Tuesday, April 30th - Free Books! Online or download!

Hundreds of FREE children's books is truly free!  You do need to join by giving your age and e-mail to access all the books, or you can just read the editor's pick without giving any information, this is a very cool site!  The books don't have recorded readings and are user page turned.  wegivebooks.org is from the Pearson Foundation (Pearson does textbooks) and once a year gives a printed book to children for free to promote reading.

Schools can earn free physical books by reading online books, look into it for your kid's local school!

Monday, April 29th - Steak and Veggie Roll-Ups & Virgin Sangria

My fabulous sister hosted a birthday dinner for me on Sunday, it was so fun and the food was delicious!  My two favorite eats were these: Summer Cook Out Sangria (made virgin and with blackberries) and Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls.  These two are definitely for the recipe book!

Sunday, April 28th - OPI Bubble Bath nail lacquer

OPI Bubble Bath - Love these nude!  I was shocked that this would be a color I would like!  Thank you Pinterest!  I recommend 2 coats and prefer it on shorter nails.  It looks so clean and fresh, it goes with everything.

Saturday, April 27th - Free ClipArt Sites for LDS Visuals

primaryclipart.com and freeldsart.com and myctrring.com

Friday, April 26th - Oatmeal Cinnamon Waffles

I personally didn't care for these, but maybe you will!

Oatmeal Cinnamon Waffles

⅔ cup flour

½ cup old fashioned oats

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon

2 eggs           

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbs melted butter or oil

1 tsp vanilla

Crochet: Starting a Granny Square

Crochet: How to Start a Granny Square, this is a great link to tutorials for crochet and videos.  I used it as a refresher before teaching the 8-11 year old Activity Days girls at church how to start crochet projects!

Wednesday, April 24th - Happy Birthday to Me! Have a Bundt!

Nothing Bundt Cakes!   The Mister surprised me with a chocolate chocolate chip cake with cream cheese frosting for my girlie party, so good!!!

Tuesday, April 23rd - Kid Day!

My kids - funny stuff!

They take over my bed and tv

Take over my working space

And take my heart!

Monday, April 22nd - Primary April 2013 Sharing Time

Sofias Primary Ideas: April 2013 Primary Sharing Time was a great help for sharing time ideas, since I'm teaching on Sunday I wanted some different ideas.

Sunday, April 21st - Free Primary Printables

This calling is intense!
Free 2013 LDS Primary Presidency Planner
This planner works well.

Saturday, April 20th - Crazy House Day!

  

Crazy House Truth, my house is quite unpredictable!

Friday, April 19th - Quick Bacon Carbonara

Quick Pasta Carbonara was awesomely delicious and extremely filling!  In our family, toppings are added by an individual basis.  I doubled the recipe so I could get rid of my block of cream cheese.

Quick & Yummy Carbonara

1 lb. of pasta of your choice (whatever style)

1 bag of frozen peas

1 block of cream cheese

1 package of bacon

1 teaspoon Garlic powder

1 1/2 C. milk

1 C. parmesan cheese

Cook pasta.

Cook peas.

At the same time, crisp bacon then remove from pan.  Chop up!

In bacon drippings add the rest, stir over low-medium heat until cream cheese is melted.

Mix all and serve hot.

How to host a Playdate

From my Family and Kid Activities pinboard a combination of 5 different pins: How to host a Playdate.

1. Have a set time frame
2. Have two or three set activities
3. Have "free play" toys out - rotate a few at a time to keep interest
4. Plan on snack, lunch, or treats

This seems to work with any age group!

April 17th - LDS Primary Printables

Whoohoo I'm now in Primary at church!  Let the crafting and puppets begin!  here are a few of the printables that I printed out for free and are super cute!
Subway Art

Sacrament Program

April 16th - DIY OxiClean

DIY OxiClean worked!  1:1:2 ratio of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and water.  I Put my blueberry stained kid clothes in the bathroom sink, added the 1:1:2 ratio on top, then filled halfway up with hot water.  It took out the stains in about 3 hours and smelled a bit like pool water.

April 15th - Dealing with Stress

Today I definitely needed this!  Dealing with Stress was a great reminder: snow, traffic, one year old shots, grocery shopping with 2 kids, and carpooling take a toll on my patience.  I find that the workout stations on Pandora are great for not feeling too stupid dancing around with my kids.

April 14th - My Philosophy Regarding Promptness

Sunday's are a great challenge to get everyone up and out the door on time.  I have finally succumbed to this: My Philosophy Regarding Promptness.

'Nuff said!

April 13th - Wreath of the Month: Happy Birthday Balloon Wreath

Happy Birthday Balloon Wreath is my Wreath of the Month for April, it seemed fitting since I have 3 family birthdays and 4 friends birthdays.  I found this wreath exceedingly easy and quick to assemble.  It cost between $10-$15, a bit more than I'd normally spend.  I ended up not able to finish the complete round before I needed to cover my naked door.  I actually received so many compliments about it just the way it was, I'm going to keep it that way and use the extra supplies for other projects.

Supplies via Wal-ly World: straw wreath form, 2 bags balloons, 2 bags floral pins

Leave the plastic wrap on the wreath and stick the balloons on with floral picks

Rotate colors and position of balloons to cover up the pins, the more you do the better!

My finished wreath

April 12th - Happy Birthday Baby! Minnie Mouse Cupcakes

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  Love, love, LOVE you!  I know that when you're a teenager you'll hate that birthday headband, that's why I pull it out now when you can't even think about it while you eat your delicious cupcakes (3 total!).

We had a Minnie Mouse themed party, with Cherry Vanilla cupcakes.  Hobby Lobby had cute red with white polka dot cupcake liners.  I used Betty Crocker Cherry Chip and Betty Crocker Vanilla cake mixes and frosting, and frosted the opposite flavor cake - so vanilla cupcake with cherry frosting and cherry chip cupcake with vanilla frosting.  It was delicious!

I used large Oreos for the face and mini Oreos for the ears, and I recommend placing the Oreos immediately after frosting for better sticking and to twist your Oreos in half - the full Oreo on top of a cupcake was almost too much, almost.

CakeMate makes a pouch of Glitter Red squeezable frosting which was very easy for Minnie's hair bow.  Two dollops next to each other made a quick little heart.

I made mini cupcakes for the kiddos and have found them to be the perfect size.  Giving each kid a candle to blow out seems to be very helpful and a fun event for older kids that want to help!  I found the little Minnie Mouse figurine at Dollar Tree.

April 11th - Practicing "Minnie Mouse Hairbow" Hair, adapted from Half Up Hairbow Hairstyle

My baby's 1st birthday is a Minnie Mouse themed party and I am going to dress each girl up in a special party outfit. The birthday girl has her special cake outfit and headband and will be adorable.  My 3 year old is wearing yellow Minnie high heels, white, and a red flouncy skirt and, yay!, Minnie Mouse hairbow hair!

The only pic I could take of her holding still!

This is my final result:

I adapted the Half Up Hairbow Hairstyle to be all on top.

Half Up Hairbow

How to Remove Hard Water Build Up from Kitchen Sink Sprayer

How to Remove Hard Water Build Up was posted by a fellow Utahan momma with this crappy water!  My kitchen sink spray attachment only could spray halfway and in all directions, I am trying to go green and save some green and don't have time to scrape hard water build up off.  This was awesome and it worked!  Just use trusty old vinegar!  I soaked the attachment in a cup that I filled with vinegar and just left it alone for a few hours, then wiped it off!  If your shower heads or faucets get build up you can use this same trick!

My photos didn't really turn out, you just see the reflection of my pink phone in everything, so follow the link if you need some before and after shots!

April 9 - Date Your Family at Dinner

Can I just say that I love positiveparentingsolutions.com?  Please check them out!  My pin comes from them as I was needing some advice and encouragement about the daily battle called family dinner.  Date Your Family at Dinner was the article I needed to lift myself off the kitchen floor, read it and there will be several sentences were you will be nodding your head and saying, "yes!  exactly like me!".  The gist of the article: Do Family Dinner!  The food isn't as important as the time together and the connection that fill be made with your family members.

Here are the 6 tips the author gave:

1. Keep dinner simple
2. Think of eating out as an occasion, not a habit or quick fix
3. Have a menu plan
4. Think about dinner for 2 minutes in the morning
5. Make dinner after breakfast
6. The crockpot can be your new best friend

Amen!  Let's eat!

April 8 - Teething Troubles? Tips, Tricks, and Advice

Isn't she cute?  Baby #2 coming up on her first birthday, what does she get?  Her first 2 bottom molars! Ow!  For baby, and Ow!  For mommy.  I thought she had a cold at first and after a week of it, I took her to the doctor and it's just teething.  I'd actually prefer a cold or something else, if I could get a prescription to make it go away.The best Baby Teething Tips and Remedies from Growing A Jeweled Rose had a few good ideas, but every kid is different, so here is a list of things that have helped our princess get her 10 teeth:

• Homemade Teething Biscuits - love this recipe!  You can freeze for later and give her a cold one!
• Liquid Infants Ibuprofen - I avoid aspirin and acetaminophen unless it's specific advised
• Baby toothbrush - wet it first and they do the rest!  Monkey see, monkey do - brush your teeth at the same time and it will be a great learning time for baby!
• Lots of room temperature water served in a "chewable" bottle or sippy cup.
• Razbaby RaZ-berry Teether, comes in red or blue - it's a teether, toy, and a great baby shower gift.
• Baby Banana Bendable Training Toothbrush, also comes in a Shark! great for those back molars.  I give the berry teether and banana brush together at baby showers, especially good for when you don't know the gender or mom doesn't really need anything (all new babies need something new and special for them).
• Pineapple core - great for gnawing on without the risk of getting a chunk off (carrots!).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I have tried Baby Oragel, Teething tablets, gripe water, teething rings, water filled rings, wet washcloths, and haven't had success with both my kids - but maybe they can work for you!  Hang in there and good luck!

April 7 - LDS General Conference

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I watched the General Conference for our church via the internet on our smart tv.  I have to admit that now having two kids, even staying home to watch rather than dressing up and going to a church building, I'm not able to get too much out of each session.  I personally enjoy reading the talks and being able to now read them on my phone!  Instead of my app games I read talks in my "spare" time.

This is a Very Cool LDS Church General Conference Infographic:

April 6 - OZ movie review

Oz: The Great and Powerful movie!  I was really excited to see this on the big screen, I'm a big Wizard of Oz movie fan.  It was a very clever pre-quel to the classic Dorothy story, starting in black and white and then changing to vivid color screen.  I am normally not a James Franco fan, but he was realistic in his character of Oz.  The witches: Glinda, Evanora, and Theodora, all had spectacular looks, but Evanora was the best actress in her role.  Theodora was not as enjoyable to follow once she turned green and tried to talk and gesture dramatically at the same time.  And it's really mean, but I couldn't get over Glinda's sometimes lisp.  I definitely think that Disney will redo the classic Wizard of Oz film!

All in all, a great film!

DIY Dry Fajita Seasoning Mix

Tonights dinner is Crockpot chicken fajita quesadillas.  Chicken breasts, fajita seasoning mix, and water in the Crockpot for 4 hours, then shred and use with cheese between tortillas - quick and easy dinner.  I found Fajita instructions & Seasoning Mix from bhg.com, so you know it's tasty.  And it definitely makes my house smell yummy!

DIY Dry Fajita Seasoning Mix

1 1/2
teaspoons ground cumin

1/2
teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1/4
teaspoon salt

1/4
teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4
teaspoon black pepper

1/8
teaspoon garlic powder

1/8
teaspoon onion powder

April 4 - How to Freeze Rice and Use it Later!

This is awesome for busy day dinners!  How to Freeze Rice and Use it Later takes literally 2 minutes of prep and is much taster than instant rice or mashed potatoes for completing a meal.

When you make your next batch of rice, simply make it a double.  In a freezer Ziploc bag, pack the double portion and suck out the air.  Label (6 months max) and then double bag rice before putting in the freezer.

To thaw and use, simply take rice out of double bag and open inner Ziploc 1/4 inch.  Pop in microwave for 3 minutes, check, then put in longer as needed going in 2 minute intervals.

I just did this with Sticky Rice (sweet) and it turned out great, couldn't tell the difference!

April 3 - Using Fels Naptha bar for Laundry Stains

Continuing with my lovely laundry tips: using Fels Naptha bar for laundry stains.  We had some liquid children's medicine on the Mister's white button down, it had already dried by the time I was able to get to it.  The photos make the color look lighter for the spot, it was actually darker.

First, wet the spot, I used a $.97 Wal-Mart plant mister bottle.
Second, rub the Fels-Naptha bar into the spot.
Third, rub!

The photo on the left is my before, the one on the right is my after.

April 2 - Chocolate Dessert Popcorn

I used this basic recipe for Pretty Pink Popcorn to make a more adult version for my game night activity at church.  Instead of using white chocolate and food coloring, I used milk chocolate and stirred in candy bar pieces and marshmallows.  The only difficult part of this recipe is getting the popcorn, I don't own a popcorn machine and I couldn't find any microwave popcorn without added salt or butter.  My friend luckily had a popper we could use and this was a very quick and tasty treat perfect for game night!

Chocolate Dessert Popcorn
*adapted from erincooks.com

batch of popped popcorn
6-12 oz. chocolate (main coating for popcorn)
Additives: candies, sprinkles, dried fruit, food coloring, flavorings

Microwave chocolate in 30 second intervals until melted, stir after each interval.  If adding color or flavors, do now.
Coat popcorn in a large bowl, use a spoon or spatula.
Pour onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
Drizzle a second chocolate or caramel, if desired.
Add candies, sprinkles, or dried fruit.
Refrigerate at least 20 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

April 1 - How to get Blood out of Clothes, dried or fresh (ew!)

It's been 5 days since my last post, but I have been doing my one pin a day!  Our house has been kinda crazy lately and the following few posts will be a reflection of it.

Using my Laundry Stain Cheat Sheet I was able to get dried blood out of clothes, using spit.  Yes, spit. I was totally skeptical and a bit grossed out, but it worked!  I think that if the blood spot is large it would be best to use the salt soak or ammonia treatment, since it's hard, for me anyways, to work up that much spit!

Dried Blood Spot

After Spit and Finger Rub

**On a side note**
If your kid falls on their face and there is lots of blood, first cold water rinse and check for obvious problems: broken teeth, bites through lips or tongue,etc.  Next, use a cold compress, or cold wet washcloth to soothe the area.  If there is any one of the obvious problems, head to the closest ER while calling your pediatrician.  If there is a hole in the lips or tongue, ask for a pediatric oral surgeon at the ER.  For bonked or broken noses, nothing can really be done to help, unless it is now at a new angle or crushed flat.

Save yourself some panic the next time this happens!