new

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

My New Love

I have a new love and I think every mother, especially mothers of ACTIVE boys should meet. It's Tide Stain Release. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. My boys are always getting grass stains and dirt and filth and who knows what else all over them. And my three year old is slightly OCD I think because the filth bothers him (once all the fun is over) but I never have time and rarely remember when I do have time to spray clothes. So normally I pull out a nice white shirt with a big brown blotch on it and go.. "Oh yeah I wanted to spray that" But not anymore. Tide stain release is great! It gets most everything out. So now I just add a cap full with all my laundry detergent, every load just to be safe! So it gets my stamp of approval... give it a try!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Waffles

I have started my Little Owen on real food. We are now trying to not give him baby food, just have him eat normal food. So far its gone pretty good. His favorite breakfast is now waffles! But I can't blame him I love me some waffles.

This is a killer waffle recipe.

Cinnamon Sugar Waffles
2 Eggs
1 3/4 cup Milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups flour
4 tsp Baking Powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Whisk everything together!

It's just that simple!
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Monday, June 28, 2010

Snickerdoodles

I don't know what it is about a snickerdoodle, they are the simplest cookie I know how to make, and yet I just devour them! They are one of my favorites for sure!

SNICKERDOODLES1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

topping
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) use an electric mixer on medium to combine butter, sugars, egg and vanilla
3)In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and cream of tartar
4) Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the electric mixer until smooth
5) Combine topping ingredients in a small bowl
6) Roll 1 Tbsp of dough into a bowl and dip the top into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place sugar side up on a baking sheet.
7) Bake for 15 mnutes, until light brown

I made up a batch of these for a friend this afternoon and I had to quickly put them in a sealed bag so I wouldnt eat them all! These are one of Jaxon and Owen's favorite too! Jaxon thought today was an extra special day since we spent the morning out at the lake and made snickerdoodles in the afternoon!
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Sunday, June 27, 2010

About to start Another week!

To begin Ill apologize... this will not be the most exciting post... its been a crazy weekend and I just cant wrap my head around what to post for you. What did you do this weekend?? I had my parents in town to watch my two little monsters, I mean boys, while me and my sweetheart attended the wedding of one of my dearest Friends. So since the wedding creeped up on me I spent my saturday doing the last 18 pages of a 40 page scrapbook I had been preparing for her. Just layouts so she could just add pictures! Then Saturday we were gone all day in Cardston at the wedding a reception. It was beautiful! Made me realize just how much me and her had been through and how much I truly adore and love her. What a gorgeous bride.
  So now its time to face another week. What's on yrou plate this week?? Over here we have a beach date tomorrow, a visit to Heritage Park on Tuesday, a Canada Day BBQ on Thursday and I think thats about it, other then the regular mom stuff. So hopefully it all goes smoothly.
   One thing I have managed to get crossed off my to do list already this week is a menu so here it is
Monday - BBQ Burgers (tis the season)
Thuesday - Baked Ziti (yes I made this last week, but I bought too much stuff and still have lots so since Ill be feeding the Elders I figured why not do it again!)
Wednesday - Dragon Fire chicken with Kung Pow Rice (love it!)
Thursday - Canada Day BBQ with Friends (Oh Canada)
Friday - Smokies and mashed potatoes
Saturday - Pizza (not sure what kind yet... but I have a week to play with it)
Sunday - leftovers
  Oh today Jaxon had to bring snack to Nursery and my mom taught me the cutest and yummiest snack! I told her I wanted to make cinnamon twists and this is what she taught me (Im always learning from my mom)
Take a pkg of biscut dough (we/she used Pillsbury). Cut the biscuits in half and flatten them a bit. Dip them into melted butter and then into a cinnamon sugar combination. (I always have cinnamon sugar in my pantry) then twist and bake. We/She had a hard time getting them to stay twisted but they were so good even if they untwisted. I have eaten a week's worth today!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Watermelon/Strawberry Slushies

As promised here is a wonderful summer time drink. Watermelon/Strawberry Slushies! They are super easy too!

Strawberry-Watermelon Slushie

3 cups cubed seedless watermelon
3/4 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1/3 C sugar
1/3 C fresh lemon juice
2-4 C ice cubes
In a blender, combine the watermelon, strawberries, sugar and lemon juice; cover and process on high until smooth. Gradually add ice cubes until desired consistency is reached. Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately.
*Heres an added tip... my blender doesnt crush ice very well... so I put my ice cubes in a ziplock bag and smash them with a hammer before putting them in a blender

Yield: 5-7 cups

Friday, June 25, 2010

A Little Taste of India

Tonight's Dinner was so good! I love ethnic flavors, Chinese, thai, Vietnamese, mexican, indian I love them all! So tonight I thought I'd try my hand at making chicken korma. It turned out great!

Chicken Korma
1 large red onion, 1/2 sliced and 1/2 finely chopped
1 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic smashed
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 lb shredded chicken breast
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 pieces of naan bread
chopped cashews for garnish

Puree the chopped onion in a food processor with the ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin and 1/2 cup of water. (I didnt do that step I just mixed the chopped onion and spices all in a bowl... and I didnt add the water)
Heat a small amount of oil in a pan, add the sliced onions and cook until golden brown. Add the other onion mixture and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the frozen peas and cook for a couple of minutes until they are thawed. Add the chicken and mix to combine.
In a small bowl combine the yogurt and the water. Add to the pan. Add the cilantro and remove from heat.
Serve on top of the naan bread and garnish with more yogurt, cashews and/or cilantro
Eat it like a Taco!

Also in the above picture you may notice my lovely drink. Its a watermelon/strawberry slurpee... recipe to come tomorrow!
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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Favorite Color Party

I like to throw parties. So every once and a while I do a play date on steroids. I event a few kids and their mommies over and we have a themed play date. Today was the Favorite Color party. It was a play date all about colors.

here is the invite I had made up for the party... yes I know that none of you got an invite ladies... I forgot them until after the fact.


We had all sorts of colorful foods. Red Strawberries, Pink Watermelon, Green Grapes, Blue and Green cupcakes (mint chocolate... yes I love to bake too!) and rainbow licorice (Jaxon's Favorite!)


I bought each of the kids a plain white pillow case and busted out the fabric markers and let them design their own pillow case. I was surprised at how long this held some of the kids interest, especially Jaxon!


But the highlight of the party was the Flower Hunt. All I did was cut out different color flowers and attach them to popsicle sticks and then I hid different colors in different rooms and told the kids clues like "downstairs their are flowers hidden that are the same color as the sky" Then they all ran off to find Blue flowers. They got to collect them in plastic cup vases and by the end has a beautiful bouquet. One of Jaxon's new buddies Jack Davidson was too sweet and gave me his orange flower since I had told them orange was my favorite color!
All and all I think it was a fun morning!
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Bridal Gift and Hair Cut

Third times a charm.. I hope... I have been trying to post forever and it just wont work... so hopefully this time it works!
I was going to post the yummy dinner I made tonight but I am upstairs and the recipes are downstairs so you will have to wait. But keep in mind that there are two very yummy recipes coming to you soon!

One of my bestest friends, Stef, is getting married on Saturday. The other week I went to a shower for her and this was the gift I brought. Its a bowl I painted in her wedding colors and filled it with all sorts of random grocery items. I remember when I first got married (and even some months now!) That the grocery budget never seemed to allow for extras. So I got her the extras. Cute Pastas, different chocolate chips, fun sauces. I didnt think it was anything special but everyone at the party thought it was really cute. So I thought Id share!
What is the best bridal shower gift you ever gave or received?
Also a side note... you can paint dishes like that at all sorts of paint your own pottery places. But I went to the Clayground here in Calgary. I have been to a few of them around town and the Clayground is the best...because there are no studio fees! LOVE IT!


On to my proud mom moment.
My little Owen got his first hair cut today. I cant belive how big he is getting. He did really well too! But I dont know what look I like better the before "Boy band" look or the after "Big boy" look. What do you think?

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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Boring Day

Well today was a dull, boring day. But thats ok, after all the fun we had yesterday we all could use a quiet day. So it just entailed Grocery shopping (I am an airmiles junkie and am proud to say I got 230 in a single shopping trip yesterday) then we just played in the backyard and cleaned the house. But here is a picture of my little man Owen (he is almost 10 months old) This was from the beach yesterday. I thought it was adorable and had to share it.
Speaking of Owen I have a question for all my mom friends out there. Or even if you arent a mom but have an answer to this please help me out. Owen did a face plant today and totally game himself a bleeding nose. He was ok but it was super annoying because I couldnt make him sit still so I could get it to stop. So I had to following him around with tissues. Then all day it would need to be wipes because as his nose would run it would be bloody. So my question... how do you deal with bleeding noses on little ones??


Since it was a quiet day I got to work on some cards. I am making card kits to give out at Christmas time. Each one will have 50 cards in a cute container, so that the recipient shouldnt have to go buy cards for a year. This is a pretty basic one I made today but I like it. Sorry my camera isnt great. But its the same quote that I shared yesterday.
Dinner tonight was YUMMY. Despite the rain storm we had Burgers... BBQ'ed on the forman. If anyone out there doesnt already own one GO BUY ONE NOW. I have tons of kitchen stuff and this is what I use the most by far. I adore mine! Anyways... I wasnt feeling like the regular toppings so I made a Curry Coldslaw for on the burgers and a Potato Salad with Dill and Mustard. Sorry no pictures they were kind of boring to look at, but yummy to eat!

Curry Coldslaw
Coldslaw mix (if you have more time then me you can make your own with cabbage and carrots!)
3/4 cup Mayo
1 tbsp Curry
2 tbsp Mustard (I used honey mustard because I love it!)
Splash of Lime juice to thin it out
Mix the last 4 ingredients together and add Coldslaw
*I know I didnt put an amount by the coldslaw mix... just keep adding and mixing until it is as saucy or as soupy as you like cold slaw.

Dill and Mustard Potato Salad(from chef Michael Smith)
Ingredients
10 Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup hot dog relish
1 tablespoon dried dill
1/2 cup prepared mustard
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small red onion, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
Directions
Steam potatoes in a stovetop steamer for 10-12 minutes, until just tender when pierced with a fork.
Place on a baking sheet to cool.
Whisk together mayonnaise, relish, dill, mustard, vinegar and salt and pepper.
Place cooled potatoes into a large salad bowl and add celery, onion and mayonnaise mixture.
Season with salt and pepper and toss well to combine.
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Monday, June 21, 2010

Summer Reading


HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!

When I think of summer I always picture myself sitting on a beach soaking up the sun with a book in my hand. So let me tell you about my latest summer read. I just finished the third book in the Fablehaven series. I like these books because they are a really light easy read so I can read them as Im still watching the kids.

It's called Grip of the Shadow Plague. I really enjoyed the first two books, but I found the third one to be kind of slow from the get go and then rushed at the end. However Im eager to read the final two books as I am now wondering if one of the good guys is actually a bad guy. I wont name names in case you are planning on reading it (which I think you should). But there is this one character who just always seemed to be the only person around that survived when someone else didnt or when something bad happened. Maybe I just suspect the worst but I think we may have a traitor afoot!

Despite the slow start I did enjoy it. So I say book worms should try this series. It was written for a younger audience so you should expect a light 'no brainer' read. But as a mother of two young, active boys thats what I need as I dont get much time to read. And when I do get to read me brain is generally fried. So Fablehaven is a series I consider "BEACH BOOKS" they are perfect to take and read on a beach!
But here is a word of warning. When Reading on a beach WEAR SUNSCREEN. My Boys and I spent all morning on the beach; both my boys are fine... me... my legs are now a deep shade of maroon. Thats right they arent even red... they are maroon. I always put sunscreen on my boys... never on myself... Yep Im That kind of Mom

Sunday, June 20, 2010

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Happy Father's Day to all the days out there. But an extra big Hug goes out to the two greatest men in my life, my daddy and my husband! I love you! Today's little tidbit was not my idea but it was so cute that I had to share it. Today in Nursery my little three yr old Jaxon made his daddy a father's day gift. It was a bottle of Dad's Root Beer with a paper tie attached to it. The tie read "To the World's Greatest Pop" I thought it was adoreable and had to share!

Today is also Sunday. Which means its time for me to organize myself for the upcoming week, part of which means making a menu for dinner this coming week. Doing this just makes my life so much easier. I can make a grocery list and then know I will have everything I need in the house to make meals for a week and I never had to worry come 5pm "Oh no whats for dinner!?"
Here is the menu for this week;
Monday - Homemade Chicken Fingers
Tuesday - BBQ burgers with a Mustard and Dill Potato salad
Wednesday - 5 Cheese Baked Ziti and Cesear salad
Thursday - Shrimp Bowls
Friday - Chicken Korma with Naan Bread
Saturday - we are at a wedding so I dont have to cook
Sunday - Leftovers
I always make sure to have one day of leftovers to clean up my fridge and with church not getting over until 4 Sundays always seem like a good day for it. Also I have tried to have a low to no protien dinner night and one night of seafood a week. Gotta have variety!

Finally today is Sunday... oh the day of rest... yeah right. But I figured since it is Sunday Id share with you a quote that I found today and just love.
"...there is no tomorrow to remember if we don't do something today."
-President Thomas S Monson, "Finding Joy in the Journey" Nov 2008 Ensign pages 84-87
It's a Fabulous talk!
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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Welcome Sunshine

Welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy reading it. I have always wanted to do a 'useful' blog (I already have a family blog) but I could never decide what to do it about... I just have too many interests. I love to cook. I love to be crafty and creative. I love making my house a home. I love to write stories. but most of all I love to be a mom. With that said I am definately not the mother I thought I would be. I often catch myself saying or doing something and I stop and think "Wow... Im that Kind of Mom" so What kind of mom are you?? Me? Im the mom who is determined to do it all. I want to cook and clean and play with my kids. I want to take classes and learn new things. I want to be amazing! With that said here is a little taste of what I am up to as journey through the adventure that is my life!
Today was a gloriously beautiful sunshiney day. I love days like this. I have no idea what I am doing here in Calgary AB... I was made for the tropics. Actually maybe not... I dont do bugs. Anyways, to celebrate this beautiful day I made Mocktails. In my mind there is hardly anything better then a fruity drink! This one is called a Grecian Lady. To me it tastes like Sunshine in a glass. I LOVE IT. (I also made this drink at girl's night last night... they loved it too!)

Grecian Lady

4 parts Peach Juice
2 parts Orange Juice
a generous splash of fresh Lemon Juice
a splash of Soda water.

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