Dinner Campaign 2010

This week we are continuing our annual election week tradition of campaigning for next Monday night's dinner. Since it is rare for anyone to vote for anything other than their own nominee's, we need YOUR help this year. I have put polls on our sidebar so that you can all vote as well. The polls close on Saturday night at 10:00 PM. The top two choices in each category will go on the final ballot, and our family will cast our votes on Sunday evening.

Take a look at the posters that are hanging all over our house, and then vote for whatever YOU would choose to eat if you were lucky enough to come to dinner at our house on Monday night :o)

Top left to right: Applesauce, Kool-Aid world

Bottom left to right: Ice Cream Tree, BLT machine

Feel free to take a "sticker" if you'd like one.

(No need to add a link...I'm not looking for extra traffic).

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

When Dillon was a baby, I bought some black fleece to make a spider hat.

I finally made it...today. It only took me five years. I started it at 10:15 this morning, and Justin wore it to the costume parade at the elementary school at 11:00 (minus the eyes).

One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had made a little fleece jacket as well.

I only had to call my mom once. And my friend Marsha once. And Mike at Bernina once. It's been YEARS since I tried to do a buttonhole, and my machine was giving me fits, but I finally got it to work.

I ran out of fleece before I was able to make pants, but luckily Andrea gave me all of her son's baby clothes before she moved, and there were some black sweatpants included. I found some red felt, and...

...sewed an hourglass on his bum!

(I know it's supposed to be on the underside, but I thought it was cuter on his bum)

Root Canals and Robots

Caleb FINALLY lost one of his front teeth this week! It has been loose since January. The poor kid was not blessed in the teeth department. He was well over a year before he got his first tooth, so now they're late falling out.

His front two teeth started to turn black this summer, and when the dental receptionist showed me his x-rays, I couldn't believe they were still hangin' on because his permanent teeth were right there. The reason his teeth looked dark was because they were actually becoming hollow.

He also has a bottom back tooth that is cracked, and last February it got infected and he had to have a "baby root canal". It really needs to come out, but since the permanent tooth won't be coming in for quite awhile, we're trying to keep it for as long as possible so his teeth won't move and fill in the gap.

On Brayden's birthday he bit into a meatball cupcake and his tooth hurt so much he couldn't finish it. I took him in today, and there was another abcess forming. They said his tooth needed to come out so I gave them permission, but at the last minute, they decided to re-do the "baby root canal" (at no charge).

He was very brave, and I'm glad we caught it before the infection got too bad, because last time he was in a lot more pain.

The dentist gave him a prescription for an antibiotic, and I was excited to realize that I had my camera with me so I could take a picture of these super cute robots that our pharmacist's wife makes. I absolutely love them, and can't wait to make some for Brayden and Caleb's room.

(I'm sure the people at the pharmacy thought I was nuts, but I don't care :o)

I love the wing nut mustache, the arms made of keys, the cute heart charm, and the head made from the Nike golf ball. I hope my mother-in-law will start saving her Altoid tins for me (hint, hint).

Brayden is 10!

We realized yesterday that if Brayden had been born two days earlier, he would've turned 10 on 10/10/10. So close...

I can't believe I'm old enough to have a ten year old. My, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was trying to stay awake at night to feed my new baby (actually, that did happen yesterday...but it was a different baby).

I used to feed Brayden in the livingroom at "the little house" and I would turn the radio on to help me stay awake. There was a song by Kenny Chesney that was really popular at that time, and it often played while I was feeding him. To this day, EVERY time I hear that song, it instantly takes me back to that time when I was a new mother, feeding my baby in the night. I'm adding it to the top of my playlist if you want to hear it, although the words have absolutely nothing to do with motherhood or a new baby.

It will always be one of my favorite songs, just because of the feelings and memories that I have when I hear it.

Brayden chose "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" for his birthday theme this year. I didn't get a very good picture of it, but I hung caramel popcorn balls (meatballs) and play food from the ceiling with fishing line so we could have food "raining" on us.

These spaghetti and meatball cupcakes were by far the easiest birthday cake I've ever made. I just used a frosting tip for the spaghetti, added some food coloring to our strawberry jam to make it look like sauce, and used Reese's Puffs cereal for the meatballs.

Then I rolled no-bake cookies into meatballs
And I made fried egg candy with pretzels, white chocolate chips, and M&M's.
For dinner we had a giant hamburger, and "Sunset Jell-O". Thanks Dad, for your help with the hamburger bun. It doesn't look that great, but it tasted good! (the first one I made looked better, but I cooked it a little too long). The Jell-O was supposed to be yellow. I bought three boxes of "island pineapple", but the recipe for Jiggler's called for four boxes, so I added a box of orange since the store was closed and that's all I had on hand.
Nate and Erin came IN COSTUME, which I absolutely loved. Erin wore an awesome unibrow to be Mr. Lockwood. Nate is Steve, the monkey thought translator. Jackie is Sam Sparks, the meteorologist, and Billy is none other than BABY BRENT (holding a can of sardines). Have I mentioned that I love having family here?
And here's the birthday boy hiding behind his loot. He got the Chronicles of Narnia, a Lego Hero Factory guy, a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book/journal, two hexbug nano's (so they can race), his new Webelos book and accessories, an official cub scout pocketknife, a Star Wars music CD, some money from Grandma Great, and some of those silly rubber bands that have taken over the world. He also got a new shirt, which isn't pictured.
Fun facts about Brayden:

-he loves to read

-he knows the scriptures stories better than his Mom. (The other day, Caleb asked me who Amlici was, and Brayden filled him in while I was trying to remember).

-his favorite school subject is Science

-his favorite color is yellow

-his favorite soda is Sprite

-his favorite ice cream is Vanilla

-he has slept with his favorite afghan since he was a baby, but ever since he left it at Grandma's house a few weeks ago, he has done just fine without it.

-he eats as much as his parents...sometimes more. I'm pretty sure if we let him, he'd be able to eat an entire box of cereal in two meals.

-he is growing WAY too fast.

We love you, Brayden!

U vs Y

My cousin Landen got married last week.

He is a U of U fan, and his wife cheers for BYU.

Holy...Matrimony.

I usually do a quilt for my cousins' weddings, but with a new baby it just wasn't possible. I saw this picture of them on my talented cousin Adri's photography blog and had an idea...

Reversible placemats with coordinating napkins:

...and then I walked into the grocery store and happened upon

football shaped OREO's and Red and Blue chips.

All I can say is that if Landen wants to score, he'd better set the table with the blue side up :o)

You can see their cute pre-wedding pics here. I love all the yellow and blue accents.

It's a miracle!

I introduced a new incentive program to my boys for FHE last night.

Their school theme this year is TEAM (together everyone achieves more) so I thought it would be fun to do something sports related at home to encourage them to do their chores.

Yesterday I made this football field chart, before calling Todd at work to ask him how to play football, and came up with a basic plan.

The boys each have a football marker that starts on the 50 yard line. Their regular chores, (which are homework, piano, feed dog, clean room, and stack wood) are worth 10 yards each. When they get a touchdown, they get 30 minutes of computer or Wii time.

If they whine, cause contention, or fail to finish their basic jobs before dinner, they get a penalty flag which sends them back 10 yards. If their jobs are done early (by 4:00) they can kick for an extra point and get a prize. What is that extra point prize, you ask? I have no idea. I'll have to come up with something. I'm still figuring this thing out, so if you have any idea's or suggestions, please share.

(Todd's in a meeting right now, so I just had to call my brother to clarify the "after point" rules, and I also learned about field goals and running the ball in for 2 points after a touchdown. I think for now we'll just do touchdowns and one "after point")

They can ask for extra jobs to earn extra yardage, either to make up for a penalty, or to earn more game time.

So far, since they've been home, they've VOLUNTARILY done all their regular chores, plus cleaned the family room, the living room, the kitchen table, the bathroom counter, emptied the dishwasher, carried the laundry downstairs, watered the garden, and organized the coat rack.

It's a miracle!

I don't know how long it will last, but if I get a week out of it, it will have been well worth my time. Maybe I should just make a few different charts and rotate them monthly. The jobs haven't changed, but their attitude sure has!

Spring "fluffing"

A few weeks ago, my friends Julie and Vanessa came to my rescue when they spent a couple hours helping me clean my house, and take down the Christmas stuff. Thanks girls!

It took me another week before I got to the Spring "stuff", but I decorated my hutch for Spring and it makes me smile...even when there's a snowy blizzard outside.

My sweet MIL gave me a gift certificate to Tai Pan for Christmas, and I had a great time wandering the store while Todd and the boys watched movies in the van and took a trip to Lowe's.

Among other things, I got the cloche that is holding my pie bird, and the fake wheat grass that I put in one of Todd's empty bonsai pots. Every year I try to grow grass in a pot for an Easter decoration, and every year it comes in too thin and sparse.

I made the cloth napkins in the mugs, the carrot sitting next to the pitcher, and the toile napkin under the pitcher bowl. The egg shaped jar came from DI.

The picture is of Brayden when he was a baby. Since he's dressed in a bunny ear hat, and sitting in a basket, I pulled it out and stuck it in my green frame that I've had for years.

The green polka dot plates are MELAMINE from Target. They were 2.50 a piece and I couldn't resist. I wish I'd gotten two more 'cause you can't tell they're melamine until you pick them up, and I think the bottom shelf could use a couple :o)

They're not pictured, but last week I found some green porcelain egg cups at the grocery store for $1 a piece and I am thrilled about them as well. Who knew that egg cups could make a girl so happy?

I am in the process of finishing a green and white polka dot table topper (with appliqued bunnies that are multiplying as we speak) to sit under my bouquet of hydrangea's and lilacs (also from Tai Pan). I'll post pictures if I get it done this season...but with our basement room-finishing project in full force, it's not looking too promising.

Goodness. I can drone on about decorating forever...but I can't help it. I just love changing things out for the seasons. Happy Spring everyone!

What color should I paint?

We are in the process of finishing a bedroom (and hopefully the family room) in our basement in preparation for the baby.

I've been "collecting" idea's for the boys' science room for forever, but I am at a complete loss when trying to decide on paint color(s). I have until Friday to figure out the paint and carpet, so if you have suggestions, PLEASE HELP!

The boys want a space room, but I'm afraid they'll grow out of it too soon, so any "space themed" stuff needs to be easy to take out as they get older. My sister designed these cute scrapbook papers for me, that I'll use to mod-podge on frames, or containers, or whatever to add some "space" to their room. (By the way, you can click on her "Scrappity" link on my sidebar to download any of her papers).

The bedding will be like picture on top, except the stripes will be navy, orange, lime green, and a bit of turquoise. We have two huge illustrated maps for one wall, that are blue/turquoisey in the background. The boys also have an aquarium, and we'll be using their microscope, volcano lamp, and bio-dome habitat as decor in the room as well.

I love this organizational wall from Pottery Barn:

I do have some corrugated metal in the back lot that I'm considering using as wainscoating (sp?) across the bottom of one wall, with moulding across the top. Is that too weird?

I like using color in kid's rooms, but I don't want it so crazy that you can't rest in there. We don't really need any extra crazy in our house. Also, it's a basement room with one small window, so I don't want it to be too dark.

Any and all suggestions or idea's are welcome.

Fa-la-la-la-la...

I've had a lot of fun decorating for Christmas. The last few years I really struggled to get "in the mood" but this year I'm ready. The shopping is nearly done, some of the presents are already wrapped, and I'm looking forward to having some time to sit by the fire and read with the kids, and watch Christmas movies this year.

Thank you all for your condolences with the loss of tree "B". I wanted to put together a slideshow of all the pictures we had with her (O Tannenbaum playing in the background) but I just don't think I'm going to get around to it.

Introducing:

Tree "C"

(seriously...it had a tag with a "C" on it...)

Todd just shook his head when he saw that

I'd painted polka-dots on the red tub from our front yard,

and then put the tree in it. Good thing he loves me.

My hutch:

Thanks for the Christmas dishes, Dad!

More fluff 'n'stuff:

A grouping of miscellaneous stuff. The nativity on the tray is one that the kids can play with.

And more fluff.

I hung an ornament on anything

that would hold still this year...

Oops, I forgot to take Todd's thermometer out of the mantle picture.


My saltbox house got a wreath for the season...

I ALWAYS hang mistletoe in the doorway :o)

The boys' tree...

...and the reason for the season.

Whine flu epidemic

We've had a whining problem at our house, and I had WAY too much time to think on our five hour drive home from Cache Valley last night, so I came up with this FHE lesson:

For the rest of this week, when we hear whining, we will raise the red yarn on the "whineometer", and the guilty party will have to take a "Gratiflu tablet", write down what they are thankful for, and place it in the "glass of water" pocket.

For example, if the room is just "too messy to clean" then we will be grateful to have so many toys.

And if we wish for ice cream, instead of crackers,for our after-school snack, then we will be grateful just to have food.

And my personal favorite from last week: If someone simply cannot participate in family scripture study because he "wants to sit right here" and his scriptures are "way over there" then we will be grateful that we have legs to walk all the way across the livingroom to get them.

For the lesson part, we will talk about how the Savior set the perfect example for us, by submitting to the will of Heavenly Father during his greatest trial by saying, “Father, if thou be willing remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Jesus trusted that Heavenly Father knew best.

Sometimes we get upset when things don't go the way we want them to, and we whine or complain. We need to learn to recognize our blessings during those difficult times.

Whining or complaining shows ingratitude. We will use examples (like the ones above) to help everyone recognize blessings amid their trials.

Just as we wash our hands to prevent germs, we can prevent whining and ingratitude by counting our blessings.

DI decorating

Mindy and Charlotte's comments prompted me to post this picture that I meant to post a couple months ago, but never got around to.

Mindy- Most of my stuff is out all year, too. I just re-arrange it for the seasons. I have one tub of decorations in my basement where I can put stuff away, otherwise it's on display all year round.

Char- Most of my "decor" is either homemade, a gift, or from the DI. The stuff I bought, for the most part, has been since Todd finished school. 1- Used this American basket in my bathroom in Logan for four years to hold the kids' toothbrushes.
2- Todd gave me the pie bird; Mom got the star on clearance at Michael's, and brought it to me. I wanted it for my Christmas tree, but it's out all year.
3- Vanessa gave me the plate in exchange for quilting.
4- The airplane was free. On the Avenue in Logan used to give customer's a $5 gift certificate on their birthday.
5- The resin pineapple was a birthday gift from Vanessa.
6- I got the candle for 50% off at the end of Christmas season. It stays out all-year also.
7- I made the quilt with a friend. We were going to design patterns together but life got too busy.
8- The frame was a wedding gift, and I painted the heart inside.
9- I made this bouquet from an emtpy baking powder can and buttons from my stash.
10- My college roommate gave me this bear for my birthday.
11- The bowl and the cherries came from DI
12- The wagon was from a flower arrangement that my mother-in-law sent to me when Caleb was born. The bear inside is from girl's camp...remember those?
13- The metal envelope was from DI, and I printed out an old looking copy of The Star Spangled Banner from google images.
14- Todd bought the willow tree with stars on clearance at our local grocery store because he knows I love Willow trees. It has something to do with where I grew up...
15- The Americana runner was a quilt exchange with my longarm group. I didn't make it.
16- The table was another "gift" from Vanessa, in exchange for quilting.
17- This case covers my antique sewing machine that Todd bought me on ebay.
18- The basket and fruit both came from DI.

As for my fall picture? The only things I put away are the pumpkin arrangement, the quilt, and the Harvest blocks. Everything else sits out year round.

The Command Center

Well, I had hoped to completely finish my organizational wall before posting pictures, but if I did that, I'd lose my status as a 95%er. It truly wouldn't be "my house" if there wasn't an unfinished project displayed somewhere.

My "stud" of a husband built me all these pieces for our anniversary. I designed it, and he built it, and I am in love (both with him AND the wall).

My goal was to try to find a home for the clutter in my silverware drawer, on my counter, and on the fridge.

At the top, we put chicken wire in a frame, and added some mini-clothespins to hold all the little stuff that cluttered up the fridge. Things like post it notes, addresses, checks to deposit, the monthly visiting teaching message cards (yeah, I know tomorrow is the last day but I'll get 'em delivered...), etc.

On the left is a magazine rack with a spot for "To Do" and "To File". Inside there are folders for each kid, and one for the massive amount of papers that the school sends home.

In the middle, there is a magnet board. The magnetic containers are for box tops, magnets, and miscellaneous screws, nails, staples, etc. I made a bunch of magnets to display a very general weekly schedule, reminding me who has library/scouts/soccer/etc. on which day. Next to that, is my shopping list.

Under the magnet board is a towel bar, with tin buckets to hold crayons, and pens/pencils. If anyone out there who has access to more than one craft store can find me a third bucket for my wall I would be ever so grateful! I bought these two at Wal-Mart a couple years ago, but they don't carry them any more. My buckets are 4" high, and the diameter of the opening is 4 1/2". (I know that one of my buckets is "naked" but I'll eventually get a ribbon around it...)

On the right side, I have a shelf for whatever floats my boat, and a cubby for scissors, a calculator attached to a string (my calculator tends to be just as elusive as my glue guns), and that piece of scrapbook paper will soon be mod-podged onto a notebook where I can jot down all my idea's and lists. You know how I love a good list...

I want to have a black vinyl letter "G" cut (help Melanie!) to put in front of the scissors and to the left of the keys, but I'm searching for the perfect font. Also, I need to get back to Hobby Lobby for another piece of black/cream toile scrapbook paper to line the space under the shelf.

Oh, and I can't forget about the hooks for glasses. One person in our family (and it's not me) tends to leave his glasses laying around where they could get broken, so I'm particularly excited to have a place for them.

On the bottom left (and right) I have these 3 ring clip boards that Todd made with minimal swearing, to hold my menu planner, my weekly schedule that I fill out every Sunday night, School Reading Charts, the bright pink school lunch menu (I love that it's hidden but still easily accessible), box top charts, etc. The right side has our family calendar, and my quilting schedule behind it.

The frame in the middle has a spot for two pictures, and the middle is our "white board", but it is actually plexi-glass and we use a wet-erase marker. I debated putting a chalkboard there, but I hate touching chalk, so plexi-glass won. If you zoom in, you'll notice that some clever person has already drawn glasses and a mustache on Dillon...ahh, the love.

And, at the very bottom, I have new hooks that are deeper and farther apart than my last set, so I'm very excited that we can now walk through the door and down to the basement without knocking all the coats off.

If I'd had electricty on this wall, I would've included a spot for charging cell phones, and a digital picture frame.

So, this is how I've spent my last week, and how Todd has spent his last TWO weeks, and now it is time to clean up all the glue, paint, paper, and tools, and actually BE organized.

Sneak Peak

I've spent the last few days working on an organizational wall by my back door. Hopefully it will be finished and ready for pictures tomorrow, but for now I'll give you a sneak peak of the topiary I just made.

How to make your own topiary:

After buying some "fluff" at your favorite (or ONLY) craft store, sneak into your kids' box of "special things" and steal that smokey the bear styrofoam antenna ball that they got at the last parade.

Take a small nail, and poke holes about 1/4" apart all over the ball. (hint: try not to let your 4 yr. old watch you poke smokey's eyes out with a nail).

Cut up your "fluff" into 1 1/2"-2" sections with a stem part at the bottom. Go downstairs and look for your glue gun. Go out to the shed to look for your glue gun. Notice the tub sealer that is always so conveniently in it's place and briefly consider using it. Settle for tacky glue. It will take longer to dry, but will be faster than finding one of your glue guns.

Dip each stem into tacky glue, and then stick it into the holes in your styrofoam ball one at a time until it's full. Go outside to your favorite tree and find a nice straight branch and stick it in the antenna hole.

Get your stud-finder, and find yourself a stud who would be willing to cut some wood in a circle and drill a hole in it (the size of your branch).

If you're nice to him, he may even take a picture of it for future blog fodder. Glue your "stand" into whatever pot you might have laying around your house, and paint it the color of your choice (or the color of your 70's countertops).

Put it all together, tie a ribbon around the branch, and add some moss to cover your stand.

Family Yahtzee

I saw a homemade yahtzee game tutorial on this blog, and I had to make it!

Todd cut the 2" wood blocks for me, and I used an electric sander to sand them (for all of you who live within range of a craft store, you can just go pick up some wooden blocks...be sure and think of me while you're there).

I had to wait over a week for Todd to fix our printer so I could print the pictures and the scrapbook paper, and after a couple hours of painting and mod-podging, they're finished.

You can download actual Yahtzee score cards online (just google it), but I made my own so they're a little easier for the kids.

Dillon has the barfies today :o( so we'll have to play as soon as he's feeling better.

Summer Schedule

Here's what we are doing for Summer this year:

This is the first summer since we got our Nintendo, and I wanted to make sure that the boys weren't playing it all day long. So I made up a schedule and presented it at FHE last night. It was well received, so hopefully the boys will hold me to it, because they are fanatics about schedules and charts (I am not...in any way shape or form).

I'm not sure if you can see it, but I try to do a simple (we're talking 15 minute) activity with my kids each day. I'm also going to teach the older two piano lessons, and typing (home row).

Monday is Art Day, Tuesday is Library Day (story time) and writing day, Wednesday is Goal Day, Thursday is Science Day, and Friday is field trip day.

For writing, I made a journal jar with writing prompts. They can pick out two and choose which one they want to write about. They brought home their "writer's workshop" notebooks from school, so I'm just having them write in those.

I made a checklist of goals for each boy that they can do on Wednesdays. Brayden's list comes mostly from his Scout Book and his Faith in God book. Caleb's list came from the Tiger cub requirements that I found online, and Dillon's came from my own preschool knowledge.

Science Day is easy, because Todd bought a set of books that he thought were workbooks for kids, but they're really lesson plans with lots of little science projects. The kids can't wait for these.

Friday is the hardest, because we don't have too many places to go. I imagine we'll visit every park in our county, take a few hikes in Capitol Reef, go fishing, geocaching, and maybe we'll go bowling or mini-golfing a few times.

Our daily schedule is quite flexible, but follows this pattern: eat, work, play. At lunchtime we "start over" and they do afternoon jobs. I've left an hour and a half for jobs, but it doesn't take anywhere near that long. As soon as they're done, they can play.

Our neighbors are doing similar things, so that helps because the other kids know our boys can't play until their jobs are done. Some have the same video game rules, too. No video games until 4:00.

The Book Bingo chart is to keep them reading. Each square has a different type of book. As they read one, they can mark it off. On the day they get Bingo, they can play video games before 4:00. When they get black-out, they get an ice-cream cone from Maria's (local restaurant).

I'd love to hear what you're doing with your kids. I'm always looking for idea's.

Little Birdie Secrets

Jump on over to Little Birdie Secrets to check out my giveaway today. This is probably my very favorite crafting blog and they've been featuring giveaways from several different "mompreneurs" all week long.