This Little Piggy....

Last week it was my turn to read a Fairy Tale to my son's first grade class for Fairy Tale Friday. I was assigned the Three Little Pigs. Yes, I knew about this for months but didn't come up with an idea until 7:00 AM the morning of. Boy was I stressed about it, but when I came up with the idea it was a relief.

I made the cupcakes as soon as I got out of bed and because I didn't have a strawberry cake mix on hand I put a box of strawberry gelatin in my white cake mix (which I actually like better now). I then ran to the store and hurried down the isles pressed for time searching for candies and cookies that would work for making the pig's face. It's amazing how well I work under pressure.

Finally I had everything I needed and I headed over to the school only for the teacher to awkwardly remind me that homemade food is not allowed at the school for safety reasons. I wanted to burst into tears but then I convinced her to tell the kids that these were cupcakes not for eating, but we were simply making a craft out of food. It worked but the kids were sad that they couldn't eat their cupcakes. It made me sad because deep down I knew they were super yummy.

Because it was early out day, as soon as the kids were done making their cupcakes the bell rang to go home. I tried not to smile as I watched them secretly eating their cupcakes. What a day!

Here's the recipe if you want to make them: http://cookwithlindsey.blogspot.com/2013/04/lil-piggies.html

DAILY QUESTION:

Do you work better under pressure or does your best work come after given plenty of time?

For me it's kind of like hair. When I spend lot's of time on it, it doesn't turn out but when I'm in a hurry and I quickly throw it up, I get tons of compliments.

Candid Camera

Two sisters - best friends and at times worst enemies. They play well together and they fight well together. But lately they always want what the other one has; and sometimes that's my attention. In a competition to "win my affection" they love to show off their many talents. One took first place in a big clogging competition (the trophy is bigger than her) and the other can put a diaper on her head (she's a natural comedian).


No matter what mood they are in or what new talent they are trying to anxiously show me, I always have my camera handy. I am all about the candid moments - because when they are being not so cute, and I am at my whits end, all I have to do is look at these pictures and as I sneak a smile, I am reminded of what makes parenting so worth it!

DAILY QUESTION:

Are you a candid camera parent? Or do you save it for the special occasions?

Lesson from a Six Year Old

"I lost my toof then I really lost it, can I still have sumthing?"

So what do you do when you lose your tooth and then you set it on the kitchen counter and it disappears? You write a brief and to-the-point explanation to the tooth fairy and cross your fingers!

I went in to check on my son last night after he went to bed and I found him fast asleep with this adorable sign hanging on his headboard right above his head. Apparently it worked, because when he woke up this morning he had a chocolate pie and green bubble tape under his pillow.

It just goes to show that you should never give up when adversity strikes. :)

DAILY QUESTION:

How do you handle adversity? Do you see the glass half full or half empty?

Polish Night

Every Thursday night we have culture night in our house and we were lucky to be invited by some friends (Lindsey and Kevin) to experience Poland. They invited us over for dinner and shared some yummy food with us. For the first time in a long time I didn't have to cook dinner which was awesome in itself! The top picture is Golabki (beef and rice wrapped in cabbage) - it was yummy!

Kevin went on a mission to Poland so he shared some neat stuff with us including a slideshow of pictures and he spoke the language to us.

We also had Pierogi (dumplings) in a yummy butter sauce, kielbasa and yummy donuts! The kids gobbled it all up especially the donuts.

We had a lot of fun and now it's our turn next month to have their family over for German night! Can't wait!

 Miłego dnia! ('have a great day' in Polish)

Lindsey and Lindsey

  

Kevin wearing team Poland apparel

DAILY QUESTION:

Do you have any connections to Poland?

Dog Gone it!

When volunteering at my son's school we helped McGruff the Crime Dog spread the message of being safe. We found this sign and couldn't resist having him pose with my two girls by it. Who is the mystery kid behind the fence? Beats me. We didn't notice him there until we looked at the picture later that night. Some things in this life forever remain a mystery! One thing is for certain though; to get through this life you've gotta have a sense of humor!

DAILY QUESTION:

How do you find the humor in your life? Does it come natural for you or are you a work in progress?

I Spy With My Little Eye

As I spy out the front window of our office and watch the construction on the new house across the street, I can't help but wonder who the new family will be that moves in. Though we are sad to see our nice view of the mountains and daily sunsets disappear we are happy to finally have our street complete. Yes, this was the last lot on our street to go.

I'm really hoping for some little girls my daughters' ages to move in, so they have someone to play with. Our street is full of plenty of boys; my son is never bored. We know that this home will be in the parade of homes, so my husband feels the need to speed up progress on our trees and flower beds. I guess a little motivation never hurts.

My favorite movie of all time is the Burbs. I can't help but feel like I am in the movie when I spend time starring out my window (when I have the time). At least in the old house it felt that way, but here in our new house we are lucky to have a very quiet and peaceful neighborhood. Well, I take that back...with the construction, it's anything but quiet!

DAILY QUESTION:

What interesting things have you seen while spying through your blinds?

Lessons Learned

Some lessons in life must be experienced over and over again before we finally learn from them. And that would be the case for my two year old Cambrey. She loves to sneak into my lipsticks and when I catch her, I show her a mirror and she cries every time; frightened at her reflection. Once she found my fire engine red lip stick and she covered her entire face. It looked like something out of a horror flick. This time, I am embarrassed to admit she found my purple lipstick (must have bought it for Halloween one year). As you can see in the video she was horrified at her makeup job. Will this deter her from the temptations of future lipstick  sneaking? Of course not! After all she's two.

DAILY QUESTION:

What lessons in life do you find yourself learning over and over again?

Video Premiere

I recorded this song about seven months ago and all this time I have been wanting to make a video to portray the images in my mind that I saw when I wrote this song. My husband was so nice to be my camera man especially after having a long and exhausting day at the office.

I'm no film maker but I did my best with directing and editing it. There were some little flaws like the video playing at perfect speed and in sync with the music on my computer but then when I published it as a final movie, it's off in certain spots. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so it bothers me, but after hours of trying to work out the kinks I have finally decided it's good enough. I've felt all week that I'm supposed to have it completed by today - so I'm finally at peace with it :)

It's a message about our testimonies of faith and how what we know to be true is beautifully passed on down to our children and their children and so on through life's experiences. I wrote it as a tribute to my own personal story in my book , Successful Failures

I know how powerful music is and images are even more powerful, so I'm hoping this video will really inspire and touch anyone who is need of it's message.

Enjoy!

Weekend Chillin'

 

I love weekends!  Last weekend we had our Friday night Pizza Night in the basement and watched General Conference Saturday and Sunday. I love to hear the prophet and apostles speak - conference is always my favorite weekend of the year!

In between sessions, my husband made these amazing garden boxes. They are all finished now and painted. We can't wait to plant something in them!

For pizza night I made a Hawaiian pizza. My husband is German and thinks it's wrong to put pineapple on pizza. Funny thing is, I have ordered pizza in Germany and pineapple was an option on the topping menu. We also had a barbeque on the old charcoal grill. There's nothing like the taste of charcoal grilled burgers. So here's what I want to know:

DAILY QUESTION

Do you prefer grilling on a gas grill, or charcoal? Why? Also do you like pineapple on pizza or do you think it's wrong?

Visiting Daddy's Work

 

It had been a while since the kids and I visited Daddy at his office. So we decided to drop by for a visit and go to lunch.

The last time we were there was a couple of years ago when the kids were in this video shoot for a promotional video of Marketstar.  Paisley can be seen at 1:24 in the video and Gabe at 2:19 and 2:42. The last time we were there Manuel drank some orange juice and so in the video when Gabe is asked what his dad's favorite part about work is and he says "drinking" he was referring to the orange juice. He was also asked what his dad does at work and Gabe said he plays games on his phone. I don't know about you but I don't think my husband should include those skills on his resume. 

 

The view of downtown Ogden from Daddy's office

 

It's been a while since we have been to Ogden and as you can see the construction of the temple (behind us in this picture) is coming along! 

And it was off to the Tree House Museum! Which one can't help but wonder why they charge adults to go in when it's the children who play? Yes $24 for the four of us and we were only there for an hour...and so Wendy's dollar menu it was for lunch!

Ink in a Blink

So, I had just read this really cool and inspiring blogpost about a Mormon convert called "Tattooed Mormon" that I found on Facebook. While reflecting on the story I had just read, no kidding, my two year old comes walking into my room looking like this:

 

I had to do a double take before realizing I had my own little tattooed Mormon living under my roof. At least her's wash off.

The Payoff

 

This is the payoff for making a delicious dinner. When I'm hard at work in the kitchen, my two year old is hard at work making her own projects (on the living room couch with bubble gum). I call this, "The Beautiful Colors of Diversity" - it's an original!

Culture Night

 Our family has a few nights reserved each week for some fun traditions. Monday night is of course Family Home Evening, Friday is Pizza Night (homemade pizza picnic style, downstairs and the kids pick a movie) and Thursday is Culture Night!

We made our own world map and it hangs in the office. We blind fold each family member, spin them around and have them touch the map with a chopstick. Wherever the chopstick lands is where we go that week. I cook something from that country (I pick things we've never had before) and we watch a YouTube video tour or Rick Steve's Europe on Hulu. Then during dinner, I play music from that country just from YouTube. 

The Solomon Islands

 Yes, so last week my son picked the Solomon Islands. "The whata whata?" was my first thought. That's the whole reason we do this so we can learn more about other cultures, and feel like we get to do a little traveling from the kitchen.

The Solomon Islands are a third world country so trying to find recipes online was next to impossible. I read that they eat fresh produce and fish. Rice was recently introduced to their agriculture by means of the government. Most of their produce is exotic so I went to Walmart and found what I could. Not only did they make great centerpieces but they were part of our dinner!

We ended up having baked plantains (taste like potato chips), sweet potato biscuits (they eat a lot of sweet potatoes and biscuits) and then I found some forum online where a lady described eating canned chili flavored tuna on noodles when she lived in the Solomon Islands and she loved it. They don't have many spices there but they cook everything in coconut milk! So, I took chow mein noodles and cooked them in coconut cream, added tuna, chili powder, salt and garlic. It was actually very tasty! They cook a lot with tapioca pearls so I made tapioca pudding with tropical fruit.

We watched a video of the "Bamboo Band" on youtube it was really fun.

Dessert

 

Papaya

My husband breaking open the coconut

Paisley picked Sweden for this week. We have Swedish blood so that was a fun choice! Here's what we did last night!

Sweden

Just made a stop at IKEA and picked up salmon spread, dill herring, mustard herring and Lingon berries. Served it with sugared vinegar cucumbers and yummy dill mashed potatoes. Then we had Swedish pancakes for dessert with blackberry preserves. You make the batter thin like crepes and fry them in butter. So yummy!!

The kids loved the food! I have found that when they pick a country, they are very excited to try the food. So, they are the best eaters ever on Culture Night.

We watched Rick Steve's Europe Stockholm and we watched music videos from Roxette, The Cardigans, ABBA and Swedish House Mafia. It was hilarious!






DAILY QUESTION

What are some fun traditions that you do as a family?