Twiddler House

Happy Birthday, Dear Doctor!

2012-03-02T13:56:00.001-08:00

We are BIG Dr. Seuss fans around here. When Thing One and Thing Two were babies, we celebrated their first birthday Seuss-style, and asked guests to bring books as gifts, instead of toys. So we have an awesome library of Seuss books that came from all our close family and friends, and we read those books ALL the time. (We even have some memorized!)

So you can imagine how excited we get about Dr. Seuss's birthday around here! This year, I just couldn't limit our Seuss-style fun to one day...so we've been celebrating all week with Seuss books, games, treats and crafts.

There are so many great ideas out there for celebrating the great Doctor's life and works. (You can see all the fun ideas I've pinned on my Dr. Seuss Pinterest board.) Here's just a few of the fun things we've done this week:

Monday
We read Oh the Thinks You Can Think and then we used our imaginations to think up some fun things to draw. We drew nighttime picnics, puppy dogs, and silly snacks.

Tuesday
We read Horton Hears a Who and made pink clovers, just like Horton's. Then we played "hide the clover" (like Vlad the eagle does in the book) and took turns finding it using the good old "hot and cold" method.

Wednesday
We read The Shape of Me and Other Stuff and used cookie cutters to trace different shapes and cut them out. While we cut out the shapes, we talked about what some of their favorite shapes were (Mommy's favorite shape is a little boy shape, of course!)

Thursday
We read The King's Stilts and made our own stilts out of cans and string. This turned out to be one of my favorite activities, because it lead to a whole hour and a half of us playing outside together in the nice, breezy spring air. After they practiced walking on their stilts, they boys got our their sidewalk chalk and drew "levels" that they had to complete on their stilts, complete with bomb rocks and blast shield doors (ah, boys).

Friday
We read The Lorax and made Truffula Trees out of tissue paper. We also went to our local library's story time (we go every Friday) and of course, they had a fun Seuss celebration going on as well. After the library, we came home and enjoyed our traditional Seuss lunch - a Frankfurter Roast (like in The Sneetches - diced hot dogs on toothpicks), Truffula Tree Fruits (grapes), and our favorite Beautiful Schlopp With a Cherry On Top (from Oh the Thinks You Can Think)!

It's been so much fun for me to focus my whole week on reading with my boys, spending time with them, acting silly and just having fun!! I think I needed a silly, Seuss-filled week to remind me how much fun being a kid can be - and how much fun I have watching my little Thing One and Thing Two just be their cute little selves. ;)

We're topping off our Seussabration tonight with a special Seuss-themed dinner. On the menu tonight:

Green Eggs (deviled) and Ham (mini ham and cheese sandwiches)

Ooblek (guacamole with chips)

Truffula Tree Fruits (grapes)

One Fish Two Fish (blue jello with sweedish fish)

Pink Ink Drink (raspberry lemonade)

After dinner, we're heading out to see this...

...and what will we be snacking on during our movie?

Why, Hop on Popcorn, of course!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!!

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Linky Blog Hop!

2012-02-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

Well, friends, the time has come. It's time to start dealing with the loss of our beloved Google Friend Connect. All you sweet facebook fans were so nice to come over and "follow" me here so that I could see those lovely triple-digits before Google makes the change. But, alas, our connection won't last forever, UNLESS you all follow me over to Linky Followers and keep the party going! :)

So, in the spirit of "re-connecting" I'd love for you to join me in this Linky Followers blog hop! Here's the lowdown (courtesy of Tattered & Inked - thanks, Kelsey!)

GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT

will be discontinued on Feb 29 for any one that is not with blogspot, and rumor has it that it is being completely phased out for everyone soon

BUT

There is a NEW awesome tool–Linky Followers

It has so many amazing features (that GFC never had). If you have not signed up you should. (And you can have GFC and Linky together). You will LOVE the new features!!! I'm digging' 'em :

In honor of the new Linky Follower craze, Cheri from It's So Very Cheri is hosting a LINKY FOLLOWER PARTY HOP.

Here are the RULES:

1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate.

If you see that your link has been deleted you need to add the LINKY FOLLOWER tool to your site and then come back over and re-enter your link
{You can have both the LINKY FOLLOWERS & GFC on your site but you must have the LINKY FOLLOWERS toolto participate in this party hop.}

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3. Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want)

You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER–just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE. Click on GET THE CODE HERE and enter it into a post on your site. You can grab info from my post if it helps you with your post.

–leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

If you want to add the BLOG HOP to your own site you will get lots of new followers–(see rule #2)

So there you have it! I hope you'll all take a few minutes to reconnect with me using Linky Followers and then join me in this fun blog hop (there are some great blogs to be found this way!) I will be leaving up my Google Friend Connect as long as they let me, but when it's gone, it's gone...and I would hate to lose contact with any one of you!)

Now, start hoppin'!

Guest Post: Bridgey Widgey!

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to be hosting my first guest blogger - the fabulous Bridget from Bridgey Widgey! She has some a-m-a-z-i-n-g party ideas on her blog, not to mention some super cute crafts, recipes, and lots more! So without further ado...take it away, Bridget!

Let's get this party started!!! I am Bridget from Bridgey Widgey and I am a party stylist, mom, and blogger. I always enjoy a good craft project, but especially when I can use it for my parties. As a party stylist I am always looking for different ways to decorate a party with out breaking the bank. I also love the idea of making something once but using it for party after party. This is why I am excited share with you this wood banner I made for The Wood Connection. The people at The Wood Connection probably thought I was crazy because I was a combination of a kid on Christmas morning mixed with a bargain shopper on black friday. I was going crazy with excitment! They have so many fun things to create at a killer price. I won't lie it was hard for me to settle on just one project but eventually I decided on their wood pendant flags. I chose these because it is perfect for those non-sewers and cost effective. You can get two banners out of one, or make one into a chalk board that I will show later in this post. The possibilities are endless! I loved this craft SO much because it didn't take a lot of time, yet it adds that punch of decor that takes the party to the next level.So let's get started....I am first going to show you how to create the chalk board banner.

(one side of the banner)

To get the chalk board effect you will want to follow these steps:

Next, turn over your chalk board flags and follow these steps to get an additional banner on the reverse side.

Step 1: Trace the wood on the paper of your choice. My paper is all from The Wood Connection. This place is really a one stop shop!

Step 2. Using the wood glue they sell, apply a thin coat onto the wood and adhere the paper.

Step 3. Don't worry if you didn't cut it out exactly. You can use a razor blade to cut off the excess paper.

Step 4: Ink the edges. (optional)

Step 5: String the banner through the holes. I used bakers twine and added some colorful ribbon I got from The Wood Connection.

Step 6. Hang your banner. I like to use these command strips for easy set up and take down.

Now, I want to show you how versatile these banners are. I made this pink banner for a princess party I have coming up in April, but I wanted to use it now for Valentine decor. I used some magnates to easily attach and remove wood letters that I purchase at The Wood Connection for 89 cents.

All you have to do is paint, glue, and attach. Pretty easy right?

Want to know my favorite part besides that it is reversible? It stores up small and easy.

I want to say thanks again to Twiddler house for letting me be a guest blogger. I encourage you to come and follow my blog because The Wood Connection is going to be giving away 25 dollars to one of my lucky follower.

What are you waiting for? Come and check it out!

Sweet Gift For Your Sweetheart (#2)

2012-02-09T09:02:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share something sweet my husband gave me for Christmas. It would make a great Valentine's gift, if you're looking for something a little more "personalized" this year.

Now, the concept of homemade "gift certificates" certainly isn't new. But my husband surprised me this year by giving me a whole pack of hilarious gift cards that he made just for me...because he knows me so well:

Instead of giving me cards to exchange for "stuff" (i.e. backrubs, a car wash, dinner out...) he gave me the kinds of things a girl really needs!

Here are a few of my favorites...

(You'd be surprised how many of these needed to have the words "WITH NO COMMENTARY" added.)

Slurpees are good. But these are even better...

...and my personal favorite...

Now who couldn't use a card like THAT to have up their sleeve? Am I right, ladies?

These are like gold! Haha! I have been completely torn between using them up gleefully and saving them for just the right moment...

The Old Man is actually great at coming up with funny, sweet gifts like these. Like the time he listed 28 things he loves about me for my 28th birthday. And even though he has given me plenty of "regular" gifts over the years, these are the ones I hang on to the longest...and the ones I remember best. ♥

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Friday I'm In Love

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

(image found here)

One of the things my husband and I aren't great at is scheduling regular date nights. Since we didn't have kids for the first 10 years of our marriage, it never seemed necessary to really plan ahead and schedule time for "just us." It was always just us!

But obviously, when kids come along, date nights become...how can I put this? LIFESAVERS! Not only is it important to set aside time to talk and catch up without the kiddos around, date nights give us a chance to pursue common interests, and just have FUN together! It helps remind us why we ended up together in the first place. ;)

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share some of our recent favorite date nights, as well as some ideas I have up my sleeve for the future...

♥ Downton Abbey Date Night: Do you watch this show? We love it! And when the new season started, we decided to kick it off in style. We set aside a Friday night to watch the season premier, just the two of us. Then we went to our local Panera Bread and chose a bunch of different pastries to sample. We brought them home and ate fancy pastries while watching the drama unfold. A simple, low-cost date, but so much fun!

♥ Barnes & Noble Night: I got this idea from The Dating Divas. I knew it would be perfect for this book-loving couple. Here's how it works: Make a list ahead of time of different categories - places you'd like to visit, recipes to try, poem or stories that describe your spouse, favorite book when you were a child...whatever you can think of! Then at the bookstore, split up and take 20-30 minutes for each of you to find your picks for each category. Then meet back together with all your finds and share, compare, and laugh! And afterwards, Barnes & Noble has a cute little cafe handy where you can get a treat to top off the night!

♥ Take Me Out to the Ball Game: This might be a no-brainer, but if your husband (or you) are a sports fanatic, why not plan a sports-themed date night? This could be as simple as Tivo-ing the "big game" and watching it together (complete with team t-shirts and game snacks, of course). Or you could go the extra mile and get tickets to see your favorite team play. A game day without all the kids can be a whole new experience! :)

♥ Service Date Night: This is one I came up with to help us celebrate our month of service. What's better than doing service together as a couple? My plan is to head to the mall, where we will hit up the major department stores, leaving encouraging notes (and maybe even a few small Valentine candy treats) in the changing room stalls. We can also take snack-size bags of change and tape them to the vending machines near the food court. I think it will be fun and kind of silly to do this in a sneaky way and try not to get "caught." To make our job easier, I made up some fun little images that can be printed directly onto sticky notes (using this template) so we can just "stick and run." ;) Here are the images I made, in case you'd like to leave some anonymous good will around your town this month (just right-click and save, then use in the templates I linked to - they fit the 3x3 post-it note size)...

And another fun date night idea? Planning date nights! Seriously, my husband and I are both "planners", and it's actually quite fun for us to spend a Friday evening dreaming up creative date ideas, or making lists of all the fun things we'd like to do together. It's a perfect date night plan for those nights when the budget is tight or the babysitter's a no-go. Stay in, snuggle up, and plan out some fun nights for the future!

Hope this gets your creative juices flowing and helps you come up with some new and fun ways you and your spouse can celebrate Valentine's Day this year. I'd love to hear about your favorite date night! Shout it out in the comments and give the rest of us some more good ideas! :)

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Sweet Gift For Your Sweetheart (#1)

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

At the Twiddler House, we're all about giving thoughtful, homemade gifts. The Old Man and I are always coming up with little homemade things to give each other that aren't expensive or flashy, but mean a lot to us.

I was trying to think of something "meaningful" to give my husband at Christmas time. It seems like our lives are always so busy that we often miss those times to just chat - just the two of us. Usually, we're collapsing into bed at the end of the day, or running around with twins in tow every weekend. Inspired by the "Dear Dave & April" series over at Funky Vintage Lovely, I came up with a way for us to keep those lines of communication open, even during our busiest weeks.

All it took was a cute, store bought journal (found for about $4 at our local Marshall's) some paper and some mod-podge. I made a little label for the front of the book and adhered it with mod-podge. I put an extra coat over the top, just to seal it on nice and tight.

Then I printed up this image that I found on Pinterest, and glued it to the inside cover:

(found here)

I wrote the first entry, explaining to my husband that this was to be a "shared" journal. Any time one of us has something we want to share, we can write it here. It can be a "thanks for that thing you did today..." or maybe a "just so you know..." It can be "can you please give me a break about..." or even just an "I thought about you today when..." When we write a new entry, we put it somewhere obvious for the other person to find, to let them know there's something new to read.

Just a simple little way for us to let each other know what's going on in our heads.

My husband was really pleased when he opened it, and told me he thought it was a great idea! We've each written in it a couple of times so far, and each time I love seeing what's in his head put down on paper. It's such a nice way to connect, even when we can't be together in person.

I think this would make a great Valentine's Day gift for your special someone. Anyone can do this - no special crafty skills required. And it's a great way to give something from the heart. ♥

-----

Linking up to some of my favorite parties today!

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A Frame For All Seasons

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

You know those cute chicken wire frames you've been seeing all over the internet? I made one. Want to see it? ;)

I have this...shall we say...less than attractive door that leads to our garage right in the front entryway of our house. It's one of the first things people see when they walk in. And it bugs me. So I decided to pretty it up a little with something cute.

The inspiration for this project actually came from my friend Jackie. She has a bunch of cute little ribbons and pom-poms and other bits of trim hanging from the ceiling over her kitchen island. At the ends of each ribbon, she attaches family photos that fit the current season. For example, during her son's birthday month, there were pictures of him as a baby, and at different stages of his life. During Christmas, she had family Christmas photos from over the years. It looked so pretty and festive! I thought this was such a fun way to incorporate family photos and mementos into your holiday decorating. And what fun for her kids when they each get a turn being "featured" in this cute decor!

I decided to do something similar, but using a picture frame that could be changed around during each season or special occasion.

I started with this old frame that I got for free at a church "give and take."

I cleaned it up and gave it coat of primer, and finished it off with the same yellow I used for my sunny little side table. Then I attached some chicken wire to the back using a staple gun and hung it up using a bit of happy polka-dot ribbon.

Here it is hanging on my door, to give you a better idea of the scale of it:

At first I used it to hold all the Christmas cards we received over the holiday season. I attached some little sparkly jingle bells, too, just for fun. And of course, had to mod-podge those clothespins so they'd be cute, too. :)

After the holidays, I took down the cards and put up something a little more "lovey."

It makes me so happy to see this every time I walk in the front door. :) And I think it's a nice addition to our other Valentine's Day decor...

I plan to change my frame out for Easter with some cute springtime pics of our family, as well as some small pics of the Savior to help us remember what the holiday is all about. And I'm thinking we can use it to put up pictures of the General Authorities at General Conference time. We could put up pictures of our Grandmas for Mother's Day. And maybe some more wedding pics and pictures of the temple around our anniversary. The possibilities are endless!

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Service is LOVE

2012-02-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about Service Boot Camp? If not, you very much need to head over to We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice of Christ and read all about it. It's worth it, I promise.

Don't worry, I'll wait...

OK, now that you've seen how amazing Service Boot Camp can be, I'll tell you about my goals for the month of February. For the past two years I have been reading about Jocelyn's month-long mission of service and thought to myself "someday I'm going to give that a try."

Well, friends. Today is that day. My official goal for the month of February is:

to participate in Service Boot Camp

and do at least one act of service/kindness per day.

So here's my take on what that means. For me, this is a personal goal. I'm not expecting my husband or kids to join me, or holding them accountable for doing something every day. I don't want to make this difficult or impose anything on them, because I feel like doing that would make it feel like work and drudgery. And because I hate nagging ("Did everyone do their service for the day?" Hurry up and get it done!")

BUT, of course I do want to use this as an opportunity to strengthen my family and teach my kids about service. So here's how I'm working it. I, personally, will try to do at least ONE small thing each day for someone else. Many of these things will be done for strangers or friends, but many of them - in fact, probably most of them - are going to be for individuals in my own family.

I know some may say that this doesn't "count" because, by virtue of being mothers, we serve our families every day (laundry, dishes, cooking, car pool...) But here's the thing. How often do we take the time to really stop and think about the service we provide within our own homes? How often do we look for little ways to go "above and beyond" our regular, household duties and find ways to make each person in our homes feel special? And better yet, how often do we feel honest-to-goodness JOY in our hearts while we do the daily things we do?

Honestly, I don't. I grumble. I "get through the day." I look forward to my work being done so I can do something "enjoyable." I don't often appreciate how truly enjoyable my job can be. How much JOY can be found in running errands for my husband, or mending a little boy's favorite monkey. And I need to change that.

Because that's what it's all about, to me. When we serve others - willingly and lovingly - it builds up our reserves of happiness in our hearts. We remember that this life is all about...

"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."
- Gordon B. Hinkley

"Men are that they might have joy."
- 2 Nephi 2:25

"the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors."
- Alma 36:25

"when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God."

- Mosiah 2:17

These things all go together for me. Joy. Service. Family. Love. What better way to spend the Valentine's season than helping others feel that joy? After all, service is just another word for love. And there's no one I love more than my family.

So this month, I will look for opportunities to serve, both in and out of my home. I will try my best to serve others spontaneously, out in the world, when the opportunity arises. I will try to do thoughtful, kind things for neighbors, friends, and even strangers. But I will also look for at least one way each day that I can do something "extra" for someone in my own home. I have planned out some Family Home Evenings all about service, and have even planned out some "service date nights" for The Old Man and I to enjoy this month!

I can't wait to share with you how our month goes and how our family is impacted by this month-long focus on service. Until then, I hope some of you will join me in enlisting in Jocelyn's Service Boot Camp and seeing how one small act each day can change your life, and your heart.

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1 Down, 11 To Go

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

Well, the first month of 2012 is in the books. Does anyone else feel like January just whoooshed by? One minute we were ringing in the New Year, and the next we were planning our Valentine's.

Despite the fact that things were a little hectic this month, I am happy to say I made some progress with my organization goals and actually got quite a lot done! (You don't know how GREAT it feels to say that!)

So here it is, friends - my report to you on my January goals.

Goal #1: to start decluttering my home using this daily calender.

Check! I am so happy to say I really stuck to this and completed the whole first month! Hooray! If you haven't downloaded this calender yet, I highly recommend it. I admit, I was a bit skeptical of how well I would do at decluttering every single day...but these tasks were surprisingly easy! Clean out your spices? Done. Clean off ONE shelf? Easy peasy. And before I knew it, I was well on my way to a less cluttered home. I did give myself a bit of a break on the "storage pile" bits, since The Old Man and I just cleaned out our whole garage and that baby's as decluttered as it's going to get for now. ;)

Which brings us to

Goal # 2: to finally put together a family binder with important info, school papers, etc.

I have to say, I altered my goal a little bit on this one. Once I got started I realized that the binder system just isn't that great for the way I function. And if it doesn't fit the way I live, what's the point, right? So instead I simply cleaned out my file folders and put them to work in a new way, using this system I saw on Pinterest...

(original link from A Bowl Full of Lemons)

I just LOVE this! I had previously kept my files in a box that was in our closet, and found that I was just too doggone l-a-z-y to pull it out every time I need to stash some paperwork. So the papers were piling up around the house AND the box was taking up precious space in our closet! With this lovely new system, my files are right on my desktop, where I need them - and yet they still look neat and attractive. WIN! I have my billing/financial files here, as well as a folder for those papers that trickle home from my boys' school, AND a place to keep my blog-related info. It's heavenly, I tell ya. And so far, the system seems to be working for me.

Not only did I meet my "big" goals, I finally implemented some of those great ideas I've seen on Pinterest for taming clutter. Here are a few of the things I put into action at our house...

Clothes hanger system from A Step in the Journey

Lego instructions binder from Over the Big Moon

Storage pails on the wall from Gallamore West

Ribbon storage from Spunky Junky

And last but not least, this little idea that I read about YEARS ago, but can't remember where. Surprisingly, I could not find this one on Pinterest, so I was forced to forge ahead on my own. ;)

Pizza Box Art Storage

This is a simple solution for storing all those cute little crafts and art projects the kiddos bring home from school. The largest size pizza box is perfect for holding it all, and they stack so nicely!

I'm one of those mommies who is totally tempted to save every little thing my precious babies have colored on...but of course after 12 plus years of school we might just find ourselves buried under an avalanche of paper and glitter. In fact, after only 1 1/2 years of Pre-K, we were already overrun with cute little art projects. So I selected just a few of my favorites and put them into each child's box. And then tossed the rest (how very freeing!)

And - get this - I did NOT even attempt to make them cute. Seriously. I know a little scrapbook paper and mod-podge would make those plain ol' pizza boxes super adorable. But honestly, this was about getting it DONE. Some things don't need to be cute.

(Wait. Did I just say that?)

Yes. Yes I did.

On the whole I'd say my month of organization was a smashing success! I'm going to continue on with the decluttering calender for the rest of the year, but I have some new goals going on for the month of February that I just can't wait to share with you. In the meantime, if you'd like to see some more fabulous home organization ideas, check out my Pinterest board, all about keeping Everything in it's Right Place.

(If you have a post about your goals this month, I'd love to see it! Feel free to leave a link in the comments section below.)

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Clean(er) Car. It's a start!

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to report that my goals for the month of January are coming along just fine. Despite the crazy influx of colds, fevers, and ear infections that hit our family this month, I have actually been able to get some things accomplished and start getting the clutter in our home under control. (Yay!)

One of the areas I decided to tackle was our car. The random objects (not to mention trash) in our van were really starting to get out of control. I needed a better game plan for storing the "stuff" we need to have access to when we're on the go. Here's what I came up with:

A while back I was lucky enough to win a giveaway over at Gallamore West. The prize was a credit to buy some Thirty-One Products - how fun is that? I bought two adorable bags in a pretty paisley pattern and have put them to work for us in our car.

From top left, I have pockets designated for:

1) sunscreen, hand lotion, bug spray, and chapstick
2) hand sanitizer, kleenex, nail file and make up blotters (love those things)
3) two reusable shopping bags, that can be folded up tiny and stored when not in use
4) a small note pad, pens, scissors, and tape (because you just never know when you're going to need some tape)

The main area has a change of clothes (and underwear!) for the boys in case they have an accident or they suddenly get car sick on the freeway in the middle of nowhere and all you have to clean them up with is fast-food napkins and then your son has to ride the rest of the way home shirtless. (True story.)

There is also a front pocket just right for holding those random CDs that always seem to be floating around in my car. And the side mesh pockets have wet wipes on one side, and a collection of stickers and candy for the boys, in case we have an entertainment emergency. ;)

And speaking of entertainment, I finally got around to doing something I've been meaning to do forEVER! I took all the extra DVD copies of kids movies (you know those ones that come with the Blue Ray copies in a set?) and put them in clear CD cases to keep in the car. Our van has some handy little storage compartments in the ceiling space that are just right for these.

Last but not least, I filled my large tote bag with a few blankets (great for emergencies, or last minute picnics!) and tossed it in the back of the van for easy access. We also have some built-in bins in the back that hold our roadside emergency stuff - like road flares, flashlights, jumper cables, water bottles, etc.

My smaller bag fits just right in the space next to the driver's seat so I can grab whatever I need easily. I also keep my cell phone charger in a little compartment next to the cigarette lighter and I even implimented this idea from Pinterest for keeping trash contained:

(found here)

It's such a refreshing feeling to have one WHOLE area completely clean and orderly. While organizing the whole house can take months, the car was done in one morning. And it totally kick-started my decluttering drive! Now, hopefully, it will stay this way for a while... ;)

Little Miss Sunshine

2012-01-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

Remember my good friend Bluey? Meet his new little sister.

I like to call her Little Miss Sunshine...

Cute, no?

We have the world's comfiest reading chair in one corner of our living room. The only problem with the setup was that there was nowhere to set your book and your slurpee down when you needed to. :)

So I snagged this little side table from my MIL, when she was clearing out her house. In my excitement to brighten it up, I completely forgot to take "before" pics. But you can see from the primer-stage pics below, the original color of the wood, plus the extremely water-stained state of the top. There were also some cracks in the wood and some lovely dark green painted trim to deal with. But we took care of that. OH, yes...

Fortunately it is still warm and sunny enough in So Cal, even in the middle of winter, to sand and paint outdoors. At least I thought so...

When I started this little makeover, it was sunny as spring. By the second coat of paint, clouds had formed overhead, and I wondered if it might rain later. By the time I got the clear glaze on the top, I thought I'd better move my little friend indoors, STAT. I actually finished the glaze in my garage, and within MINUTES rain started coming down. Within 10 minutes - no lie - we had this going on outisde:

Yep, that would be hail.

So glad I got Little Miss Sunshine safely inside so the gloomy weather wouldn't damage her sunny disposition.

Despite the stormy skies, she came out beautifully, and now we have the sweetest little side table in a happy, buttery yellow color, to brighten up our favorite reading spot. She's our little ray of sunshine in winter.

Linking "Little Miss" up to some of my favorite link parties! :)

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Sweet Surprise

2012-01-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

I just got the sweetest surprise from Katie over at Little Becky Homecky! It seems she received the Liebster Award for her adorable blog, and decided to pass it along to me! Thanks so much, Katie! What a nice bit of sunshine on this rainy Monday. :)

Liebster is German and means ‘dearest’ or ‘beloved’ but it can also mean ‘favorite’. The Liebster award was created to give some attention those blogs with less than 200 followers. What a lovely way to spread the love in blogland!

In accepting the award, you are supposed to follow these rules (and heaven knows I'm a rule follower!)

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal your five picks for the award and let them know.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogshare-other bloggers.

5. Finally and the best rule of all……….have fun and spread the love!

Since it's my turn to pass the love along, here are my five picks for the Liebster Award...

Jen @ Four Marrs & One Venus

Bridget @ Bridgey Widgey
Carrie @ All That is Sweet in Life (aka The Rowdy Stroudy's)
Sarah @ Coffee & Cabernet
Tiffany @ An Ensign, Waving

I hope you'll take a few minutes to check out these great blogs. And while you're there, leave a comment and show them some love.

I hope this little award makes their day, like it made mine. :)

{Recipe} Soup's on!

2012-01-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

What do you crave when you're sick?

For me, it's usually Chinese food. Weird? I don't know - it's just what makes me feel better.

Since I already indulged my Chinese food cravings this week, I thought I would whip up another feel-good food to help us get over the bug we've all had. What better food for when you're sick than a big ol' pot of homemade soup?

I'm a soup lover, and this is one of my all-time favorites. It's a Mexican meatball soup with lots of chunky veggies and topped with cilantro and lime. It's crazy good. Like, ""I will knock you down to get at the leftovers if I have to" kind of good.

I got the recipe from my sis-in-law years ago, when I was first married. (In addition to being an awesome sis-in-law, she is also one rockin' cook!) I'm sure this is one of those things that can be made lots of different ways, but I have to tell you - I have tried my own tweaks over the years, but her version is still the hands-down best.

The best!

Give it a try - I promise, your mouth will thank you.

Awesome Ana's Albondigas

For the meatballs:

1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup maza (or fine bread crumbs)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the soup:

6 cups water
1 beef boullion cube
2 cans tomato sauce
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup long grain rice (do NOT use minute rice!)
onion powder
garlic powder
cumin
salt
lime wedges (for garnish)
chopped cilantro (for garnish)

1. In a large pot over high heat, boil the water. Add bullion cube, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and salt to taste (FYI, I usually use about 1/2 teaspoon of each, give or take. I just dump a little in my palm and call it good!)

2. To the boiling broth, add tomato sauce, carrots, potatoes and rice.

3. In a separate bowl, mix all meatball ingredients and shape. Drop meatballs one at a time into the soup pot (I usually do this as I'm making them.)

4. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes, or until veggies are tender and rice and meatballs are fully cooked. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro and juice from lime wedges

Holy yum, this stuff is good.

Another plus - this soup is really a snap to make. It can come together in under 30 minutes! (Not fast enough for you? Make a double - or triple! - batch of the meatballs and freeze them until you're ready to use. Just drop them in the soup when ready, and be sure to cook thoroughly.) I usually have all the ingredients for this soup on hand, too - just a quick pop to the store for fresh cilantro and limes, and soup's on!

So, if you've got the winter sniffles like we do, make yourself a big steaming pot full of this soup and let the healing begin!

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Just can't sit stilll...

2012-01-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

I'm sick.

Been sick for days.

Feels like weeks.

Thing One is also sick. Poor baby.

I have literally not left my house for 6 days straight.

The cabin fever is setting in...big time.

What's a twiddler to do???

Why, re-design the blog, of course!

(Have I mentioned I love change? I could rearrange my furniture once a month. Drives The Old Man nuts.)

Anyway, a design update has been on my to-do list for quite a while now. I wanted to "pretty it up" a little and make it (hopefully) a little easier to read. What better excuse than being sick to sit in my pj's all day, staring at the computer and playing with photoshop? ;)

So what do you think? I'd really love to hear your comments on the new look.

And - as a big favor to me - will you please update your Twiddler House blog button with the new version? If you don't already have one, feel free to grab one now! Thanks, friends!

I think I'll lay low for a few more days and try to kick this cold once and for all. But don't worry - I'll be back soon with some more fun projects, and an update on how my month of organization is going. (Believe it or not, I've actually made progress!) Until then, join me in a big glass of O.J. and have fun browsing the "new" site!

My Five Guys

2012-01-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

We made a big transition this year. My little "four guys" turned the big F-I-V-E. Doesn't five seem like such a milestone age? It seems to mark the end of babyhood and the beginning of real boyhood. The beginning of video games, sports, skinned knees, comic books and, of course....LEGOS.

We celebrated our two "five guys" in real BOY style, with a Lego party!

We started out the day with a big balloon celebration, thanks to our burlap birthday countdown wreath. And of course, the boys were appropriately clad in their Lego Batman jammies. :)

There are SO many great Lego party ideas online, the party was a snap to put together! We rented out our clubhouse and decked it out with all things Lego. The decorations were simple - classic "Lego" colored balloons, green bubble wrap on the table (looks just like the Lego building plates!), and cute birthday signs made out of Legos.

Each table got a Lego centerpiece, along with some Lego printable coloring sheets and some crayons, to keep the little ones entertained.

We served up some confetti cupcakes, topped with chocolate Legos that I made using a candy mold. We also put out some chips, bright colored m&ms, juice boxes, and water bottles. And of course, I had to make some of these cute Lego guy marshmallow pops! Adorable!

(Yes, Thing One, you must indeed eat the WHOLE THING at once.)

The boys wore special "five guy" Lego t-shirts that I made using the freezer paper method, inspired by these sweet handmade shirts. I love how they turned out, and the boys were SO excited to wear them!

Naturally, all our party games included playing with Legos. We put out some red buckets filled with Lego pieces and played two games: first, we timed the kids to see who could build the tallest Lego tower in 30 seconds. After that, we did a game where you had to use toy "grippers" to grab Legos and dump them into a bucket. We gave them 60 seconds each for that one, and then counted up how many each kid got in their buckets. It was fun seeing them concentrate so hard on picking up those Legos! ;)

We also put out a jar filled with Lego "guys" and had each guest make a guess as to how many guys were in the jar. Even with all those boys running around, the winners of all three games were girls! (Go girls!) Prizes were little Lego mystery figures. We handed out little bags filled with chocolate Legos to every party guest, with a cute thank-you tag that I made using this awesome Lego digital scrapbooking kit (which I also used for the invites!)

The party was chaotic and loud and fun and we loved every minute! The boys had a great time with their friends (and of course Mommy had a great time watching them.) These two are probably the best present-openers I've ever seen. Their enthusiasm can NOT be topped! :)

After the party, we treated ourselves to a special birthday lunch with the grandparents. And where else to take our little "five guys" on their special day?.....

A treat for them, and a little after-party reward for Mom & Dad! ;)

It was a GREAT day and we loved every minute we got to spend celebrating with our ever-growing boys. Ever since then, they've been stopping people in every public place to let them know "We're FIVE!" :)

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If you'd like to see more great Lego party ideas, check out my all-things-Lego Pinterest board! :)

Linking our party up to some of my favorite places!

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Burlap Birthday Countdown!

2012-01-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

Since my boys' birthday is so close to Christmas, I'm always trying to come up with ways to make their day feel special - something to set it apart from all the other celebrations going on during the month.

I was inspired by Gallamore West's burlap wreath and decided to put my own little spin on it. I turned ours into a burlap birthday countdown!

I started by following Laurie's basic wreath instructions (I used pipe insulation for the wreath form - so cheap! - and followed these tips for getting the shape to turn out right. Thank you, Pinterest!) Gotta say, it looked pretty sweet all on it's own on the back of our door...

Next, I took a bit of wood (found pre-cut at Hobby Lobby), painted it yellow, and drilled holes in the corners. I slipped in some thin-gauge wire and curled it up a little at the ends to make it cute. Then I glued on a little chalkboard and mod-podged on some lettering that I cut out of scarpbook paper using my Silhouette.

I put it all together and attached it to the wreath, to make it look like this...

That's when the real fun started. Each day leading up to their birthday, I pinned on one balloon and wrote the number of days left on the chalkboard. (I tied a little ribbon around each balloon, and made sure to pin through the ribbon so the balloon wouldn't be pierced.) Since their birthday is toward the end of the month, this added up to a colorful, balloon-filled wreath!

I loved seeing the wreath fill up with color, and the boys really got into it with me, keeping track of how many days were left until they turned FIVE!

And the fun didn't stop there. On the big day, The Old Man and I took off all the balloons, blew them up, and scattered them all over the floor, so that when my boys woke up, they were greeted by a whole room full of birthday balloons!

This was such a hit! And it was so fun to see the wreath filling up day by day. This is definitely the new birthday tradition at our house! And I love that I can vary the colors of the balloons, depending on what the theme is for their birthday each year, just to mix it up a little.

As we were heading out the door for their big party, the boys made me write "0 days" on their countdown wreath. :) They were SO excited to be turning FIVE!

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Linking this wreath up at some of my favorite link parties! Come join me

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What's a motto with you?

2012-01-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

(Remember that line from The Lion King? Always makes me laugh.)

Hi, friends! I've had a little burst of spontaneous creativity (it happens sometimes) and thought I would share.

Yesterday I read this post over on Diapers and Divinity and suddenly got it in my head to make Stephanie a cute printable with her family motto on it. Then I sent her a link and told her to download it to her heart's content.

I liked the way it turned out so much that I thought "why not make a whole bunch of these?"

So I did.

And because I love you and like to share, here they all are for you to view, download, pin, print, or just smile at...

(download here)

After I finished these this afternoon, I was reading a facebook update from The Momastery (have you read this post yet? You should.) And I thought to myself, "What the heck...why not make her a little printable, too?"

So I did.

(download here)

There you have it, my creativity for the day. Enjoy. Spread some kindness. Carpe some kairos. And have a great day. :)

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Linking up at some of my favorite blog parties. :)

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Little Heroes

2012-01-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

In case you missed me over at Ginger Snap Crafts a couple of weeks ago, here's the scoop on what my boys found under the tree this year. FYI - it totally got the reaction I was hoping for. :)

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I am pretty excited about my boys Christmas gift this year. They are right at the age where their imaginations are taking off, and they want to be Superman, Wolverine, or "Luke Jedi" every day. So this year we are helping their imaginations run wild with...The Hero Box.

I started off by taking a plain, blue plastic tub and jazzing up with a little vinyl lettering and some superhero symbols. I thought since the thing is going to be out in plain sight in their room, it might as well look nice. ;)

The box will be their "main" gift from Mom & Dad, but it's what's inside that makes it really special...

Everything an aspiring hero needs! By mixing and matching some homemade gifts with some store-bought (and even some Etsy finds!) we have put together enough costumes for them to be all their favorite characters. They are going to flip!

First up, The Flash. I made this simple t-shirt "costume" in a size big enough for them to slip over their regular clothes. It's just fabric paint, stenciled on using the freezer paper method. Once they slip it on, they will become "the fastest man alive!"

Then there are these adorable masks and cuffs I found from Princess Emporium on Etsy. How cute are these?! Her stuff was not only great looking, but she had just the right heroes on her list for us. And her prices were great! We ended up getting Spiderman, The Hulk, Iron Man, Wolverine and Captain America. Score!

Of course, Captain America will need his shield. This is one of our store-bought items, which we splurged on because their cousin has one, and it is the FAVORITE thing to play with when we visit them. Can't wait to see their faces when they see this!

Naturally, we couldn't leave out the Star Wars characters. I made two Jedi cloaks using the tutorial here, just shrunk down a bit to fit a pint-size Jedi. Our biggest splurge was the Darth Vader and Clone Trooper masks. The ones that talk! I'm pretty sure they are going to wear these in their sleep.

Combined with the accessories they already have (a Green Lantern costume left over from Halloween, Superman and Batman capes, and cowboy hats with nerf guns in holsters) they will now be able to dress up as at least 14 different "guys."

Little hero heaven.

And, just to put the whole thing over the top (and hopefully win me that "coolest mom" award I've been working toward) I went ahead and threw in a little something for our very best buddies, George and Mickey...

Meet Super George and Mickyman! Now their favorite friends can fight crime right along with them. And my little heroes are going to be SO excited that George and Mickey get their own Christmas presents, too.

So there you have it! The Hero Box. I can't wait for Christmas morning! I predict there will be a lot of jumping, flying, laser-eye shooting, and light-saber fighting at my house for the foreseeable future.

If your day ever needs saving, you know who to call.

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Linking this post up with some of my favorite blog parties! Come join me!

2012: Getting by with a little help from my friends

2012-01-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

(via here)

I've never been a great resolution maker. I think it's because, deep down, I know I'm not a great resolution keeper.

The problem is, I AM a goal setter and a list maker. And when January rolls around I just can't help wondering, like everyone else, what the new year has in store for me and what I can get done with the 365 days ahead.

Last year I tried something new. I broke down my ambitious to-do list into 12 specific, achievable goals. At the beginning of each month, I would post a new goal on my facebook page. That way, it was out there for all to see, my friends could keep tabs on me and encourage me, and I had to be accountable at the end of the month and post whether or not I met the goal.

It worked well for me, and I really stuck with it...until about July. Yep, that's how I roll. :)

So this year I'm going to try again. I've spent some time listing all the things I'd love to accomplish this year, and I broke them down into 12 categories. My "twiddlery" brain just gets overwhelmed thinking about all those things at once, so I think this will be a great way for me to compartmentalize my ideas and take them on one at a time instead.

Starting this month, I am going to post a theme for each month, and a goal to go with it. I'll let you know my game plan, what resources I find out in internet-land, and most importantly, how I'm progressing. At the end of each month, I'll do an update to let you all know if I reached my goal.

Here's where you come in. I need your help staying focused, keeping motivated and holding myself accountable for the goals I've set. I need a cheering section, and I'm hoping you, my awesome blog readers will be it.

What do you think? Can you help a girl out, here?

Thanks, you're the best!!

Before I reveal my theme and goals for January, I just have to share with you what my friend Jocelyn over at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice of Christ came up with. She wrote this post about Setting Goals Backwards, and made a list of the things she actually accomplished in 2011, before moving on to the new year's goals. (Is she brilliant, or what?) I completely agree with her that we need to take the time to recognize the growth we've had, and acknowledge the things that went right over the past 12 months, instead of just berating ourselves for all that we did not do.

(via here)

So, with Jocelyn's advice in mind, here is my list of "stuff I actually accomplished in 2011"...

I finally stopped dreaming about it and started my blog! (And with that, finally started my etsy shop!)

I volunteered as room parent for my boys classroom.

I started teaching Primary - and found out I love it!

I read the Book of Mormon in 100 days - one of the most rewarding accomplishments of the year.

I started working out on a regular basis - including getting hooked on Zumba!

I learned some new tricks on my Silhouette.

I made handmade Christmas gifts.

I helped my baby learn to read! (OK, this was mostly his accomplishment - he's a natural! - but I like to think my encouragement and time spent reading together helped. I feel like I get "mom points" for my kids' accomplishments.)

I strengthened friendships and learned more about why having good friends is so important.

I initiated "mandatory" date nights with The Old Man. (Mandatory - doesn't that sound fun and romantic? Haha! But I did get him to agree that every Friday night is now just for US...and it's been awesome.)

I read at least 33 books, and discovered my latest bookseries obsession.

I discovered Pinterest - heaven help us.

As a family, we accomplished at least half of our summer funlist.

I made some great memories with my kids by spending time with them in places like this and this.

I redecorated our bathroom.

I said "I love you" to my boys every single day.

Not too shabby, right? I encourage you to try this yourself. I think you'll be surprised at how much you actually accomplished!

Now for 2012.

My theme for the month of January is going to be:

Organization

Fitting goal to start off the year, right? My two big goals this month are:

1) to start decluttering my home using this daily calender (thank you, Pinterest!)

and 2) to finally put together a family binder with important info, calenders, school papers, etc. Hopefully this will get those stacks of paperwork OFF my desk!

See how I need all the enouragement I can get?

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can...

One Little Word for 2012

2012-01-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

Last year I started following Ali Edwards' tradition of choosing One Little Word to be my word of the year. I love this concept. Simple. Personal. Not a resolution with lots of pressure attached, but just one little word to uplift and inspire you throughout the year.

My word for 2011 was...

I started off 2011 a little out of balance, and I needed a little more harmony in my life. After meditating on this word all year, and trying to look for it more in my life, I think I can say that I am definitely starting out this year with a little more harmony in my soul.

As this new year has begun, I have been thinking a lot about perspective. How to get it. How to keep it. How to keep my "eyes on the prize", so to speak. How to not get hung up on the little things, and let go of the things that have no long-term value. How to keep my priorities in place and my goals in motion, while still being open to the changes that need to happen within me.

So with all that in mind, my "one little word" for 2012 will be...

I love the immediate peace of mind this word conjures up for me. To me, this word is symbolic of all that is good and precious about this life. The word "eternity" is like a fresh breeze that blows away all the stress and bitterness around me and frees up space in my mind and heart for more joy. My goal this year is to keep a more eternal perspective. To focus more on the "big picture" and not sweat the small stuff. To remember that time passes quickly, and what's important yesterday may not be tomorrow. To remember my true self, and strive to develop more timeless, divine attributes.

"A constant waiting for a brighter future may cause us to lose the beautiful today...An appropriate examination of the passing moment will prove it leads to eternity. We need to constantly remind ourselves eternity is in process now."
-Marvin J. Ashton

Do you have a word that sums up your goals for this year? I'd love to hear what you are hoping to find in 2012!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T08:59:00.001-08:00

Come join me at Ginger Snap Crafts!

2011-12-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to be guest posting over at Ginger Snap Crafts today! Yay!! Come see what we have in store for my boys this Christmas morning. Thanks, Ginger!!

{Twiddler House: The perfect gift for your little super hero}

Personalized Plates

2011-12-22T13:37:00.000-08:00

Are there really only 3 days left until Christmas?! Heaven help us.

I thought I'd share another quick and easy gift idea, in case you're still wondering what to give your neighbor or co-worker. I made these cute glass-etched plates last year for my friends and they were a big hit!

I started with a dollar store glass plate. Just something sweet and simple that I could personalize for each family. Then I cut some vinyl stencils using my Silhouette machine, and pressed each one on to a plate, making sure to get out all the air bubbles. Next, I just slathered on some glass etching cream (I got mine from the Silhouette store, but you can find it at any craft store.) After about 15 minutes, I just washed away the cream and pealed off the stencil...and tada! Cute personalized plates for all my friends.

We even made some for the boys teachers last year that said "I ♥ Miss Judy" and "I ♥ Miss Barbara." :)

All that's left is to fill them with your favorite Christmas treats and wrap it up with plastic wrap. I also added a cute little bow and homemade Christmas tag to ours, just to pretty it up a little.

There you have it! Easy on the budget, and so quick you could probably make one in the time it takes to read this post. ;) And who doesn't love a thoughtful, personalized gift? They're great for everyone on your list!

Christmas Quiz

2011-12-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?

Definitely hot chocolate. I just do not get the appeal of eggnog.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

No wrapping from Santa. He's a busy guy!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

Both! And the more the merrier!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Not usually. Although I think it would be fun to try next year...what a great way to steal extra kisses from my three guys!

5. When do you put your decorations up?

The day after Thanksgiving. With Christmas music playing and a turkey roasting in the oven.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

In recent years, we've started a tradition where we make a huge batch of fondue for our Christmas dinner. Mmmmm...

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?

Wow, a tough one. It's a toss up between driving down Candy Cane Lane to look at all the lovely Christmas lights, and sleeping out in the living room to try to catch a glimpse of Santa!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I honestly don't know. (Which is why my whole "Santa issue" took me completely by surprise!) No traumatic stories for me.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Nope. We spend the evening with family and eat way too many treats.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
While I loooove the fancy, color-coordinated trees, I usually just let the boys put our decorations up (and try not to fidget with their placement!) We use a hodge-podge of ornaments we've collected over the years. The random simplicity of it makes me happy. :)

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?

LOVE it!

12. Can you ice skate?

Well, I did fine the last time I tried. However, that was about 20 years ago, so....

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

My all-time favorite gift is the doll house my grandpa made for me when I was five. How awesome is this thing:

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?

Family. And more family. And also, my family.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

Has to be English Toffee. There's no such thing as too much.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Reading scriptures and singing songs with our kids each night. Love the peace it brings at the end of each busy day.

17. What tops your tree?

A handmade wire star that my sis made for me.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?

Giving! (And I'm not just saying that to score brownie points.) There is nothing I enjoy more than putting together the perfect gift for someone, packaging and all. It's my favorite "hobby" all year round.

19. Candy canes: yuck or yummy?

Definitely yummy!

20. Favorite Christmas show?

Oh, just one? CharlieBrown Christmas with the kiddos, Love Actually for "date night", and Mr.Krueger's Christmas to watch on Christmas Day.

21. Saddest Christmas song?

I don't know about saddest, but this version of The FirstNoel always makes me cry.

22. What is your favorite Christmas song?

See #21. Also, can't live without Do They Know It's Christmas?, O Holy Night, Masters in This Hall, Gabriel'sMessage, and this version of Silent Night. Oh, and let's not forget all of Handel's Messiah. (Yeah...I am a total Christmas music junkie!)

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Play along with me and Lee La La! I would love to see your answers to these questions. Leave your links in the comments section. :)

A SOUP-er teacher gift!

2011-12-20T10:16:00.000-08:00

Looking for a last-minute gift idea? Check out this cute gift in a can!

I saw this idea on my friend's Pinterest site and knew it would be just perfect for my boys' preschool teachers. Creative, fun and SO easy to do! You can get the full tutorial from the original link at the ever-amazing Blue Cricket Designs, but here's the basic gist...

Gather up your supplies. You'll need a soup can for each gift, some candy treats or other small gifts to go inside, some decorative supplies (like ribbon, scrapbook paper, etc.) and your glue gun.

Simply open the can from the bottom with a can opener, leaving a little bit attached to the can. Fill with your Christmas surprises, then use your glue gun to glue the bottom back together! Decorate the outside to make it festive and voila! Quick and easy Christmas gift that makes a big impact without costing a bundle.

For our gift, I asked all the parents in our class to contribute a few dollars to a gift card, and they came through like crazy! We got a nice restaurant gift card for each teacher, and paired it up with some Christmas candy. I even made up some cute little gift tags for our "SOUP-er teachers!"

These were a big hit with our teachers, and they were so much fun to make! I'm thinking I'll have to pull this idea out again next year when my boys are in Kindergarten at a new school. ;)

So, what's your favorite quick and easy gift to give at the holidays?

The truth about Santa

2011-12-14T15:45:00.000-08:00

(image from here)

I have Santa issues.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love the fat man and his jolly, magical ways. We DO believe in Santa at our house, and he is definitely a part of our Christmas celebration. In fact, I always loved that magical part of Christmas and looked forward to sharing it with my kids someday.

So, imagine my surprise when, the first time I heard myself saying to my little ones "Santa's coming to our house soon!" I found that the words stuck in my throat. Somewhere in the back of my mind a little nagging was whispering,

"You're lying to your children."

I admit, I was taken aback. Where on earth was this coming from?

I tried to tell myself I was being silly, that EVERYONE lies to their kids about Santa. It's really ok. It's a good lie. It keeps the excitement and mystery of Christmas alive. I want my kids to experience that.

Yet, every year at this time, when we start talking about visits from Santa, how many reindeer he has, how he's watching to see if you're being good...I still feel that little pricking of my conscience telling me that a "good mom" shouldn't lie.

Leave it to me to find a way to feel guilty about something as wholesome as Santa.

Part of me wants to make sure that we're focusing on the real purpose of Christmas, of course. Celebrating Christ's birth and showing love and gratitude to Him. Honestly, though, I think we do a pretty good job at that. My boys definitely know more about Bethlehem and the manger than they do about Rudolph.

Another part of me wants to make sure that, when they receive a gift they truly love, the credit doesn't go to some mythical man in a red suit. I want them to know that their parents put time and effort into choosing (and often making) just the right gift for them. Because we love them and giving to them makes us happy. I want them to know that giving is the best part of Christmas.

So I've wrestled with Santa over the years. (Um, not literally...you know what I mean.)

I have spent time pondering just where Santa fits in to our family's Christmas time. I have read wonderful posts on the subject of Santa like this one and this one. I've thought a lot about what I will say to my kids when the time comes to tell them "the Truth" (with a capital "T") that I am Santa. And then I realized...

I am Santa.

No, seriously....

I. AM. SANTA.

I don't just "work for him." I don't report back to him. The person watching my kids to see if they are good all year is 100% real...because it's me. The presents he brings are the ones I wrap. The magic he brings at the holidays is the magic I work hard to create for my kids. The love he has for my kids is MY love, and it is oh, so real.

It turns out he's as real as I am.

(image from here)

Now, when I tell my kids about Santa, I feel like I'm simply telling them about myself. Yes, on the surface he is still wrapped up in his red suit and sleigh, but I know where he really lives. The "real" North Pole is right, smack in the middle of my heart, and it glows as brightly as any Christmas lights. The words no longer get stuck in my throat, because I truly believe them.

When I tell my kids that Santa loves them and wants them to be kind and happy, well...it's just another way of telling them that I do.

And "being" Santa makes me want to walk a little taller, too. I want to live up to his name and all that he stands for. If he is love and kindness and generosity, then I must be, too. For I carry his name wherever I go.

"Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be?

Verily I say unto you,

even as I am."

(3 Nephi 27:27)

The reality is that Santa - the "Spirit of Christmas" - is also the Spirit of Christ. If I teach my kids that Santa (aka their mom) wants them to show love, to make good choices, and to serve others... it's absolutely true. And when they're old enough, I hope they'll come to realize that what Santa has taught them all their lives is really, in fact, what the Savior taught. What He continues to teach. And that is a Truth (with a capital "T") that I hope they treasure more than any other gift Santa could ever give them.

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This is a blog hop! Feel free to link up, and be sure to read the other great posts listed below!

It's officially Christmas...

2011-12-07T21:37:00.000-08:00

have a secret ritual.

I've been doing it for quite a few years now. One of those little things I reserve just for me.

Want to hear about it? (Of course you do.)

Each year at Christmas time I steal a little moment for myself - usually in the car, where I know I will have at least a few minutes to myself, TOTALLY ALONE. I never know ahead of time when it will be, it just comes upon me spontaneously and I know the moment has come.

I crank up the radio, just as loud as my mommy van speakers can handle, and I turn on this song:

The First Noel by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

This is my absolute, top of the list, hands down favorite Christmas song. I love it so much that I refuse (REFUSE!) to listen to it at all until I can do it the "right" way - without interruption, alone with my thoughts and free to sing along as loud as I like.

It always, a-l-w-a-y-s, makes me cry.

This morning I had a few spare moments while driving, so I decided today was the day for my little secret Christmas ritual. I listened. I sang. I cried. That rolling timpani hit and the choir swelled to that triumphant "noel" and...

BAM!

It officially became Christmas for me.

Works every year.

Six Geese A-Laying

2011-12-03T15:57:00.000-08:00

Our town has a Christmas parade.

Every year we drag ourselves out, thinking the boys will love it, and every year we end up regretting it. Last year we were there for a total of about 35 minutes (most of which was spent waiting for The Old Man to get through the line at McDonald's and telling the kids that yes, the parade really IS going to start any minute now so please stop trying to run into the street.)

After two lonely floats FINALLY passed by, and with the rest of the parade still nowhere in sight, we succumbed to choruses of:

"Is the parade over yet?"

"I can't see Santa!"

"I'm bored!"

"Can we PLEASE go home now?"

We didn't even make it through the first marching band.

This year we decided to try a more "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" kind of approach.

The boys school needed a few more volunteers to march with their "12 Days of Christmas" float. We were assigned to be two of the "six geese a-laying" - complete with felt wings and fluffy feathers to wear. It was pretty darn cute (although I think the "maids a-milking" and the "drummers drumming" had us beat in the cuteness category.) We even brought George along for the ride because, what's a parade without your best monkey friend?

There was a lot of enthusiasm as we donned our costumes and got our little wagon "nests" ready. We even practiced the song so we'd know when to sing our line. Then we waited...

...and waited...

What's that? It's finally our turn? Hooray!!

It was a gorgeous, sunny day in So Cal and we had fun marching and singing with our little group. About halfway through, Thing Two got bored and started asking if we brought any snacks. So, thanks to mom's emergency candy stash, we got to witness our little man shooting the crowd with his candy cane gun for the rest of the parade.

When we were done, we ended up in the mall parking lot and decided to treat ourselves to a little "panda lunch" (FYI - that's Panda Express, not actual pandas) and we ended up with a pretty sweet spot where we could watch the rest of the parade go by from our window. We got to see our favorite high school marching band (Go Mustangs!) and waved to Santa as he rode by on a fire engine.

The boys favorite part was afterward, when we got high-fives from the Mustang mascot and the Grinch (who apparently hang out together) and had our picture taken with them.

Although it was a loooong morning, we had a great time and definitely made some memories. And as I write this, everyone is tucked in for a short winter's nap while I bake cupcakes for our church Christmas party tonight. Let the Christmas fun continue!!

The countdown's ON!

2011-12-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

We are a little advent-crazy around here. (And by "we", I mean "me.")

One of the things I love about Christmas is our family advent traditions. We try to do one "fun" thing with the boys each day, as well spending a few minutes each night focusing on the real reason for the season. This really helps us find a sense of balance during the busy holiday season, and helps us to savor each day, instead of just watching it fly right past us in a flurry of cookie dough and wrapping paper!

Here's how we do it at our house...

The Activity Advent.

I picked up this cute little advent box at Target at an after-Christmas sale a few years ago. We use it for our "one activity a day" countdown. Every day in December, we do one fun activity - like baking Christmas cookies, making crafts, or going caroling. Some of these things change around each year, but some stay the same, like driving around to look at Christmas lights (my favorite!) or going to our church's Christmas choir performance. I even work in a few practical things, like putting stamps on our Christmas cards or going shopping for gifts. That way, the boys feel like they are a special part of the preparations, and I get things crossed of my to-do list!

And by the way, isn't this the cutest little nativity?

My aunt made it for me years ago. Every year, we manage to completely lose track of the baby Jesus. We have to take everything out of our Christmas boxes and dig around until we find him, hidden somewhere under all the decorations.

I'm sure there's a metaphor in that somewhere. :)

The Scripture/Song Advent.

There's a lot of versions of this out there, and I wish I could give credit to the place where I first saw it, but it was so long ago I can't remember now! Basically, we spend just a few minutes before bedtime every night reading a scripture that has to do with the Savior's birth and life, and then we sing a Christmas song together. It's such a lovely, peaceful way to end each day, and helps us to keep the true spirit of the season in our hearts.

After doing this for a few years, I decided to put our list together in a Shutterfly book, so we'd have a nice keepsake copy to use every year. I did a quick digital scrapbook page for each day in December, with the scripture reference at the top, and the lyrics to the song printed out for us. Call me crazy, but I kind of love the idea of this book getting a bit tattered and worn over the years as the boys grow up. :)

Felt Tree Advent

This one dates back to my husband's childhood. His mom made a felt Christmas tree hanging similar to this one, with lots of little handmade ornaments to hang on the tree every day.

Of course, the star goes on the top of the tree on Christmas Eve...and to this day it is a fight among the siblings to see who gets to put up the star! (There was even one year when the star was "kidnapped" halfway through December! On Christmas morning, it was waiting under the tree in a little package from Santa with my sis-in-law's name on it. There was a lot of fuss and worry over where that star had disappeared to, I can tell you!)

Since this was a tradition that my husband loved from his Childhood, I surprised him one year with a version for our own family. Our little ornaments are all made of felt and fabric paint, and stick on the tree with little Velcro dots. We put one thing on the tree just after we finish our scripture/song each night. Our boys LOVE this tradition, and it makes me so happy that we're passing along to them something from their dad's childhood.

So there you have it, our daily December traditions. I'd love to hear what your family's advent traditions are! Shout them out to me in the comments! Or better yet, join me here and link up your favorite advent ideas:

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-11-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Last year our Thanksgiving was pretty low-key. With all but one other family out of town for the holiday, we ended up having a sweet and simple Thanksgiving dinner at my sis-in-law's house. I decided it would be a good year to try out some fun things I had seen around the internet to make our table a little more festive (and keep the kiddos happy while dinner was cooking). Here's what we did...

Everyone got a cute little pilgrim napkin ring with their photo on it (idea found here). These were hilarious, and the kids thought they were great. After dinner, we lined them all up on the mantle, so our pilgrims could be together as a family. ;)

I also made a little "Indian corn" treat for each person, and some Mayflower boats filled with snacks (Chex mix, cookies, etc.) for everyone to munch on while we were waiting for the main event. The boats were so simple to print and cut, and they looked so cute on the table! You can find the adorable printables here (and the instructions on how to use them) - and there are a whoooole lot more printables in the set. And did I mention, they're FREE!

I also made a really cute paper bag turkey (by following the directions here) and it acted as the "centerpiece" for our table. We popped it open and and munched on the contents, along with all our other treats. By this time it was looking a little bit like a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving meal! The kids were, of course, pleased as punch with their treats. And as a bonus, they all helped me set up the table and the place settings, which was fun for all of us, and helped keep them out of the kitchen. :)

Dinner itself was delicious, as always, and we had a great, relaxing evening with our family that included setting up the first of the Christmas lights, looking at the Black Friday ads in the newspaper, and of course the traditional after-turkey boxing match, courtesy of my sis-in-law's Wiil.

It all ended with a snuggly cousin viewing of Frosty the Snowman, while the grown-ups chatted and picked at leftovers. The perfect ending to a great day.

So, what are your plans for Thanksgiving this year? I think I'm going to try printing some of these fun placemants and games this year, since Thing One just learned how to do word searches. :) If you'd like to see some more fun ideas for making Thanksgiving special, check out my Pinterest board - I've been pinning up a storm! :)

Gratitude

2011-11-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

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Gratitude.

It's been on my mind.

During this season of counting our blessings, it's easy for me to tally up my list and acknowledge how much I truly have to be grateful for.

But what about those things that come into our lives that cause us pain and suffering? Make our hearts ache with sadness? That creep in, unexpected, and steal away things that are precious to us?

After reading this article (wonderful, brilliant, insightful and inspiring!) I have found myself thinking a lot about my personal trials and the trials of those around me. The loss of a marriage. The loss of a child. The loss of one's self to disease or depression. The loss of some personal dream that can't be fulfilled. Hardships and trials that no one wants to have to bear.

Is there room in our hearts to have gratitude, even for our trials?

Should we be grateful for pain?

I'm not sure I'm a good enough person to say with any sincerity that I am really grateful for my trials. I'm just not. Trials stink. Pain isn't fun. And, truth be told, I'd much rather not have to face those things in my life.

(Phew! There, I've said it.)

So maybe I haven't learned that lesson yet. I just don't know how to be grateful for my trials. But here's what I do know...

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)

I can - we can - face anything with the Lord's help. We may not be happy about the pain we feel, but if we are humble enough to endure it with faith, knowing that the Lord has a plan for us, He will turn that pain into hope, joy, and love. The things we feel we are simply not strong enough to handle, become the things that we look back on to measure how much we've grown. We can say to ourselves "The Lord once helped me through that awful thing. He will not forget me now." And we will be stronger because of it.

I am grateful for the strength that I didn't know was in me. The strength the Lord showed me through tests and trials.

"...worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you." (Alma 34:38)

A wise friend once pointed out to me that you can, in fact, grieve for what you've lost while at the same time being perfectly grateful for the things you have. These two feelings are not mutually exclusive. (Am I a bit slow for needing to have that pointed out to me?)

Though there are things in my life I would change if I could, and I find my heart often wandering to "what if's" that will never be, I am also constantly aware of those things I do have. I have been blessed beyond measure with the things that are truly important in this life. I have faith, I have family, I have thanksgiving in my heart daily and I am able to feel true joy.

I am grateful for my life. Despite it's imperfections, I know there are others out there who would be overjoyed to trade places with me, and I am humbled by this. What I have been given is actually pretty great.

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows...and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:4-5)

I know through personal experience that our Savior truly knows all pain and sorrow. There is no pain we can feel in this life that He has not already felt and endured for us. I know this to be true.

In the words of an apostle of the Lord, "I testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ covers all of the trials and hardships that any of us will encounter in this life....we can be assured that He is there, and we are safe in His loving arms." (Elder Quentin L. Cook)

What greater blessing can we have than the knowledge that we are not alone in our trials? That we have a Savior who knows us personally and loves us enough to accept our pain and suffering for us? What a comfort, during times of trial, to know that our earthly pain, however real, is only temporary, and that someday we will live in a place of love and beauty where joy and peace will be our eternal reward.

I am grateful for my Savior, for His Atonement, and for my personal testimony of His love for me. A love that I came to know more fully, as you may have guessed, during my darkest hours of heartache.

I am grateful.

Maybe not for my trials themselves, but for the ability to rise to the challenge.

Not so much for the pain, but for the peace I've felt, even in the midst of it.

I am grateful. At this Thanksgiving season, and always.

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I am participating in this wonderful blog hop today. I hope you'll take the time to read some of these wonderful posts, and maybe even join in with your own thoughts. :)

Fall Mantle Makeover

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a quick spruce-up on our fireplace & mantle this year. I have never liked the looks of our fireplace, and I finally decided to do something about it! I also had a candle holder in need of a makeover, and some unsightly TV cords to deal with. Here's what I started with:

First up, I tackled the fireplace. This was actually super quick and easy - in fact I sneaked this little project in while my boys were at school one morning, and by the time they got home, the paint was dry!

All I did was use some painter's tape and some old grocery bags to mask off the metal surround portion of our fireplace. Then I hit it with some high heat resistant spray paint in black. (I would have loved to try some funkier color, but the stuff only seems to come in black and white. So, black it is!) I even painted right over those wood handles! After I pulled off the paper and tape, I grabbed our white trim paint and touched up the white mantle, as long as I was at it. I think I spent about 1/2 hour on this whole project, but I think it looks SO much better without the brass!

Then I went for the candle holder. This was given to me by a good friend who was cleaning out her house. I saw some potential in it, and felt like it was just the right size/shape for our mantle! It was missing a few glass votives, but was otherwise in good shape. Just a little plain.

I sanded the whole thing down, until I got rid of most of the black paint. Then I coated it with some dark walnut stain and used my Silhouette to make a stencil in the same pattern I used for my wood pallet art. I painted the little flower design in white and let the whole thing dry before I topped it with a coat of clear sealer.

Next, I grabbed some glass votives I had on hand from another project, which just happened to fit perfectly in the little holes. I cut some letter stencils out of contact paper and used glass etching cream to etch the word "family" onto the candle holders. Subtle, but sweet. :)

I love how it turned out, and I especially love how it coordinates with my wood pallet artwork!

To add a little dash of fall color, I filled the votives with candy corn! I love that I can switch out different items or colors of candles in the glass votives to match each season. (For Christmas, I'm thinking green candles, or maybe even some peppermint candies??)

To complete the fall look, I hung up the fall burlap banner I made last year (inspired by the one here) and added my cute little spooky tree candle holders on either side. I filled the fireplace we never use (hello, it's still 90 degrees in So Cal!) with some pumpkins and Indian corn from the grocery store. I even made a fabric cover for all those ugly TV cords, based on this idea I found on Pinterest. (Oh, Pinterest, is there anything you can't do?)

So, after all my hard work, here's what our mantle looks like this fall...

What do you think? It's certainly nicer to look at than it was before, and for very little money or effort. I call that a win! :)

{Linking up to some of my favorite parties today!}

Making the Transition

2011-11-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, the aftermath of a great Halloween night...

I think my Thing 2 may have found his favorite holiday. He was one happy boy munching on candy all night long. That pile of candy wrappers above? Almost ALL his. :)

So now I'm thinking about how to make the transition from the big night of "getting" to the season of giving.

I came across this post yesterday about focusing on what we are thankful for this month. I thought this would be a great way for us to focus on all the little things we are thankful for every day. We don't have a cute advent calender for it like Jocelyn's, so I decided to re-purpose our summer fun jar into an "I am thankful for..." jar for this month. I just added a cute little tag to spruce it up a little and cut some fall-colored pieces of construction paper into strips for us to write on at dinner each night.

The boys thought it was fun, and even asked if they could do more than one paper. They still need help with their writing, so they share what they are thankful for with the whole family each night. The Old Man and I are keeping ours a secret until we open them up and read them all as a family on Thanksgiving Day. (I think this adds a little bit to the excitement of it!)

Just in case you'd like to make your own "Thankful Jar", I decided to whip up a sheet of free printables for you to use. You can download my "I am thankful for..." tag, along with some other cute Thanksgiving tags here:

Thanksgiving Printable Tags

And just for fun, I'll also be posting on my facebook page one thing that I'm grateful for every day. Feel free to join me and leave a comment with what you're thankful for each day! I would love to see what is on everyone's list!

Hope you're month of gratitude is off to a good start! :)

Fall Fun at the Twiddler House

2011-10-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

Well hello there, poor, neglected blog! I've missed you!

Did anyone else hear that woooooshing sound that October just made as it flew by?

While there hasn't been much blogging going on lately, there has been a lot of fall fun at happening at the Twiddler House! Despite the summertime temps outside, we've had autumn in our hearts as we've enjoyed lots of fun fall activities with our friends and family.

Here's a little of what October looked like at our house...

Decking the halls with autumn decor!

Making yummy fall treats and watching our favorite Halloween movies!

Having a blast at the school Fall Festival!

Carving pumpkins for the very first time! We held out on doing this until the boys were old enough to enjoy it a little more, and it did not disappoint!

Monday night was lots of fun - since we finally had the first glimpses of real fall weather, I made a big batch of our favorite soup for dinner (yum!) and afterward cleared the way for Family Home Evening.

We used this awesome idea and poem (from Blue Skies Ahead) for teaching a lesson about "what's on the inside" and then we lifted the lids to reveal the slimy pumpkin insides. Since the boys had never seen the inside of a pumpkin before, I think it made a big impression! Then we proceeded to help our messy pumpkin "repent" by clearing out all that yucky stuff inside and making him "pure and righteous." Both pumpkins ended up with smiles on their faces because they knew they were beautiful on the inside and out! :)

Afterward we munched on roasted pumpkin seeds and popcorn and watched one of our favorite Halloween classics. Ah, the perfect family night.

And then of course, there was the church Trunk-or-Treat party that resulted in this silliness...

(Love "Green Lantern's" crooked little mask! Haha!)

And now we're gearing up for Monday night, when we'll make a special, spooky Halloween dinner and the boys will get to hand out candy to our neighborhoods Trick-or-Treaters. On the menu for Monday:

Mummy wrap hot dogs

Mashed "boo"-tatoes

Apple monster teeth

and our favorite Orange Cream Soda

...followed by as much Halloween candy as we can stand.

Happy Halloween!!

Book of Mormon Stories {Part 2}

2011-10-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

If you missed my intro to this month's discussion about my faith and my beliefs, please start here:

Book of Mormon Stories, Part 1

When I was a teen, my home was often filled with LDS missionaries. My dad had a calling (a position in the church) that dealt with the leadership and training of the missionaries that were serving in our area. So we often found ourselves with missionaries in our home sharing meals, practicing their teaching skills and gathering in large numbers for area meetings.

(via)

About this time my brother was dating a wonderful girl who, as it happens, was not of our faith. We became good friends as she spent the better part of 3 years at our house, being welcomed as practically a part of the family.

Naturally, these two worlds crossed paths more than once. As a result, I became blessed to be a small part in the process of a girl about my age being converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is something I'll never forget, and became a turning point in my own personal testimony.

You see, we children who have grown up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints learn early about scripture stories, hymns and church history. We know the answers to all the basic questions because we have been taught so well in our youth.

However, there comes a time in every person's life where they must begin to ask the questions themselves. To stop relying so entirely on the words and wisdom of their parents and teachers and to start seeking a true knowledge for themselves. Whether or not they have been "born into the church," each individual needs to experience their own conversion.

In discussions with the missionaries, and in talks and lessons with my investigator friend, I heard a scripture repeated often. It is one you will find in almost every conversion story. It is found at the very end of the Book of Mormon, and gives guidance on how to find out for yourself whether it's teachings are true:

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:4-5)

I witnessed my friend being asked by missionaries and friends who loved her to put Moroni's promise to the test. Read the Book of Mormon. Ask God if it is true. And I decided then and there that I needed to do the same. Though I knew in my head it was true, and believed all I had been taught as a child, I knew I needed to know beyond a doubt, for myself, if this book, this church, this gospel was true.

I remember kneeling in prayer one night, my heart full and my mind clear. With tears in my eyes I asked my Heavenly Father to please let me know, once and for all, clearly and plainly, if the Book of Mormon was truly His word, and if the church I belonged to was really the true church of Christ.

The peace I felt then cannot be described. Here I was, a skinny, shy 14 year old girl, daring to ask God to answer my questions directly. And amazingly, miraculously - and yet somehow quite naturally - He did. There was peace in my heart. There was comfort, joy, love and hope in my soul that I had never known before. I felt the Spirit, and I knew.

(via)

I knew then that the Book of Mormon was true. The small seed of testimony had been firmly planted in my heart. I promised myself and my Heavenly Father right then that I would cling to this knowledge always. I knew that no matter what happened in my life, no matter what anyone else ever said or did, I would always have this knowledge with me. It would become the foundation for my entire life.

There were other times I felt that same spirit, times that strengthened my beliefs and helped that small seed planted in my heart to grow. But those are stories for another chapter....

This is Halloween

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ah, is there anything lovelier than a Pinterest board filled with holiday inspiration? Here are some favorites from my Halloween board...

Trick or Treat bags from Eighteen25

Adorable polka-dot cake from SnowyBliss

Awesome barbed wire spider web from etsy

Gorgeous paper flower wreath from The 36th Avenue

Cute as can be orange pomanders from Eighteen25

Festive candy stick flags from Belinda's Great Ideas

Halloween treat bags from etsy

Friendly Tin Can Mummy from Alderberry Hill

To see more, head on over and follow me on Pinterest! I'd love to see what your inspiration is!

{Recipe} Popcorn Ball heaven!

2011-10-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Ohhh, my friends. There is a new treat in town, and it is taking the world (or rather, our house) by storm. While tinkering in the kitchen last night I came up with something that knocked my socks off. Allow me to introduce you to...

Heaven, I tell you! All of my favorite flavors in one place!

Citrus? Check.

Popcorn? Check.

Chocolate? You betcha.

I had originally found this recipe for Orange Honey over at Cherry Tea Cakes (thank you, Pinterest!) Then when I saw that she used it to make Orange Honey Carmel Corn, well you can bet I was all over that. I whipped up a batch to share with the women at church, and holy cow, was it good! The honey alone had me licking the spoon clean.

As much as I loved the original recipe, it just wasn't quite "orangy" enough for me. I got to thinking about how I could kick up that citrus flavor a notch, and decided to make another batch as an experiment. Then it occurred to me that if I were going to have a treat that wonderfully citrusy, I was almost morally obligated to add chocolate to it. (I mean, chocolate and orange - was there ever a better flavor combo?)

It turned out fabulous! So fabulous that The Old Man and I might have finished off half the batch while watching our nightly Family Ties episodes.

Here's my altered recipe:

Chocolate-Orange Popcorn Balls

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons Orange Honey (recipe from Cherry Tea Cakes)
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
10 cups air popped popcorn
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds
6 ounces (half a bag) milk chocolate chips

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugars, Orange Honey, corn syrup, and orange zest. Cook, stirring often, until mixture bubbles and thickens to a "caramel" stage.

2. In a large mixing bowl, pour caramel sauce over popcorn and toss to coat. Stir in salt and almonds and mix well. When mixture starts to cool slightly, add the chocolate chips and stir again. (They will melt just a little as you stir them into the mixture.)

3. Using greased hands, form popcorn mixture into balls and set on waxed paper to cool. Wrap individually or bundle together for a great gift!

I think it's not going too far to say that this is the absolute ultimate treat for me. As an avid combiner of chocolate and popcorn, this totally satisfies my cravings for sweet & salty together. And it has that kick of orangy goodness which goes so well with chocolate. Total popcorn ball heaven. Enjoy!

(Linking this up to some of my favorite places...)

Have a Pinteresting day!

2011-10-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

(find it here)

Book of Mormon Stories {Part 1}

2011-10-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, I read this post on one of my favorite blogs. It was an invitation to share something wonderful, something personal, something powerful. It was an invitation to share my own personal testimony of the Book of Mormon.

I wanted so much to participate in this month-long declaration of the gospel.

But...

"Will people even want to read about that?" I thought. "No one wants to hear me preach or teach" I thought. "People are here for crafts and recipes - for light, fun things - not for religion classes" I thought. "I'm not a scholar, I'm not a writer, I'm just a blogger" I thought.

And then I thought again.

Because if there is one thing I believe it's that when you're following the promptings of the Holy Spirit, you will be guided and strengthened by the Lord. It's happened to me so many times before, and I knew if I went forward in faith, it would happen again. So I responded to the challenge, and began to think about what I could possibly write.

And the encouragement of the Spirit came pouring in.

(image found here)

First, I received an email from Jocelyn at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice of Christ (the amazing woman behind this Book of Mormon Forum). She shared with those of us participating in the forum that she had been praying and studying the scriptures for guidance in her efforts and had found comfort in reading 2 Nephi chapter 32. I looked it up and could instantly see the inspiration she found there.

That same night I opened my Book of Mormon for my regular daily study and realized with some surprise that the very next chapter on my study schedule was...you guessed it. 2 Nephi chapter 32. So I got to read twice in one day these words of inspiration...

"Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." (2 Nephi 32:3)

Even with that powerful assurance from the scriptures, I was still worried about what to write, not to mention how it would be received. As I prepared to share my own experience with the Book of Mormon, I also found comfort and inspiration in the words of another blogger, Little Miss Momma (is there anyone that doesn't just love her?) About a week ago, she wrote this post on sharing her faith. She wrote e-x-a-c-t-l-y what I had been feeling. And she wrote it better than I ever could. I encourage you to go over and read her full post, but for now I'll share this excerpt that mirrored so directly to my own feelings...

"These are my sacred truths.
And perhaps because they are so sacred to me,
I have not had the courage to write about them in this forum.
For fear.

Fear that there will be disagreement, or contention, or disrespect about what I hold so close to my heart. Fear that nothing I write will ever do justice to the testimony I have inside."

She goes on to share that she realized she must get past the fear because

"Fear is the opposite of faith."

(image found here)

Then, as if that weren't enough encouragement for me to share my testimony with you, I spent the weekend watching the worldwide GeneralConference held by my church. In it, one of the latter day apostles of the Lord spoke specifically about sharing ourbeliefs through media, such as blogs and social websites. The Spirit whispered to me once again as he shared these thoughts...

"We can share who we are."

"We must be bold in our declaration of Jesus Christ."

"If you'll respond to the invitation to share your beliefs .... a spirit of love, a spirit of courage, will be your constant companion, for perfect love casteth out fear." (Elder L. Tom Perry)

(Did you hear that, Little Miss Momma?) ;)

So here I am, writing the first in a series of posts that will share my beliefs with you. My testimony of the Book of Mormon and it's teachings. My love and personal knowledge of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

For those of you that are here for the crafts, please don't be discouraged! There will be plenty of that this month (after all, it's Fall! My favorite season of the year, and you can bet I'm crafting, cooking and decorating up a storm!)

But for anyone out there that might be looking for just a little bit more, please stick around as I share my beliefs in brief posts throughout the month of October. I hope this will be a way for you to get to know me, and my faith, just a little bit better.

In the meantime, please visit Jocelyn's site at We Talk ofChrist, We Rejoice of Christ. You can read all about her Book of Mormon Forum - and check all these bloggers who are joining in sharing the Book of Mormon this month (please feel free to join us, if you're interested, by linking up below!):

Have a Pinteresting day!

2011-10-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

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Best weekend of the year!

2011-09-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have seen this (or something similar) floating around Pinterest lately:

In case you're wondering where all the forget-me-nots are suddenly coming from, they're a symbol used in this inspiring talk, and it was one of the "kick-offs" (you might say) to what is possibly my favorite weekend of the year!

You see, every year my church holds it's semi-annual General Conference in April and October. It is a full weekend of inspired council, words of wisdom, uplifting messages, and stirring hymns. And I love every single minute of it.

I look forward to General Conference weekend like a kid looks forward to Christmas. Especially in the fall, when it seems to be ushering in the great season of holidays and making family memories. I get excited, I clean and decorate the house, I spend a whole day cooking and baking special treats, and I even buy my kids special surprises.

Why all the fuss? Because General Conference is our weekend. A whole weekend where we get to clear our schedules, turn off the phones, ignore our emails and just spend time together as a family. And what better way to spend that time than listening to a veritable marathon of spirituality? Words that will uplift, inspire and strengthen our family. Words directly from a living prophet of God.

Really, what could be more exciting than that?

With two little men in our home, we try to make Conference fun and enjoyable for them as well. And believe me, they look forward to Conference almost as much as I do. :)

In our house, Conference weekend usually looks something like this...

We fill our "Conference buckets" full of games, treats and small toys for the boys to enjoy while we watch. They get to pick one item per speaker, with a break in the middle of the day for a yummy lunch and some wiggle time. The week before, we usually try to have a brief Family Home Evening on what Conference is, and why it's special. Then the following Monday, we talk about some of the things we heard and look at pictures of the men and women who spoke.

It feels like a holiday. And in a way, it is. It's a celebration - not of gifts or candy or decorations, but of our faith and our family and the eternal truths that we know in our hearts.

If you have never seen this conference, I urge you to take a few moments this weekend to check it out. It can be found on TV, on the web, or even through mobile apps. Click here for info on times, locations, and ways to watch.

And if you need some more fun ideas for how to share Conference with your children and families, check out Jocelyn's link party and Conference ideas over at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice of Christ.

Happy General Conference weekend, everyone! :)

Printables for an organized home

2011-09-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy with how all the elements of my home organization wall turned out, I thought I'd share a couple more details with you.

Now I know there are plenty of printables out there for menu planners and the like, but I - being me - just have to do things my own way, and in my own style. (Stubbornness. It's an issue.)

So I made up a 2-week menu planner in one of my favorite color combos, and while I was at it, made a 2012 calender to go with it. And because you may not have the "I can do it myself" issues that I have, I thought you might like to download them for your own use.

You can download the menu planner here

and the calender here

And while we're at it, how about a little inspirational quote? I love this quote by Gordon B. Hinkley and thought it would be a nice reminder for us to encounter as we go about our daily routine. This is a 4 x 6 file and would fit great in one of those $1 photo frames!

You can download the printable file here.

And by the way, after being frustrated at not being able to share jpeg files on Scribd, I've decided to try out a new file-sharing site. Anyone who wants to give these links a try and see if they download properly could earn the title of my new best friend. :) If anyone has any trouble, let me know!

(Sharing these printables at some of my favorite linky parties.)

Have a Pinteresting day!

2011-09-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Organized home, organized family

2011-09-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have a dream. A dream that one day our home will be organized and clutter-free. It's a beautiful dream.

Back to reality. Living in a small house means having to get creative about where you store things and being able to make the most of every space. So as I've been cleaning out closets, under beds and in the garage, in an effort to "streamline" our home, I've developed a few plans for helping our family store our "stuff" a little better, and hopefully help our home run a little smoother.

As part of my mission:organization I decided to finally do something about our "message center" space (or lack of....) I felt like this space in our hallway could be put to better use (not to mention be better looking!)

Here it is before:

And here's how it looks now!

I took a look at this space and thought about what we needed, what I wanted, and how it would fit. Here was my list:

-family calender
-grocery list
-list of important phone numbers
-Family Home Evening chart
-a place for incoming/outgoing mail
-a spot for pens and pencils
-a way to "disguise" our thermostat
-a way to make it all PRETTY!

I came up with a plan to use plain clipboards to hold each of our important lists and charts. I painted them white and hung each one on a nail. Voila! Instant individual message boards that can be taken down for use and re-hung easily. I especially love that I can take the grocery list off the wall when I am planning my shopping trip, then hang it right back up when I'm done! I also love how our Family Home Evening chart turned out:

I just "prettied up" some clothespins with scrapbook paper, then wrote our four jobs (Song, Prayer, Lesson, Treat) on each one and then hot-glued them to the board. I printed out a wallet-sized pic of each family member, and simply clipped them in the clothespins. Now we can switch around the photos easily each week! Simple and uncluttered. I love it.

I also made a spot for incoming and outgoing mail, using two Target $1 bin wire baskets. I spruced them up with a simple chalkboard label and a cute little fabric rosette.

Hello, Jo-Ann's coupon. :)

A simple shelf painted white sits over my thermostat to keep it from sticking out like a sore thumb. It's also a great place for pens and pencils to keep them handy when we need to add things to the calender or grocery list. And underneath, another $1 picture frame to hold an inspirational quote. I thought it added a nice little pop of color.

Ah, so much better! And now we're actually using this space instead of just walking past it every day. Nice!

Other projects on my list right now: laundry space overhaul, fireplace/mantle spruce-up, bringing out my autumn decor and updating our window treatments.

But first, a cookie. :)

Arrrrrrgh, Matey!

2011-09-19T11:12:00.000-07:00

(via)

Happy "Talk Like A Pirate Day!"

A big shop announcement....and a WINNER!

2011-09-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a week!

First up, I have to say thank you SO much to all of you who stopped by and entered my very first giveaway! I received some of the nicest comments and it totally made my week! You have all made my first giveaway so much fun for me, so thank you!!

I'm ready to announce the lucky winner - but before I get to that, I've got some big news to share with you (well, big to me anyway).

I am so excited, thrilled, and and overjoyed to announce NEW handmade products in my Etsy shop! If you liked my sunshine burlap art, I am betting you will love these...

I've been working hard to create a whole line of handmade burlap art for the shop and I could not be more pleased with how they all turned out! (Seriously, is it wrong for me to be this excited about my own work? Because I have to be honest. I am. My heart is pitter-pattering just a little bit right now.)

Just look at the sweet, colorful, burlapy, goodness!

I just love these babies. And I don't care who knows it.

I hope you will take a few minutes to stop by my shop and take a look around at what's new. And please be sure to leave some comments and let me know what you think! I would really love to hear your feedback!

And now for the *other* big announcement. :)

The winner (generated by random.org) of this sweet, sunshiney burlap wall art is....

comment #6 - heatherlyr who said:

"You are so talented. Your sign is so cute and sunny. What a great item for your very first giveaway."

Thank you SO much, Heather! Check your inbox for an email from me, and respond back soon so I can get you your prize!

A huge THANKS again to all of you who entered. I hope you enjoyed my very first giveaway as much as I did. And thanks for hanging out with me here at the Twiddler House! "You'll never know deeeeaar, how much I loooove yoooou....." :)

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

2011-09-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

Passages taken from The Family: A Proclamation to the World.

Linking up with Celebrate Family 2011 at

We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice of Christ.

My First Giveaway!!

2011-09-12T17:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I asked and you delivered! I have finally hit 100 facebook fans (and then some!) and it's all thanks to you. So to show my appreciation, I thought I'd celebrate with...

I'm so excited! I hope you like it!

Those of you who follow Gallamore West may remember this little sign that I made for her as my way of saying thanks for our fabulous girl's weekend? Well, I liked it so much I made two. And I saved one for you!

It's happy. It's yellow. It's burlap. What's not to love? This cute little 8x10 stenciled burlap sign is full of sunshiney goodness and is sure to brighten up any corner of your house! Or, give it to a friend (like I did) to let them know they put a little sunshine in your life!

So, to enter. There are two simple ways:

**Leave a comment on this post. Simple. Any comment and you're entered!

**For an extra entry, facebook, tweet, or blog about this giveaway and leave a comment here to let me know that you did.

That's it! I am so excited to be having my very first giveaway and I hope you'll all get in the spirit and play along. I can't wait to see who I get to share this cute little handmade creation with!

Giveaway will run through Friday, September 16th and winner will be announced sometime Saturday.

Good luck!! :)

Disclaimer: Giveaway ends Friday September 16th. No entries after midnight on the 16th will be accepted. Winner will be chosen randomly via random.org. Please don't forget to leave me a way to contact you so that I can get your your prize! Winner will have 72 hours to contact me at twiddlerhouse@gmail.com. If the winner has not responded within 72 hours, they will forfeit this prize and a new winner will be randomly chosen. Thank you for playing!

Have a Pinteresting day!

2011-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

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The Heritage of Relief Society - free printables!

2011-09-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd pop in and share a little printable with you! Remember the cute Relief Society handouts I told you about? Well, I thought you might like the printable to use yourself. Files are 8 1/2 x 11, but can be resized to fit your 4 x 6 $1 Picture Frames. I think this would be a great thing to take Visiting Teaching with you this month, to help remind the sisters about our upcoming General Relief Society Broadcast. Don't you agree?

The Heritage of Relief Society (Red) - Download here

The Heritage of Relief Society (Green) - Download here

The Heritage of Relief Society (Yellow - my personal favorite!) - Download here

Hope you enjoy them, and hope you all have a great weekend! I've got some fun stuff coming up next week, so stay tuned! :)

{DIY Review} $1 Picture Frames

2011-09-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

This DIY project is so easy, so frugal and so fun, I have made close to 100 of them. No kidding!

It all started when I saw this tutorial on HowDoesShe a little over a year ago. I whipped up a cute set of hanging frames for myself and loved how sweet and simple they were to make! I loved them so much in fact, that a few months later I convinced my girlfriends to help me make 75 of them to give out as handouts for our Relief Society dinner! I made a set for both Grandmas for the boys to give them for Mother's Day. I made a couple of cute ones as gifts for friends. Then when Thing Two accidentally knocked ours off the wall with a broom and cracked the frames...yup, I made some more.

I'm actually a little glad our first set got broken, because I love the color scheme of this new set even more. Plus I got to update them with some of my all-time favorite pics of the boys...

(Seriously, how cute are those little faces?)

And here are the individual ones we came up with for our Relief Society sisters. I made up a cute little printable to put inside and we had them copied and laminated to help them last a little longer. We used a variety of scrapbook papers and ribbons and just mixed and matched. (I snagged this one to match the colors of my bedroom.)

So next time you need a cute, quick gift for a friend, just whip up one (or 100!) of these little babies. At about a dollar a piece, you can't beat the price! I'm thinking these would make awesome Christmas presents with a cute Christmassy printable inside, don't you agree?'

You can check out the original tutorial here:

{Dollar Store Picture Frames tutorial}

from HowDoesShe

Let me know if you decide to try some of these yourself - I'd love to see your take on them! Happy crafting! :)

Have a Pinteresting day!

2011-09-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

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{Recipe} Garlic-Bacon Mac & Cheese

2011-08-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

What is it about back-to-school time that makes me want to smother everything I eat in cheese? The thought of fall on the horizon makes my taste buds crave some good old fashioned comfort food.

The other night I was in the mood for a traditional style family dinner. Mac & Cheese, a classic iceberg salad and some nice, crusty garlic bread. Trouble is, I stink at making mac & cheese.

I know! How is this possible? Everyone and their aunt can make a decent mac & cheese. I think the knowledge of basic mac & cheese is embedded in our DNA. Still, mine always seems to come out kind of dry and dull no matter what recipe I use. So I did what I always do when recipes fail me.

Wing it.

I found something called "garlic white cheddar" in my grocery store, and thought that had to be a decent place to start. Here's what I came up with...

Garlic-Bacon Mac & Cheese

5 strips thick-cut bacon
2 cups elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup whole milk
dash nutmeg
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup garlic white cheddar cheese, shredded*
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 Panko bread crumbs
a sprinkle of extra parmesan, for the top!

1. Cook the bacon, crumble it, and set it aside.

2. Boil the macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

3. While the pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add milk and nutmeg. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until the sauce is smooth and starts to thicken.

4. Add both cheeses to the sauce, and stir until cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Add the drained pasta and stir to combine. Pour into a greased casserole dish.

5. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and stir in the panko. Spoon over the top of the mac and cheese. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over the top, and finish off with an extra sprinkle of parmesan.

6. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly and top is lightly browned. Serve warm.

*If you can't find garlic white cheddar, you can also use regular white cheddar and 1 clove minced garlic.

My husband took one bite of this and declared it "your best mac and cheese yet." And it got the seal of approval from this little guy, too:

After dinner, we enjoyed a few of these cookies and continued our Family Ties marathon. Good times. :)

(Linking up to some of these great places!)

{Recipe} Grandma's Chocolate Drop Cookies

2011-08-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

I have two favorite cookie recipes.

One of them is The Red Headed Hostess's recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Bliss. (The title doesn't lie. Make them now - thank me later.)

My other favorite recipe is for my MIL's no-bake cookies. These are our go-to cookies. The ones we always have the ingredients for on hand and can whip up in 10 minutes when a chocolate attack hits. I love these cookies!

I got this recipe in a cookbook that my Sister-in-law gave us as a wedding present. It was the cutest thing ever. Full of tried and true family recipes from many of my husband's relatives, it has been well used in our home and has become a treasure to us over the years. It even has adorable illustrations, provided by my then-five-year-old niece:

The cover :)

The "soup and salad" section

"Dessert" section. I have always thought that cake looked delicious. Who wouldn't want a cake frosted in those colors?

This one's my favorite. The "main dish" section. Is that a steak? Meat loaf? I've never been sure.

Anyway, back to the cookies. The recipe is so quick and easy, I actually have the whole thing memorized. :)

Chocolate-Drop Cookies

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine:

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
dash salt

Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in:

1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir to combine. Drop spoonfulls onto waxed paper and cool completely in the fridge before serving.

That's it! Easy to whip up when the urge strikes, and always a crowd pleaser.

Hope you love them as much as we do!

Have a Pinteresting day!

2011-08-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

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What's for lunch?

2011-08-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

Our school year has officially started, and with it comes the need for us to get our organizational groove back. I've been working on quite a few little projects to help us cut the clutter, keep to our schedules and (hopefully!) avoid some of those little pitfalls that end up turning a regular weekday into chaos.

One of those projects is re-instituting our lunchtime routine. Last year I cooked up a system for helping us get through lunchtime without A) eating the same ol' PB&J every day, B) each child demanding a completely different meal, and C) choruses of "I don't WAAANNTT to eat that!!!" in small, whiny voices. (Is it just my kids that do this?)

Things ran that way for a few weeks at the beginning of the last school year before I decided something HAD to be done. Here's what I came up with...

Behold the lunch magnets.

I used Google images and my old friend Photoshop to whip up some simple, color coded circles - one for each of the various things that we could be eating for lunch. Blue is for main dishes, red for fruit, green for veg and yellow for side dish/snack items. Then I punched out the circles and laminated them so they'd stand up to everyday use in the kitchen. I stuck some self-adhesive magnets on the back and lined them up on the fridge. Then I brought the boys in to show them the system and explain the rules.

Rule #1 -

Each person gets to pick ONE thing for lunch each day.

This includes Mommy.

Rule #2 -

We can't have two of the same colored items in one day. So if Thing One picked something red, Thing Two can't also pick red.

Rule #3 -

Mommy always picks last. (That way if they choose goldfish and grapes, I can swoop in and choose a main dish to round out the meal!)

Rule #4 -

Once an item has been chosen, it's off limits for the rest of the week.

No repeats.

That's it!

This worked wonders for our family last year! The boys got right on board with it from the first day and really looked forward to getting to choose their lunch item for the day. And honestly, from the time we started using this system, we had maybe one (minor) argument about what to have for lunch. ONE. ALL YEAR!

I found some days-of-the-week magnets at Michael's for $1 that we use to chart what we've eaten each day. Side bonus - it also really helped the boys learn their days of the week! I love that it ended the fighting/whining, helped us be more adventurous with our eating, and helped us to work more fruits and veggies into our diet.

Now obviously, I don't have all of these options available in my fridge/pantry every day of every week! I reset the magnets at the beginning of each week based on what we have on hand. Fruit and veg changes depending on the season, and items are only on the board if they were also on my grocery list. I keep the magnets that aren't in use in a snack-size ziploc bag clipped to the side of the fridge.

And for those days when we're out and about, or I just feel like a little treat, I made up a special "Treat Lunch" magnet that can be used on occasion. (Only Mom gets to choose that one!)

So there you have it! I hope this helps inspire you to try something new and different with your lunchtime routine. It has been great for us, and I'm sure it will be a hit with your family, too!

Linking up to these fantastic places today!

{Recipe} Havarti Fondue

2011-08-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

So here's how we roll at our house on the first day of school...

Yummy, delicious Havarti Fondue! I've made several different fondue recipes, but we always come back to this one. It's the best! (Can you guess which food we like to dip the most? Oh yeah. That's a lot of potatoes.)

Unfortunately, I can NOT remember where I found this recipe. It was years ago (before the wonders of Pinterest) and I have no idea what site it was on. I hate not being able to give credit!

So I can't give credit, but I can give you the recipe! It's one of our favorite things to eat, and is always a crowd pleaser when you're entertaining. And anything made with 3 kinds of cheese can't be bad. ;)

Havarti Fondue

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 cup half and half
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Havarti cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
*food for dipping (see below)

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat olive oil and shallots. Saute 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add half and half and reduce heat to simmer.

2. Cut cream cheese into 1 inch cubes and add it to the pot. Allow the cream cheese to slowly melt into the half and half, stirring frequently.

3. Add Parmesan and Havarti to the sauce and stir until cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Stir in lemon juice, season with pepper and nutmeg.

4. Transfer cheese sauce to a fondue pot and garnish with chives.

*When it comes to what dip in your fondue, pretty much anything goes. Our favorite things to dip are grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, grilled bratwurst, big chunks of Italian bread, steamed broccoli, roasted asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and green apple slices.

A couple of tips - with two small boys a fondue pot can be a little dangerous. And messy. So I usually serve my fondue in individual crocks that I've warmed in the oven, to keep the cheese sauce warm while we eat. Also, I discovered while making yesterday's batch that we had no half and half in the fridge. So I used the same amount of 2% milk. It probably does make a difference in the overall creaminess but, honestly, I didn't miss the half and half at all.

We usually finish up a good fondue night by dipping strawberries, bananas and pretzels into melted chocolate for dessert. Then we go into a food coma. :)

That familiar feeling...

2011-08-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling this way a lot lately. :)

Back to school traditions

2011-08-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school. My little buddies are one step closer to the big "K." So many of their friends started kindergarten today, but I admit - I am happy as can be to have these two chuckleheads home with me for one more year.

(Hello, handsome boy whom I love so much even though he N-E-V-E-R looks at the camera.)

We've got a few fun back-to-school traditions at our house. (Can you believe we're old enough now to have actual back-to-school traditions??) We started off with a special breakfast - this year it was monkey pancakes (seen here) which I didn't quite get a picture of before they got devoured. Then we put together a little basket of goodies for our teachers to help them start off the new year. (Which I didn't get a picture of either. Hey, it was a busy morning here!) We filled a Target $1 bucket with some kleenex, hand sanitizer, clorox wipes and a little bit of chocolate for each teacher. They were so appreciative of the supplies, and thanked us twice for the chocolate. ;)

The boys had a super fun first day, and after school they told me all about it as we drove to get our back-to-school slurpees!

(Hello, cute boy in front of an incredibly dirty car window.)

When we got home, the boys were greeted by a little gift. They each got a book and a mini lego kit, which they proceeded to put together all by themselves! (Phew! That school is already making them smarter!)

(Seriously. Never. EVER. Looks. At. The. Camera.)

We followed that up with a special make-your-own pizza lunch with a side of frozen grapes (a favorite around here at the moment) and then spent some time playing with our new legos. Tonight we'll be topping it all off with another tradition - back-to-school fondue dinner (yum!) followed by special Family Home Evening where we make school year time capsules (idea from here) so we can chart how much we grow between now and the last day of school. I think we'll make ourselves a Book of Mormon reading chart, too, so we can discuss how we can grow both physically and spiritually this year.

Even though I wasn't quite ready to give up my summer, we have had a fun day and we are all looking forward to all the fun things that fall brings us. (Ah Fall, my favorite time of year!)

Does your family have any back-to-school traditions? I'd love to hear about them! Shout 'em out in the comments! :)

Weekly Inspiration 8.22.11

2011-08-22T07:00:00.001-07:00

(via pinterest)

Legoland adventure!

2011-08-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

School is starting soon.

We are in total denial.

So in order to squeeze out the last few, precious drop of summertime, we took the boys on one last "big" adventure. To Legoland!

Here's a little taste of the fun we had as we spent the day totally ignoring that "first day of school" label on the calender...

First things first. Gotta map out our route. Then on to the climbing, crawling, sliding, driving, flying, spinning and racing!

And you'll never guess which ride was my boys favorite ride of the day...

The Dragon!

The roller coaster. The "big kid" roller coaster. The one that my tiny little guys are just barely tall enough to ride. They loved it! Thing One pleaded with us all day to let him ride it. I was apprehensive (aren't they still just babies?) but when we saw the line was only 10 minutes, we gave it a try. They giggled and cheered and put their hands up in the air...and as soon as we got off they shouted "let's ride it again!!"

So we did. Three times.

And I had a blast watching my boys suddenly evlove from kiddie riders to big kids. I can't wait until we graduate to Magic Mountain and Raging Waters! (We might have to leave Daddy at home for those, though. Maybe he can read his book while we ride.)

Of course, one of the best moments of the day was when we visited this little world...

Legos and Star Wars. Always a winning combo!

Legoland was the perfect antidote to our end-of-summer blues. There was a request at the end of the day to "stay until it gets dark and then build a lego house to live in with a lego bed to sleep on so we can stay here for all the days!"

Guess that means they had a good time. :)

My fabulous weekend in blogland {part 2}

2011-08-16T11:09:00.000-07:00

As if the Hostess with the Mostess party wasn't enough, I got to continue my fabulous weekend in blogland on Saturday. I stayed the night at Hotel Gallamore (where they put fresh baked cookies on your pillow!) and the next morning Laurie and I headed out to a delicious cafe breakfast, followed by a stroll through some local antique shops. Let me tell you - browsing (kid free!) through vintage goodies with a friend is a lovely way to spend a morning.

But we didn't stop there. We headed back to downtown San Diego for The Queen Bee Market, and got to feast our eyes on all kinds of amazing handmade lovliness. Seriously, there was so much gorgeous creativity in one room, it was mind-blowing. It was like a candy store for grownups. Check out all the pretty...

I'll take one of everything, please!

OK, sadly, I couldn't afford one of everything. But I did end up with a few little treasures - I mean, when you walk by a headband made of burlap, what's a girl supposed to do? (Alright, it's technically not burlap. I think its some kind of linen. But it still has that burlap look going on.) ;)

{Headband and cute fabric earrings both from Bebecha.}

And although I love the slogan on these t-shirts...

...I decided to pass on those in favor of this little guy that I could pin right next to my computer, for inspiration:

Not only were the products gorgeous and creative, but the displays were, too! Each vendor's booth was like a little work of art. We stopped by Yellow Me Daisy's booth to let her know how much we both enjoyed her ALL BOY display. (With 5 boys between us, Laurie and I both appreciate a good boy-centric booth.) And we both agreed that our hands-down favorite display was from Funky Vintage Lovely (whose blog I am now happily following - and loving!) We took the time to tell her she was our favorite of the day, and she was so sweet! We even caught a quick glimpse of Jen from Tatertots & Jello, and Shelley from House of Smiths while we were shopping!

Thanks again to Laurie for inviting me to such a fabulous girl's weekend! "Fun" doesn't begin to cover it! I"m thinking we should make the Queen Bee and annual tradition, what do you think? :)

Weekly Inspiration 8.15.11

2011-08-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

(via pinterest)

My fabulous weekend in blogland {part 1}

2011-08-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

So.... you know that outfit I had you guys help me pick? The one for the super amazing party I got invited to? Well, FYI - I chose the pants outfit (it seemed unanimous) and it was the perfect choice. Want to see where I wore it? Well, take a look...

My friend Laurie from Gallamore West invited me and one other friend to go with her to the launch party for the new Hostess with the Mostess website. How fun is that?!?

(Laurie, me, and Erin)

It was held at the Hotel Solamar in downtown San Diego, and it was a blast!! Gorgeous rooftop venue, tons of fun people to meet and mingle with, and just take a look at these amazing party details...

There were some beautiful tables set up with displays from some of blogland's best party planners. My favorite was this travel-themed party by Paper & Cake. Beautiful!

They had a perfectly dazzling candy bar set up where you could fill up little goody bags with sweet treats. The cookies were SO stunningly detailed, I almost couldn't eat mine.

Almost.

(Try eating a cookie while someone takes a picture of you without laughing. I dare you.)

My boys were quite delighted with the goodie bags full of candy I brought home for them!

And, as if all that weren't enough, we got to meet the Hostess with the Mostess herself, Jenn Sbranti! And her dress even coordinated with the party theme. (Well, naturally!)

We has such a good time, and even brought home cute swag bags jam-packed full of awesome products from their sponsors. We went home with feet sore from our fancy shoes, and smile muscles sore from laughing. A great party, great friends, and a great night!

And that's only Friday's story. Wait till you see what we were up to on Saturday... stay tuned! :)

Weekly Inspiration 8.8.11

2011-08-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

(via pinterest)

My new favorite

2011-08-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

Just in case you didn't catch me over at Tattered & Inked last week, here's the furniture makeover project I shared over there. Hope you like it! :)

I have a new favorite piece of furniture. I found this little guy on Craigslist over a year ago, and I had a vision for him. He sat in our house, collecting our junk and being basically ignored. Patiently waiting, while life carried on. Then a couple of weeks ago, I took the plunge. Armed with primer, paint, and glaze, I gave my new friend a makeover. And suddenly he went from plain and neglected to "holy cow, I think I love you!" Now he fits right in, like one of the family, giving our house the little pop of color and life it needed. Check it out...

*Sigh* See what I mean? My little friend is kind of a rock star now. I think I will call him Bluey.

Bluey was my first attempt at antique glazing, so I was a bit nervous. But I borrowed some of this from a friend and gave it a try...

It was so much easier than I anticipated! I didn't want to go overboard so I limited myself to just edges and corners, and those lovely curves. I think it turned out just right.

I also spray-painted the hardware in a dark metallic color to help perk them up a little. Here's a tip I discovered while doing my kitchen makeover last summer - stick all your nails and screws into styrofoam to keep them upright and steady while you spray. Makes the job quick and easy!

So do you love him as much as I do? He's like a little piece of sunshine greeting me every time I walk in the door. Welcome to the family, little Bluey.

{Linking little Bluey up here today...}

http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

What to wear?

2011-08-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

OK, friends. I could really use some help here.

You see, I've been invited to a party. A fabulous party. An upscale, fancy hors d'oeuvre, downtown city lights kind of party. I'm planning to share all the details with you later, but I'll give you this little sneak peek now...

THIS is the party location. Lovely, right? (Did I give it away?)

I am SO excited!

But I am also a little out of my element when it comes to deciding what to wear. I have never had much fashion sense (I usually choose comfortable over cute) and I don't really have a lot in my closet that says "upscale party" to me.

So here's the deal. I have two outfits that I love and I'm hoping YOU can help me choose what to wear. Please just keep in mind these 2 things:

1) I hate having my picture taken. So please ignore the goofy expressions - it's the best I can do.

2) I'm growing out my bangs. I just feel like I need to explain that. ;)

OK, ready? Here we go.

Outfit #1

I really LOVE this outfit. I love the colors, the style, the cute chunky wood accessories...everything. I wore this to church on Sunday and got several compliments, which makes me feel cute and confident in it. My only fear is that this may not be dressy enough for this kind of party. Does this look more "churchy" than chic? If everyone else is wearing sleek black, will I look out of place in this? I just can't decide.

So here's my other option.

Outfit # 2

I like that this has a bit more sparkle to it - especially with the funky earrings and silvery bangles. It's not a dress, which for some reason makes me feel not as "dressed up" but maybe that's all in my head. I do think I could do better on the shoes - maybe something with a little more heel? And maybe a cute purse to pull it together? What do you think?

Well there you have it. I would LOVE to hear your opinion on what I should wear. I promise I will update you on which outfit wins out - along with all the exciting party details - just as soon as I get back!

Thanks for your help! What would I do without all my blogging friends? ;)

Weekly Inspiration 8.1.11

2011-08-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

(via pinterest)

I'm a guest blogger!

2011-07-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Check it out! I'm guest blogging today over at Tattered & Inked!

It's my very first chance to be do a guest post for someone else, and I'm so excited! I hope you'll all click over and show me some comment love. While you're there, take a tour of her site and read about the other guest bloggers from this week. You won't be disappointed! :)