Thursday, June 26, 2008

What Will They Think of Next?

Now this is funny!

Check out Travis' post about a special new service that none of us will want to be without.

Oh my!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

More Power


I have never been a tooth person.


Don't get me wrong....I have teeth, all of them actually, except my wisdom teeth.


I just don't enjoy working on them.


I've always hated brushing my teeth. I don't like the taste of toothpaste or the feeling of all that foam in my mouth. I do brush my teeth because I know I need to but I don't like it and I never, ever, ever floss. It is just too annoying and time consuming and painful.


I also don't go to the dentist unless it is an emergency.


The thought of all of that scraping and poking and digging gives me little nervous butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it.


I know. I am a horrible and disgusting person. Sue me.


Anyway, I have always hoped that my dental discrimination wouldn't rub off on my kids. I don't think it has. They love to brush their teeth, but they're 8 and 4 year old boys...they don't keep up with it very well.


Until now.


Because they were practically giving them away at CVS last week, I got two Oral-B Pulsar electric toothbrushes. The boys think they are the best invention known to mankind. They are brushing their teeth multiple times a day...just for the fun of it.


They love the buzzing sound and the tickly feeling it makes on their gums.There is no need to set a timer...unless it would be to make them stop brushing and go to bed. They cover each tooth multiple times with the spinning bristles.


Now if I could only teach them how to use a small dollop of toothpaste instead of half a tube at a time. Oh well, baby steps, baby steps.


So, electric toothbrushes definitely work for me, or at least for my kids.


For more Works For Me Wednesday Tips head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Homemade Soft Pretzels


By popular demand here it is.........

Laura's Amazing Soft Pretzel recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 pkgs. yeast (2 T.)
2 t. honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1 stick butter
1/2 cup honey
4 t. salt
8 cups whole wheat flour
butter
salt

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, yeast, and 2 t. honey. Stir, then let sit for a few minutes.

Melt stick of butter in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 c. honey, 4 t. salt and 2 1/2 cups milk. Heat to 120 degrees.

Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir.

Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time.

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled.

Punch dough down. And start shaping your pretzels.

Start with a ball of dough about the size of your fist. Roll it out into a long snake shape. (Make sure it is pretty skinny. We made our snakes too fat I think.) Then twist it into a pretzel shape.

Place pretzels on a greased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Melt a stick of butter in a saucepan. As soon as pretzels come out of the oven baste them with butter and sprinkle them with salt, cinnamon and sugar, garlic powder or grated cheese.

EAT!!

You can see the original post where I found this recipe, complete with pictures to accompany the step by step instructions, here. Thanks, Laura!
For more great kitchen tips and recipes head over to Tammy's Recipes.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Manic Monday


Tell the truth now....haven't you wanted to say this before?

Friday, June 20, 2008

Save on Milk

In my never ending journey to try and spend less on groceries one of the biggest obstacles is milk.

My family could consume a gallon a day if I let them. Let them? Yep. I'm the milk nazi. I ration the stuff like its liquid gold.

This drives Brian absolutely crazy. He "makes the money to buy the milk....he should be able to drink the milk whenever he wants."

True. But I think children need milk much worse than adult men do and people who eat cereal for breakfast (i.e. all of us but Brian) deserve to have some milk each morning and not have it guzzled by someone else as a midnight snack the night before.

He isn't the only one that has had to cut back. I've basically eliminated milk from my diet all together. I know, I know...the calcium. But I just can't justify drinking it when it is soooooo expensive and the kids need it.

But I have found a nice alternative. Yogurt.

I mix my cereal with yogurt, and sometimes berries. It's really good! I like the creamy and crunchy and sweet and tart all mixed together. And there is calcium in yogurt too! Not to mention the fact that I always have coupons for yogurt.

Just one more creative way to save a little at the grocery store.

For lots of other good ideas head over to Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Baking Fun

Well, we finally did it.

The kids have been begging to make homemade soft pretzels ever since I showed them the pictures online (from one of the blogs I read but can't remember right now, sorry, loved the recipe though).

I promised them we'd give it a try this summer.

Well, it's been summer for a while now so I had to keep my word.




I love cooking...but making yeast breads with an 8 year old and a 4 year old boy isn't always the most fun.

We ended up having a great time though and the pretzels were delicious. Success!!

Yes, this is Ryker's best smile right now. He is going through and awkward smile stage. Ugh!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Another Milestone

And this one is a biggie.

Kinley now (ocasionally) plays by herself!!!!

On her own initiative she'll head upstairs to the toy room and entertain herself for a while. I never thought this day would come. Yippee!

I first discovered her new found independence a few days ago when I noticed she wasn't hanging around my legs, but instead giggling hysterically upstairs. I crept up and peeked in the toy room to see which of the boys was playing with her and eliciting such happy sounds. Instead I found Kinley all alone holding the toy battery powered drill to her stomach tickling herself. She kept that up for probably 5 minutes.

The next day I didn't hear anything from her for a while and went to investigate once again. This time I found her sitting on the top step completely under her blankie drinking from a Gatorade bottle of water she had found in the boys' room. Since it was just water I let her enjoy her forbidden fruit for as long as it would last.

Of course, as I type this she is sitting on my lap throwing a screaming fit and trying to push the "alt" key, so it isn't a full time thing....yet.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Blooming Projects


Well, I've been inspired once again by Pink Paper Peppermints.


I just can't get enough of those little flowers with the button centers.


This time I made one with rounded petals and added it to a dress I made for Kinley.


I also made the hair pin flower to go with it. Isn't it cute?

Then she had a tutorial about dressing up your resuable shopping bags....and I realized I'd already done that.


Thanks to Noel, who had a bag that had, "Breastfeeding is Fun!" emblazoned on it that she needed to cover up, for coming up with this idea to transform any bag into a photo display bag.


Here is my version of the dressed up canvas bag

1. Cut a rectangle (2 inches bigger than your picture on each side) out of a decorative fabric with pinking shears.

2. Apply fusible web to the back of the fabric and then iron it on to the bag. (Follow the directions on the package.)


3. Cut a rectangle (just slightly larger than your photo) out of clear vinyl. (Sold in fabric stores.)

4. Hand stitch it (I know, I know, but my machine doesn't like vinyl) onto your bag, centering it on the fabric you just ironed on.

5. Embellish the corner of the fabric square with silk flowers, beads, etc.

Voila! Embarassing messages disappear behind one of your favorite photos.





Manic Monday




I have to admit that I was thinking about the Community Theatre play I am directing when I read this.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Discuss It

Yahoo recently had a little article about how much height matters when falling in love and choosing a mate. As someone who is virtually the same height as her husband, I was interested in the article.

The female writer said that height did matter in first impressions but that women were willing to overlook it (or him, as the case may be) if they truly love the shorter man. She said,

"The things that matter when it comes to love are whether or not your values,
life goals, priorities, and communication skills align -- not whether you can
see over him when you wear your favorite stiletto heels."

A man said that it didn't matter to guys at all. He explained,

"Sometimes the one you end up falling head over 3-inch heels for doesn't
necessarily fit your "type," but then maybe she is exactly your type after all.
I mean you may not end up seeing eye-to-eye on your wedding day, but that
shouldn't matter because you can always PhotoShop the pictures. I did."

(I'd like to point out that if you are doctoring photos...it matters to you.)

I've always been self-consious about my height. I'm only 5'6" but I've been this tall since 5th grade when everyone else...including the boys....were all about 4'3". Finally by high school most of the guys started to pass me up. Now I consider myself to be average height, but being married to someone who is the tallest person in his family and claims to be 5'10" but is probably closer to 5'8" makes me think about it again.

I never, ever wear heels unless I'm going somewhere without my husband. In pictures I always make sure that he looks taller than me. If we are at home and he is barefoot and I have shoes on, I take mine off, so we'll be eye to eye. I don't know why it bothers me.

Brian could care less. He wants me to wear heels. He is quick to point to Nicole Kidman and the way she towered over Tom Cruise and no one seemed to care. I am quick to point out that they are divorced and she has since married someone that is at least the same height that she is.

Does anyone else feel this way?

What do you think when you see couples where the woman is taller than the man?