Crayon Holder

So I've been kinda in a crafty mood lately.

I've made Hair Bows, button bracelets (thanks Emily), Wanting to make a Tutu, and all sort's of stuff. I finally went and got the Tulle to make the tutu's. Its going to be so cute!

But when I got home I didn't want to set into the Tutu just yet. I'll wait to do that with Rachel as she got some to make as well. I was looking at fun blogs and ran across this one that was listed as Hair bows and I went to it and found a fun Crayon Holder. I looked at the directions and it didn't look to difficult so I went through my scraps of fabric and found some cute material and I actually had enough of. I think it turned out really cute. All but the button and ribbon part. I can't get it to fit so I'll have to come up with something else to keep it closed. Velcro maybe...

I'm making a lot of these things to take to my family reunion in July. We do what we call Grandma's store, which is an auction type sale, where all the proceeds go to help maintaining the ranch. I get the best homemade stuff there. Crocheted wash clothes are the very best!

I think this would be great for bringing to church for the little ones to color and they only get so many crayons that have to be put back in the pouch. You could even make this smaller so it only fit like 8 crayons in it instead of 15.

Here are the instructions. http://www.girlythingsbows.com/krayon_keeper.html

Temple Quilt

I finally got my Temple quilt. I was so undecided about colors that I never got around to picking out the fabric before my wedding so it's been almost 3 years for me to decide. My mom did most of it. I did a good share and a few others each have a stitch or two on it.

It is a wonderful quilt and way to warm for the summer but it will be nice to use this winter.

Thanks a million mom!

Fathers Day #2

Sorry about this being late but I wanted to show off my creativity regarding cooking.

On Father's day we fasted for a family member so I couldn't make Matthew the breakfast that I wanted to, So I decided to make it for dinner on Monday night. This is what it looked like.

I made his favorite family tradition waffles, with cheese and bacon and then cut it into the shape of a tie. Since I didn't get him a new tie that is.

I thought it turned out great. Especially with the stripes of bacon!

Keepers

Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a house dress; lawn mower in his hand, and dish-towel in hers.. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.


But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more. Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So... While we have it... Its best we love it... And care for it.... And fix it when it's broken..... And heal it when it's sick.


This is true... For marriage.... For friends... And old cars.... And children with bad report cards..... Dogs and cats with bad hips.... And aging parents.... And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.


Some things we keep. Like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special.... And so, we keep them close!

Hair Clips

I made my first hair clips for Kathryn today. I am such a bad mom. Having a beautiful girl with so much hair and I'm just now learning how to make some fun hair clips. Well this is what I made today. The flower ones are flowers that I used at my wedding. So that will be fun to have for a long time. The felt ones are something I learned from my friend Amber. I think she learned this from Kenyon. These were so easy to make as well. Its just felt which is so cheap and a button to put in the middle. use a little hot glue and add the clip and your done. I like the pointed one. I want to get some red and green felt cause I think it looks like a poinsettia for Christmas.


I'll teach anyone how to make these to if you want to learn.
Thanks Amber and Kristen for teaching me how to make such cute bows.

Easy Skirt Pattern

I had enough material left from Kathryn's dress to make a skirt for me and Lucky me my Mom went to a class on how to make a skirt that fits your body. It was actually really easy to make, well except for the zipper, as I"ve never put in a zipper before.

I had my mom help me with some of it. She made it look more presentable and helped me add the bottom row as I made it a little two short. I think its so cute.

Now I have a Dress for Kathryn out of this material, a skirt for me and my Kitchen curtains. I'm a product of watching the Sound of Music.

Here's how to make this awesome skirt that is made to fit your body.

1. Measure your waist then add 2 1/4 inchs then divide that by 4
2. Come down about 4-6 inches to the wide part of your hips and measure that then add 2 1/4 inches and then divide by 4.
3. Then you make it the length that you want
4. Cut two pieces on the fold, this ends up being your front and back piece. and that's it
5. You need a zipper about 6-8 inches.

a. If you want a facing just do a 4 -5 inch strip that matches the top 4-5 inches.

I guess if I didn't know how to sew this may not make sense but for those of you who do try it out. Its a great skirt. It was fun wearing it today. Actually I started this skirt before I started the diet and had it all done except for the zipper and i had to take it in an inch or two to make it fit again!
If you don't sew I would be happy to come over and explain it better to you.

Happy Sewing!

Skinny Pants

So I decided to try on some of my pants I haven't been able to wear since before Kathryn and well the results were FABULOUS!!

I now have 7 more pair of pants then I did before. The best part is even some of those are now loose!!!

Next shirts....

Happy Fathers Day

Today was a good day for Matthew. Last night he said he wanted to sleep in the front room on our air mattress in the tent. I let him do the air mattress but the tent was to much. So that started out his day! This morning Kathryn woke up early and Matthew said I could come give him his presents with Kathryn in bed. So we all were up early. I got Matthew a really cool Hawaiian shirt, some candy bars and a really cool picture that, thanks to Julio turned out great!. We also finally went to Kohl's to use his gift card he got for his birthday and he got some nice athletic shoes.

It was hard to choose which picture to print for Matthew to take to work. But finally I choose the one with Kathryn holding the camera.

I am so in love with my Matthew. I'm so happy we are together and that we have a little Kathryn that makes Matthew the Dad of our family. He is the worlds greatest Dad for Kathryn. It's so fun that she points him out in pictures and says daddy, daddy all the time, and She doesn't like to go to bed without having a kiss and a hug from her daddy. At first I was thinking she will be a Mommy's girl but deep down I think she'll be a daddy's girl.

We love our parents as well. We couldn't ask for better grandpa's for Kathryn either.

I hope everyone had a great Fathers Day!

My new mode of transportation

My new form of exercise! Hooray for Matthew wanting to go on a shopping spree! We tried it out tonight and I love the new bike and Kathryn loved getting to ride in the trailer.


The trailer we got is orange not blue. But the bike is exactly the same as the photo! I love it! THANK YOU MATTHEW!!! And it's not even my birthday... Happy Fathers Day to Me.. what...LOL


Anyone wanting to go bike riding with me is more than welcome!

Apricots and Cherries!

I ordered a box of Apricots and Cherries from Bountiful Baskets this last week and did a little, I mean a lot of canning.

Cherries were first. Cherries you have to have a pitter and well it makes a big mess and makes your hands turn a dark brown. I ended up making 5 quarts of Cherry Pie filling and 4 quarts of just bottled cherries. I can't wait to be able to try these out!

The next day we did apricots. These have to be the most simple fruit to bottle. Wash them cut them in half and take the pit out and then stuff them in the jar. For the syrup I used have apple juice and half water. I got 8 quarts of apricots. I saved some so I can make some fruit leather. Yummy!!!

We used a wet bath to seal them.

I don't know what I would do if it weren't for my talented and knowledgeable sisters, Rachel and Shelley. They are the epitome of Homemakers! Sorry Rachel I know you think differently but come on you have all the skills!

We had a full house doing the apricots today. Rachel was watching some of Shelley's kids and I had Jessica and Kash with me. It was like a tornado went through Rachel's house. We still had fun.

One down side to all this fun canning and yummy fruit is that I can't have any of it. I so wanted one of those wonderful apricots. It so reminded me of eating them out of my Aunt's tree in Moccasin. And the best way to eat a cherry is right off the tree! But 20 more lbs is so worth the wait.

I feel so good doing canning or bottling. I'm actually adding to my food storage. Little by little. Sale by Sale I'll have some yummy food to eat if the time comes. We can eat Pie for every meal. I have Apple Pie filling and now Cherry! Now all I need to learn is a great Pie crust recipe!

Shrimp Stuffed Tomato and my other favorite!

This is one of my favorite meals that I'm allowed to eat for the HCG diet I'm on. I made it for Matthew tonight and he actually liked it too. I think I'll try it with fish once I go back to the store and get some more tomatoes.

100g cooked shrimp
tomato(es) - allowed amount
juice of half lemon
1 T parsley (and any additional seasonings you like)
salt/pepper to taste
tabasco (optional) - for this I use a salsa that I made that is approved for this diet. Tastes so yummy.

Place cooked shrimp in food processor. Pulse a few times to chop up shrimp. Or, simply chop with sharp knife.
In small bowl, combine chopped shrimp, parsley, lemon juice, salt/pepper.
Cover and refrigerate 30 mins-1 hr.
When ready to serve, cut off top of tomato. Scoop out inside of tomato.
Chop & combine inside of tomato with shrimp mix. (You may discard seeds if you like.)
Fill tomato with shrimp mix.
Top with a couple dashes of tabasco (optional) and serve.

TIP: This is great using baked fish as well.


Celery, Apple, Chicken Salad

That is another of my favorites. I use Green apples. Makes it that much more tangy. I put a little lemon juice on top and a dash of salt and pepper and its an awesome salad.

FREE nursing covers - HURRY

I just stole this off a friends blog. Can't beat free.


I just wanted to pass on a little bit of Free-Ness to my fellow mothers. If you aren't currently nursing - these make GREAT baby shower gifts!!www.uddercovers.com is doing a brand new promotion where you can get one nursing cover (regularly $32.00) for free! You just pay the shipping ($8.45)!!

Once you get on the site, click on "Shop Now" and it will ask you for the promotional code. Type in "babies" and it will take you to what you are eligible to purchase. They do have some gift sets for a few dollars more, or the nursing covers of course!

Hope it helps someone out there save a little bit of money! Hurry though...they are going quickly.

HCG + Diet

So I started the HCG diet on May 28th and lost 11 lbs the first week but I have to say I think that was mostly because I had the flu and threw up everything I ate on one of the loading days. And then again all I ate the first day I started the Low Calorie Diet part. So I can live with 5 lbs a week. I have 26 more days. That's almost 4 weeks. 20 more lbs is OK with me.

My Day on this diet,
First thing in the morning I use the bathroom, write down all I ate for the previous day and then weigh my self. Then I take my drops so that at least 15 minutes later I can start my gallon of water consumption. It can be water or tea. I've actually come to like some of the herbal tea's I've tried.
Morning is just water or tea. Nothing to eat
Lunch and Dinner are the same thing, I can have 100 grams of Veal, Beef, Chicken Breast, Fresh White Fish, Lobster, Crab or shrimp.
One type of Veggie; spinach, chard, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, onions, cucumbers, asparagus and cabbage. Only a handful.
One Apple, orange, or a handful of strawberries or one half a grapefruit.

I can use Stevia for any sweetener I need and juice from one lemon a day. Most spices are acceptable except those that have sugar in them. Lawry's seasoning salt has sugar, that one's out.
And more and more water. That's it.

The best part is I'm not hungry at all. There are even times when it comes to be lunch or dinner and I don't want to eat but I do cause I have to get those calories in.

The part I like the least is probably not being able to put on lotion. My hands are so dry! That and when I see other people eating some wonderful looking very sugary food I crave it to be in my mouth. Not that I'm hungry for it just so I can taste it.

I can't really believe I've gone two whole weeks without any sugar. I thought it was impossible!

So I took before pictures so at the end I'll see if I'm brave enough to show before and after pictures.

Total for 2 weeks 15.8 lbs and 9 inches

Weekend trip - awhile ago

So one of Matthew's good friends sent us a wedding invite the first part of May for their wedding on the 23rd I think in Bountiful, Utah. Matthew decided kind of last minute we would go and support him in this occasion. (he mostly wanted to go up and see his best friend Josh) But a wedding was a great added bonus.

So we left Thursday night at 8 and drove straight through to SLC and arrived their at 8 the next morning. I don't recommend that! 5 hour energy and a good book on CD will do the trick if needs be though. Anyway Kathryn did pretty good. Slept most of the time and got up a few times.

It rained on us the whole way through Arizona, some of it was pretty bad. Bad enough we had to slow down anyway.

Thank you to Danny who was home to watch Kathryn while we slept for a few hours to recuperate from the drive.

Friday night we played some games with Josh and Danny and then went to sleep kind of early. Matthew, Kathryn and I went to the wedding luncheon Saturday afternoon. It was held at a mansion on the hill over looking the bountiful temple. The girl Delma married works for a investment company and they let them use the company retreat for their wedding and guests.

The mansion was awesome and we only got to see some of it. It had and upstairs with bedrooms and the main floor had a few bedrooms each with their own bathroom a huge gourmet kitchen and a huge theatre. That was fun! It had one entire wall that was floor to ceiling window over looking Bountiful valley. It was beautiful. Downstairs there was a pool, basketball court, bowling, ski ball, and ping pong.

They had the wedding here cause I believe the wife is a convert. I can't say how the ceremony went cause Kathryn wasn't being very quiet so I spent my time in the theatre chasing her around.

The reception was very nice. I loved the decorations. Delma married a Chinese girl and well it was Chinese all the way. The food was amazing and everything was just perfect. I"m glad we got to go and wish the happy couple luck and good fortune.

After that we went to Josh's Brothers house for games and crepe's. Can I say I will have to learn how to make crepe's like his brother. It was so YUMMY! Peanut butter, vanilla ice cream, with honey, and some really yummy granola that his wife made. And then another I had to try cause it was homemade chocolate syrup, was strawberry's and ice cream with the granola and chocolate dripped on it. To die for. (wish I had some of those on my loading days)

On Sunday we went to Church with Josh and Danny and then headed home to stay half way there with my Aunt and Uncle in Fredonia. We stopped in Colorado City to get some gas and decided to get a little of Kathryn's wiggles out and walk across the border and back. This was also Matthew's first time seeing actually polygamists before. We got to see two sets of aunts and uncles that weekend and two of my cousins. Then we drove home Monday (Memorial day). It took us so freaking long to get home cause of traffic. Next time we take the turn off before Anthem and go through Cave Creek!

I don't have many pictures of the trip but wanted to get this in as I'm not so good at writing in my journal. I have to write about my life on here.

Immigration

So I got an email from my dad that is a letter to the editor in Orange County CA. I didn't look to see if it actually wasn't put into print but what this lady is saying is so true.

Dear Editor:

So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's America is not willing to accept the new kind of immigrant . Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground.

They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany , Italy , France , and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from.

They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan . They were defending the United States of America as one people.

When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German- American or the Irish-American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were.

It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl

And here we are in 2008 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges as native Americans, only they want to achieve it while retaining their native language and by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes an entitlement card to the benefits of being an American, while requiring a guarantee of being allowed to remain faithful to their mother country.

I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better regard than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice they willingly undertook in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life.

I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags while demanding American services, benefits, and protections.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the

United States just yet.

(signed) Rosemary LaBonte

My thoughts today.

I think its funny that the radio shows, KTAR, today were all about if it was 'our' fault, the american people's fault that we have bad borders. They say its our fault because we 'americans' are to addicted to illegal drugs. And we want the illegal immigrants or drug trafficers to come over cause of our addiction. That has to be the most stupid idea's yet with immigration. One of the stations even said that our very own homeland security advisor, Napalitano said we could fix our border problems by 'fixing' or getting help to those here that are addicted to illegal drugs. Sounds to me like she wants to let this slide and work on something else easier.

I don't like to get political on my blog but this was to stupid not to say something.

We live in America! We speak English! We live by the Constitution! We are one people!

We only live in the land of the FREE, Because of the BRAVE!

Sick again- come on now

Ok so I remember not to long ago that I posted about all three of us getting sick... well it happened again to two of us.

Warning Lots of Throw up , Pooping and Other not so nice things

Kathryn got the flu last Friday. Not fun at all. Baby throw up is almost as bad as grown up throw up. Especially when the diet consisted of Milk previously. She threw up 3 huge times on Friday morning. Then was just cuddly and needed me to hold her all day. That was the nice part of the sickness. She never just lets me hold her.

Then the next day I get sick and throw up one huge time and start to feel icky later that day with my skin hurting and my muscles hurting so much. Thankfully Matt was home and Kathryn still was feeling bad enough to just lay down with me that afternoon. And then we went to my moms so Matt could continue working on his website. Thanks again mom for helping the sickos. Anyway at my Mom's I took a long hot bath and then when I tried to get out I couldn't cause I kept Almost passing out. So Matt Came to my rescue and soon as I was out threw up again and to my embarrassment and since getting pregnant I can't throw up without wetting myself . If you know what I mean. But after that was out I felt 10xs better.

Kathryn is still very lethargic come Sunday and I'm hurting all over muscles and joints and tired so we all stay home from church and Matt takes care of us. By that afternoon I thought Kathryn was doing a little better and I was feeling much better. But still a little nauseous. But then Kathryn Starts to have the Runs that night.

We changed her 3 times that night learning not to put back on new pajamas and then that morning was having the worst diarrhea I have ever seen. Every 5 minutes she'd have another explosion and I'd have to clean that up. It was like every time I got something cleaned up I'd have to go to another place and clean Kathryn up and the chair or floor. This was making me worried So I took her to an urgent care and on the way she upchucked all over the car. Thankfully I wasn't going very far. Man it smelled bad. And I am ever so grateful to my mom for stopping everything and coming to the rescue at the doctors to help clean out the car and help with Kathryn. She wasn't so dehydrated that the doctor thought she needed to get an IV so he said to give her 4 oz of Pedialyte every hour and then if that stays down and keeps the diarrhea at bay then to start the BRAT diet. Banana's, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. Thankfully she likes Applesauce this week. She won't eat any of the others.

So Tuesday She was doing pretty good actually played around with me a little ate a little more and so I thought she was on the mend when later that night another explosion in the diaper. But thankfully only two that night.

Today so far so good. She still wants me to hold her most all the time and rests her head on my shoulder a lot but no other signs of sicky's.

I sure hope that no one has gotten sick from being around us the few days before this all happened. Its no fun to have SICK kids or Sick Mommies.

Funny things

1. We picked up my parents from dropping off their car at a garage buy our house and my dad got Matt and them so Sonic for doing so and the guy taking our order was so FAST you could hardly understand him and said the total will be 10.72, thanks for coming MAN. and we were joking in the car and my Dad said he sounded like Napoleon Bonaparte and I was like ' Are you sure that's what you meant' and He says, 'oh I mean that Napoleon Dynamite guy. Then my mom pipes in and says well maybe he meant Napoleon Blownapart, Means the same thing as Dynamite right!!!

2. Matt got a Lemon Berry Slush which happens to be my favorite drink to get there, but as he was trying so desperately to suck the goodness out of the straw, a strawberry gets stuck in the straw and then says, ' I'm going to have to have words with Sonic, cause straws and strawberries don't get along' and then my mom pipes up and says' maybe they need spoonberries instead!!


ok So the last one is not so funny now but I thought it was hilarious and I laughed for at least a minute thinking about Napoleon Blownapart!

My mom is so funny sometimes. I love her to pieces.