Best of times, worst of times

This is what we came home to. I'll post more details later. My kind sister set up a crowd funding thing to try to raise money for repairs. Right now we are trying to work with them, but it is looking dismal. We will probably have to go a more aggressive route, but for now, I am heartbroken, and my house stinks.  
Below is the link if you are rich, or generous or want really good karma. Haha.

I'd be remiss though if I didn't express gratitude for all the miracles we've experienced in the last few months. We've been surrounded by wonderful people who we have been so blessed to know, who have served us and blessed us in countless ways. So thank you.

Christmas on our own terms

I love Christmas.  I love celebrating Christ’s birth, the greatest gift to the world, the reading of Luke 2 and acting out the Nativity.  I also love everything secular and worldly about Christmas.  I love the Ho Ho Ho, the red and green, Santa, and presents.  I’ve always had a hard time fitting in as much of each aspect as I’d like to, and as a result (especially as a parent) Christmas has become less about Christ, less about holly and jolly, and more about stress.  The other things I don’t like about Christmas is how completely anti-climactic (Is that really spelled right?  I spell checked it, but it seems wrong.) Christmas day is.  The morning is exciting, but the rest of the day seems so boring after all the anticipation.  Then New Year’s comes along, and New Year’s Eve is fun, but New Year’s Day is meh.  I usually set new goals that despite my initial enthusiasm, kind of get forgotten.

No More. 

I’m very fortunate to have a family that completely supports me in all my flights of whimsy. (Or perhaps I’m just a very good sales person, because one way or another they are all 100% in compliance enthusiastic and excited about the new schedule of events which is as follows:

December 1-24 - the normal preparation for Christmas.  We're planning on copying my sister's idea of reading a different scripture prophesying the birth and coming of Christ.  We're also doing an advent calendar of Christmas stories, and a stocking advent calendar with treats or Christmas activities or ornaments.

Our stocking advent calendar all the stockings are made from old clothing and such.

In the corner is our story advent calendar.  It was made with a mirror frame (The kids broke the mirror) and then 25 pieces of 12x12 scrapbook paper. But now I need to add 5 more.  Luckily I haven't fastened it yet.  Oh, and I made the stockings here from sweaters.  I still need to embellish them.

December 24-25, Christmas: A Celebration of Christ

These days will include the Nativity, the reading of Luke 2, the singing of any/all Christmas songs about the precious child born in Bethlehem, Savior of the World, and possibly the Messiah.  All of it.  We’ll also participate in some sort of service, and possibly spend time with extended family.  No gifts, with the possible exception of something Christ related.  The evening of the 25^th may culminate in a formal or very simple dinner followed by a family testimony meeting. I also really like the idea I got from my cousin about setting goals based on the scripture.  Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. So we’ll introduce this verse to the family to use as a guideline for setting goals over the next week.

December 26-29

Finish preparing everything needed for a holly jolly commercial Christmas. (At a very merry 50-75% off! ;) ) The other bonus is that all the kids will be home from school and can participate in all the fun cooking, songs, stories, and all that other fun stuff about getting ready for Christmas.  This will also be a time for reflection and planning for goals for the coming year.

December 30

Essi Day. It will be so nice for her to celebrate her birthday BEFORE everyone else gets presents, instead of just on the tail end of Christmas.

December 31

Party. Time.  All the fun of New Year’s Eve + staying up until midnight playing games and having fun + fireworks + the treats of Christmas and finger foods + the anticipation of Santa coming in the morning. It would also be fun to share all our favorite memories and blessings from the closing year.

January 1

A celebration of everything new… and Santa.  The coming of the New Year, new presents, and new goals.  Do our traditional breakfast of Green Eggs and Ham, and cherry cream cheese crescent rolls, fruit, etc.  Open presents. Take naps. Have a fun family council where we all share our new goals.  I love goals.  I love the growth and the excitement that comes with setting and accomplishing new goals.  I love the idea of having a bigger holiday celebrating goal making and starting.

This was our first picture of our first attempt at Chritmas pictures this year.  From this, it went downhill fast. We'll retry later.

Merry Christmas!

Family Hierarchy

Last night Jerrod was telling me how much he loved Helam's admiration for him. Helam thinks his dad is quite awesome. I was expressing to Jerrod some examples of how true Helam's adoration, and I asked little man, "Helam, who's the KING?" Helam looks up at both of us, grins, and knowingly replies, "Mama's da King-Ding-Ding." So there you have it. Hahaha. Smart boy.

Dangerous

Helam's quite an adventurous boy, and I frequently find myself warning him that what he's doing is dangerous. (His pronunciation of the word is pretty awesome.) He's learned a new trick though, when I tell him he's doing something dangerous he'll look at me with a twinkle in his eye and say, "Gonna give Mama a kiss." Then he starts doing kissy sounds as he comes over to me, gives me a big kiss, then goes back to what he was doing and says, "I dangewous." Little stinker.

Summer lovin'

Tonight we spent a few hours in the park as a family. With dad. On a weeknight. During the summer. Do you have any idea how HUGE that is?!?

(Not to mention that this is one of the most relaxing park trips ever for me. HE played with the kids, I sat and read a book. Amazing.)

I'm loving it.
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I just got done reclaiming my onion patch. It was so exciting to see them actually coming out of the ground! They were hidden so well though. The entire row was covered in weeds, now it just has onion sprigs coming up. Very satisfying. (Although something bit my behind. Ouch.)

The kids are helping too. They get $2.00 for each 6 gallon food storage bucket they fill up with weeds. We both think we're getting a steal. Unfortunately, we've got enough weeds for them to each make a small fortune.

Oh, and my farmer's tan is coming in marvelously, though calling it a tan is being quite generous. It's more of a farmer's burn, freckle line, and extra dry peeling skin. Super super sexy.
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Maybe they're on to something!

My kids just asked me to stay in bed a little longer so they could finish getting their chores done! (Or maybe I'm still dreaming?) Ah. If I really thought it would really work, I'd think this was a brilliant plan! I'm willing to do my part though. Let's do it every morning! Haha.
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Sockie?

I told him that to go outside he needed more clothes, so he found a "sockie" to go with his shoes.
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Outside?

Helam was putting his shoes on saying, "Outside?" He's now begging at the door.
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Mermaid Modesty

I was thrilled when Essi came to me today to show me how she made her mermaid more modest! (She was pretty skanky before) Essi used a broken part of a green balloon and it's a seaweed shirt. I'm glad modesty is becoming important to Essi, because she's my girl who's been pretty interested in what she thinks is "fashionable" which isn't always the most modest. She'll pull her shirt off her shoulders or tie it in a way that her stomach shows. I don't know where she gets it from, but I'm glad that our talks on showing reverence for our body, and dressing modestly are sticking somewhere.
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May the fourth be with you.

So today is National Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you. haha. Okay, it's cheesy. I know. This May 4th, Star Wars has a new HUGE fan. Helam watched episode 1 with his dad last Saturday.

He. Loved. It.

For a movie to hold his interest for even a few minutes, it must have cars, robots, tools, or an annoying dancing dinosaur. Star Wars delivered in a big way. They even have the annoying dinosaur in the form of Jar Jar Binks. (I wished he'd die in the first 10 minutes of the show, but Essi thinks he's funny, so that softens me to him. A little.)

Helam stayed in the room the WHOLE time, every time the scene changed, he'd say, "WHOA!" in his really husky voice. His eyes were SO big. In a very short time he mastered the word "Pace Sip" and he'd continually say it with reverence. He had a toy sword that automatically became a light saber and has had light saber sound effects since. (On a side note, WHO teaches boys these things? I still swear they come with their own sound effect chip in their brain.) He'd lay on his stomach and happily kick his feet. I haven't seen him in such bliss. He kept going right up right to the tv, he'd turn with excitement shining from his eyes look at us, his huge round head blocking the screen. I didn't mind. I wasn't watching the movie, I was watching him.

The Book of Mormon/Youtube Challenge

I know some have heard about this, but if you haven't, here's a link with more information.

Facebook page

In summary, today they are trying to get Elder Holland's talk to page 1 of Youtube for a day or something, how you can help is by watching the video, linking it, favoriting it, liking it, commenting, etc. I guess multiple views are good too. Anyway, here's the link to the video.

Testimony of the Book of Mormon

Teetotaling, or Back on the Wagon.

I ain’t never shoutin’ “uncle” to you or nobody, ‘cuz I ain’t never down!
Come on, Molly, you’re tuckered. Why don’t you quit?
Sure, I’m tuckered and I might give out, but I won’t give in! How can anybody say that I’m down? Look. I’m thinking. I’m thinking very hard how to break through. Maybe here, maybe there, maybe no place. But, there’ll come a time when nuthin’, nor nobody wants me down like I wants me up! Up where the people are, up where the talkin’ is, up where the jokes goin’ on.
Now, looky here, I am important to me! Ain’t no bottom to no pile! I mean much more to me than I mean to anybody I ever knew! Certainly more than I mean to any sideways, yassy-hampers like you guys! Go ahead, break my arm… me say “uncle”…hooo! Doesn’t make a bit o’ difference for you to keep sayin’ I’m down ‘til I say so, too!
D’ya ever try steppin’ on a piss ant? Well, there’s one now. Jump ‘im, stump ‘im! Thinkin’ you got ‘im? Thinkin’ he’s quit? He don’t think so. There he goes! And you can be positive sure I’m as good as any piss ant that ever lived!
Oh, I hate that word “down”! But, I love that word “up”! ‘Cuz “up” means “hope” an’ that’s jus’ what I got! Hope!

-The Unsinkable Molly Brown

So for my sugar thing I did awesome. Then, since I was invincible, and had kicked my sugar habit, I'd allow myself 2 days of eating whatever sugary things I wanted. Those 2 days turned into 13. I ate a lot of sugar. A lot. I can't pretend I didn't enjoy it. I did. I figured, hey I can do this in moderation! I can't. I felt like junk. I wasn't in control anymore. The sugar was stronger than I.

Today was day 1 again with no sugar. I didn't think one could do so much sugar damage in 2 weeks, or that I'd have to go through such severe sugar detox again. It sucks. isn't fun. I have a headache from he... that is really bad. I've been sharp with my kids. (Even Helam! *sniff.* On a side note, HOW do you keep an 18 month old from constantly sticking his flipping hands down his pants?!?) My brain is fuzzy. I'm really grumpy. I want more sugar.

I am stronger though. I'll keep it up, realizing that I can't allow myself to do this again. It's kind of empowering going into hand to hand combat with such a powerful foe. Unfortunately, today it's dealt some powerful blows. I didn't give in though, so does that mean I'm winning? For today at least?

On again, Off again.

May I present "Nirvana." For Menstruating Woman.

I had this bad boy tonight after my homemade Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa salad. (It has been accurately described as Food Mecca.) The dressing is good too. Helam climbed on the table and was eating it with a spoon. What you can't see with this cupcake is that it is really a brownie. With cherries. And cream cheese. And milk and white chocolate chips. It was really good.

As for the giving up sugar thing, I agree with Scarlet when she said, "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow."

Silver Linings

While we were at the dentist this morning, my tire went flat. At least it was after the appointment, AND we were in town close to the tire place, and NO cavities!! (-Though there was discussion of Sariah's impending orthodontia.)

When we went to get it filled, we found we were way overdue for new tires, AND an oil change. We've known this for a while, but at least we found out at a time when we could afford it (Though grudgingly. Seriously. Who wants to pay that much money for something as boring as tires?!) and that we were able to do it before we had a tire blow or something.

While we waited for the car to get fixed we went for a walk. (How awesome that the stroller was in the van!) It was cold and none of my kids had coats. At least it wasn't raining! (Or let's be real, we're in Rexburg, it could easily have been snowing.)

While we were walking a bird pooped. On. My. Hand. I'm not seeing a huge silver lining there, (at least it wasn't my head?) but I'm incredibly grateful for baby wipes. However, I am NOT grateful for sippy cups. A few minutes after that "fowl" incident I discovered that Helam's stupid sippy cup leaked all over my phone effectively destroying it. (Di-thanks for letting me use you as an emergency contact. My phone let me see that you said yes, but not reply. I'm glad you said yes, because I'd already put you.)

When we got home, it was 4. Helam, who usually naps at 11, went down for a late nap. (SO overdue.) I was supposed to get to spend my afternoon sorting and folding laundry, doing dishes, and rewinding the fishing line that Helam spread all over the house and organizing my craft room. That's really not happening. Neither is dinner.

Luckily, in about an hour I have a husband coming home who I hope has a lot of energy because he hasn't had to look for a lot of silver linings, while dragging "a multitude of blessings" (3) around town while getting pooped on today.

In other good news... before the dentist appointment, I got both the big bathrooms cleaned, scrubbed, and beautiful. (Baseboards too!) As I was getting ready to go, I tried on one of my old "skinny shirts" (that used to be way to small for me) and my skinny pants (Not to be confused EVER with skinny jeans, though they were jeans.) Both have now become my "fat clothes."

Silhouettes

This was my project today! I'm pretty happy with how this turned out!
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Welcome Spring!!

I've longed for it's arrival. I'd seen the signs of it's coming. My kids are starting to smell like outside. It must be SPRING!!! I'm a little more than excited. (A Lot.) I can finally come out of hibernation and it seems like everything is starting anew. Love it. Today we spent the day working in our garden. Our garden. We've never had a garden. We've moved every April and August (plus some) for the past 7 years. It's exhilarating! It's also nice to get to do "Spring Cleaning" instead of "Spring Packing." It's exciting that we actually get to stay in our newly cleaned and fresh (it will be;) ) house, and not just clean it to move out! Lalalala!


Yay.

Infestation!!!

Our house has been infiltrated! We've got green footprints coming out from the heater vents...

Some more coming from the bathroom sink and all over the toilet, and I'm not sure what they did to turn the water green. There were tracks going to the kitchen and throughout the refrigerator, leaving adhesive symbols of luck and fortune on all of our food. In the girls bathroom upstairs it looks like there were a couple of them walking all over the counter. (More green toilet water.)

Luckily, they seem friendly! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I can't think of a catchy title but I wanted to show off a bit!

I've never gotten into the whole scrapbooking/homemade card thing. Well, I've sort of gotten into it, in that I've purchased piles of papers, letters, stickers, flowers, glue, etc. I've yet to complete a single page. So I'm pretty proud of my latest project where I actually used scrapbooking materials and completed a project. (I'd be a lot more proud had I used up some of what I'd already had, but instead I bought some new stuff, but let's pretend that part didn't happen.) This was my first attempt and I'm pretty happy with the results. I also enjoyed making it which I suppose is a really really good thing, as when I was buying "just a few" new things, I found a "really good deal" on smaller notebooks, (I love notebooks and basically anything made of paper.) and bought a lot. I figured they'd make great homemade gifts... Hmm. Well, at least one is done, and the recipient will love it! (It's Essi.)

Before

This is a cute little writing book we got for Essi. Each page has a place at the top for a picture, and the bottom it is lined for beginning writers. Very fun. But not quite fun enough.


After

Much more appealing for my budding writer! (Unfortunately, the notebook was not as appealing as the Wii that Essi is now grounded from after failing to shower me with adequate gratitude, praise, wonder and excitement.)

I Heart Cauliflower!!

I feel like I've just been given one of the greatest cheat codes in the game of life. I guess it's not up on the same level as you know, knowing who I am, where I came from, and where I'm going, but for a girl like me who (really) loves carbs and has been cursed blessed with a body that doesn't... It's pretty darn close.

The secret is Cauliflower. I guess you can make some pretty great mashed faux-tatoes with it, as well as use it (somehow) for a fake lasagna, or easily imitate rice. Tonight I made cauliflower crust pizza, and I know there is someone out there who loves me and cares about me and I believe he created this magnificent vegetable just to show that. Can I just say, it was awesome?!? (I guess I could, but I usually like to ramble on a bit, so I won't leave it at that.)

I admit, I was a little (lot) skeptical before I started. I LOVE pizza, and some kooky knock off by a veggie loving, low carb eating, wannabe cook I truthfully conceded probably would not do it for me. However, I'm trying to become a veggie loving, lower carb eating cook, so I figured, even if it wasn't super great, but I could imagine I was eating pizza, it would still be worth it.

My efforts were rewarded. It tasted abso-flipping-lutely amazing. My entire family loved it, and it was fun to see how much cauliflower my 5 year old was putting down. It tasted really bready, and definitely carby, but it wasn't. Normally when I try healthier versions of recipes, I walk away feeling like I "kind of" had what I was craving, but still crave it and want the real thing. After this I felt like I had just had real pizza, and felt a little guilty knowing that somehow I'd probably just gone over my carb limit for the month. It was great. Another bonus, it's really filling. I made 1 cookie sheet of pizza (by quadrupling the recipe I'll post below) and normally our family could probably eat 2 pizza sheets. By the time it was half gone, we were all so stuffed, wanting to eat more, but unable. (So now we have left overs!)

Anyway, because I love you all, I'm going to share the recipe. (Or you can just google cauliflower pizza crust, but to save you the time, here it is. 1 caveat - it is not low fat.)

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower*
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese

(I added some Garlic powder, some Oregano, (just sprinkled in enough for it to smell good) salt, (just enough for the plain cauliflower to taste kind of yummy) and Parmesan cheese (maybe between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup for the 4X recipe?))

**pizza or alfredo sauce

(On half I used Hunt's all natural garlic, basil, and oregano sauce, pretty low carb, and decent pizza sauce flavor without having to add anything. For the other half, I mixed some cream cheese, some heavy whipping cream, and some pesto sauce. It was good.)

toppings (make sure meats are cooked)
mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. (Very important. We didn't grease for the bread sticks that I tried to make. Yeah. Don't forget to spray.)

In a medium bowl, combine (seasoned) cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Press evenly on the pan.

Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes (15-20 minutes if you double the recipe).

Remove the pan from the oven. To the crust, add sauce, then toppings and cheese.

Place under a broiler (grill for the Europeans) at high heat just until cheese is melted **.

Nutritional Information for the entire crust:
calories: 434, fat: 25 g, carbohydrates: 8 (net), 13 if counting all, fiber: 5 g, protein: 41 g.

Final tip, expect it to taste pretty bad and weird, then when you taste it, you'll be like, "Nuh-UH! This is NOT cauliflower!" Let me know if you try it and what you thought!

Coming up this week (hopefully) funeral cheesy faux-tatoes!