just the right taste.

Arrested Development Paper Dolls

2011-02-08T09:42:00.003-09:00

My day just got a little bit better. I stumbled across this, this morning, and all I can say is that THIS is awesome.

http://manmadediy.com/chris/posts/769-free-download-arrested-development-paper-dolls

They have Tobias, George Bluth Sr., and Lindsay. They are awesome. And coming from a family that LOOOOOVES "Arrested Development" this is just great.

Creamy Fudge

2011-02-04T00:01:00.001-09:00

I'm not a big fudge person. Most of the time it is crumbly and chalky. The holiday season rolls around and fudge always seems to make it on the goodie plates, then they usually end up at the bottom of the garbage can at my house. I loooove goodie plates, but fudge always a miss for me.

So, this last Christmas season I made it my goal to find the best fudge

recipe out there... and to my happiness, I did.

All you need is...

1 (7 oz.) jar marshmellow creme

1 1/2 cup white sugar

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 tsp salt

2 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Get about an 8x8 pan and line it with foil.

2. Over medium heat, melt marshmallows, sugar, evaporated milk, butter, and salt. Full boil 5 mins and make sure you stir.

3. Remove from heat and pour in ALL the chocolate chips (milk choc and semi-sweet). Stir until the chips have all melted and smoooooth. Add vanilla in when smooth.

4. Pour into pan, then put in fridge for 2 hours.

This really is the best fudge that I have EVER tried. All I know is that I am not going to wait till Christmas to make this again :)

All Worth Wild

2011-01-31T09:14:00.004-09:00

These are the moments that really do make it all worth the spilled milk, poopy diapers, and sleepless nights seem fine.

Sausage Broccoli Casserole

2011-01-29T00:01:00.000-09:00

Okay, I should probably worn you before you read any further.... the recipe that I am about to share is HIGH ADDICTIVE! It has made our family's 10 Most Deadly Dishes. (Our list of meals that we love, but love too much... so we can only make them once in awhile).

But, in all seriousness.... this is our

new favorite dish and is hard to stop eating and I don't ev

en like broccoli.

All you need is...

1 Jar Alfredo Sauce (16 oz.)

1/3 cup milk

1 lb. Italian Sausage - browned

9 oz. chopped broccoli - steamed

8 oz. egg noodles - cooked

1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (for top)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400*

2. Combined all ingredients EXCEPT THE 1/4 CUP CHEESE.

3. Pour into 13x9 pan.

4. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top.

5. Cook for 10 mins or until cheese is melted.

Baby Shower Cake - Jungle

2011-01-26T14:26:00.005-09:00

Gotta love babies... especially the baby showers. I love the decorations, the food, chatting with the ladies... I love it all. This last shower that I threw I decided that I was going to step it up a notch and make my first baby shower cake. I was really surprised how easy it was to do. Seriously, this is my first cake!

I simply used box mixes, but instead of cooking them in circle pans, I cooked them in Cheesecake Pans to help that be perfectly even, plus they cool faster since you can take the side off while they cool. I used a Buttercream frosting too (for the first ti

me) and again... SUPER EASY! :)

All it was is...

Shorting 1/2 cup

Butter 1/2 cup (1 stick)

Powder Sugar 4 Cups (add one as a time)

Vanilla 1 tsp (clear vanilla if you want it to be white)

Milk 2 TBS

I doubled the frosting for this cake and it was plenty.

Mix shorting, butter (soften), vanilla till cream. Then add sugar one

cup at a time. The frosting will be a little stiff at this point, so now you will add the milk... this will make it the perfect medium stiffness. If you want to add color to the frosting... DO NOT ADD LIQUID DIE. It will ruin the stiffness... use coloring paste. They sell it a Walmart or Michaels and such.

What is great about this frosting is that you don't have to refrigerate it. So, you can start working on a cake a couple days in advance and it will still be great. In fact, I like the frosting to sit out and get a little more stiff after the cake is frosted.

Once you have the cake frosted you can then decorate it how you please. I used Candy Melts to make the leafs. I simply melted some green candy melts and drew them on wax paper with a picture of the leaf below. Once cooled, you peel them up a

nd glue them on (with more melted candy). They will stay really well.

The animals on top, I used my Cricut to cut out cute little animals. I cut them out and glued tooth picks to them, that helped me stick them on top.

The sides I decorated with the candy melts again. I simple grabbed some extra Candy Melts and glued them to the sides with melted Candy Melts.

I had a lot of fun with this cake and it tasted fantastic! I used a couple tools that helped make it easier to do things.

A cake lifter really helped me move the cakes from the pans

to the tray I was serving it on. Truly helpful. Also, a flat spatula made it possible to evenly spread the frosting through out the cake.

Mother of 2

2010-11-09T09:46:00.004-09:00

I know that I haven't posted a craft in a while, but life with a new baby has left my down time to napping, cleaning, and trying to suck up whatever time I can get with my husband. But I swear that I have some posts for you all that I have enjoyed :)

But until then, I will just bug the world with pictures of my cute little boy. So here you go world, Calvin John Rappleye.

2010-10-30T21:52:00.002-08:00

We had an adult halloween costume party to go to and we had fun getting our costumes ready. We went as the evil Mario villians Wario and Waluigi. Apparently we are more geeky than we realized cause not as many people got our costumes as I would have thought. But for trick or treating... we were pretty much to coolest adult for anyone 8 and under :)

I used an old pajama pant pattern to help make the pants and used a kitchen apron for the top. They weren't too bad to make and I whipped both of them out in 24 hours. All I know is that this Halloween gave me the Halloween bite. I can't wait for next year to pump out more costumes.

Calvin John Rappleye is here

2010-09-10T12:11:00.002-08:00

Ignore the 14 hour labor face :)

For some reason I couldn't get more pictures posted, so this will have to do for now. But Calvin Arrived Aug 31, 2010 and was a really smooth labor. He is dang cute and uber sweet...but his sleeping is off and on. One night wakes up once and lets us sleep, the next night he is up all night long and we get none. Oh well, hopefully this is a quick phase that we will survive :) But thanks all for concern and love. We are a happy little family and are loving the new addition.

Fabric Tray Decoration

2010-07-22T00:01:00.002-08:00

Well, we resently moved into our new place and are loving it, especially since it has given me a chance to put my crafting and decorating to good use. All my projects are starting to pay off :) But the only problem now is that I can't stop... I'm finding empty spot all through out my house and until I get them filled, it is going to drive me crazy.

My main focus right now is the bathroom, Im trying to find those last little nick-nacks to fill in the cracks and thankfully to Lemon Tree Creation, I think I finally found what I was looking for.

They have a simple tutorial to make a beautiful Fabric Tray perfect for end tables or bathrooms. All you need is...

A tray (you can get all sorts from Michael's)
Cardboard
Fabric
Hot Glue

1. Clean up your tray the way you want it... paint it, saint it, use Old English to fill in stains... whatever you want.
2. Now cut your card board to the same measurements as the bottom of your tray.
3. Cut enough fabric to wrap around the card board. Use your hot glue gun to secure it in place. Now glue the card board/fabric on the the bottom. Finished :)

If you want a better step by step, with pictures, hop over to Lemon Tree Creations and read their Fabric Tray Tutorial.

Double Chocolate Brownie Cake

2010-07-20T00:01:00.001-08:00

I was looking for a yummy brownie dessert for my sweet toothed husband and stumbled across this tasty little dish. Not only it is really yummy, but not your common cake and super easy. All you need is...

1 (18.25 oz) package Devil's Food Cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) package Instant Pudding mix - make sure its the 3.9 oz box for desserts, there are several sizes offered at the stores and they are all Instant Pudding though.
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used butterscotch chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350* degrees and grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Make sure it is really well greased and such your cake wont come out... or in my case... it will rip in half and you will have to start all over again. Crappy for me... but my husband and daughter were waaaay happy to have 2 cakes :)

2. In a large bowl put cake mix and pudding mix together. Once they are mixed make a nice hole/well in the middle where you can put the eggs, sour cream, vegetable oil, and water. Beat on a loooow speed for a min. Scrape the sides and mix on medium speed for 4 mins. Now you can stir in the chocolate chips and pour into the bundt pan.

3. Bake in the oven for 50-60 mins, use a toothpick to see if the cake is done. The melted chocolate chips might make it seem like it isn't cooked, but use your judgment. Once cooked, take out and let cool. You will really need it to cool for a while cause the cake will settle and have a less chance of ripping.

4. Now the rest is up to you. You can use whatever sauce that you want to top your cake off. You can do anything as simple as canned frosting. Simply soften/melt the frosting and pour as much over the cake as you want. Or you can make a fudge sauce or a yummy carmel sauce. I used the canned frosting and topped that off with fresh cut strawberries.

This cake has endless possibilities. I have used different sauces and different cake mixes. I did a Yellow Cake with Chocolate frosting and butterscotch chips. I am going to try next a Confetti Cake mix with a strawberry sauce.

Crafts, Crafts, and more Crafts

2010-04-20T14:04:00.007-08:00

Well, the crafts are getting ready to start coming your way. I have been dying and itching to get more crafts posted, but I haven't been able to get what I want done. We are getting ready to move...not far... not out of Alaska... but we are moving into our new place and I have been planning curtains, place mats, table cloths, and all sorts of home decor that we need.... but since I don't know what we have or exactly how much room we will have... I can't get myself to start. I'm worried I am going to get half my projects done, move there, and then not have them work out. So, I am forcing myself to wait till we get there.... which will be in a little more than a week.

Also, I have finally started reading "The Host" by Stephanie Myer (the Twilight author) and I have to say... that it is king of getting good. :) So some of my spare time has been filled with reading, not crafting, hee hee :) So, until I can fill these blog entries with wonderful tutorials and ideas I will just have to post fun news like.... HOW MARTHA STEWART PUBLISHED A NEW CRAFT BOOK!!!!!.

Um sorry,... if you can't tell, I'm excited.

I already have Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts, which is wonderful! But she just came out with her Encyclopedia of pure sewing crafts. I might have to just pull a "Julie & Julia" and craft my way through her book :)

Do any of you out there have her book yet... I am hoping to get it for my birthday (hint hint Curtis) and am dying to check it out.

Funny New Born

2010-04-13T00:01:00.002-08:00

Sure hope that Curtis and I can't relate to this

Bullies - Teen Suicide

2010-04-08T08:33:00.013-08:00

High school can be a hard time for anyone. The unpopular kids are trying to be popular, the popular kids are trying to stay popular, kids are trying to just simply keep under the radar, or some kids are trying their best to study/work and get the future that they want. To simple put, High School is tough.

But as tough as High School is, it is still shocking to hear about all these high school teens committing suicide and what is more shocking, is the lack of parenting/patrolling that goes on with some of these kids and students.

The first story that I can really remember is Eric Mohat's; a quiet, sweet boy that took great enjoyment is drama, music, and theater. Unfortunately for Eric teasing and bullying quickly came his way. What first started off with name calling escalated to teasing, shoving, and even hitting.... most of this taking place in front of school officials. A good chunk of the bullying took place in Eric's math class, in front of his own teacher, which also happened to be the school's athletic coach. At one point another student actually told Eric that he might as well as go home and shoot himself cause no one would miss him.

Eric took so much bullying and received such little help from his school that he finally took his own life as an escape; he was only 17. Not only did Eric commit suicide, but apparently 3 other classmates are linked to committing suicide due to bullying at that school, a term that is now being referred to as bullycide. Eric's parent have filed a lawsuit against the school, not looking for money, for the lack of control at the school and for knowing what was going on with out helping the situation.

Another sad story is that of Phoebe Prince, a 15 year old girl that has just moved here from Ireland with her family in 2009. Apparently 3 girls at Phoebe's high school were mad at her because she dated an older boy that was a football player, he may or may not have been or linked to one of the girls. The 3 girls stalked, name called, shoved, and harassed Phoebe at school and online, even after the relationship ended. 3 weeks after the relationship Phoebe hanged herself, that was just last month.

Her parents also have filed a lawsuit against the school and the girls. The parents are upset that the school did not do anything about the situation. The school was aware of these 3 girls that were bullying because they had bullying and even beaten up another girl at the school.

One of the saddest stories that I just read about was Alexis Pilkington, a beautiful 17 year old girl that was a star soccer player, a good student, and well liked by many. She was graduating early from High School and even had a sports scholarship to college.

The reasons for her suicide have not been completely revealed, there are still some questions, but her suicide is believed to be because of bullying because even after her death, teens were still bullying..... no, you read that right, even after her death the kids didn't leave her alone.

Alexis's friends created a Facebook memorial page for ever to go to and see pictures and posts memories of their friend, only to find some anonymous people had posted, rude, sexual, and even violent comments. Some people even went as far as to post pictures of someone hanging them selves and people who had shot themselves in the head.

Alexis's father has not filed a lawsuit and has not blamed the school, he feels that their is more the story and that there was more affecting Alexis then just bullying. But either way, bullying was going on.

I hate to ask the obvious questions, but WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE KIDS!? Who is to blame, how do we fix this, and who's responsibility is this to make sure that this doesn't happen again? How much is the school to blame, since a good chuck of the situations took place in the

school. Teachers see what is going on, security guards are in the halls patrolling, and parents contact the school telling them what is happening, yet nothing seems to really change. But is that the schools fault when we live in days when teachers can bairly discipline children without the risk of lawsuits them selves or their jobs being at risk. Are teachers and school hands are tied so tightly that is there really isn't much that they can do besides an after school detention?

Is it the parents of the bullies fault since they have such cruel children and they are not patrolling their actions. Are the parents absent or did they simple under estimate the problem. Was it just too hard for these parents to realize that their children are bullies? It is parents responsibility to raise their children, but how liable are parents for the children's choices... only if they are aware of what is going on and do nothing or are all actions parents' responsibilities?

Also, what about the parents of the children that are bullied? Did they ignore a child's cry for help, where they too busy to listen, did they not take the situation to the right people for help? I would hate to blame the parents that have already lost their children, but could they have fixed the problem if they had listen to their children more... been more in tune with them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is their fault, just asking ... what if.

Obviously, the bullies are to blame.... simple, easy, no question about it. The bullies are to be blamed and they should be held liable... but, who else? Are these just situations to prove that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, that violence/sex on TV is really affecting children more than we can even imagine, or that it truly does take a village to raise a child and everyone needs to help?

All I do know is that no one wins in a situation like this, everyone looses. Families shattered, lives lost, some lives are in jeopardy of being flushed away by their actions, and everyone is hurting. Does anyone have a fix for the problem or is it too late? Can we fix the damage that has already been done to the children of this generation that are so busy trying to grow up too fast... with material items being a must, sex at such a young age, children getting pregnant, school shootings, and so much more. What is a parent, a school, a government suppose to do with all of this?

Bacon Wrapped Smokies - Appetizers

2010-04-05T09:51:00.007-08:00

Bacon....good. Little Smokies.... good. So, why not put them together, right!? Well, someone did and it was beautiful. This last holiday I made this recipe and it was a hit. Everyone loved it and arteries got clogged, like any good holiday food should do. All you need is.

1 Lbs of bacon, sliced into 1/3 strips
1 (14oz) of cocktail weenies
3/4 Cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325* degrees.

2. Wrap a cocktail weenie with a piece of the bacon and secure it with a toothpick.

3. When all are rolled and pinned, sprinkle all with the brown sugar.

4. Cook the wraps now for 40 mins, until the sugar is bubbly.

These are a really nice appetizer for holiday feasts and parties. Super easy, not expensive to make, and they fly off the plates fast :)

The Onion - Parents Opting to School-Home

2010-04-03T15:13:00.005-08:00

I don't know how many of you have heard of the website called The Onion, but if you haven't you need to. Their website is just a bunch of spoofed new articles that will split your sides :) Not only are they funny, but sometimes close to the truth.

My brother showed me this article posted the other day and I figured it needed to be shared.

Increasing Number of Parents Opting to Have Children School-Home

Enjoy

Time Out Mat

2010-03-31T13:23:00.010-08:00

Ahhh the lovely sounds of tantrums and whiny... what parent doesn't love to hear their child scream "Nooooo". But, surprisingly, there are a few of us parents who don't enjoy the blubbering sobs and fits that some parents do... and for us there is a magical, wonderful place called Time Out.
Time out can be a hard thing to get your child to agree to though.... shocker, I know.... who would have though that getting your child to sit quietly in one spot for a few minuets would be hard? :) But if you are starting with time outs or have a child that fights the time outs or you just love time out and want a better way to have them; I would suggest making your self a time out mat.

I got the idea from Lucy's development specialist a while ago (Lucy was behind when she was a year and our state provided a personal therapist to come over and make sure she was on track and that it wasn't something more serious) But she suggested that when we use time outs, that there be a designated area... that kids will be able to relate to time out betters and will then know their boundaries and the seriousness of the time out.

Well, I thought it was a little odd (and hippie-ish), but sure enough, it worked... like a charm. I made a Time Out Mat and soon as we started using it Lucy would not get off the mat and knew she had to stay there and would stay quiet.

All you need for a Time Out Mat is...

2 squares of fabric (large enough for a child to sit on)
4 buttons
Thin batting

You are going to want cut out 2 squares of fabric, mine were about 21 1/2 by 18 inches. Turn the 2 squares of fabric to face each other (pattern side together) and sew 3 of the sides together (you will want to leave 1 side open so you can slide the batting in). Then remeasure the size of your square because you will have lost a little length with sewing the edges... measure how big the squares are now and cut your batting to almost the same measurements. Turn the fabric squares right-side out and slide in your batting through the opening. Now close up that last side, either by hand or by machine.

You now should have one square mat with batting inside. Now you will need to secure the batting in place with the fabric. Take the whole mat and sew a line, about an inch or 2 inches from all 4 edges. This will keep everything nice and in place.

Now for the final step... sew your buttons on. The buttons are just decorative, so sew them on if you wish or find something else that is more to your liking. And now you should have one portable Time Out Mat.

These are really great. Since they are soft and small you can easily throw them in your diaper bag and take them with you places. We take ours to friends' houses and on trips, this has truely been a life saver.

How To Make A Memory Board

2010-03-25T00:01:00.001-08:00

Who knew that ribbon and batting could be sooo dang cute. I have been in love with these boards for years, but never could get myself to get one.

Not only are these uber cute... but they were surprisingly easy and fast.... I'm serious. I was asked to teach a group of girls, ages 12-14, a decorating craft that they could use in their bedroom and I taught them this. Theirs was as good as mine.

All you need is...

A board to hold everything (either plywood, cork board, art canvas, any piece of wood really)
Quilt Batting
Fabric
Ribbon
Stapler (normal or staple gun)
Decorations for embellishment: buttons, flowers, jems

First find a board and size that you like. I used a plywood board that I got cut from Lowe's, they had a 4x2 piece for $9 and they cut it in half for free, so I had two nice 2x2 boards. Once you have the size of board that you want, you will want to go to a fabric store and pick out how much fabric and batting you will be needing.

Now you can take your board and lay it down on fabric and batting. Make sure that you lay the fabric face down (pattern on the floor), then batting and then the board. You can use as much batting as you want. I used a medium thickness and double layered it.... I like the look of the fluffier boards. You will want to trim the batting at this point... the batting should almost be the same size as the board, but the fabric needs to be a few inches larger on all sides.

Now that you have everything laid out, pull and tug the fabric to make sure that it is nice and smooth. When you feel that you have everything in place you can begin to staple one of the sides. You can either use a staple gun (that has not too deep staples) or you can use a normal home stapler..... I tried both and actually preferred the home stapler.

Remember to only staple ONE SIDE, and try to keep it even and smooth. Place your staples 2-3 inches apart and not too close to the edge.... you will want to give yourself a little bit of space from the edge so you can correct any mistakes. Once you have a side completed start stapling the opposite side. Now make sure that you don't pull too hard and pull the fabric which might tweak it. Repeat these steps with the top and bottom sides as well. Now you should have a completely secure board.

Now you can start to place your ribbon. Flip the board over and make a large 'X' from corner to corner with two ribbons and staple them firmly in place on the back of the board. These will be the guidelines for the rest of the ribbons. Go ahead and lay as many ribbons as you like down.

When all your ribbon is layed down and placed where you like it start to staple them in place on the front of the board.... where the ribbons crossover and connect. When all the ribbon is stapled down, you can flip the board over and start to staple down loose ends.

Now your board should look almost complete. All that is needed now is to glue some embellishments to hide the staples that are securing the ribbon down. I used buttons to hide the staples, you could also use flowers, jems, or bows. Once dried and finish you should have one beautiful and custom made memory board.

This has been one of my favorite crafts that I have done... I want to do more, but honestly... how many memory boards does a family need? :)

Fun Children's Music

2010-03-22T10:21:00.005-08:00

Ever since having a child a lot has changed... the things Curtis and I do, the time we have to ourselves, and even the kind of music we listen too. Instead of Curtis and I rockin' out to Yellowcard and MxPx as we head out snowboarding.... we are singing to "Princess and the Frog" while we head out to Toddler Time as the local swimming pool. What can I say... things have changed.

So, Curtis and I have been on a mission to find some good children's' music that doesn't want to make our drive our car off the road and I have to say, that this mission was harder than I thought it was going to be. But now, we actually have a play mix for Lucy.

We figured this information was important pass for the sanity of others :) So, hopefully you will all enjoy these as much as we do.

The Other Day I Met A Bear - by Bare Naked Ladies

Fast and Slow - by The Laurie Berkner Band

Three Little Birds - by Bob Marley (B is for Bob version)

Itsy Bitsy Spider - by O.A.R.

The Poopsmith Song - by Over the Rhine (this song you might not like... but we definitely got a kick out of it, one of the more weirder songs that I have ever heard )

Party In My Tummy - by Yo Gabba Gabba

7,8,9 - by Bare Naked Ladies

Five Days Old - by The Laurie Berkner Band

Somewhere Over The Rainbow - by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Lovely, Love My Family - by The Roots (this is my favorate)

La la la la Lemon - by Bare Naked Ladies

Hopefully you will enjoy these songs as our family has and save your ears the pain of having to listen to anymore Wiggle music :) You can find all these songs on iTunes as well.

Funny Stick Figure

2010-03-19T00:01:00.001-08:00

I'm so glad that this isn't how it really is, cause finding maternity clothes would be a pain!

Alaska Wolf Attack

2010-03-17T00:01:00.001-08:00

Living here in Alaska has some wonderful perks... the beautiful outdoors, long sunny days, friendly people, and adventure at your finger tips. I grew up here and have loved it. But every once in a while you hear stories that reminds you of the danger here too.

A couple days ago a 32 year old special-ed teacher, Candice Berner, was out for a jog outside the village she teaches at. Unfortunately, that evening some snowmobilers found her body in the woods and discovered that she was attacked by wolves.

Such a sad story and a scary one too, not just because of what happened, but the fact people are unaware of is this is the first fatal wolf attack in Alaska history... and there are only a few in the world. Wolves have always stayed away from human, mostly. They are some of the most difficult animals to hunt because not only are the smart, but they can hear/smell us for miles and will stay away.

There have only been 3 fatal wolf attacks in the entire U.S. and they all involved wolves infected with rabies. So, the fear here in Alaska is.... did they have rabies or are they not afraid anymore? Such a sad story for someone who was out in a remote Alaskan village just trying to help and educate special need children.

So, everyone be careful out there... whether you are in Alaska, where the outdoors is your back yard, or living in Utah with bears, Florida with alligators, or Arizona with scorpions.... be safe and educate your self on the wilds out there.

Here is a link to the story on MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35901428

Congo Sqaures - Blondies

2010-03-13T00:01:00.001-09:00

My mom was always really sweet with baking treats and goodies for us kids. One of my favorite treats was Congo Squares, a yummy mixture of a chocolate chip brownie. (I have also heard them called Blondies) Sounds yummy? Yea, I know! If you now have the itch to bake these little guys, all you need is...

3/4 cup butter, melted

2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

3 eggs

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 TBS vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325* degrees.

2. In large mixing bowl, combine butter and brown sugar; cool slightly. Beat in eggs, one at a time. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Pour batter into a 9x13 pan. Bake for 25 - 30 mins. When completely cool, cut into squares.

4. These can seem gooey if you don't let them cool AND set. I actually think they taste best the next day or at least a couple hours later. If you over cook them, they will look done, but then they will set hard and crunchy. So, even if they seem a little gooey try and trust them :)

I hope they turn out as good as when my mom makes them... because they are gooooood :) These are seriously my #1 favorite baked good.

Color Me Mine Pottery

2010-03-12T00:01:00.000-09:00

Years ago Curtis and I found this fun little art studio chain called Color Me Mine. It is a pleasant little place where you can go and pick out ceramic pieces to paint and Color Me Mine will fire them for you and get them ready.

Curtis and I have enjoyed this place several times. The first time we went Curtis was taking me to be nice... he knows that I enjoy that kind of "artsy fartsie stuff" and he was just trying to be a good boyfriend by taking me. And it did score him brownie points he was looking for.

But as the years have past and the more we have gone, the more Curtis has gotten into it. We go about once a year and we always make some kind of mug. Our goal is to never have to buy another mug again; we will only want to have these hand painted family mugs. Curtis's goal is to have our children fight over who gets what mug when we kick the bucket. A warm sentiment, right?

Color Me Mine makes pottery fun and simple. They provide anything and everything you can think of and are more than happy to help you along the way. You pay $8 as the studio fee, this will cover the cost of all paint that you want, brushes, sponges, puff paint, and firing fee. Then you can pick and pay for what piece you would like to paint. The pieces can cost anything from $5 to $100... they have animals, mugs, plates, pitchers, cookie jars, platters, giant gargoyles, and much much more. Curtis and I usually go for a simple $8 mug.

The employees there love to help you out and much as they can and seem to like a challenge. This last time we went, Curtis decided that he was going to pre-plan what he wanted to put on his mug before we got there. We are really into a card game called Killer Bunnies, so Curtis figured that he would make a Killer Bunny mug and brought in some pictures to copy. When we got there they were so helpful and help Curtis copy his photo, enlarge it, and turn it into a transfer where he could simply trace the image onto the mug. It turned out great and Curtis was thrilled with it.

We have been thrilled with that place every time we have gone. The only down side we have faced is that we never seem to plan enough time there. As we get more and more into it, we have spent more and more time trying to get our mugs perfect.

Color Me Mine is just a great place for people of all ages. I have seen little 3 & 4 year olds there painting animal figurines with mommy and adult parties taking painting lessons. They offer classes, birthday parties, and even have school programs. So go and check out if there is a Color Me Mine in your neighborhood, it is a fun family activity/date night/girls hang out.

Chile Earthquake Survival Story

2010-03-10T00:01:00.000-09:00

About a week ago Curtis and I woke up and brought Lucy into bed with us to cuddle and to slowly wake up for the day. We were just laying around and having a silly conversation about puppets and froggie pajamas when we got a telephone call.

Curtis's sister, Jenn, had called and was asking if we had heard from mom and dad (my in-laws). We said no and asked what was wrong.... she then informed us that in the middle of the night an 8.8 magnitude earthquake had hit a little outside Santiago causing mass destruction and tragedy.

We jumped out of bed as fast as we could and immediately start checking emails, calling phones, and looking at Facebook trying to get into any kind of contact with them. Luckily, we received an email shortly from Curtis's father informing us that they were shaken, but safe.

Just by chance they happened to be out of town for a client's wedding that weekend. They were located about 4 hours north of Santiago when the quake hit. They still felt it where they were, but most buildings in that area were safe and stable. There were forced to stay at their hotel for a few extra few days because lines were down, roads were blocked, and mom and dad didn't know if it was safe to head home yet.

Again, their luck continued and when they were able to return home and saw that it was okay and no damage had fallen on their home. Chile has known it shares of earthquakes and most buildings in Santiago are newer from being destroyed by past quakes... so, though damaged, Santiago was a lot more prepared and luckier than other cities.

Curtis's parents have kept us updated and in touch with how things are going down there. With sad stories of looters, families lost, and people going hungry. But a couple of days ago we received an email from Curtis's dad who was finally able to get in contact with a couple of his employees who are living in Concepcion, the city that was effected most by the earthquake. His email reads...

March 5th, Update on the Quake.

There are still frequent aftershocks here in Santiago, but things are much worse in the south.

Yesterday, March 4th was the first time since the quake that I was able to speak with Patricio, my Sales Manager for southern Chile. The phones there still don't work, but I was finally able to each him on Skype. Patricio lives in Concepcion near the epicenter. He and his household are OK. His house suffered some damage, but they are staying there. His parents house was destroyed and what was left was stolen by looters. His aunt and cousin were killed in the quake and two uncles are missing. There had been much looting in the street and it has not been safe to go out. His electricity and water was restored just yesterday (5 days after the quake).

When I asked him if they had food, his voice filled with emotion and while weeping with gratitude he said, "Yes, we have plenty of food, the Mormons down the street have made sure that every house in the neighborhood has food to eat." Patricio's family are not members.

When describing the family situation, he said that it was difficult for the kids. Without electricity the nights are long and dark, (The quake came during the night and there are hundreds of aftershocks, many reach over Richter 7). He said that it was important for the kids to be able to go outside during the day, but with so many looters and thieves in the street it is not safe outside. "So all the kids in the neighborhood got to the Mormon Church down the street and play where it is safe."...

Then tears came to my eye, count your blessing. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

This letter touched Curtis and I on so many levels. We are touched that Curtis's parents are lucky and not in that same situation, saddened by Patricio's loss, by their families state, but also by the kindness of his fellow neighbors. As members of the Mormon church ourselves, it was wonderful to see the love of our fellow members taking care and reaching out to those in need.

The Mormon church (actually the LDS church) has asked for their members to have a year food storage for their family in their home. Curtis and I have been living as college students for several years and have lived in small apartments and are constantly moving around... so, we have not taken the guidance of our church as seriously as we should... with excuses of "not enough space" and "I dont want to have to move all of it in a few months". We have not even gathered any kind of emergency kits for our family.

With seeing how our family and the people around them that have been affected by this earthquake, it has made us realize how important it is to be prepared. Not only so we can take care of our family, but those around us as well.

So, from now on every so often I am going to start posting idea, items, ways to store food for our families, items not to over look, and how to keep it all safe. Whether you are LDS or not this is something I believe is important to have. If you would like some more information now, before I start posting, you can get some storage ideas for a intense 72 hour kit for your entire family here. 72 hour kits are great because in most disasters it takes at least several days for electricity and water to get back on; so having the bare necessities for those few days can make a huge difference.

-on another note-

My sister Michelle over at Scribbit happened to interview our parents about The Great Alaskan Earthquake. Both our mom and our dad were here in Anchorage when it happened and she has a video/podcast interview with them and their experience with it. Not only is it very interesting, but it helps to show the importance of being prepared. I would strongly recommend going over to Scribbit and checking it out. Here is a link to her post... Scribbit: March 27, 1964. 5:36

Homemade Birthday Cards

2010-03-08T00:01:00.000-09:00

I really liked scrapbooking, but it takes up so much space and time that I just never seem to finish a project or have the energy to drag everything out to even work on it. I have a wedding, baby, and vacation albums I have been needing to finish for about 3 years now. So, instead of actually finshing them, I have changed my attention from scrapbooking to card making... and what can I say.... I loooove it.

It is easier to finish a project and cheaper to keep up with. Plus, with all my cards laying around I try to challenge myself to use them more and show people gratitude and love with them. So, I try to stock up on 'birthdays' and 'thank yous'. Cause, who doesn't love receiving a card in the mail.

I made this cute birthday card fairly easy and thought it turned out pretty good. Simple embellishments can make beautiful additions, my favorite are buttons. I practically put buttons on all my cards... cheap and cute.

For this card I used buttons, eyelets (the little metal circles in the top corner), a "Happy Birthday" stamp, stitching with embroidery thread, and corner tabs (the orange triangle things).

Buttons are pretty self explanatory... glue, stick, and voila!.

The eyelets are small metal circles that you can punch through paper with an eyelet setter and hammer. You can purchase eyelet setters from Michael's or Joann's and you will have two choices; either a Crop-A-Dile which is nice, cause everything you need is right there in that one tool, but it is a little bigger and can only reach so far pass the edge of the paper. Or... you can purchase a tool that punches a hole out and a tool that sets the eyelet. The Crop-A-Dile usually runs around $30 and the eyelet tools run about $10 (hole punch) and $5 (the setter). These are great because with these tools you can place the eyelet anywhere you want to.

To set the eyelets in place you will need to first: Punch a hole where you want the eyelet and put the eyelet into the hole and use the eyelet tool with a hammer to smash it into place. You will want to have something to protect the surface you are hammering. I used a normal hammer to set and a thick magazine for protection, but you can purchase a eyelet hammer which is nice and small and a setting mat that are each $5.

The corner tabs on the card are simply made by cutting a square in half diagonally, which will leave you will 2 triangles. You can either use a square punch to get your square or cut it out by hand. Now you will cut out a small triangle from of the middle of the big triangles, leaving the tabs that are perfect for embellishing open spaces and edges.

Those are just a few of my tricks and tools that I used for this card. Feel free to ask any questions about other things that you see. I will be posting more cards and more tools in the future.

Crafting Blogs

2010-03-05T16:18:00.005-09:00

I love to craft and the last few months I have been in a funk and just haven't found something that has gotten me excited enough to get off my crafting-butt and do something. The only thing I have been longing for is all the unfinished furniture that I have scooped up this summer from garage sales. I have about 7 pieces downstairs that need to get finished and now that it is winter, I don't dare paint in the garage with the door open, brrrrr.... so I guess I will be seeing them this summer :)

But I need some help. I have been on the look for some great crafting ideas or blogs and I have been completely missing. Finding blogs in not my gift. :) The only blog that I have found and completely loved is Homemade By Jill .

Does anything have any great craft sites or blogs that they are willing to share? :)

Candy Melt Image

2010-02-24T00:01:00.000-09:00

Okay, so I meant to post this back in October when I made the darn thing, but yea... Mrs. M.I.A. hasn't been posting much. But here is the birthday cake that I made for Lucy's 2nd birthday.

Lucy has a favorite book called "Biscuit" about a little lab puppy that has all kind of adventures and she just loves him. So, I figured I would make her a Biscuit cake. I was able to use candy melts to make a chocolate transfer. The way I made this cake, you can apply it to any picture that you want.

First I took her book and wrapped it in wax paper and taped it in place. Then, I took some white Candy Melts (you can buy them at Walmart or Michael's) and melted them. I set several bowls aside so I could spoon out some of the melted candy melts and mix it with food coloring. USEFUL TIP - the candy melts will change texture and get clumpy if you use too much food coloring, especially if it is liquid drops. You will need to use the food coloring paste. You can get a huge selection at Michael's for fairly cheap. It is easier to just buy the color candy melts needed, then to have to mix the colors.

You can use a pipping bag to put the melted chocolate in, but I just used a Ziploc bag and cut a small corner out. I then traced a nice outline in the color needed and filled in random areas like the eyes, nose, and toe nails.with the color needed. Once everything was dried I then filled in Biscuit with the main color, which helped get everything connected and stuck together. Make sure the last layer you fill is nice and thick to help keep your image from breaking to you lift it up.

When everything is dried, carefully peel the wax paper away from your chocolate image and turn it over so you can see the nice smooth side. Now you can place it on your cake.

What is great about this process is that it really isn't hard and doesn't have to be perfect and it is just fun to see the end process. Lucy loved it!!! She got all excited about her Biscuit and got to eat her sweet puppy, which should probably be a little disturbing, but it was still cute :)

You can copy anything from images online, books, posters, anything that is flat and you can get wax paper on.

Too Long of a Break

2010-02-23T10:47:00.005-09:00

As always, I have been gone too long. I never mean to take a long break, they just kind of seem to happen. And then I get upset with myself and make a vow to be better and I start getting great posts together, fun crafts, and sweet stories... just to then take another break from all my hard work. :)

But we have all kind of updates as a family.

First of all, we are pregnant with number 2! I'm about 3 months along and we are excited for Lucy to have a sibling.

My parents are also getting ready to come back from India, which they have been there 3 years doing church/volunteer work. We are excited to have them home. We are excited for them to meet Lucy and to be here for our new addition.

Lucy is 2 and a half now and is super sweet and everywhere.... physically and emotional. :)

Curtis is working and doing school still... he will hopefully be graduating this year. School has been a slow thing for us since we try to make sure as a family school doesn't take over his time.

But things are going well, and I hopefully will be posting some fun new crafts and projects.

Good Day

2009-09-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

You know it has been a good family day when this is your child.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

2009-09-11T00:01:00.001-08:00

I am not a grilled cheese kind of gal, but Curtis on the other hand.... oh yea. If I ever want to make Curtis happy all I have to do is throw some plastic wrapped cheese and wonder bread together and... BAM... best evening ever. Seriously... I'm am not over exagerating.

So, for his special birthday dinner, what do I decide to make... grilled cheese. But now how do I step it up a notch? Gourmet grilled cheese!!! All you need is...

Bakery bread

Pepper jack cheese

Colby jack cheese

Purple onion

Tomatoes

Pennie grill (optional)

Basil, garlic, oregano

First slice up your onions, throw them into a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Once those are starting to loosen up throw in your tomatoes. Add a couple dashes of basil, garlic powder, and oregano.... this is the most important part. Once those are cooked, set them aside.

Now cut your bread and cheese and get them ready for the Pennie grill or pan. Butter your bread and put in the cheese, onion, and tomatoes together and grill.

When the cheese is all melted you are good to go. This is seriously an amazing sandwich and it is the only meal that I have gotten a 10 out of 10 from Curtis.

U-Pick Farms

2009-09-09T11:30:00.003-08:00

The end of summer is coming. The weather is cooling down, kids are in school, and the sweaters are starting to look really comfy. But the benefit to the end of summer..... harvest time. My husband grew up for a little bit in Tennessee and had a blast picking berries at a u-pick farm. I thought that might be fun, but didn't think we would have anything like that here in Alaska.

Not only was I completely wrong, but most states seem to have one. They are fun little farms that let you pick and pay by the pound. These farms are fun family activities that help educate children and help you save a little on groceries.... which is something I am ALWAYS up for.

If you would like to find a u-pick farm in your area click on the link 'U-Pick Farm' and scroll down just a bit and you can click on the state you live in.

If you live in Alaska, here is the U-Pick farm in our neck of the woods, Pyrahs Pioneer Peak Farm, in Palmer. Hurry up and look at the schedule for this farm. There is a harvest festival that will be going on Sept 19th and there will be hayrides, wagon rides, and petting zoos.

Guitar Hero Cake

2009-09-04T16:27:00.005-08:00

Curtis's birthday rolled up this week and so it came time for Curtis to let me know what kind of cake he wanted. He suggested something that was kind of simple, but I was excited so I asked him to pick something else. I wanted him to challenge me. So, he came back with his decision.... he wanted a Guitar Hero cake.
Well... I guess I got what I wanted.

So, I did it... and I have to say, that I was very happy with how it turned out. In the end it wasn't too bad.

First I took a couple pieces of paper and drew out a guitar that I was going to use as a stencil. Once I had it drawn, I cut it out and figured out how many cakes I would need. This one took two box cakes. One for the body of the guitar and one for the neck.

Once I cut out the cake I placed the pieces in the freezer until the sides were stiff..... you can't put the frosting on the cake very easily with all the crumbs falling off. Once it was frozen enough I put the white frosting on first and the placed it in the freezer again. Then I frosted with the black frosting. Do the black frosting last... it is easy to keep the black out of the white than the white out of the black. When the body of the guitar is finished attach the neck to the body and up the neck.

Since this cake is fairly large, you wont be able to keep the cake on a pan. I went to Michael's and got a foam board and covered it with tin foil. Not only did it hold the cake, but it was fun to write messages on the board when the cake was done.

But it was sure fun. Curtis was pretty excited about it. Definently a step up from last years Mario cake.

Movie Mania

2009-08-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

We are huge movie people. The best thing that has happened with us lately has been a $3 movie theater that has opened up in town... yep.... the best thing that has happened to us!! Not that things have been hard and that is the only thing we have to look forward to, but we just love movies. It has saved as a bundl for date nights.. And the best part is I have just seen great movie after great movie.

This was just a wonderfully cute movie. I am a little bit of a hard person to please when it comes to family feel good movies. To me there is a fine line between heart warming and cheese ball central. This family movie actually had both my husband and I tearing up and cracking up through out the whole time. I can't really go into the movie at all without giving up too much information, but this has been one of our favorite movies this year.

The Time Traveler's Wife

I saw this movie on a girl's night out and I was not looking forward to it. The only reason I was going to go see it was because I wanted to hangout with my girls friends. I usually don't like these kind of chick flick movies. World, please don't hate me... but I hate the "Notebook". I just do, I'm sorry.... but as for The Time Traveler's Wife.... totally different. This movie was not only sweet, sad, and feel good, but really interesting. This movie had such an interesting take on time traveling in a realistic way.... as weird as that may sound. How could someone have anything of a normal life if they were forced to time travel? How could they have any relationship, job, family? This movie follows the meeting, dating, marriage, and life of a man that has the ability to time travel, but no control over it. I went in thinking there was going to be a little too much sexual moments, but it was fairly safe. There was a little bit of tushy... but other than that.. fairly clean.

Julie & Julia

I never knew much about the chef Julie Childs, but afterward this movie I wish I knew even more. This was a delightful movie that kept me smiling the whole time. The movie follows the true story of the self made chef Julie Child and a no-name government worker that wants to improve herself by forcing herself to follow through with one thing in life. Julia decides to cook all of Julie Child's recipes in a year.... 500 something recipes in 365 days. The movie goes back and forth in and out of their lives. Any scene with Meryl Streep was just wonderful and I found myself just entranced with her.

My Sister's Keeper

I just saw this one last night and all I can say is that I hope I never have to go through what this family did. This is the story of a family that has a child dying of cancer. The only way to help save their daughter Kate is to find a donor. So, mom and dad agreed to conceive a genetically perfect daughter, Anna, that could help donate what their other daughter Kate needed. Anna is asked to donate a kidney and she has come to a point where she wants a say in the matter and sues her parents. I can't say it was a feel good movie, but it definitely was a good movie. It pulls at your heart strings and also really makes you think about your own family. I don't know if I would recommend this movie for anyone who has gone through anything like this, I think it might be a little too real. I was a little disappointed that it didn't do better. And I never thought I would ever say this, but... Cameron Diaz is a really good actress. She did an amazing job as playing a mom with so much on her shoulders.

So, if you have been going through a movie dry spell, then hopefully a couple of these might give you the pick-me up you have been looking for.

I'm Baaaack

2009-08-27T00:01:00.003-08:00

Hello one and all... are any of you readers still out there? Well, I have apparently taken a bit of a longer summer break than expected. I didn't mean to stay away for so long, but slowly my blog was taking more and more time away from my family and every time I took a break it was harder to get back into the swing on things in the blogging world.

Plus, with the Alaskan summers here being so nice with so many things to do, I found myself strung out most evenings. So with berry picking, camping, midnight fishing runs, glacier hiking, cabin trips, biking trails, and sprinklers all out of the way, I am hoping I can get back into crafty, cooking, mom mode that I just love so much.

I have some great recipes that I have been dying to share, wonderful cards that are easy to make, more sewing projects, and some just great crafting books that I'm sure all can use :)

But until the next post, here are some fun pictures of what we have been up to.

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Vegetable Tacos

2009-05-09T00:01:00.004-08:00

I have been looking for new ways to get more vegetables into the families' diet. I have a hard problem with this because I am the picky eater in the family when it comes veggies. But I have found a great new recipe that it so tasty and also great for the vegetables. All you need is...
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1 & 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 red onion slivers
1 zucchini diced
1 & 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 & 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
2 TBS no-salt-added tomato paste
3/4 cup mild salsa
15 oz can black beans, drained
3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
8 inch tortillas
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1. In a large skillet, heat oil until hot (not smoking) over medium heat. Add onions, zucchini, and mushrooms and cook until onions are tender and the juices are flowin.
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2. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and corn... cook for about 2 mins.
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3. Stir in tomato paste, salsa, black beans, and cilantro. Cook until heated through, about 2 mins.
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4. Now you can fill you tacos... top them off with sour cream and cheddar cheese.
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This is one of my new favorite recipes. Really easy, super tasty, and low calorie. YOU CAN"T GO WRONG! :)

Freebie Friday

2009-05-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Triple Flex

John Frieda Brilliant Brunette .

Free Chocolate From Mars (on Fridays) .

Free Forbes Magazine Subscription

Mini Facials
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Free KFC

Scrubbing Bubbles Gift Pack (first 3,000 people)

Walmart Coupon Book

Magic Eraser

Ways to Save Money And Energy Around The House

2009-05-06T00:01:00.002-08:00

WFMW
I will be honest, I.......am a tight wad. I will always choose Kirkland over name brand, Old Navy over Gucci, and even day old half-off donuts over fresh warm ones. I have a hard time spending more money on something that I know I can get for less. Don't get me wrong, I am willing to pay SOME money for good clothes, but there is a limit...for example. I wear Silver jeans, they are long enough for me (which is a struggle), they make my butt look great (which is near impossible), and they are in an acceptable price range. So I don't mind spending $50 on them because they cover all my jean needs. But I am also sensible enough to not spend $20 on pants that only look okay because I know I wont wear them, so I am basically flushing $20 down the toilet.

At the same time I have continued to place a pair of amazing Citizen jeans on sales now for about 3 years. Every once in a while I will find my size, drool, try them on, realize that I will never again look this good, and place them on hold. I have even gone to the extent of buying them and returning them with out even wearing them. I can never own them too long without having huge guilt that I spent THAT much on jeans. I have done this several times....I think the longest that I have ever owed a pair has been three days.

You may all be asking yourself, "If I want something this bad...why don't I just buy them and get it over with?" and I would answer, " Because they are $130-$180 DOLLAR JEANS!" I don't even enjoy wearing them, cause all I can think is, "Don't fall, don't spill, don't rip!". I have a hard time enjoying jean that cost 3 times the amount of my $50 dollar jeans that look great, have lasted, and don't give me an aneurysm from worry.

So as you can see I have already mastered my money saving skills when it comes to clothes and what not, but I have been doing some research trying to find the best ways to save money around the house....mainly with the utility bill. Maybe if I save enough, I can finally justify buying me some jeans :)

Wash in Cold Water
Up to 85% of your energy can be coming from your washer, mainly washing clothes in warm water. Simply picking cold as your choice can seriously save you some money, especially if your family does a lot of laundry. My husband and I usually don't even hook the warm water up because he never use it.
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Lint Filter
Cleaning your lint filter every time after use is not only safe, but helps your dryer to dry your clothes faster. Lint build up can actually cause fires in your home also dramatically drying clothes faster.
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A/C In Shade
Place your window A/C in the shade to help keep the temperate for the A/C accurate. The shade will keep it from working too hard and at unnecessary times. Plus, will also help your unit stay it better shape for longer.

Water Heater
Just simple limbo it.... how low can you go.... how low can you go?! It is suggested that 120* is a fine temperature. High effect to sanitize dishes for the dishwasher and for hot showers, but not high enough as too waste money maintaining its temperature.

Door Breezes
Opps....I see crack. So many doors have cracks and gaps. You can easily buy product that are meant to lay next to your door spotting the breeze from coming into your home, while allowing your door to still open with ease.

Cover Food
Covering your foods that you place in your fridge will help keep your fridge from working too hard. Also letting foods cool first will help save energy as well.

Toilet Level
Put a brick in it! If you have an old fashioned toilet, put a brick in the tank above the seat. This’ll mean you use less water every time you pull the flush handle. This will not only help you not waste water, but also electricity. One of a cities biggest use of electricity is for supply water and cleaning it up. So this will help you with both.

Outside Lights
If your family leaves a security light on overnight on your deck or door step, change the bulb to a compact fluorescent one, which cost more, but last 6 times longer and use less energy. Some compact fluorescent lamps ever come in yellow so they won't attract bugs, which is something I am ALL about!

Shower Heads
This is a tough one cause I hate a weak shower head, but you can save some money with a water saving shower head.

Blocked Vents
Move furniture away from the heater vents . Blocking the heat source forces the system to work harder because the house is not being heated like it should be.

I love these tips because most of them don't mess up my life too much, but also helps me save money. So maybe, just maybe, after a few months of bricks in toilets, lower water heaters, and florescent bug-free patios, I might be able to give myself and break and get my butt into the convented jeans. Just maybe :)

Magazine Holder Craft

2009-05-05T00:01:00.005-08:00

My friend Anna Dawn is one of the most amazing crafters I have ever met. She is just one of those people who can look at something and just know how to do it. Or will see something that is being wasted and think, "how can I use that"? Seriously, she has a gift.

Well, I am tired of scratching my head and thinking how the crap does she do it?! I sat down today and challenged myself to try and find a use for an empty box we have had sitting upstairs in our family room for 2 weeks now, besides its obvious use of collecting cobwebs. And what I came up with was a simple magazine organizer. All you need is...

scrapbooking paper

cardboard

hot glue gun

paint

sandpaper

First you need to cut out the shapes. The easiest way is to trace a magazine holder that you already own onto the cardboard, but if you don't happen to have one to trace (which would explain why you are making one) then you will need to cut out 5 pieces. The front piece will be 7.5in x 4in. The two side pieces will be 9.5in x 12in. The back spine piece will be 7.5in x 12in. And the bottom piece will be 9.5in x 7.5in.

Now that you have all 5 pieces cut out, take the two side pieces and get ready to trim them. Place the side pieces down and on the left 12in side mark about 4in up from the bottom and on the 9.5in top about 2.5in from the end of the right side. You will now connect those two marks with a diagonal line. You can now cut them out to have them look almost like a right triangle. This is a great time to use your 5 cardboard pieces to help you trace and cut out your scrapbook pieces.

With all your pieces cut out you can now start sanding all the cardboard edges to help give them a softer and rounded look. When they are to your satisfaction you can now start hot gluing the pieces together with your glue gun. Try really hard to not use too much. Using an old pencil to help clean up extra glue spilling from the sides really helps. When it is glued together you can paint the inside and the open edges.

Your structure should be built now and it is time to attach the scapbooking paper. Make sure that your paper and cardboard match up really well and you have glued the edges down smoothly. Again, try not to use too much glue, but smooth it out if you can. When all is glued and attached feel free to run sandpaper on some of the edges again if you are needing to sand off some hardened glue or scrapbooking corners.

You can use any cardboard box to make these. The first one I did, I used a hardy cardboard box, but my second one I used a Costco cereal box and even that lighter cardboard did great. The tutorial used for this magazine holder is a fairly large one. You can easily shrink it down to a slimmer or smaller size. I made a CD holder for my husband's desk with an old cereal box and it turned out great.

These were really easy to make and I pump out two this afternoon pretty fast. Not only is it a easy craft, but it is a great way to spruce up an office and to also recycle some materials. Cereal boxes are great for some slimmer ones.

Las Vegas Trip

2009-04-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

We are finally back. Sorry I have been gone so long, but with Curtis taking a break from work we decided that this vacation better be a nice long one because we wont get another for a looooong time. Because in the months to come he have graduation, master programs, internships, jobs, school for me, and family coming back home to live with us. We have a lot to prepair for.
But before I get into the swing on things with the blogging world, I figured I would post some fun pictures from the trip.

Vegas Vacation

2009-04-08T08:13:00.003-08:00

If you haven't noticed I have been gone for a while. We have been on vacation and loving it, so sorry if I haven't posted more. I even tried to plan in advance and get some posts ready before we left, but yea... that just didn't happen. The vacation has been great and seeing Curtis's family has been wonderful.

Freebie Friday

2009-03-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

Free Free Free! Its Freebie Friday

Gain Laundry Detergent

Crest Whitening Strips

Kotex Pads

Aveda Shampo o

Free Arby's Sandwich (when you buy a drink)

Volpi Meatclub

Liquid Calcium Pills

How To Make Invitations

2009-03-10T00:01:00.002-08:00

There is so much that is involved with throwing a party, whether it is a bridal shower, baby shower, fancy dinner party, or just having family over for a birthday. It is just hard to keep everything straight, but first things first... you need to invite them.

Making a good invitation card is more than making a cute card that is appealing and sweet. You need to make sure that you are able to get across all the information needed for the evening in that card. So here are some tips you can use when sending out invitations to your guests.

Make sure the card you maket conveys the purpose of your gathering, that the cards shows the theme of the evening. For example - if it is for a baby shower make sure the card is the same theme/colors as the baby's nursery.
Have all your information for the evening on a separate piece of paper in the card that isn't attached. People can be forgetful and by placing the information on a separate piece of paper people can easily tag that on the fridge to reminder them selves.
Give the proper information for the evening like the date it will be, where it will be held, who/what the party is for, the time to arrive, who to RSVP to, and extra information like registries and such.
Ask guests to RSVP by a certain date. Let them know the deadline, a contact number, and who they need to contact. For example... "Please RSVP by Monday May 2nd to Mary Sue at 1-908-555-1254". This will help you know in advance on how much food and party favors that will be needed. Plus by giving a deadline it will help keep stragglers from taking too long to get back to you.
Make a few extras. It is nice to have extras just in case there is someone you forgot to invite. Plus it is fun to have an extra invitation for family scrapbooks and such.

If any of you have made some invitations you should post them and send a link. It would be great to see every ones ideas and crafts.

Lemon Cookies

2009-03-07T00:01:00.001-09:00

I am a huge fan of anything that is lemon, so hopefully some of you feel the same way. But whether you are looking for a yummy lemon fix or an easy cookie recipe you will like these, all you need...

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, and lemon extract until well blended.

3. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into a bowl of confectioners' sugar. Roll them around until they're lightly covered. Once sugared, put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes in the preheated oven. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy.

Free Sample

2009-03-06T00:01:00.000-09:00

Here comes Friday and here comes the Freebies

Free Warm Delight Minis by Betty Crocker

Sign up for their email newsletters that is filled with tips and samples and you will receive a free Warm Delight Minis, which look delish by the way.

Free Child Safety Kit

24 pages of guidance for parents. Teach abduction prevention without scaring your child (or yourself). Includes Fingerprint/DNA ID Documents to record your child's personal information--in the privacy of your home.

Free Dove Hair Care Heat Therapy

Enjoy silky smooth hair that can fight off heat.

Free Trail Pair Acuvue Contacts

Help your eyes see and stay moist with Acuvue

Free Baby Formula

Free Parent's Choice formula from Wal-Mart

Family Interests

2009-03-01T19:25:00.005-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY

Here in a couple weeks our family is taking off for Vegas to go meet up with Curtis's family. We are super excited to see them since we haven't been able to see them as much since moving to Alaska. But one of the reasons that we are excited to be going down is because we are going to be there for Passover.

Curtis's brother-in-law is from a Jewish family and for the past several years his family has invited us to come celebrate Passover with them, but unfortunately we have never been able to go. But it just so happens that we are going to be there for it this year.

Curtis and I are not Jewish and don't know much about the traditions and customs so we decided that we wanted to make sure that we knew as much as we could before going to celebrate this holiday with them. We sat down and looked up the prayers, customs, food, and reasoning behind this holiday. Doing this got me thinking about the importance of this holiday for their family and how I wish that I had tried to get more informed sooner.

This Family Moment Monday is a challenge for everyone to try to educate themselves more on their family. Not just brothers and sisters, but in-laws and extended family. To take a special interest in someone and try to get closer and understand that person more. By doing this it will not only help you to bring your family closer, but how special do you think they are going to feel that you are taking a special interest in them, their lives, and what is important to them.

Please remember to add your link only if you are participating in Family Moment Monday. Family Moment Monday consists of people who are sharing crafts, activities, lessons, ideas, service projects or anything else that you can learn/do/enjoy as a family in your post. Please remember to link back to Motherhood For Dummies, so others can learn about F.M.M. and participate too.

Kapusta Recipe

2009-02-28T00:01:00.000-09:00

I am a huge fan of Polish food and I know that probably sounds weird... cause us Polish people are not known for our culinary abilities, but more lack of... um... whit. But hey... the Polish people should be proud because I think we are the only civilization that has ever made a solar powered flash light, inflatable dart boards, and ejector seats in a helicopters.

But all jokes aside, I truly love Polish food because it tends to have easy instructions, cheap ingredients, and tasty dishes. One of my favorite dishes to make is my Polish Cabbage Casserole, because it takes about 15mins to prepare and costs about $6 total..... honestly, how can you beat that?

So, here is another yummy recipe called Kapusta that some of you might be brave enough to try. All you need is...

1 lb. Salt Pork (dice it)
1 medium cabbage head, cored and shredded
1 (16 oz) package medium egg noodles
ground black pepper to taste

1. Place the diced salt pork in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until the fat has melted down and the meat is cooked.
2. Add the shredded cabbage with the salt pork and cook over medium-low heat until tender, stirring to coat the cabbage with the salt pork juices.
3. Meanwhile cook the egg noodles in a pot of water and drain. When the cabbage has cooked completely, stir the egg noodles in with the cabbage and season with black pepper for taste.

I know the recipe doesn't call for much and while cooking it you may doubt the outcome, but this dish is surprisingly tasty. My husband was a huge fan and couldn't get enough and I thought it was a fun dish especially when you are tired of the normal day to day stuff.

Terrible Twos

2009-02-26T00:01:00.002-09:00

Oh Lucy, Lucy, Lucy.... I remember those good ol' days when you used to simply sit and play with your plastic keys, look through your books, and keep your self entertained with your toes..... and then...... THE TERRIBLE TWOS HAPPENED! Whoever thinks that phase actually starts when they're two is wrong..... sooo soooo wrong. .

And to prove it, here is a list of things I have had to deal with in the last few days....
1. Stop throwing your food on the floor
2. NO! NO! Keep your hands out of the poopies!
3. Stop throwing pens in the toilet
4. Your fingers don't belong in your nose
5. Your fingers don't belong in my nose!
6. Please don't rub your tushy on the glass.
7. DON'T LICK THE OUTLET!
8. If you ever want a brother or sister please stop doing that
9. Don't use mommy's bra as a bag
10. Old diapers are not toys
11. Fruit does not belong in mommy's cleavage
12. again?????
and last but not least....
13. AHHHHHHHH WHERE IS YOUR FATHER!

Babies + Bears = Best Friends

2009-02-25T00:01:00.001-09:00

Our Uncle dropped off a bear skin rug that he had made for our dad.... apparently Lucy likes it more than any of us. We have had to move it so she isn't always hugging, kissing, petting, and riding the thing.

Organizing Clothes

2009-02-24T00:01:00.001-09:00

My child is almost a year and a half, but I still don't feel like I have a handle on everything. I still find myself underestimating how long it takes to get us all out the door, how much stuff to pack in my diaper bag, how many socks Lucy will go through and how much time I will spend looking for a matching top. But hey, at least now I can cross one of those off.

I have finally found a way to keep my kids clothes organized and not just organized, but sooooo organized that even my husband can find something for Lucy to wear and I can guarantee that it will coordinate!

I was over at Target and was checking out some tubs to help organize my crafting supplies and stumbled across some hanging closet shoe organizers, which gave me a great idea. I bought one and used it for Lucy's clothes. Every compartment can easily hold one outfit, complete with socks, hair bows, and shoes.

It is great, I don't have to think about what will go with what, where are her socks, and do I have a clean onesie? All I do is grab! It has been a life saver and helps me keep my house more organized, which is something that I always need.

You can get these organizers at any Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, or Bed Bath and Beyond and you can find them for about 19.99.

P.S Congrats to Beth at A Mom's Life for winning the Shopping List giveaway! Everyone give Beth a big congrats!

Free Shopping List Magnet

2009-02-19T09:51:00.006-09:00

I love giveaway posts and this one is something that I loooove! Today I have a wonderful grocery shopping list for your fridge that will help you stay organized and within budget every week.

This note pad not only has a shopping list, but also a dinner calender for the week. So, instead of kids running up nagging.... opps... I mean asking what is for dinner, they can now just look at the handy dandy list and see for themselves.

If you want a chance to win this for you and your family, then simply leave a comment no later than Saturday Feb 21, 11:59 PM.

Toy Bag Tutorial

2009-02-17T00:40:00.007-09:00

Oh it feels so good to be back blogging again, it's bloggerific! So I am going to ease back into the blogging world with a nice easy craft, plus hopefully posting something that is simple will tempt you non-crafters out there to finally jump in on this.
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I made these cute bags to help with Lucy's toys from over flowing and taking over the house. I swear, I think they were plotting against me and on the move! I finally sat down and start pouring a few out to help keep blocks, books, puzzles, and animals in their place. I even made a few to help keep her laundry separated. They are really easy and need a minimal amount of sewing, cutting, and time. All you need is...

1 foot of fabric

1 yard of string or ribbon

Take your foot of fabric, fold it in half and trim it so it will be 11 inches wide and 18 inches tall. Measure 3 inches from the top and mark it on the right side of the fabric, THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE FOLDED SIDE! Cut at that 3 inch mark a little less than 1/2 an inch into the fabric.

Unfold the fabric so it is now 22 inches wide and the back of the pattern is facing up towards you. You should have two little cuts on both sides of the fabric. Now go ahead and fold the 3 inch slits inward and pin them, do this on both sides. Sew these flaps down, when you are done it should look like the top three inches are thinner.

You can now fold the top down about 2 inches down. You can now place the string in the flap and sew it shut. You will want to make sure that the line you sew will line up with the edge of the 22 inch wide part of the fabric. Now fold the fabric so it is back to being 11 inches wide and have the back side of the fabric facing out, which means that the patterns should be inside and facing each other. Pin the edges together. Start to sew the fabric together, when you start sewing make sure that the line you are sewing also lines up with the top folded edge, so this should be about a 1/2 inch seam on the side and also do a 1/2 inch seam on the bottom. Once done, go ahead and turn the bag right-side out. Go ahead and tie the strings together which will be the final step for this wonderful bag.

These are cute bags to make and really cheap, you can pump out 3 bags with 1 yard of fabric. So go ahead and make some, I would even love to see some of the bags you make and what you add to them. Happy sewing!

Time To Breath

2009-02-15T22:52:00.003-09:00

Long time no see. Our family has been a little M.I.A these last few weeks with sickness, hospital visits, volcanoes nearing explosion, volunteer work, cleaning the house from top to bottom, trying to sell some items in a boutique, and after taking a rest... I am back. Family Moment Monday will be up and running again next Monday. I have a great craft for tomorrow and last, but not least, GIVE AWAYS! I will be posting a few give aways throughout the week so get excited and check in!

Molly McButter's Powder Butter

2009-01-21T00:01:00.000-09:00

WFMW

I think of myself as a pretty healthy eater. Don't get me wrong, I love my pizza and could probably down a good chunk of it if needed (I probably shouldn't be proud of that). But I do try to use turkey instead of beef, throw in fiber where I can, and use fat free everything. So you can imagine why I would be over come with joy when I discovered MOLLY MCBUTTER!

This in only the best cooking trick I have discovered yet. It is a powder butter... yes.... I said it.... powder butter. Well, better yet... Fat-Free powder butter with only 5 calories per serving. I know... amazing isn't it? We have just fallen in love with it. You can use it to replace the calorie packed, fat filled, food that is butter. We use it a lot with corn, vegetables, baked potatoes, and even as a replacement for butter with mac n' cheese. We especially love it for home made pop corn. Simply pop some kernels in a little bit of olive oil and then sprinkle with Molly McButter and salt; then you will have some of the most delicious pop corn you have ever tasty and a lot healthier too as you are using olive oil.

So feel free run out and buy some guilty free pleasure or to help make those sin foods a little nicer. Sprinkle some butter on and cut back on fat. What is a health food trick you use for cooking?

Hula Hop Game

2009-01-19T00:01:00.000-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY

Having game night with the family is always fun, but having a family game night that will help tire the kids out before they go to bed.... priceless!!!

To have your family play Hula Hop all you will need is a hula hoop or something to make a circle. Get two players into the circle and standing on one leg. Players will then grab hands and start to hop. The goal is to get one player off balance or out of the circle by bumping with shoulders and such.

Stuffed Shell Pasta

2009-01-17T00:01:00.000-09:00

Is anyone else out there willing to admit that they are a pasta slut? Cause I am and I know it. Whether it is fettuccine, linguine, zitti, or penne I can safely guarantee that I will love it and later on crave it. Unfortunately my husband is the same way, so I have no one to help safe guard me against the sinister temptations of the carbo packed goodness that IS pasta! Curse those Italian devils!

So.... basically.... if I am going down, I am taking you all with me!!!!! And to prove it, here is a fantastic and easy recipe for Stuffed Shell pasta.

1 Package of jumbo pasta shells (16 oz)
4 Cups cottage cheese
12 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Dash of garlic powder (to your liking... I used a several dashes)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1 (26 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce
1/4 Cup of Parmesan cheese (again)

1. Cook shells according to package directions. Place in cold water to cool down and drain.
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2. While shells are cooking mix together the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, eggs, and garlic powder. Rub the dried herbs (oregano & parsley) in the palm of your hand to pulverize them and then stir into the cheese mixture.

3. Spread 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 15 x 10 pan. Start stuffing the shells with the cheese mixture and place them in the pan. Spread remaining spaghetti sauce over the top of shells and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.

4. Bake at 350* degrees for 25-35 mins or until bubbly. Let shells stand for 10 mins to let the melted cheese settle a little, if not it will be super runny, but still good.

Carcassonne

2009-01-12T00:01:00.000-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY
Us Rappleyes are board game people... we love em! Curtis and I spent many of our nights, while dating, playing card games and Life (we were so cool :) ). Once we got married we started throwing in Sorry, Monopoly, and Scene It. And now... well... we are game snobs that party with the elite like Settlers of Catan, Bohnanza, and Spy Alley. We love finding games people haven't heard of, learning new ones, and introducing them to people.

Our latest fetish right now is Carcassonne and don't let it fool you that it is made by the Germans... cause I don't know about you, but when I think of Germans I don't usually think of a fun jovial bunch.... but apparently they sure do know their way around board games.

Carcassonne is a fairly simple game about farmers, monks, knights, and robbers. Players will take turns grabbing tiles of land and laying them down to build a valley. As you lay your tile down you also place people to do actions. There are farmers who feed the cities you build, monks that watch over the monasteries, knights that guard a city, and thieves that plunder the roads. Players will try to give their lands as many tiles and points as they can while also trying to block off and upset the other players fields as much as possible. This game definitely keeps you on your toes cause the board and situations change with ever turn.

This game is truly addictive and fun to play. We especially like it because it is just as fun two player as it is with a whole group. The game says it is best for children 7 and up and can be played two to five players. You can find Carcassone on Amazon.com for about $22 right now and it seems to usually go for about $30 most places.

What are some favorite family games that you play?

Family Moment Monday Reminder

2009-01-10T00:01:00.000-09:00

This Monday will be the beginning of me posting again and we will be starting with a Family Moment Monday. I just wanted to let all you regulars know that we WILL be having F.M.M. for this coming Monday and for all you newbies out there, feel free to join and post on F.M.M.; feel free to write a post about family activities, games, movies, crafts, lessons, thoughts, or even parenting tips. Post ideas can be for all ages or even for certain age groups; activities for a whole family or something just for the kids.

So... over review! :)
What: Family Moment Monday
Who: Anyone who wants to post is invited and welcomed
When: Mr. Linky will be up to accept your links on Sunday evening at 6:00 PM Alaska time (that's 7 for Pacific, 8 Mountain, and... well you get idea)
Where: F.M.M is hosted here at Motherhood For Dummies
Why: Because there is never too many things we can do with our families

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T21:05:00.002-09:00

Figured that we all need to start the new year with a good laugh!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Crafts To Do

2008-12-30T00:01:00.002-09:00

Hello one and all! It feels good to be back after my break. Sorry to put blogging in the back seat, but with family in town, parties to go to, and goodies to cook, I figure blogging might help bring a stressed induced aneurysm this holiday. But now Christmas is over and the New Year is upon on.

To get ready for this new year I have been making a list of goals, ideas, and activities I am wanting to do this year. But I did something different this time around... I decided to also have a craft goal list. So, here is my list of crafts that I am planning on completing.... wait.... um, I'll change that to planning on ATTEMPTING... we will see how successful they are :)

Clothes/Accessories
Quick Tote Bag
Apron
Head Band
Chic Shopping Bag
Necklace Organizer

Children
Growth Chart
Lunch Bags
Pony Tail Holder
Art Apron
Bed Book Organizer
Pillow Case Back Pack
Pillow Case Dress
Apron
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Toys
Octopus
Sea Horse
Fabric Doll House
Felt Strawberries
Felt Donuts
Felt Whip Cream
The Best Puppy
Monkey Doll
Robot
Cashmere Bunny
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Decorations
Hand Tracing Frame
Silhouette Frame
Family Tree Picture Holder
Key Holder
Scary Ghosts
Gratitude Sign

Odds and Ends
Sewing Organizers
Bath Salts
Birthday Banner (I have been wanting to do this one for a long time)
Apple Pin Cushion
Make-Up Bag
Luggage Tag
Hot Water Bottle Cover
Tissue Holder
Mini Photo Album

Fred Claus

2008-12-22T00:01:00.001-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY
Well, last week I asked people for their family traditions during the holiday season so I could post them and help pass some along to other families, but unfortunately though....... there weren't enough. I was going to post the top 10, but so many people already had the same traditions that there were only about 3 to choose from. So, sorry that there weren't more to share, but hey... there is always next year. So, for this F.M.M. I am going to share something our family enjoyed.

Curtis and I Netflixed "Fred Claus" and I have to admit that we were pleasantly surprised. We thought that not only was it a nice Christmas movie, but very funny and cheery. "Fred Claus" is about the brother of Santa Claus; with poor Fred living in the shadow of his saintly brother Nick. Fred finds himself trying to forget the family he comes from and trying to make a name for himself. But soon Fred is needing a little bit of help and is forced to turned to his brother for it.

It was a cute movie and Vince Vaughn was pretty freakin' hysterical. Appropriate for most ages, rated PG and starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, and Kathy Bates.

Please remember to add your link only if you are participating in Family Moment Monday. Family Moment Monday consists of people who are sharing crafts, activities, lessons, ideas, service projects or anything else that you can learn/do/enjoy as a family in your post. Please remember to link back to Motherhood For Dummies, so others can learn about F.M.M. and participate too.

Cornish Game Hens

2008-12-20T00:01:00.001-09:00

I truly understand the meaning of, "slice of Heaven" now. This weekend my sister came into town and I wanted to do a nice fancy dinner for her.... so I went out and purchased some Cornish Game Hens. For all of you out there that don't know what those are, they are tiny little personal sized chickens that they sell whole. You can usually get them for about $2-$3 a piece.

I have never personally cooked them before, so I was a little nervous that they would turn out okay... and guess what!?!! They were FREAKIN' FANTASTIC! Not only were they uber tasty, but looked fancy and really made the evening fun. All you need is...
Cornish Game Hens

Bottle of marinating sauce (you can choose whatever flavor you like)

Vegetables to bake with

The hens come with instructions on the wrapping, so whatever your instructions say... follow those. The day before you are planning the dinner, simply place the marinating sauce (I used a lemon pepper garlic) and the hens into a plastic zip lock bag and let them marinate till you are ready to cook them.
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Place the hens in a roast pan or baking pan, place the marinating sauce from the bag in as well, and don't forget your veggies like potatoes, carrots, and onions. Feel free to throw in whatever you like. Follow the oven degrees and time your wrapping says... and there you have it.... a super fancy dinner for a cheap price and no work.

This is one of the easiest meals I have made and definitely the fanciest and one of the tastiest! So honesty, how can you NOT want to try this :)

Freebie Friday

2008-12-19T00:01:00.003-09:00

With all the money being spent on presents, decorations, baking, and going out to buy gifts but just ending up buying something for your self.... we could all use a little bit of savings and even better..... FREE STUFF! So, enjoy this entry of Freebie Friday.

Free Kleenex

Facial tissues with lotion sealed right into the tissue.

Free Movie Theater Popcorn

Next movie will be coming with a free bag of popcorn sponsored by IMAX theaters!

Free Soft Sheen Carson

A sample of optimum solution haircare treatment.

Free Year Subscription to Bridal Magazine

Getting married? Know someone who is getting married? Heck, just like to look through all the pretty bridal stuff? Then sign up for a free year of Bridal Magazine!

Free Pet Samples

Applying and request for free pet products and samples.

Free DermaZAide

DermaZAid is a soothing pH balanced skin care lotion designed to help reduce discomfort, irritation, redness, dryness, swelling, rash and/or itching.
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Free Sticker

A great sticker to place in your car that will help tell how to jump a car battery... no more hailing down a guy hoping that he will know what to do to jump it. With step by step instructions, you can't go wrong. Great for you, your husband, and especially for your kid's cars.

Lucy Enjoying The Glass

2008-12-17T00:02:00.001-09:00

Maybe I should ask for some Windex instead this Christmas

Wilton Chocolate Melter

2008-12-17T00:01:00.001-09:00

WFMW
This is the time of year where cheer is spread and so are waist sizes! And all I can say is.... don't fight it.... EMBRACE IT! Gaining weight and eating sweets is part of the holiday tradition like the... singing carols, decorating the tree, and opening presents. And a way that you can help embrace your holiday weight is with the Wilton Chocolate Warmer.

The Wilton Chocolate Melter is a life saver around Christmas time with all the goodies being made and drop off. And I know that you might be asking yourself, "Do I really need a chocolate melter?" Oh my friend, the answer to that questions is a big "YES". Not only is this baby great for obvious reasons, like making chocolate covered strawberries, but you can make and store chocolate covered pretzels, home made truffles, and even use it as a fondue pot for cheese or chocolate.

These treats are not only tasty, but fun to have around and entertaining to make. They make great gifts too. I just finished making some home made truffles as a "thank you" to a friend for helping me out...granted, a bit of them never made it to my friend (We may have eaten a few). But because of the melting pot they were really easy to make, plus the melter helped the truffles have a nice professional look and is it wrong to admit that I felt pretty cool dropping off from-scratch home made truffles, because, honestly, who doesn't want truffles? :)

Some Great Ideas For Dipping
Strawberries
Cherries
Pretzels
Gummie Bears (my personal favorite)
Rice Crispy Squares
Make Your Own Chocolates with molds
Fruit
Marshmallows
Gourmet Carmel Apples
Rasins

Christmas Wall Hanging

2008-12-16T00:01:00.000-09:00

I maaaay be going a little over board with all these Christmas decorations, but what can I say!?!?! I can't help it! I JUST LOVE THIS SEASON! So, hopefully this fun holiday craft will help feed you Christmas need for mooooore festive fun!

This simple wall hanging is a great decoration and super easy craft. All you need are...

Wood Holiday Shapes

Scrap Booking Paper

Letters

Wooden Pole

Wooden Head Beads Ends (optional)

Ribbon and/or Twine

Tools Needed - Sand paper & hot glue gun

To start this craft take your wooden shapes and start gluing them to your holiday scrap booking paper. Make sure you are gluing the shapes to the BACK of the paper, so the pattern will be face up on the shape. The best glue to use is aerosol/spray glue if you don't have that you can use Elmer's glue... just make sure that you use VERY LITTLE or else the paper will pucker on the wood. Buy a little extra paper so you can try again if you accidentaly use too much.

Once all the shapes are glued down, cut them out as best you can. Now take your sand paper and use it to help smooth out the jagged edges... this will really make them look professional. Now you should have all your pieces cut out and sanded.
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At this point take your wooden letters, the pole, and the wooden ends and paint them the color of your choice. Once they are dried, hot glue your wooden letters onto your festive shapes.

Start cutting out your ribbon so you can attach it to your pole. If you are doing the Christmas ornaments like me you can thread the ribbon right on through those holes, but if you are doing Christmas trees or reindeers you can simply glue the ribbon to the back.

Now you can start hanging your shapes from the pole... I glued the ribbon to let them hang from the pole, you can glue them directly onto the pole if you like or simply tie a knot and hang them from the pole as well. When all your shapes are nice and hung you can now hot glue the wooden ball ends onto the pole.... this step is optional, these balls just help to give a more professional/completed feel.

With all of the steps completed, you now just need to tie some ribbon or twine to help you hang the whole thing on the wall. I tried ribbon, but thought it looked a little much, so I switched to twine and loved it.

The whole project ran me about $10-$12... depending on how nice of paint and paper you buy. But this only took me a couple hours and turned out fairly nice. What I really love about it, is that I can totally use this for other holiday ideas too. It will be fun to make one for Halloween and Valentines... but maybe I should just worry about one holiday at a time :)

Christmas Traditions

2008-12-15T00:01:00.004-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY

When I think about Christmas one of the main things I think of is tradition. We have so many wonderful Christmas traditions that I look forward to every year. One of my favorite's is the Christmas nut. On Christmas morning my mom always made a great breakfast and somewhere in the main dish was a nut and who ever found the nut was declared the winner and got a special present.

So, for this F.M.M. I am wanting to hear about YOUR family traditions. Please leave a comment or e-mail me at motherhoodfordummies@hotmail.com with your fun family traditions. I am going to read through them all and I'll post my top 10 favorite, with a link, and a clip about your blog for the next Family Moment Monday.

Please remember to add your link only if you are participating in Family Moment Monday. Family Moment Monday consists of people who are sharing crafts, activities, lessons, ideas, service projects or anything else that you can learn/do/enjoy as a family in your post. Please remember to link back to Motherhood For Dummies, so others can learn about F.M.M. and participate too.

Christmas Decorations

2008-12-11T00:01:00.001-09:00

I am a sucker for Christmas decorations and have been slowly collecting them over the past few years. But unfortunately since I have a child who has the ability to pick things up, but is still lacking in the hanging on tight area.. we have been looking for, um..... less sensitive items :) But just because I have to pass on items, doesn't mean that you have to. So, here is a great list of oober cute Christmas decorations.

Christmas Tree Advent Calender
Who doesn't love advent calenders... I know I do. Seriously, I love collecting them. They are just too cute and kids love having something to open everyday. This calender can be found at Target and is on sale for $19.

Christmas Card Holder
I have seen card holders pop up more over the years, but this has to be my absolute favorite one, and seriously... who wouldn't love it... ITS FROM POTTERY BARN! Everyone loves Pottery Barn.... okay, maybe not the prices... but they do have dang cute stuff. This super cute swirly card holder is going for about $49.

Table Runner
I have been thinking about making a nice table runner for a while now, but just never got myself to do it. But hey.... now I don't have to! I found this adorable snowman table runner from Amylinz on Esty that I have been eyeing this season. And if you are eyeing it too, you can get it for $43.

Christmas Puzzle
This is a great holiday decoration if you have children in the house, because it is made to be played with. I just love that fact that I wont have to watch Lucy like a hawk anytime she goes wobbling on over to it. I also love that it isn't just any old puzzle, but a great 3D one that is bound to give the children some festive fun. Selling from "The Lang of Nod" for only $13.95.

Reindeer Ornaments
This adorable reindeer set is more than just cute.... it is.... okay... well, maybe I don't really know a better word to describe them, but they sure are super DUPER cute! With each reindeer dressed a special way and tagged with their own name, your kids will have fun hanging Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. These ornaments come from Pottery Barn and you can get the whole set on sale right now for $49.99

Festive Bella Apron
I never thought a apron could be sexy, but I have to admit... that this little number has a little va-va voom to it! I know it doesn't have your typical Christmas colors, but is does have holiday presents all over its cute print. I think I might just have to get this to reward myself for all the Christmas baking I plan on doing this year! I think I could treat myself for only $28.75. Plus the apron is called the Bella apron and for all your Twilight fans you know you gotta love that!

Reindeer Rocking Horse
This has to be the cutest holiday decoration that I have ever seen! Seriously! I am already a sucker for rocking horses, but this! A reindeer rocking horse, toooo cute. And besides being a cute decoration, it is a wonderful toy for your kids to play with during the holidays. This reindeer comes from the Mammas & Pappas store in the UK, so if you are interested in ordering one for your home, you will need to contact them and discuss delivery arrangements, because they do deliver internationally, but they need some information first. This darling chair is on sale right now from 70 pounds (about $130) down to 25 pounds ($45).

Felt Christmas Ornaments
These adorable ornaments are just calling my name! MiChiMa's shop is just filled with very simple but adorable ornaments: Santa Clauses, Christmas trees, angles, wreaths, and even candles. They are a little pricey for ornaments, but the seller MiChiMa is having a sale of buy 3 get the 4th free. So, if you don't mind paying $7 for an ornament, these little fellas can be yours.

Stockings
Most people already have some nice stockings, but we have yet to find a nice set that we want to hang on for Christmases to come. But Pottery Barn has a nice set called the Sun Valley Stocking Collection that have a cozy home knit feel that I just love. They are on sale right now for $19 each and you have three cute patterns to choose from; Santa, snowman, or reindeer. You can also get them personalized for an extra $6.50

Christmas Plaque
This beautiful plaque is a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. With a simple and elegant design, it helps remind visitors in your home about the loveliness behind Christmas. Priced at $18.

Telluride Advent Calendar
Surprise, surprise, another Pottery Barn find.... this brightly colored advent calender has to be one of my favorites. Besides being a fun wall decoration, it is one of the biggest I have seen.... and I LOVE IT! I especially love that since the pockets are bigger you can fit better surprises in it, like toy cars, toy jewelry, and little trinkets. It is selling at $69 for a calender, but if that is a little hefty of a price, then just think of it as only $2.76 per pocket :)

My Guitar Hero

2008-12-10T00:01:00.000-09:00

Move over Bon Jovi... we have a NEW rocker in town!

Mini Christmas Stockings

2008-12-09T00:01:00.003-09:00

Tis the season to get creative! I found this wonderful mini Christmas stocking pattern that is perfect because you can use it for practically everything. With this mini stocking pattern you can make name-place holders, a beautiful way to spruce up a present, festive money holder if you are going to tip your mailman or such, you can even make a super cute advent calender with these fuzzy little bad boys.

To make these cute stockings you will first need to make sure you have...
Stocking Pattern
Fabric
Ribbon

First go ahead and start cutting out stockings with the pattern and the fabric. It will be easier if you fold the fabric in half so you can cut the stockings out faster. As soon as you have as many as you want, then go ahead and cut out (from paper) a rectangle that will be your pattern for the cuff of the stocking. Make sure that you cut the rectangle a little wider than the stocking pattern cause you will need some extra space. You should have one cuff piece for every complete stocking and a complete stocking should have a front and back piece.
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Now you should have all your stockings and cuffs cut out. Take one front piece of a stocking and take one of the cuff pieces. Fold the cuff piece hot dog style over the top of the stocking piece, now you can sew the cuff onto the stocking front.
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Now you should have one front piece of a stocking with a cuff attached and one back stocking piece with nothing on it. Take these two pieces and turn it inside out (place the patterns facing each other). Go ahead and take a piece of ribbon about 12-13 inches long and fold it in half, slide the ribbon into the inside out stocking. Make sure you have just a pinch of the ribbon sticking out over the edge of the stockings (I am pointing to this in the photo). Pin this all together and start to sew the stocking together; just make sure that you don't sew anymore of the ribbon to the stocking than that folded little bit.

Once all sewn together, you can now turn the sock inside out! Now you should have a nice stocking with two strings of ribbon sticking out of the back end of the stocking. With this ribbon you can attach it to a napkin at a table setting, add it to a present to make it look nicer, a box of homemade cookies, or even make them into Christmas ornaments.

If you are wanting to make a advent calender with this pattern you can get some great ideas from Scribbit and over at Burda Style

Christmas Lights

2008-12-08T00:01:00.001-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY

Well we have some decorations up and soon we will be getting a tree... we just need to figure out a time that we can go tromping off into the forest to get one. With most of our Christmas "to-dos" almost completed we still have one more festive decoration that needs handling...... dreaded Christmas lights.

My poor husband hates them, truly, truly, hates Christmas lights. ME on the other hand LOOOOVES Christmas lights and wants to be "that" house on the block that decorates every nook and cranny to help give the holiday feel. But even though we are still trying to decided if WE want to do lights or not (I hope we do!) we will just have to enjoy the neighbors.... which brings me to a fun F.M.M.

Every year a few days before Christmas, my family would all pile into the car and would drive throughout Anchorage enjoying the Christmas lights. We would spend time singing Christmas carols, asking ridiculous questions "what if" questions, and sharing our favorite part about Christmas while we enjoyed the beautiful festive lights. It was a wonderful way to do something Christmasy without having to spend money, plus it gives you a chance to spend some time as a family away from all the phones and tvs.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

p.s. If you live in Alaska the news paper, every year, has a map with a list of the top 25 decorated houses in Anchorage and they are always pretty good.

Christmas Music

2008-12-04T00:01:00.001-09:00

If you are tired of hearing the same version of Silver Bells by Sinatra year after year then join my band wagon because as much as I love Christmas music I am ready to hear some new Christmas cheer. And guess what!?!?!? I am going to pass my findings on to you! Lucky you!!!!! :) So here is a nice list on my favorite nontraditional Christmas music

Do They Know It's Christmas - Bare Naked Ladies

Where Are You Christmas - Faith Hill

Angels We Have Heard On High - Relient K

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings - Bare Naked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan

Silent Night/Away In A Manger - Relient K

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - Jack Johnson

Let It Be Christmas - Alan Jackson

All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Cary

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Relient K

Run Run Rudolph - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Believe - Josh Groban

When Christmas Comes To Town - Matthew Hall & Meagan Moore

Christmas Craft Ideas

2008-12-02T00:01:00.000-09:00

I bought a book months ago and I have been waiting and drooling all over it for this Christmas season... AND IT IS FINALLY HERE! If you can't tell... I kind of like Christmas and go a little over board :) So now I am busting out my "Crafting Christmas Gifts" by Tone Finnanger

You can pick up a copy from Amazon for only 8 bucks. With pages filled with fluffy snowman, sweet reindeer, and Christmas stocking you will definitely get your money's worth. So, look forward to seeing some fun new projects these next few weeks.

Merry Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas

2008-12-01T00:01:00.015-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY
With Christmas approaching fast (yea!!!) I have been getting in the Christmas spirit. Yes, yes... I am one of THOSE people...a festive caroler that will listen to Christmas music at the first sign of snow and as soon as those Thanksgiving plates are put away the Christmas decorations come out! So, to help celebrate the Christmas spirit I will be posting Christmas activities and fun family traditions.

Christmas is all about giving, but unfortunately some kids get too wrapped up in all the receiving to remember that. A wonderful way to help remind the children about the true spirit of the holidays is to do the 12 Days of Christmas. Gather your family together and you all can decide on a family they would like to help. If you don't know a family that is in need this holiday talk to your church leader, an HR rep at your work, or a counselor/principal at your child's school. These people will probably know a family in need. Once you have a family in mind, think of 12 gifts/surprises that you can secretly drop off every night for 12 nights.

Great gift ideas to drop off are baked treats, toys, books, gift cards, or Christmas decorations. Some great places to buy some inexpensive gifts or little knick-knacks is the dollar section of Target; they always have some fun kid books or stuffed animals. Michaels also has a great dollar section for kid note pads, markers, and stamps. Michaels also sells some fun kids crafts and plastic animals.

The gifts don't have to get lavish or even something you buy. Just something that shows a family that someone cares and is hoping that they have a great holiday. Plus this is a wonderful way to show your children, by example, what Christmas is about. They will enjoy the planning, the door bell ditching, and the secret they need to keep about who the presents are from.

Chocolate Brownie Trifle

2008-11-29T00:01:00.002-09:00

This Thanksgiving was the first Thanksgiving that I have been married and home, with our family... and once you are married and have a family, that is when you start to pitch in with the food and bring something. This year we were invited to my sister Carinne's house and she asked me to bring a pie. I have to admit... I was nervous because I have never made a pie before and I did not want to botch the Thanksgiving dessert... that would NOT bode well in our family :)

Lucky my sister took pity on me and could hear the sweat beads over the phone when she asked me. She quickly informed me that if I didn't want to bring a pie that would be fine and to just bring whatever I wanted and all I could think was... "Ohhh thank goodness!". I quickly decided to bring a trifle... and guess what! It turned out FABULOUS! All you need is...

Brownie Box Mix

2 Butterscotch Instant Pudding Boxes

8 oz of Cream Cheese (not too hard)

Nilla Wafers

Cool Whip

4 Chocolate Bars

1. Bake the brownies, but don't bake them trying to get them soft and gooey. You want them a little chewy so bake them the full time, probably an extra 5 mins or so, but you be the judge of how long... you know your oven. When they are finished let them cool nice and good. Then break them into large pieces for now.

2. Make the 2 boxes of pudding, once made, soften the cream cheese and mix that into the pudding.

3. Cut the chocolate bars into small little chunks.

4. Now when everything is diced, mixed, and cooled you can now start to layer your trifle. First grab a few chunks of brownies and start to crumble them into a lot smaller pieces. Remember that you will have two more layers, so don't use too much of anything. Once brownies are down, place a layer of pudding, then take some Nilla Wafers and crumble some over the placed pudding. I used about 6 or so cookies per layer. After the wafers are spread, then get some Cool Whip and layer (this will be a little difficult to get the cool whip to not pull up the wafers), when the whip cream is layered then take the chocolate chunks and start sprinkling.

5. Repeat step 4 two more times so there will be three layers. Make sure you end with whip cream and chocolate chunks on top to help make it look all fluffy and beautiful!

2008-11-26T00:01:00.001-09:00

One of my favorite days during our Chile vacation was taking Lucy to the beach. She was just so dang cute in her little swim suit and just loved the sand... I don't know which she loved more... eating it, playing with it, or simply rubbing it in her eyes. :)

Thanksgiving Crafts

2008-11-25T00:01:00.001-09:00

With Thanksgiving only a few days away now, I thought some of these fun ideas might be nice. With center pieces, place holders, and crafty decorations to choose from, you will have a kitchen that says Thanksgiving in no time.

Pilgrim Place Card

Corn Candle Center Piece

Blessing Box

Pumpkin Center Piece

Family Vacations

2008-11-24T00:01:00.002-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY
Hello one and all. I am officially back and on the blogging market. I was really disappointed with my blogging-while-traveling ability, I just had a hard time sitting down and getting it done and when I did I was always trying to figure out the Spanish on the internet (Curtis's whole family speaks Spanish and some of their stuff is set on Spanish not English). But I am back and in time for Family Moment Monday and I have to say that all I could think about for F.M.M. was family vacations.

What a great way to spend time as a family. Dad is away from the office, mom isn't having to be distracted with cleaning, and siblings are around not at friends' houses and school. Family vacations are really the only time that a family can get away from the every day issues and just be.... a family.

Trips can be expensive and even hard to plan sometimes, but whether the dream is to head over seas or to simply go on a three day camp out, you will have your time together, which is more important than the location.

The best way to get yourself started is to pick an amount you can afford to spend/save for, then with that in mind pick a location, and step three is simply start saving. Even have the kids help out with the planning if you want and let them put in their two cents... metaphorically and literally, because it is their vacation too so it wouldn't be a bad idea to let your children understand that they can help with family things too.

P.S. Sorry I have been trying to post photos from the vacation, but I can't get Blogger to post.

There Has Been A Gap

2008-11-18T00:01:00.002-09:00

I have not been kidnapped by rebelious Chileans, I have been missing (even though I said I would be posting while gone) because I have had less access to a computer than I thought I would. And when I am on the computer a lot of it is in Spanish, so that makes it difficult, and as I have learned from this trip... HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH DOES CRAP! ha ha :)

But to give you an idea of things I am going to write about when I get back, which is in a couple days.... here is the WORLD's LARGEST SWIMMING POOL and we got to swim in it .... yep... that light blue water is the pool! No joke!

Diversity Night

2008-11-10T00:01:00.001-09:00

FAMILY MOMENT MONDAY
Wow, airplanes and baby... I have figured out that they do NOT mix.... well... they don't mix well :) Thank goodness we have a nice pit stop in Vegas before continuing on to Chile, because Lucy was in need of a break... I should probably say that Curtis and I were in need of a break. With our vacation on my mind I thought a great idea for a family night could be a culture night and I don't mean which fork is the salad fork culture night, but a fun country/ethnic night.

Have your family vote on a culture or country that you all find interesting then devote a night to that. For example, lets say your family votes on Hawaii, then go and do some research... find some clothes, foods, games, or traditions that are common and do them.

It can be a serious activity for your family where the kids learn about different cultures and tradtions OR a fun silly night where the family dresses in Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts drinking out of coconuts and watching Lilo and Stitch. Either way it will be fun and either way you are together as a family.

Please remember to add your link only if you are participating in Family Moment Monday. Family Moment Monday consists of people who are sharing crafts, activities, lessons, ideas, service projects or anything else that you can learn/do/enjoy as a family in your post. Please remember to link back to Motherhood For Dummies, so others can learn about F.M.M. and participate too.

South American, Here We Come

2008-11-06T00:01:00.000-09:00

And we are off! Soon the Rappleyes will be heading down to Chile for some good quality time with the in-laws (don't worry... I will still be posting). Yep.... I said Chile.... Santiago, Chile to be exact. My family keeps asking me if I am so excited to be heading down to South America and I feel bad because all I can say is, "no". Not because it won't be fun, it is just that I am so nervous about a flight with a one year old... a one year old who can't sit still and has discovered tantrums. :) So, I am more over come with fear than excitement...as of now.

But I feel horrible about that because this is a wonderful opportunity that we are getting, so I decided that I need to focus on the things that will be awesome about leaving and heading to Chile.

Leaving The Politics Behind
I know that the President-elect has been decided, but it still seems like this has been going on forever and I think I just need a few days of politically free conversations. Don't get me wrong, this was an amazing race and wonderful to watch, but I think I need a political fast right now :)

Warm Weather
Right now Chile is averaging around 75* in November.... which I think sounds better than the 25* Anchorage has been averaging.

Stopping By In Vegas
We are having a three day layover in Vegas to spend time with Curtis's sister and her in-laws that we have missed dearly. (Wud up Wiklers). We have been looking forward to seeing our Lucy and their daughter getting to spend some good cousin time together. I think I need to bring my expectations down a bit though... I keep envisioning them holding hands and skipping into the sunset. :) It will probably be more eye poking, teddy bear stealing, and pacifier hogging than skipping.

Lucy Spending Time With Her Grandparents
Lucy doesn't get to see either sets of grandparents very often, so this is going to be some wonderful time that she will be able to see them, stay with them, and give them a chance to really see her sweet little personality and a tantrum or two :)

Warm Weather
A chance to trade in snow boots for flip flops.... who wouldn't be excited?

Our Layover In Seattle
On our way back from Chile we have a day layover in Seattle which normally wouldn't be very excited (no insult to Seattle) but one of our best friends just recently moved to Seattle for work and we are so excited to see Nate, AKA: Nadean. Our little Lucy hasn't had a chance to see her Uncle Tater in almost a year and we are looking forward to catching up.

Trying Out My Crazy Spanish Skills
Finally my two years of flunked high school Spanish classes will come into play! My dear sweet husband has been trying to help me brush up with things like, "How much", "You have a beautiful home", and at my request... "Help help I am lost and I need a phone!". So, as you can tell... I have been learning a lot :)

Testing My Immunity System Against Their Water
Santiago Chile isn't Tijuana Mexico, but I am still nervous about getting the true South American experience. Hopefully my system isn't too weak from the flu and I will be able to go Italian Stallion on those bug's butts! I guess I should also probably learn how to say, "Bottled water please".

Warm Weather
Is this reason getting old yet?

Letting My Husband Show Me His Life
My husband grew up throughout South America and so he has never had the chance to show me the house he grew up in, the schools he went to, and the places in town that he loves. He is getting really excited to have the chance to show ME around and to be on HIS turf.

Meeting Some Wonderful Latin People
The Latins are such a warm, friendly, loving people and I have never had the chance to visit any Latin countries. I am really looking forward to the people, the colors, the houses, decorations, traditions, and everything else that comes with their great culture.

Warm Weather
Come on... I LIVE IN FREAKIN' ALASKA... I deserve to really count this one!

Lucy, Where Are You?

2008-11-05T00:01:00.001-09:00

Can you figure out what she is doing? Cause we are lost!

Happy Election Day

2008-11-04T00:01:00.002-09:00

Well today is the day... the end to all those many fliers piling on your doorstep, the countless calls during dinner time asking for your vote, and the annoying non-stop usage of the phrases "need of change" and "maverick". Today is election day.

So, remember to make an informed decision and vote.... also be prepaired because some voting lines are taking hours to get through.

Nothing Like To Flu To Tell You Its Winter Time

2008-11-03T00:01:00.001-09:00

Unfortunently my family has come down with the flu and I was up all night getting a good view of the inside of a toilet and now I am taking care of my sweet hubby who seems to be coming down with it. So, I wont be posting for own F.M.M., but I still will host it.... sorry and happy Family Moment Monday

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN - FROM THE RAPPLEYES AND THE PIGGY

Children Blocks

2008-10-31T00:01:00.001-08:00

With Lucy getting older and being more of a toddler than a baby everyday, I have been having to make some adjustments. Different foods, more safety items, nap schedules, and even some toys. I was racking my brain the other day about what toys I might want to invest in for when she is a little older and I asked my mom what was the best toy she bought for us kids. Very easily she said, "BLOCKS!". She informed me that she invested in some great wooden blocks for us that all 6 of us kids grew up playing with and even I can admit, provided hours of fun as a barbie beach house or as the next doomed city for our dinosaurs.

So, with this in mind I have been keeping my eyes out for some great blocks and found some of these fun ones.

Wooden Multicolor Blocks
A complete set of a 100 vibrant building blocks in a wide assortment of shapes and sizes: solid colors, stripes, plain, arches, blocks, triangles, and many more. Not only are they fun to play with, but fun to put away because of the shape sorting lid that lets you match up the hole to the shape of a block that you are putting away. Great fun for the kids for $24.98.

Nesting Nursery Rhyme Block Set

These beautifully decorated nursery rhyme blocks form a 32"-tall tower of glorious illustrations! Stack the alphabet A-Z or numbers 1 through 10. When stacked just right, other sides picture nursery rhyme characters and a park panorama with corresponding words. Even though you can pile them 32" high you can also put them away in just 6" of space. You can purchase them for $12.98 or if you purchase two, you get them at $10.98 each.

Cardboard Building Bricks
With 24 colorful bricks your children can be free to create castles, forts, and entire cities! But don't let the cardboard trick you into thinking that they aren't sturdy because the makers claim that they are strong enough for adults to stand on, but light enough for tots to tote, stack, and sit on. Easy to assemble and come in a collection of 24 blocks. You can choose from 2 different color sets: Bright or Pastel. They cost $14.98 for a set of 24 or you can get 2 sets at $9.98 each... that is almost 50 blocks for only $19 bucks.