Friday Doings

We finally were able to get our family pictures done yesterday. Yay Tammy! I've seen a few and they were so cute, she does such a great job. I'm going to miss her next year when we go to do pictures.

Last week R accidently bought a trailer at an online auction. We were trying to decide if he would go pick it up in California himself or if we would make a family trip out of it. Yesterday we decdied to go as a family and hit Disneyland. I have so much to do to get ready between work and packing. Tomorrow morning we will leave early and come home Thursday night.

Tuesday Doings

I had a nice quite morning yesterday. The older two kids went to school and A took her morning nap while they were gone and R went into work. I got a few loads of laundry folded while I caught up on some recorded TV shows. I kept thinking this is what it will be like when all my kids are in school. I wonder if I'm a terrible mom for wishing they were all in school?

The scout leader called yesterday morning to let me know they were having a Den Meeting after school and Z was invited and then later in the evening there was a Pack Meeting. Z was so excited and it changed the course of our evening. Z walked home from school with the other scouts and went straight to his Den Meeting where they came up with and practiced a skit for their Pack Meeting in the evening. At the Pack Meeting they carried the new Bobcats in on a pole with bobcat masks on, it was pretty funny and of course the boys at a wonderful time.

R had to help me with the kids after school today. I had visiting teaching so he picked up the carpool for me and got S ready for her soccer game. I ran in the door after visiting teaching and we had to run out for soccer. This was S's last soccer game for the fall and she starts up again in the spring. R took us to Artic Circle for dinner because I wasn't organized enough to have made dinner before going Visiting Teaching. We rushed from dinner to the Pack Meeting. I don't much about the scoutig program but Pack Meeting is not only for the scouts but for the families. They involved all the sibilings in the games and activities. After the Pack Meeting we couldn't find our car keys so we all walked home and finally started homework and baths. What a night!

Happy Birthday Patty!

Happy Birthday Patty! I hope you have a great day!

Patty has been a great friend and I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

Finally Friday

Yay, it's Friday night!! I was hoping to get so much done today but it didn't happen. A is at a stage where she just doesn't let me get a lot done. She wants a lot of attention and she likes me to either play with her or hold her constantly. She also gets into everything and either undos what I just did or scatters things all over the floor. My lazysusan cupboard doesn't have a latch to keep her out of it so I have plastic containers all over the kitchen floor. I pick them up and within an hour they are all over the floor again. I feel like my life is like Groundhog Day.

Tomorrow morning we are trying to do our family pictures with Tammy. The weather is supposed to be bad but if it's not we will get them done. I just want to do the kid's pictures and not mine but R makes us do the whole family.

Danni's 6th birthday is tomorrow so we are going up to Logan for her birthday party at noon. S is so excited to play with Sam and Danni. We don't see them ofter enough. They found out this week they are having a boy and Tiffi is due the end of February. I need to go through my boy clothes so I can give them what I have.

I wish I had another day I could add on to the weekend. I might as well wish that a fairy would magically clean my house and fold my laundry.

Austenland

I just finished listening to Austenland and I loved it! I thought the story was cute and I loved the romance. I fell in madly love with Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth) while watching the BBC/A&E version of Pride & Prejudice , which helped me to understand the protagonist of this fun novel. A wealthy distant relative bequeaths Jane a 3 week Regency immersion vacation at Pembrook Park so she can either find her own Mr. Darcy or break loose from the fantasy. The narrator brought the characters to life! It's a bit of fun chick book.

Now I want to read Jane Austen's books and watch the Jane Austen movies I have.

Wednesday Worries

I have the worst headach and I just want to go to bed. I had a long day at the office. Until A was born I worked 8 hours at the office and I'm wondering how I did it. After working a long day today I am beat. I like how most days now I work a few hours at the office and a few hours at home. I don't feel as run down.

I'm sure part of my tiredness comes from being woken up at 2:30am this morning with the thunderstorm and wondering how long before it woke S up and then how long before she freaked out. It was just a matter of minutes and she was in bed with us. FOUR people in my bed, I got a great night's sleep! I finally rolled out of bed at 4:30am happy not to be crammed in there with 2 kids and R.

Last night I had to sit through a soccer game for S in the rain. Luckily R was home working with Z on his Pinewood Derby car so I left the baby home with them. I also was smart enough to remember the umberllas. I can't believe these little girls as to play soccer in the rain, poor things.

I started listening to a new book today Austenland and I think Patty would like it. I'm not very far but the girl Jane goes on a vacation to England where she acts and dresses like they did in Pride and Prejudice and she is looking for her own Mr. Darcy. I'm enjoying it.

I'm going to tackle the disheds and hopefully get some laundry folded before I herd the family off to bed for hopefully a good night's sleep.

How to Stay Clutter-free

How to Stay Clutter-free
~Becky Edwards, Founder of Organization StationSimplify your life ~

Make time for what matters most ~ Streamline your home family, time and papers

Why De-clutter your home?

• Sift out the debris to find the gold.
• Less is more. Less clutter is more self-esteem, time, peace and mental clarity, productivity, freedom, money, use and safety.
• We use 20 percent of our things 80 percent of the time. The value of something is in its use.Because God said to de-clutter our lives
• Because God said to de-clutter our lives:
  Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Is a golden calf the only way to have other gods?
  Matthew 6:19 Lay not up treasure on earth, where moth and rust corrupts, where thieves steal.
  Luke 12:15 Beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of things, which he possesses.
  D&C 121:34
  Mormon 8:35-39
  How does the devil get to good people? Distraction and Discouragement.How does he do this? Clutter, Materialisms and Media

How to De-clutter your Home? The Four Box Method

1. Trash
2. DI
3. Another Room
4. Withdrawal Box

What to De-clutter? Read these Questions before sorting your stuff

1. Have I used this item in the last year?
2. Do I really need more than 1 of this? Set limits.
· Set a number limit (like 10 outfits, 1spare set of sheets per bed, 2 dozen drinking glasses.
· Set a size limit (like a container for empty grocery bags or little girl’s hair accessories, a game cupboard).
· Set a one in – one out limit. When I buy a new sweater which sweater will I give away?
3. If this is sentimental how can I save the memory without saving every item? Miniaturize the item, or put the item in use, or both.
· Am I saving this as evidence that I did something worthwhile?
4. Does this item make me feel guilty, overwhelmed, bad about myself, or any other negative feeling?
· If I haven’t finished this project, or fixed this broken item in the last year, chances are I never will.
5. Is this really worth the price tag? Every item has four price tags: (1) money (2) space (3) time (4) mental clutter.
6. Do I have to keep the whole set?
7. Does it work?
8. Do I even like it? Is it me? Am I tired of it?
9. Do I have to keep it if it was a gift? Keep the love without saving item.
10. Do I have room for it? Would I like more room for things like food storage or emergency kits,
11. Do I have another item that will do the same thing as this?
12. What’s the worst thing that would happen if I got rid of this?
13. If I moved across the country, would I pay by the pound to move this item?
14. Could someone else use this item more than me?
15. Is this item gold or debris to me?

Tuesday Things

I started Angels and Demons last year when we went to Hawaii. I didn't finsih it and finally started listening to it two weeks ago. Today while running errands I FINALLY finished it! I read DaVanci Code a couple of years ago and have been wanting to read Angels and Demons so I am happy I finally have read it. This book kept me on my toes guessing who was behind the Iluminati murders and just like Dan Brown's other books there is a twist at the end, just when you think you have it figured out.

I am supposed to be working on cleaning my basement but I'm on the computer. My basement is a diaster so I need to start somewhere. I also have laundry to keep working on. I'm still sorting summer and winter clothes for the kids.

S and I worked on homework and reading earlier. I just keep pulling out the Summer Bridge book for activities to help S learn her sounds faster so we can start on reading soon. Her class is also doing story starts and I don't think she knows enough of the sounds to do story starts. It seems like Z started this a little later int he year when he was in kindergarten.

This evening S has a soccer game. Next week is her last game until spring. YAY!! It's starting to get cold and I'm ready for a bit of the break that comes from not having weekly soccer games and practices for two kids.

Let's Eat

Weekly Menu

Monday:
Shepard's Pie
Salad
Rolls

Tuesday:
Creamy Cheesy Potato Soup (Tammy's recipe)
Rolls

Wednesday:
Leftovers

Thursday:
Cheese Manacotti
Salad
Fruit
Garlic Bread

Friday:
Pizza

Saturday:
We will be in Logan

Sunday:
Sweet & Sour Pork Roast
Baked Pototes
Green Beans

Monday Madness

And so the week begins.... I feel like this week won't be as stressful and the past two weeks so I'm dreading it as much.

After church yesterday I was able to take a short nap with A which was heaven. R's brother called and said that he and Mandee were going to stop by to visit. I made dinner and Pumpkin Pie Cake while they played the Wii with Z. Z was happy to have moved his Wii to the TV in the living room and have new people to play with. It was fun to visit with Rick and Mandee, we don't see them nearly enough. When Z was A's age they lived with us and now Mandee is on her own.

Z and R have been working on Z's Pinewood Derby car. Even though Z won't be 8 when they have the derby they are allowing him to be part of the derby because he'll be 8 shortly after. They cut the car out last weekend and Z has been impatiently waiting to start painting the car all week. After church they started painting it and Z was very happy and excited.

After school Z has a dentist appointment. I'm praying he has no cavities. After today we'll be done with dentist appointments for 6 months. It's taken about 2 weeks to get through our family. It's such a pain and I hate the dentist. So far no cavities for anyone so I'm hoping Z is cavity free.

I'm hoping to tackle laundry today, I am so far behind on it. S has gymnastics tonight and we have homework. I need to menu plan for the week and make a quick grocery stop for a few things.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Pumpkin Pie Cake

20 z can packed pumpkin

14oz sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs1 C. sugar

1 tsp. salt

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 box yellow cake mix

1cup chopped nuts (optional)

3/4cup melted butter

Mix first 6 ingredients well. Pour in greased 9x13 pan.

Sprinkle cake mix evenly over batter. Top with nuts. Pour butter over top.

Bake at 350 for 50 min or until set.

Finally Friday

Yay, it's Friday!! I have a busy day today but I'm glad it's Friday. I got up early and got a lot of my work done and went in for an hour. I picked S up from kindergarten and we are doing homework and reading. We need to run to the library and I would like to get her hair trimmed. I also need to bake and frost more cupcakes before we pick Z up from school. Z has 2 birhtday parties today and he is so excited for them. S and R have a Daughter and Dude HoeDown at the school tonight so S is happy to have a dat with her dad.

A is starting to feel better although she still has a bad diaper rash. I antibiotics don't help with that since they make her have diarrhea but at least she doesn't have a fever and her ears are getting better.

I am working on the activities for the ward party tomorrow, I can't wait for it to be over with. I also need to work on my YW lesson. Where do I find the time because I would love a nap with A this afternoon?

Layered Pumpkin Loaf

Layered Pumpkin Loaf

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 egg whites, divided

1/2 cup fat free milk

1/4 cup canola oil

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. Calumet Baking Powder

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp. salt

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Neufchatel Cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a nonstick 9x5-inch loaf pan; set aside. Mix pumpkin, 1 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, 3 of the egg whites, milk and oil in a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, pie spice and salt; stir just until moistened. Set aside. Beat Neufchatel cheese, remaining 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar and the remaining egg white with wire whisk until well blended.

Spoon half of the pumpkin batter into prepared pan; spoon Neufchatel cheese misture evenly over the batter. Cover with remaining pumpkin batter.

Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 5 minu. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Fun knife or thin spatula around edges of pan to loosen bread; cool in pan on wire rack 10 min. Remove bread from pan to wire rack; cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf or 16 servings, 1 slice each.

Sick Baby

Last night A woke me up at 2:00am and she was so hot. She has had a fever now for several days and once her motrin wears off she is miserable. After giving her some medicine and changing her diaper I decided I would call for a doctor's appointment today. Her diaper area is also so red a raw and she's had diarrhea for several days as well. Her ears were red so I was given an antibiotic and the doctor gave me a prescription for a yeast cream and diaper rash medicine together. When the pharmacist told me the cream would be about $200.00 I couldn't beleive butt cream would be so much money. He gave me suggestions on mixing my own cream up. I also let A go diaperless this afternoon to give her bottom some air. I hope she starts feeling better soon.

Luscious Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake

Luscious Four-Layer Pumpkin Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin, divided
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
4 large eggs
1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Beat cake mix, 1 cup of the pumpkin, the milk, oil, eggs and 1 tsp. of the pumpkin pie spice in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Pour evenly into prepared pans.

BAKE 28 to 30 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. Remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely. Beat cream cheese in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add sugar, remaining pumpkin and remaining 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice; mix well. Stir in the whipped topping.

CUT each cake layer horizontally in half with serrated knife. Stack layers on serving plate, spreading the cream cheese filling between layers. (Do not frost top of cake.) Drizzle cake with caramel topping just before serving; sprinkle with the pecans. Store leftover cake in refrigerator.

Frère Jacques

S loves to sing and she sings loud for all to hear. One of her favorite CD's is what she calls Kids Songs and it plays all her favorites. I laugh everytime Frère Jacques is on because this is what she sings:

Fair a sharka
Fair a sharka
Doorman who?
Doorman who?

It is so fun to listen to her and I just laugh and laugh. I've tried to teach her the correct words but she just doesn't hear the difference.

Tuesday TaDa

Good Morning. I'm trying not to work today so I can get a ton of stuff done for my week.

A has been sick for the last few days and I'm not sure what's wrong. She has had a fever but not much else. Yesterday she did throw up but only once. I can tell she just doen't feel good and I'm debating on whether or not I should take her to the doctor.

I need to bake a bunch of cupcakes for our Fall Fest on Saturday. I am in charge of the Cupcake Walk. I plan on freezing them so my kids will not eat them all before Saturday. I'm also working out the details for a doughnut tied to a string eating contest. I have arranged for one of our YW to do face painting so I need to pick up some paint today and find some simple designs for her to do.

R's best friend from Portland is a pilot for United and has a layover here tonight so we are meeting him and some of his family for dinner. They are like R's second family so I know he's excited to see them. I have a sitter for the kids, which makes dinner so much more enjoyable. It will depend on how A feels, I may just take her with us.

Of course there is also homework after school and cleaning up my house. I have a mountain of laundry. I also need to work on my YW lesson on Sunday.

Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up

Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up

1 lb. lean ground beef
4 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions (about 1 small)
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pkg. (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Cook ground beef, bacon and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat until ground beef is evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Drain; return meat mixture to skillet. Add VELVEETA; cook until completely melted, stirring frequently. Cool 10 min.

UNROLL pizza dough onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Press into 15x8-inch rectangle. Top evenly with meat mixture. Roll up dough, starting at one of the long sides. Rearrange, if necessary, so roll is seam-side down on baking sheet.

BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown. Cut diagonally into six slices to serve.

Weekly Menu

Weekly Menu

Monday:
Chicken Squares
Green Beans

Tuesday:
Potato Pork Pie
Salad
Rolls

Wednesday:
Tacos
Nachos

Thursday:
Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-Up
Carrots and Ranch
Fruit

Friday:
Leftovers

Saturday:
Ward Dinner

Sunday:
Honey Mustard Meatloaf
Baked Potatoes
Corn

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Spicy Cinnamon Cake

Spicy Cinnamon Cake

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

1 (18-ounce) package spice cake mix

1 (4 serving) package instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup corn oil

5 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 10-inch tube pan. Combine cake mix, instant pudding, sour cream, eggs, and corn oil and beat together well. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Pour half of batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with sugar mixture, reserving a little to sprinkle on top. Pour the rest of batter into pan and sprinkle with the rest of sugar mixture. Bake 1 hour. Let cool and remove from pan.

Saturday Things

It's supposed to be a cold blustery day! I just love the fall!

Patty tried to see about us getting together yesterday but we had wedding stuff going on so it didn't work. I am going to go up the Heber to hang out, watch conference and let the kids play. I'm embarassed to say I haven't been to Patty's house for months so it will be good to see her new paint job and spend time with her family.

I got up early to catch up on laundry. With my busy week I haven't kept up on my house so it's a mess and my laundry it piled high. I really wish I was like Samantha on Bewitched and I could just wiggle my nose and everything would be all done.

Z isn't 8 yet but they are letting him do the Pinewood Derby this year. R and Z are supposed to go to a neighbors house this moring at 8:30 to work on his car. He has soccer practice at 10:00am (which bugs me since it's during conference). Z is excited about building his car so I hope he has fun doing it.

I found a recipe for Pumpkin Bread with a cream cheese mixture in the middle that I want to try this weekend. Anything pumpkin is yummy!

Thursday Thoughts

This has been such a crazy week and next week will be crazy also. I feel like I'm just barely hanging on this week and I can't wait for the weekend and conference. I hope I also get a few things done over the weekend that will help relieve the stress of next week.

I'm behind at work so I've been up everyday this week between 3:00am and 3:30am to get things done before the kids wake up. Last night I was so tired that when I put A to bed a little after 8:00pm, I also crashed. Yesterday and today I have work meetings after S is out of school so that limits my catch up for work time while the girls nap. I'll get it all done, I always do. I was hoping to get payroll entered and checks printed today so I don't have to go in to the office tomorrow but I'm not sure I can accomplish that one.

Our neighbor that haved watched my kids since we moved here 7 1/2 years ago is getting married tomorrow morning. We were invited to the wedding dinner tonight and I finally found a sitter. The sealing is tomorrow morning as we were also invited to it but so far I haven't found a sitter for the two girls. The reception is tomorrow night so we'll just take the kids. I was hoping to go up to Logan tomorrow night but I had forgotten about the reception.

I am on the activties committee in our ward and our Fall Fest is next Saturday night and I am in charge of activities. I am having a difficult time coming up with games for adults and kids. I can come up with kid games but we have a lot of older people in our ward and I don't think they will enjoy the kid games. This is causing me stress, although I think I am making it a bigger deal than it needs to be. I would have rather been in charge of the food than the activities. I hope at our Christmas breakfast I don't have to do decorations or the food.

At least my family is healthy and no one is sic.

Oven-Baked Dutch Apple Pancakes

Oven-Baked Dutch Apple Pancakes
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

2 cans apple pie filling

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, warm the apple pie filling, butter, cinnamon. In a bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the milk, flour, sour cream, lemon zest, and salt. Beat just until batter is smooth. Pour over the hot apple mixture in the skillet, and immediately put the pan in the oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pancake is puffed up and golden brown. Using a small, fine sieve, lightly dust the top of the pancake with confectioners' sugar. Serve warm.