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Monday, September 29, 2008

Been trying to keep busy in the past few days. We turned in our broadband modem as Verizon was charging us an arm & a leg to keep it, and we are getting cable & internet through the apartments soon anyways (I found out it could be another 45 days… UGH!, but it’s free, so I shouldn’t complain). So, I can’t “hang out” online as much as I would like, as it’s hard to pick up a signal during the afternoon & night, but early in the morning I can get on just fine!

So, Friday was the first day I had to really find stuff to do. I had bought Modge Podge and decided to decoupage one of the girls’ picture frames. It was an 11x14 frame that was burgundy wood. I made them a poster from Shutterfly of their friends & family back at home, and it arrived last week. But, the frame didn’t match the poster. So, I found some scrapbook paper that matched the poster (black & red). It was a little tricky trying to get red cardstock to stay down, but it worked!! Here are my pictures, so you can see what I did.


The final outcome!!

After I got done with that project (which took me 2 hours), I made mini cupcakes & brownies for Mike’s work party Friday night. I decided to “decorate” the cupcakes with my cake decorating stuff. Do I need a life or what? I topped them with a cherry, and it look “oh so fancy!”.

Then, I went on to make some more clippies and mini flower clippies for the girls hair. There’s a company that sells mini flowers that you can layer along w/ a brad that matches it all in one package, and it was half off, so I tried it out. I needed a black flower anyways. Not too bad!!


This week I am going to tackle my childhood pictures and put them in a scrapbook. We’ll see how well I accomplish that as the girls have 3 days of school that is early release. It’s already time for parent/teacher conference!!


Maddie had a playdate with her new best friend at school: Lilly. They actually only live a block or two away, so it was a great surprise to find out she has a friend who lives close! They had a wonderful time together, and Lilly is a very sweet little girl.


Funny but yet sad story…. I decided to surprise Maddie last week and show up for lunch with her. She saw me, and was excited to see me at first, then started crying. She had a headache (or so she told me). I told her “we’ll eat lunch first, and see how your head feels afterwards”… and she cried almost the entire lunch period, so I took her home and put her in bed. I made sure she knew her play date with Lilly was going to be canceled if she went home sick (Lilly came the next day). Well, we get home, and she’s “all better”. That little stinker. I made her stay in bed the rest of the day though. She told me later to not come back to school again. I guess I make her want to come home. Sniff sniff



See in this picture there’s a little cave? Mike showed me this cave, which is located RIGHT next to the property that he’s at right now (he’s on his last week there before he goes to the construction). Either one or two years ago, a mountain lion used to live in this cave, and one morning this lady took her trash to the compactor located near this cave. She threw her trash in, and saw this HUGE FAT mountain lion eating people’s garbage. She of course freaked out, and the police, etc came to capture this mountain lion. So, I finally got a picture so you can see!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

{Creating Clippies}



I had been wanting to make these ribbon covered clippies for a long time, but just kept forgetting about them. I went to Target to find a present for Presley's birthday, and in the baby section, there was a package of ribbon covered clippes for (get this...) $9.99!!! There were only four of them in the package!! I saw that, and decided "well, now's a good time to try to figure out how to do these things".


I bought a small package of the clippies, but later found out that Sally's has them for about 100 in a package for $5.36. I had bought them 12 in a package for $2.99 at Target (so don't do that route). I had hot glue at home, some ribbon (you have to use the 3/8" ribbon). I did buy some of those grip stuff that you use to lay down on your cabinets. I'm still waiting to hear from Marcie to see if they actually help the clippies stay in the hair. I just glued a small section of that on the top part of the clippies.


As soon as I make it to Hobby Lobby to buy some more ribbon, the girls want to try it out in their hair. I tried to find smaller clippies as I was thinking they may be too big for Presley's hair, but I couldn't find anything smaller than what I found.

Monday, September 22, 2008

{Primary Presentation}

Yesterday the girls had their Primary Presentation. For my family who may be a little clueless as to what this is, the primary in our church learns tons of songs and different gospel principles all through the year, and usually during September or October of each year, they "present" it to the family during Sacrament service. Since we had just started going to our new ward the previous week, and found out their primary presentation was the following weekend (yesterday).... we kind of freaked out.

Every ward does different songs (they have a guide of songs they can choose from, but some choose an extra song or two that may not be on the guide).... and that happened to us in our case. The girls didn't know several of the songs... EEKS! But, they did a pretty good job lip syncing along to the words, and making it *appear* they knew. This ward did a new song I had never heard of, by Steven Kapp Perry, called "Teach Me About the Temple", and it was beautiful!! Katie, sadly, left all the words in her scriptures, which were with me, so she had to "play along" as if she knew the words.

The funny part though... Katie volunteered at the Primary practice on Saturday to say "I am a Child of God" in spanish. OK.. we can practice that with Daddy over the weekend. So she practics it and practices it. So much Maddie and I can say it fluently now. Soy un nino de dios. Pretty easy, huh? Well, Katie had to say it twice on Sunday, in the beginning and at the end (there were about 6 languages spoken by kids to show that we are all children of God). First time she gets up there she misses a few words. The last time she gets up there instead of saying "dios" she said "dois", which sounds like "dos". So, I am a child of two, may be quite appropriate, but it wasn't what she was supposed to say. ha ha!

Saturday night we headed to the current property that Mike's at right now. It had the MOST amazing pool & setting around the pool. A HUGE room full of nice table and chairs, with a gorgeous grill. I was speechless... it was so awesome. They tell me Mike's new property will have that also, so I'm stoked! It was a bit cold that night, but the girls enjoyed themselves. I got bitten to death by mosquitos. One swelled up to the size of a nickel on my skin! Yikes! I kept an eye out for rattlesnakes... didn't see any, if you wanted to know.

Friday, September 19, 2008

{Happy Birthday Miss Pres!}





Miss Presley, my sister in law Marcie's little girl turns one today!! I love how she has so many amazing expressions on her face!! So cute!


I have the cutest nieces & nephews.... my nephew Adam celebrated his 3rd birthday a few days ago (Mike has a nephew & niece born right after his birthday, so I can remember those!). Sadly, I don't have a picture of Adam. {{uh-hum ....Tiffany!}} Happy Birthday to Adam as well! I'd post a picture of you if I had one!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

{Attack of the Butterflies}

While driving to meet Mike for lunch yesterday, I happened to notice there were a TON of big brown bugs on the highway. They were running into my windshield at an alarming rate, and I couldn't help but notice this phenomenon as I really took a look around the highway, and saw these "bug" were everywhere.

It wasn't until I made a comment to Mike that there were a ton of bugs around where he was, that he said they were baby butterflies... snout butterflies. Once we started driving, we got close to a few of them, and they indeed were baby monarch butterflies. They were everywhere. Not sure if they just hatched, or if they are migrating, but they were beautiful in a sense that these were butterflies, but also a nuisance when it came to driving, and seeing their fragile bodies smash into my clean windshield. Ugh.... cleaning up bug goop is the worse.


I sat at the girls' school waiting for them to come out, and I noticed the butterflies were all going in one direction: east. Mike told me last week it was like a huge fog of brown while he was driving, it was that thick with butterflies. But yet, it was a beauty of its own, to be appreciated only in the eye of the beholder.

***ETA: they are not monarch butterflies. They're called snout butterflies, and according to the news who reported on this phenomena last night, it happens every few years, and it's a pain in the butt. They get in the grills of your A/C, the grills of your radiator, your car.... etc.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

{When sisters fight...}


What does a mother do when her daughters start fighting and bickering with each other? That's right, she puts them to work on chores they have to do together. Usually the end result is usually they're giggling at the end of their chore.... but in this case, it wasn't the end of chores for Maddie.

Madison also had to clean the bathroom, and when she was still griping after that was done, she had to clean her room. By herself. She finally got the point after her room was clean. "Quit yer griping & bellyaching!"

Why was she griping? Because she wanted to do that hard job Katie was doing ... which was mopping the floor (which wasn't part of the chore, Katie just volunteered to do it, which is MY most hated chore of all time, so heck yes! She can mop if she wants to!) I had to tell Madison next week she can mop. ::rolling eyes::

Monday, September 15, 2008

{Help Save a Life}

A friend of mine posted about this subject a week ago, so I looked into this: Bone marrow donation. Usually registering as a bone marrow donor costs $56 (the cost is from the extensive research of matching up the donor with the recipient). Well, NASCAR is sponsoring a drive for bone marrow donors which means Sept.7-Sept 22 this process will be absolutely FREE!!



All you do, is go here and register, and they will send you a kit with a few cotton swabs to gather some cheek skin cells and send back to them, and then you are officially on the Bone Marrow Donation Registry list! Think how amazing it would be literally help SAVE someone's life - with you just doing a simple blood draw procedure?? Most of the doctors seem to do a normal blood transfusion by way of taking the marrow, but there are some cases in which they do take it out of your hip (the old way).



I've always wanted to help save a life... I'm big on donating blood when I can. I ordered my kit last week, (it was free), and I'm now sending back my samples from my cheek!



Care to join me in saving a life? You only have until the 22nd of September to order this kit for free. After that, it's roughly $57.00.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

{Happy Birthday Mike!}


Today my sweetie is celebrating his birthday (OK, the girls and I will celebrate for him as he isn't much into celebrations). He hit a major milestone.... 35 years old!!



Here are a few pictures of him

OK ... top 10 things I love about Mike (I did this for our 10th anniversary, but did it with 100 things I loved about him, but I'm drastically shortening it up this time, not b/c I can't think of things to love about him, but it's 7:00 a.m. and I'm just not thinking 100% clearly).

1) He is the best provider in the world!

2) He literally knows how to do most anything.

3) He makes a mean plate of stacked enchiladas.... (and chile rellenos!)

4) He loves to play with the girls and is the MOST patient person I have ever seen with them.

5) I love his smile.

6) There isn't anything he wouldn't do for anyone... literally.

7) He enjoys my entertainment: watching movies.

8) He is not lazy by any means ~ always on the go, however when he does happen to sit down for a second, he's asleep.

9) He truly listens.... and never has a bad thing to say about anyone, ever.

10) He leads our family as a priesthood holder..... awesome guy!

Love you Mike! Now, let's go out to lunch.... before Ike comes!

Friday, September 12, 2008

{Home Pics & an amazing find!}



After a few emails sent to me requesting pictures of my house... I wanted to wait until I had it semi-decorated before I took pictures. :) I can't quite capture all of one room in a single picture, which is why there are several pictures of each room.... I love the house. Kind of not really liking all the tile though (hurts the feet!) throughout the house.

::sigh:: I love my big clock




The girls are still decorating their room, but I did decorate their bathroom a theme sort of like Paris. (Yes Jenni ... still need to get a picture for that frame! The candle is on the other side of the sink!)



The Kitchen


My "office"

Found that awesome 2 tier holder for fruit (or whatever you wish) at Target for only $13.00!! Score!

We are TOTALLY loving our patio furniture. Once the bugs die down a bit, we'll eat outside more often, but for now, we're enjoying drinking our lemonade outside!

Need something on that wall over the couch....

I should wait on these pics for another blog post, but I saw these today at Target (my favorite store)... and thought these were SO dang cute! I am already thinking of Christmas gifts in these! I'm thinking .... brown sugar scrubs?! Anyways, they're so cute for just about anything, so check out your Target clearance to see if they have any left!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

{Hungry for cake?}



I saw this on a message board I frequent, and I tried it out yesterday for an after school snack for the girls, and it was WELL received!

Know those Warm Delights by Betty Crocker? Those tiny little bowls of cake mix that you add water too, and put it in the microwave? But they're SO costly? Well, here's a fast way to make something similar, w/o breaking the bank or even breaking your diet (if you stick to one!)

Take a cake mix, and dip out 1/4 c of the cake mix. Put it in a bowl, and add 2 T of water. If you want to add some chocolate chips or syrup (caramel, chocolate, etc), go ahead. Mix it all up (or pour the syrup on top), and microwave it for one minute.

VERY easy, and goes well with a glass of milk!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

{Jason Mraz}

Saw this video on a friend's blog, and I LOVE this song! It's called "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz.... love the scatting this guy does!


{Knock off Manwich Recipe}


Last night I went to our food storage to find our Manwich cans for sloppy joes... and since Mike was the one who unloaded our food storage and arranged it, I couldn't find it (either we're out or we're missing a few boxes still). I went online and tried to find a recipe so I could use in a flash, and found the BEST recipe that is perfect for Sloppy Joes!!

Basically you still brown your hamburger meat, adding onions and green peppers if you want (I didn't b/c I thought we had Manwich). Add:


one 8 oz can of tomato sauce

1/4 tsp dry mustard

2 Tbsp honey

1 tsp Worchestire sauce (or however you spell it)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Let simmer for about 5 minutes or so, and it's DONE! The mixture is enough for a pound of hamburger, so double accordingly if you have a huge family. I love this moreso than Manwich itself, which is almost too sweet in a way. This was a little sweet, but not overbearingly sweet. Definitely a LOT cheaper than buying Manwich!

Monday, September 8, 2008

{Maddie-isms}


Maddie brought home a list of spelling words that she has to work on. Words include: goat, on, dog, cat, I, etc. I had her write the words 3 times each on her paper (part of the assignment) and I held up her flashcards for her to read them off. Then, I had her spell them from memory.

Here's our conversation:

Mom: Spell cat
Madison: C-A-T
Mom: Spell goat
Madison: G-O-A-T
Mom: Spell I
Madison: (looking kind of lost) ummm.... I?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Madison's chore today was to empty the dishwasher. I was helping Katie with her email letters, and I hear her singing softly "Dontcha wish your girlfriend was HOT LIKE ME?"

I stood there, making sure I heard her song right, and was laughing quietly. I asked her "ummm, Madison, where did you learn that song?" She looked at me and said "oh, Alvin & the Chipmunks!" then proceeded to finish her song "dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me". ::giggling:: I let her carry on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We finally got a Wii last Friday, to which Madison & Katie have dominated the entire system all weekend long. Madison can officially beat both her Daddy & myself in everything! (Katie can too!). In fact, she has a cute little hop step that she does when she bowls, and when she boxes.... all I can say is LOOK OUT!

{Maddie's lost tooth}



I had totally forgotten to post about this a few weeks ago.


Maddie doesn't like anyone touching her teeth, period. So when it comes time for a tooth to come out, no one is allowed to touch her tooth! PERIOD! Shortly after we got here to Texas, she announced her tooth was really (ok, *weally*) loose, and that it was bleeding. I asked her if I could see, and she was very adamant that I didn't touch it.


So, I sent the girls to brush their teeth before bed, and I hear a "Mamma! Mamma! I lost my tooth brushing my teeth!" Sadly, there's not much room for her new tooth to grow in, and I know a huge orthodonic bill will be starting up within a few years. ::groan::

Saturday, September 6, 2008

{Homemade Banana Ice Cream}

Using my family's basic recipe for homemade ice cream, we tweaked it a little last night and instead of making butterfinger ice cream (which is Mike's favorite of all), we made banana ice cream (I had 6 small bananas that needed to be disposed of, and fast!)

It was OUT OF THIS WORLD! and worthy of its own post. :) Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Banana Ice Cream

2 cups sugar
6 eggs
6 bananas (we froze for an hour)
1 tsp of vanilla (or a little more if you like vanilla)
2 quarts of half & half
a little bit of milk if needed to fill the canister (which we didn't)

We took a blender and blended up 3 eggs, 3 bananas, 1 c sugar and some half & half then poured it in the ice cream maker container. Then we did it again w/ the rest of the ingredients. Freeze as directed according to your ice cream maker. FANTABULOUS!!

When we make butterfinger ice cream, we use 6 butterfinger bars, crushed, and lessen the sugar to 1 3/4 cup.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

{What is Amy up to today?}


Today I have been busy so far!


So far I have


I have been busy taking care of
who is

with a cold & a cough (and a sore throat)

I have also



made cookies so far today

I am currently doing the

and it's only 11:00 a.m. right now.

What are YOU doing today? :)

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