Easter

Our Easter Weekend got off to a great start at the community egg hunt. You couldn't have asked for better weather, it was beautiful. It should come as no surprise that Hudson would only pick up green eggs to put in his green bucket. We were just thrilled that he actually wanted to participate. Sissy was rearin' to go, but I had to retain her until the siren sounded. And then, she only made it to one egg before rest of them disappeared in the swarm of toddlers. Rest of the day was spent working in our yard.
Miss Dalanie got a frilly little dress and Hudson was just happy I let him wear his green tie. Here's the updo Sissy sported. (Pillaging through her Easter basket was a great way to keep her entertained and keep her still.) I'm posting a picture because I'm not so sure we'll ever be successful again.

Springtime in the Rockies

Drat, I woke up to wind and cloudy skies. It makes me cherish the past few days of sunshine, breezes, and 60's. We've been busy working out in the yard. I couldn't wait to get out there and burn weeds. Springtime for me means the yearning to get burning.
The kids have been playing so well together outside. There's just something about the fresh air and sunshine that makes everything better.
We've been enjoying the baby calves being so close. After requests all winter, we've finally gotten the 4 wheeler out and ride it out through the field of cows. The calves this year have so much personality. In the past we've always had purebred angus. That just makes for a lot of boring, black babies, but now that we're crossing with charolais the results have been much funner. We've got all sorts of brown combinations, spotting, and tail striping.

Tutti Fruiti

Pictured here on a crepe. One of our special occasion breakfasts since it's like eating dessert for breakfast.
I love to mix yogurt or pudding with Cool Whip and top with Tutti Fruiti

I got sick of having to refill our sticky, sugary, syrup container after every few breakfasts. I had been on a fresh salsa kick, so I came up with my own fruit one. It's perfect for topping waffles, pancakes, crepes, anything you would with syrup. And with a dollop of whip cream, it's better than syrup. The kids love the name "Tutti Fruiti" and frequently request the healthier alternative.

It's simple to make, I just quarter any fruit I've got on hand and throw it in my blender. I only peel the kiwi, everything else I throw in with the skin on. After a few pulses, it's chunkily delicious. It depends on the fruits I use, I occasionally add a few tablespoons of sugar to sweeten the deal. You can also use it like a jam or atop ice cream. And since it's low in sugar and high in fiber, it's a healty substitution.

My favorite combination is strawberries, a nectarine, kiwi, and an apple.

Eating Frog

Meet our April Fools appetizer, Mr. Frog. He tasted a lot more like a granny smith apple and grapes than chicken. We got the idea from Family Fun. You simply quarter the apple, remove seeds, slice grapes for the feet and legs, and roll eyeballs out of cream cheese. Insert a chocolate chip and voila! A new friend is born.
The kids LOVED this project.

Food Storage Follow Up

Once my bulk goods have been placed in their buckets, they get several self-adhesive labels slapped on the lid and around the bucket noting the contents and date. That way I can easily see from the side what's in the bucket instead of having to unstack all of them, looking at the lid.
After all of the storing is done, the real fun begins. Using it!
The pictured cookbook is one I received as a gift. I wanted to hunt one down for a giveaway, but they're no longer published. sniff. Crystal shares a lot of the secrets that the book has at Everyday Food Storage. Check it out if you need ideas.
One last thing, having the right tools makes it a lot funner. Some are expensive, but I look at them as an investment. Any time I can justify buying "tools" like my husband, I jump on it. In my mind, there's no real need to store wheat unless you have a wheat grinder. I've got a Whisper Mill, or Wonder Mill as they're now called. Freshly milled flour is awesome and nutritional. A Bosch is the only "bread machine" I'll ever own. It's not the machine for everything, but definitely for mixing up big batches of dough.
There you go. Just my thoughts.

Thank You's

I am a huge proponent of "thank you" cards. It seems that in this electronic age, invitations and correspondence can all be sent to an inbox and thank you cards have been on the decline. Not true here at our household. If you remember, Brother just had his birthday and received many nice gifts. I'm trying to teach him the importance of thanking people for their niceness, not just let him assume that it's standard procedure to receive.

I got him a stack of cards and printed "THANK YOU, HUdSON" on a slip of paper. To my utter amazement, the greeting was transferred on a card when I returned. (This was the first time he's copied letters like that.) "This is going great" I thought as I had him write names on envelopes too. With each card written, the excitment wore off and it became a bit of a struggle. We finally broke it down into installments, a card before he got to watch tv. And then when that wasn't working, I had him print it one last time and we made a few copies.I didn't want to push the subject too much for fear that he might choose to forfeit future birthdays so as to avoid writing thank you's.
Overall, he enjoyed the task and would tell me all about the person or gift as he was writing their card.

And now for a few random pictures that make me smile.
This is a face of enjoyment. Sissy loved lying down in the bath and covering her ears. I love her toothy grin. She's got some crazy teeth.
Why do kids look so adorable in chore clothes? It doesn't matter how yucky the weather is, this girl insists on helping me feed the chickens.
Brother has been put in charge of feeding the fowl. He gets to decide how much wheat and corn to feed them. Rest assured, it's always plenty and the chickens are as happy as can be. We've been getting 10 eggs a day. Not bad for 10 chickens. His egg selling business continues to grow and we're even getting calls for egg delivery now. (I think the old people mostly do it just for a visit.)Even these hens are ready for spring. We still haven't gotten their run installed, so as soon as the door is opened they stampede. They love scratching and pecking in the dirt.
We're going green, no more dirty cups for us. It's easier to crawl on the counter for your drink.

Tell Your Friends

Remember the dolls? Now you can pick up your own pattern for several of her adorable dolls for only $5.00 (regularly $9.00) but you've got to act fast. The sale ends tomorrow. Go here to go to Bit Of Whimsy.

Food Storage

After a run in at the local cannery with a "self proclaimed food storage expert" I realized how opinionated I might be when it comes to stockpiling food. Instead of giving him and earful, I decided to share it with my readers.

Here was a man that has stockpiled over 200+ #10 cans of wheat and hundreds of cans of other recommended goods. He's hoping not to have to touch his stockpile in the next 30 years. After 30 years, he hopes to just give it away. He admitted that his family doesn't even use wheat on a regular basis and they have devoted an outbuilding for their stash.

I listened skeptically as he droned on about how much him and his family have accumulated, fielding questions from food storage novices.

Where was this guy from that he can afford to pigeon hole so many tin cans and the building to boot? Why would he like to wait until his family was in distress and relying upon their supply to introduce them to "whole wheat?" I just hoped he has an equally impressive supply of toilet paper and Immodium.

This brings me to my working food storage practices.

First of all, not everything goes in a #10 can at our house. It's got to be something "special," meaning something fairly expensive or something I don't plan on using within the next 12 months to 2 years. The cans cost right around $1.00 (by time you buy the oxygen absorber and lid) and since you can't reuse them it's a pretty steep investment.

I like to pick up buckets from the local bakery. They come in 2, 3, and 5 gallons sizes and cost me $1.00. They seal up tight and are food grade. I can fit 25# of beans in a 3 gallon container and use 2-3 oxygen absorbers. Best of all, once you empty one out you can turn around and refill it.

Some of my baking goods that I got though is large amouts (flour and wheat) are put into an old chest freezer that I picked up from the dump for free. (You could also watch Craigslist or Classifieds for one.) The dump has removed the freon and it's great because it is water and rodent proof. Plus it's insulated so it serves as a buffer between dramatic temperature shifts. Mine is in the garage, but you could easily put it outside so long as it has a roof over it.

to be continued. .. .

A Little Secret

Image from www.kalev.eu

I love chocolate, or better yet- chocolate meltys. And although I've eaten my fair share, that's not really the reason that I love them. They are awesome for adding detail without much effort. There's just something about them that can make the ordinary something to remember.

Here's what I do.

1. Buy chocolate meltys in bulk section at Winco. They offer white, milk and dark meltys.
2. Place in a heavy glass bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between, until they are thoroughly melted. A lot of times I'll just let them sit after a minute or two and the heat from the bowl will finish off the job. You have to be careful not to scorch them.
3. Transfer melted meltys into a ziploc back, cut a tiny triangle from one corner and you've got yourself a chocolate marker.
4. Pipe designs onto wax paper.

**For more detailed designs or ones that I want to be consistent, I'll print them off on a piece of paper, slide it under the wax paper and simply trace it. It's so simple, but the results impress.

Real life application: The birthday cake I wanted to make for Brother suggested cutting dinosaur bones out of sugar cookie dough and baking them. It all sounded like a little too much work for me. So I found a good dinosaur skeleton, slid it under the wax paper and traced. It turned out great, and in less than 10 minutes. Compare:
You can easily "drizzle" strawberries, shortbread, store bought cookies (thin mints, etc.) for extra pizzaz. Just make sure to cut a very tiny bit off the corner and work back and forth, extending past the object so there are only straight lines.

To elevate desserts, premake some simple designs with the meltys to place on the top as a garnish. (grids, snowflakes, hearts, swirls, flowers)

The fun doesn't have to stop there. You can also color the meltys with food coloring. I recommend the pastes, or oil based dyes, for best results. Otherwise the color can look mottled and splotchy.

A Winner

Those of you who commented got your name put on a slip of paper. We placed them in my son's Tonka truck and he drew out one lucky winner. . . Deanna! If you could email me some contact info {karisahillman@gmail.com}, I'll make arrangements to get you your doll.

Birthday- All Day Long

From the time Brother woke up until he went to bed, the day was full of birthday and St. Patty's Day fun. A naughty little leprechaun snuck in our house, leaving a footprint trail to some goodies.Presents, Joy School treats, and making the cake occupied the rest of the morning. Our first birthday guests began arriving at noon: Grandma, Mason, Aunt Nik, Bentley, Lincoln, and Aunt Deidra. At 2:00 the "official" party began. Hudson had a few friends over for a dinosaur themed party. They got to try on a pair of dinosaur feet and go on an archaelogical dig to look for bones.
We had spaghetti for birthday dinner and then it was time for another party with family. Phew! We're glad birthdays only come once a year.

**On a funny note, the day before Hudson's birthday he woke up and said "This is my last day of being three." Later on he found some gloves and said he wanted to pick up trash for the day.

Humanitarian Work Day

Thanks for the pictures Des, I stole it.

On Saturday our stake had a humanitarian work day. It was a great day to visit, help others, and create. We were able to finish 170 little dolls that our wards has been working on. There were so many other wonderful projects too.
It seems as though all of the doll business has worn off on Sissy. She has been packing one doll or another around for the last week. In anticipation of giving the humanitarian dolls away, I sewed some up to keep and have around. Turns out, I'm still feeling charitable and would like to reward one lucky reader with this adorable peanut.
It's easy to enter, just drop me a line in the comment section and let me know you're out there.

Visiting

The recent sunny days are torturing me. I look out the window and think "It will be a great day to get out our wagon and go for a walk. or I'd love to start up my rototiller and get busy on my garden." And then I go out to feed the chickens and realize it's not as warm as I was hoping. Abort! Previous thoughts are ridiculous. The sun has sprung, but spring definitely has not. Maybe this weekend will bring warmer temperatures.

Once I'm back in the house I feel trapped. Trapped with someone I've been with constantly. I need a break from this house. And that's when the kids know it's time to get their faces washed and loaded up in the car. When it gets to this point, it can mean only one thing: VISITING. At first we started showing up on random doorsteps, but now we have a bit of a route.

Benefits of visiting:
It's cheap therapy
Make wonderful friends
Teach kids manners (like listening and being polite - please and thank you's)
Preserve the lost art form
Learn from other's experiences
Opportunities to serve (most people won't call if they need help, but you can help once you see a need)
Makes you happy
I'll be the first to admit, I love visiting!

Thrifting

During the winter I miss the excitement of garage sales and the hunt for good deals. But lucky for me, there are some thrift stores around that make pretty good indoor garage sales. Like all thrifting, it's hit and miss. I haven't struck gold for awhile, but yesterday yielded some pretty good finds.

I have a thing for wagons, as this makes 3 for us. But how could I pass up this cute of one with a $15 price tag?

Here's a little story behind my next find:
The other day I searched the entire town for a new pair of casual shoes and came up empty handed. I couldn't find what I was looking for. A quick search in the shoe section at DI and I found the ones I had been looking for. The best part, they were my size and looked brand new. They still had the sticker on the bottom to prove it. And at $5.00, they were priced just right for this girl.
I also found this shirt ($2) for Sissy and a little Laura Ashley corduroy dress for a buck.
I almost forgot how giddy good deals make me. I didn't even seem to mind the snow flurries.

Food Stamps

We're in the planning stages for Brother's birthday and I thought I'd swing in the post office and get some stamps for the invites. I came out with them and handed them to Brother for inspection. In a very reverent way he awed them and said, "Wow . . . food stamps."What kind of a gullible gull am I raising?

Workshop

faces, faces, faces

As our ward's humanitarian specialist, I've been spending a lot of time getting ready for the Stake's Humanitarian day in a week. Our ward decided to make some adorable, but simple dolls to be donated to orphanages. Lots of ladies in our ward have helped cut out the dolls, sew them together, and the other night several of the youth helped us stuff about 60 of these dolls.

Here's a sneak peek, I'll post totals and pictures of the dolls once we've wrapped up the project.

Need a song stuck in your head?

We checked out The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking from the library. I vaguely remembered it from my childhood, but it struck a chord with me and jogged my memory. I've been singing songs from it ever since. A classic we've definitely got to get a copy of.

Another song.

Blast from the past

My busy body daughter. She has more ideas and energy than I care to experience.

Just the other night I found her biting my new interior shutters in the kitchen. Nice little teeth marks as a constant reminder of her. (Reminiscent of the piping I chewed off the back of a seat of a car my parents were test driving. Needless to say, the car became theirs.) She loves to put all of my gluesticks in her purse for safe keeping. They double as her lipstick and treats. She now claps as an emphasis to her dirty little looks and can pitch a fit the size of the room she's in.

So what do I do with her? I love her and laugh because she is me, in miniature. (Expect for the gluestick lipstick. That's definitely not me.)

Photo Shoot

Since I haven't taken some individual shots of the kids for awhile, I decided it was time. I opted for the bribery method and decided it was the way to go. The kids were relatively cooperative and happy. . . until they began fighting over the one and only lollipop.

Making the most of tv time

It's winter. It's cold outside. The kids and I are slowly running out of ideas. Sadly, the tv has become a favorite for brother.

I've found some advice that speaks to the inner guilt that tv time creates. It's the learning triangle. Letting your child watch appropriate, teaching tv is actually okay and can be an effective learning tool. The difference is that tv time is broken up with a follow up activity, and by reading a book on a similar subject. There's lots of great resources out there. There's also listings on PBSkids.org so you know in advance what the programs will be covering. Simply select the program you're child is interested in and click on the "parent and teacher link." Check out this, they make it so easy.

I think we'll check out some schedules, make a list, and visit the library.

**I had my mind made up to ignore the pleas of Festival and forget making my pledge to support Idaho PTV, but just writing this has made me have a change of heart. If you're PBS junkies, you'll have the opportunity in the upcoming Festival.