Yumminess!

 Parker loves Chicken Nuggets, but the thought of my kids ingesting those things they sell at most fast food restauarants as "chicken nuggets" literally makes me want to vomit.  I have totally fed my children those things and I'm sure I will in the future, but I try to avoid it as much as possible just because they seem so gross to me.  Lately, however, Parker has been asking for them all the time.  So, I told him I would make him the best chicken nuggets he'd ever had.  Basically, I just chunked up the chicken in almost bite-size pieces, coated it w/ flour and spices and cooked it in some olive oil on the stove.

Then I thought sweet potato fries sounded like a scrumptious side to have (what are chicken nuggets without fries?)!  But in true Anna form (laziness) I thought I'd try to save a few minutes and use my food processor to make something more like sweet potato chips.  Well, they didn't turn out quite like I thought they would, and were a bit too spicy for the kids, but I love them!  Most of them are not very crispy because I had a hard time catching them just at crispiness but before becoming burnt.  So they are either slightly soft or overcooked.  But still yummy! And the fun part:  I feel no guilt eating these chips!

 And the kids were pretty happy with the results too! 

Parker kept saying, "these are the best nuggets in the whole world!"  He exaggerates, but I like that, especially when he's talking about my food or how much he loves me!

 p.s. Yes, my photography skills do rock!

I will be offering a special e-book tutorial giving away all my secret tips,

available for only $99.99.

I am a Mormon. I am a Christian.

Lately, there's been a lot of news coverage about Mitt Romney, a hopeful candidate for the 2012 Presidential race, as well as a Mormon.  Up until recently, most of what I had heard was fairly neutral in the area of his religion.  However, just this past week, Reverend Robert Jeffress spoke up with his concerns about Romney's religion.  As I am a Mormon, or a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a Christian, I was both shocked and bewildered by his comments.  The following is an interview Jeffress had with CNN's Anderson Cooper:


In response to the inflammatory words of Jeffress, many people have spoken out, Mormons and not, to establish actual facts rather than spread rumors or misunderstandings.  Here is an article by Dean Obeidallah, also from CNN, entitled  "Who says Mormons aren't Christians?".

However, I think the best clarification can be found in a message given by Jeffrey R. Holland, a prominent leader of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  His brief message and testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is entitled The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Has Sent. 

So am I a Mormon?  Yes, I am.  Am I a Christian?  Most assuredly, I am.

I know that it is only through Jesus Christ that I can be saved.  He is my Savior and Redeemer.






For more--and accurate--information, feel free to visit mormon.org , or you can always talk to me.

Couch Potato

This girl is definitely not a couch potato (just to clarify).

 Paige is slightly obsessed with ballerinas.  She is constantly asking for ballerina music! 

 (Don't you love the finger up the nose?)

 Every now and then she can convince Parker to dance with her!

 It is blackberry season here in the Northwest!  Any chance we get, we head out to pick them.  They are slow coming on because of the crazy funky weather, but I hope we get to pick more!

(Notice the funky picture?  Again, my camera is going psycho)

We were so blessed to get a great deal on pears when we went over to Idaho.  I attempted to can some, but it was sooooo time consuming.  So I decided I would just dry them all and I did it in the most lazy way possible.  I just washed the fruit in water and baking soda.  Rinsed it.  Then I sliced the fruit off of in thin strips all around the core. 

 Threw them in a mixture of water and lemon juice to prevent browning.

Of course, I had an amazing and happy helper. 

 Then we just layered the slices onto our drying trays.  Most of them were sufficiently dried in about 16 hours (our dryer is not the most efficient piece of machinery, but it does the job).

 And then more pictures of the couch, because I do love it!  

For those who didn't hear the amazing news...

 I got this couch for...

 $10.45.  That's right!  I hit the jackpot.  It is in amazing condition! 

 Now my biggest problem has been finding the right fabrics to incorporate it into our home. 

 My life would be so much simpler if I went with a matchey-matchey set like this one (which I actually love).

Why do I make my life so complicated?

Oh, I know why...because I am a good-deal-lovin'-kind-of-gal (aka cheapskate)!

 So far, I've narrowed the materials down to this (below).  The lighting is hor-rib-le.  But basically the large pieces of material will be throw pillows, and I'm contemplating using a fabric similar to that small swatch of fabric for my curtains.  I am wanting something a little more geometric, but haven't quite found what I love.  There will be a few other surprises (that I don't even know yet) because that's how I decorate.  I just kind of do it as I go.  

Can I just say...I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING!  

Yikes.

And home decorating scares the heckers out of me because I feel so permanently bound to it because of the money I put into it...(again, not a lot, but still--I'm cheap)

So if any of you fantastically skilled friends of mine have some suggestions, let me know.

Until I get it all figured out, I'll just be chillin' on the couch because, besides being a super-duper-amazing deal, it is super comfortable!

So I don't forget.

I have to write these down because they made me laugh:

Paige's favorite thing to say these days when something doesn't go as planned is "Oh, my man!"  hahaha  It makes me laugh.

Then Parker told me the other day said:
-Mom, when I get married and move really far away you have to come live with me.  (said in tone that means "don't argue with me"
 --We'll see how he feels when he gets married.

Another one from Parker.  We have what we call a "warm fuzzy jar" and when someone does something extra kind/loving, we put a warm fuzzy in it.  Parker was asking why one of his friends didn't have one.  I, being the extra humble mom that I am, said, "well some moms don't have cool ideas like your mom does."  :)  To which he replied, "Mom, you get your coolness from Dad, not you." 

Okay.  Thank you.  I am sufficiently humbled.
Parley, I'm sure you loved that one! 

Catch up

Oh, boy, I can't believe that July is over.  We have been having so much fun!  Part of that included our trip for the 4th of July (which I believe I failed to mention that I started a fire all by myself for the first time--I was a little worried as I thought about that on our way up, but the fire started right up on the first try, no lighter fluid required--whew).  

Then mid-July we had a reunion over on the Oregon coast with my siblings and parents as well as another Aunt and Uncle and their children!  It was so much fun and we were so blessed with good weather for the most part.  Parker and Paige loved having their cousins around and it was so nice to be around my siblings and cousins!  

 Paige adored her little cousin Emri.  Good thing Emri is used to affectionate older siblings! 

This guy below did not want to be in any pictures. And, boy, he loved that water!

 Paige got buried by Grandma.  She actually did enjoy it, despite the face. 

 Parker and his cousin-buddy Tegan!  These two and Walker (another cousin) all had so much fun together!  

I just am horrible about taking pictures and didn't get any of the three of them together.  

I think this was the first day.  After that, I kind of slacked on the picture taking.

 Having fun discovering the tidepools.  *side note: that girl behind is not related in any way.  I have no idea who she is, but she was adorable--red hair and the daintiest little freckles!  So cute!)

And I love Paige's big ole smile of cheese!  She's so posy when she wants to be.

 

Then, the day after we got home, Parley's parents flew in!  

We had so much fun while they were here and were sad to see them leave! 

We took advantage of their first sunny day here and headed down to Mt. Saint Helens.

It was a gorgeous day and we got to see some beautiful sights.

 This was not a planned picture.  They had just grabbed hold of each other and were walking along.

I love these moments when they are so kind and loving together!

 This was at Northwest Trek (a place to see many animals native to the Northwest).

The kids loved Abuelo's (Grandpa's) magic tricks!  I wish I had caught some pictures of those *but, alas, I fail at photography*.  This is the only picture I got of the kids with even one grandparent.

I'll do better next time.

 A couple days after they flew out, my parents flew in!  And I bombed it in the picture department this time because I didn't take a single picture!  Yikes!  Anyway, I got to spend a couple days with them and then I  headed out to Girl's Camp (a program put on for girls ages 12-18 through our church).  And, again, no pictures (is anyone surprised?).

The kids got to hang out with Gpa and Gma a few days, then my parents had to head out to my dad's sibling reunion.  Then my great friend took the kids for the remaining 2 days.  Wow!  I was so happy to come home, but it was so nice knowing that while I was gone, my kids were in good hands and happy!

I was a little worried the kids would rather stay and have fun with friends/relatives (who wouldn't?), but in the end, they were excited to see me!

WOW!  And now we are here.  We are loving the summer whenever possible because we know it won't last too long here in the NW. 

The Science of Gas, Part II

Okay, I admit it: deep down I totally get a kick out of potty humor (from my kids anyway).  

Tonight the kids were playing in the tub and Parker said:
Look, Mom!  I'm making bubbles with my bum!

He's going to kill me when he get's older.  Oh well, I'm his mother.  It's my right to share these.  Plus, this is my way of adding just a bit more joy to your life!

You're welcome.

The Science of Gas

Last night at dinner, Parker burst out with this question:
Why does gas come out of volcanoes just like gas comes out of our bums?


I had two thoughts:
1. Wow, I never put those two together.
2.  I sure wish his dad were here so I could have someone else to blame that thought on.

Before and After: Kids' Room

Parker and Paige share a room now, so I wanted something that would work for both of them.  Nothing too boy and nothing too girl.  Plus, the room was desperately crying out for a redo.

Beware: the befores are very scary. 

 When Parker was born, my mom made him some adorable black and white bedding.  Then she made the valence that coordinated and we put that above the window.  I, in a desperate attempt to darken the room for bed/nap times threw up that dark piece of material over the rest of the window.  I'm ashamed to say it stayed there for 3 1/2 years.

This just shows the general state of the room.  yikes!

This is the dresser Parker had for at least 2 years.  It was so horrible.  The drawers always came off the tracks.

Now the afters!  I'm not quite done.  I have a few more wall accessories I'll be adding, but the room is basically done.  It is such a difference.

 ******************************************************************************

 I just can't believe how much brighter and airier (is that redundant?) it seems.  I was a little worried about the red comforters as red is not generally a color I gravitate toward, but it works for now.  I may change it sometime in the future, but for right now it works just fine.

 This is a before of the dresser.  It came from the our room and I transformed it into this:

 Again, so much better!  This dresser has got to be at least 50 years old.  We got it from Parley's Grandpa when we first got married.  It served us well, but it was definitely in bad shape.  This is just what it needed.

 I made this little banner.  It was so easy and adds so much to the room.  Probably one of my favorite parts!

I found this yesterday at a thrift store for $4.00.  I love all the chippy paint and Parker is so excited to use it as his treasure chest!

I have to go into detail on the curtains because they make me smile.  They were SO beyond easy.  I felt like the red made the room feel a little too stuffy/formal.  Do you get what I'm saying?  No?  Well, the red was just taking the room in a direction that I wasn't wanting to go.  So I needed something to tone it all down.  For the curtains I used a linen-look material...so much cheaper and so much easier to care for.  Then, here's where I got so lazy, but it was exactly what I wanted.  I had been inspired by burlap curtains I'd been seeing with the unfinished edges.  So I laundered up the fabric and was left with edges that looked like this:

Are they not perfect! 
















The only hemming I did on these curtains is the top hem where I attached the clips.



Then I ran into another dilemma.  I love the look of curtains that just sweep the floor.  However, in this house we have baseboards, ugh.  Since we'll be moving in about a year (hopefully to a house with out those ghastly baseboards)  I decided I'd make them long, then just hem them up.  (Ignore the wrinkles...like I said, I'm lazy.  I figured gravity will help.)

First I tried it the lazy way (of couse) and I just tacked them up.  That looked horrendous.

 

So this morning, I just sewed them straight across.  I knew I needed them about 26" shorter, so I just folded up 26" of fabric then folded half of that back down so it would have the frayed bottom.

And because you love it as much as I do...one more after:

Cost breakdown:

Blankets/cases: $60 total

Paint: some already on hand, but then bought about $20 worth more

Material for curtains, pillows (yeah, I made those too, but don't look too close, they are kind of lumpy) and banner: $15

Accessories: $4 (the chest) all others are/will be stuff we already have around

Furniture: All stuff we already had=FREE!

Total=$99.  Not too bad, I'd say.  

Does doing a redo on the cheap give anyone else a thrill?!  Maybe I'm just a dork.  But it really makes me happy!