Gingerbread Kits!

So I bought this Gingerbread House Kit from Costco a few years ago with the absolute intention of making it. A Christmas would go by and we still hadn't made it so this year I decided that I was going to make it. I didn't know how long they were good for so I looked for the expiration date. It read use by March 07! Yep we'd had it since Dec 06. Well I decided to make it anyway. Of course I told the kids that they definitely couldn't eat any of the candy or they might die, it was so old. I got all the pieces out and we got started.

First off it did not smell like gingerbread at all. Now I am guessing that's cause it was so old. It smelled pretty unappetizing. Your supposed the heat up the frosting in the microwave so I did and let me just say, the frosting was like playdoh! It wasn't sticky at all. It was super hard to get any of the candy to stick to the house. If you touched it after you got it to stay it would just fall off. So after a while I gave up and got out my own frosting.after that things got messy cause it was way too runny. Little D lost interest after the roof. Probably because you couldn't eat any candy. After all that's what makes gingerbread making so fun. But Little A and I kept on going. Little A even finished the Gingerbread Men that came with it. (pictured above) So here is what it turned out to look like. Not the best but oh well that's what you get with a 2 yr old kit. Needless to say I threw it away the next day.

Warmth..... and Pom Poms

So this is the scarf that I made for Little A yesterday. It turned out really cute. It's an early Christmas Present. It's been so cold here that I didn't want to wait.


But it has a hole in it you say? Well I did that on purpose.



See now it wont fall off! It was kinds tricky to figure out how to put a hole in it. I'm not an experienced knitter. I even cheated and used my knifty knitter!




But I didn't use any special tools for the Pom Poms. The hard part here was how to get them to be secured to the scarf.

Birthday Presents!

So my birthday was on Sunday and it was really fun! We had some friends over and we had the chocolate fountain going. It was yummy! With it being on a Sunday we didn't go out to eat or anything. Saturday we did go to Big J's work party at the Seven Oaks Country Club for Dinner. And the night before that was the Ward Christmas Party. So it was nice to not have to cook dinner for 3 days! That's always the best.

Its usually hard to say what is a birthday present because my birthday is so close to Christmas they usually end up being combined presents. But my parents bought me one of those 4 inch memory foam mattress toppers from Costco for my Birthday/Christmas present! I LOVE IT! It is so comfy! Big J didn't see the point in getting one. I bet he does now. And Big J got me flowers (Shown above) and a Kitchen Aid (pictured below)! I know its so cool... I can't wait to use it. I haven't yet cause I have to finish Christmas stuff first. But I am glad that now I can make bread. The kids got me Knifty Knitters. I have already made a cute scarf with it. My next blog will probably show that. And Last but not least My sister gave me the most awesome apron pattern! I am so excited to make one. I'll post a blog about that once I make one. The Fordham Five also gave me a little something. It is a cute little photo album with a cute quote about families.
Thanks everyone for all my gifts!

My Hardworkin' Dad

So while my parents were here my Dad was a workin' fool. He did so much for us the short time that he was here. First he put our Christmas lights up on the house.

Then he went right to work cutting down all the trees and brush in the backyard so that I can grow a garden this spring! Even though I will have no idea what I am doing! But the yard looks awesome! Everything is cut down and cut into pieces and put into piles all that is left to do is get the stumps out and till the dirt! Sadly I forgot to take a before and after picture.

He also had to fix our Microwave. Sadly we were living with a "Ghetto" Microwave. Ours is one that goes above the stove and it had a handle on it at one point but it broke off a while ago. After that I had to use pliers to open it up! The handle sat around the kitchen for like 2 months. Then one day it was gone. So when my Dad saw this it was no Bueno for him. He took me to Home Depot to look for a new handle. Do you have any idea how much a handle for a mirowave cost? We figured that it would be like 10 or so dollars. No! Not even close! $60! Thats what they wanted for a measly handle! I was like I might as well buy a new one for that price. Our Microwave is like 15 years old $60 is more than its even worth. So we opted for these.....

He he he! We didn't tell Jeremy and it took him like 2 days to notice. Just goes to show how often he is in the Kitchen. So anyway it may be silly but that only cost us like $10 vs. $60. So anyone that comes over and needs to use the microwave at least you don't have to try the pliers!

Poor Christmas Tree!

So our Christmas Tree this year is lookin' pretty sad. I thought that we needed a new one last year. What with half the lights burnt out, but Big J said no. So this year I thought for sure we would get a new one. I also thought that we would get a bigger one. I wanted to put it in the living room this year. I thought for sure that once we got it out and set it up and after Big J saw that the lights didn't work anymore we would go out a get a new one. But no. He just got his little light fixing gun and turned most of them back on. The ones that were actually burnt out didn't come on though. Anyway when we set it up it looked so silly in the living room because its was so short and we have such big ceilings. So my Mom suggested that we put it on the table in the corner of the room. Now that it decorated it doesn't look so bad, but I will definitely get a new one next year! And it will be tall and beautiful. (Oh and the big yellow ornament is of Big Bird. Jeremy made me put it on the tree.)

Christmas Garland

As some of you may know my parents were here for a few days after Thanksgiving. They arrived on Saturday and left on Wednesday. We had fun and the kids loved that Grandma and Grandpa were having a "sleep over". While they were here we tried to cram a whole lot of things into one weekend. My Mom and I set up all the Christmas decorations that I had, which isn't many. She came up with some really good ideas. I called her a Decorating Genius! She helped me put up some garland. I've always wanted to put some up but it never turned out very well and so it never stayed up. But she had no problems. We also went to Michaels and got some supplies for a garland for around the door. (Again I've always wanted but nails are hard to get into stucco, and once its in it falls out.) But we managed to get some in there and it looks great. Here it is.


We Found some garland that was on sale at 50% and we bought 2 so it was only ten dollars for that and then we got 2 berry garlands which were on sale also at 50% so they were 10 dollars for 2. Then we weaved them together with wire and added this great bow and Wallah! I wish I would have payed attention to what she was doing when she made the bow. Cause it was like 2 seconds and it was done. Must have come from all those floral arrangements she made when I was younger.

Thanks for helping me out Mom! I love it and I get a lot of compliments about it.

Dream Room!

While we were in Arizona we got to see Bro P.K. He was a member of the Bishopric of Big J's singles ward when he was baptized, and helped pay for most of Big J's mission. It was fun to see them and after having visited them I totally know exactly what my dream craft/sewing room would look like. You should have seen it.... one wall had a built in case with fabric neatly stacked and color coordinated, while on the next wall was a rack with just about every thread color imaginable! All color coordinated as well. A serger, a sewing machine, wall to wall tables, and a supply closet probably stocked with everything one could ever need to craft anything! I wish I had had a camera. I'm sure that my mouth was on the floor in shock! I would probably never come out of a room like that. I told Big J that's what I wanted and they all laughed.... I was totally serious..... Just imagine how many crafts one could do with a room like that! AMAZING!

Thanksgiving Update.

So our trip to AZ was so fun! It didn't feel like we were on vacation there. Its hard to explain. But we felt totally at home. I realized how much I missed driving on the freeways. Crazy I know but when there aren't at a stand still they are so fast and convenient. And in Phoenix they set up the city so nice that its hard to get lost.

Mossy and Mossy Wife were fun to hang out with. After the invasion of ticks they had the first night it was cool. (I wasn't too worried about them) Mossy Wife and I had a lot of fun crafting and decorating their house and Christmas Tree. I had made her 2 things to hang on her wall, which I will blog about next, and then we used this idea and made her some Christmas ones. It was fun.

Turkey day was fun too. We spent all day getting things ready and then we went to put the turkey in. You would have thought that 4 days in the fridge defrosting that everything would be Okay. But no. Turkey was still frozen! So what do you do 4 hrs to the biggest meal of the year? You send your hubbies out to the store to look for a defrosted turkey! We were lucky that they did end up finding some but all they had were GIANT ones! So they came back with a 21 lb. turkey. And can I just say that while cleaning it, all I could think was that the turkey looked a lot like the one that Joey got stuck on his head in a Friends episode! HE HE HE! Anyway, so we had our turkey and the only bad part now was that my bro had planned for us to have dinner at the same time as the rest of the family that were in Portland. We had everything set up with the web cams. The only problem was our turkey would be late. To make a long story short, We let the Oregon people eat and waited for our turkey. Only it was taking so long that we decided just to eat and have no turkey. So even though our turkey wasnt done it was still yummy. And we did get to eat it for left overs. Mossy wife and Mossy now had cooked 2 turkeys and had TONS of left overs! I'm glad it wasnt at my house. I don't need all that turkey laying around.

We had a good time and hated leaving. We hope to go back soon. Thanks Mossy and Mossy wife for letting us crash at your place. I learned at least one thing while there. I learned that you should ALWAYS check your turkey the night before just in case you need to put it in the sink to thaw!

Vacation!!!

I am so excited to be going on Vacation. Not only do we get to go to Arizona and see family but we only have to drive for 7-8 hours instead of 22! I am so excited to go and hopefully I will be able to help my "New Sister" with some ideas for her house. I made them something for it already and I hope that they like it. Can't say what it is now cause then they will see so I will blog about it after I give it to them.

We haven't been to AZ for 6 years so it will be fun. Big J is already wanting to go and see all out old fiends from there. I'm more low key and probably wouldn't just call them up. If we crossed paths then cool but I'm not one to call someone up out of the blue and get together. I'm not sure why. Maybe I just don't like the awkwardness of it. And its probably only awkward in my head. I'm sure that with some it wouldn't be. Thats why I'm always kinda bummed when I think about moving. I wish that all of our friends could move with us. Even when friends move, I always think that it would be cool if we could all move with them. I know. I'm crazy. But oh well.

Made by Mom

As most of you know my mother is a Great Artist! She is one who has talent with a lot of different mediums. I received only a smidgen of her many talents. I remember as a child we were surrounded by silk flowers and plants because she used to make and sell flower arrangements. I think that even back then she would make fake plants and trees for offices. I remember going to the dentist and thinking I was a little cool cause "My mom was the one that made that tree" I even think that she would trade them for Dentist appointments and things, but I'm not certain.

Another talent of hers was sewing. She would often be sewing when I was little, making dresses and even swimsuits. I remember one time she made a wedding dress for someone. The bride was always coming over to try the dress on and I always thought that it was cool that she was good enough to have someone want her to make their wedding dress.

She is also a very very good cook. We always had friends hanging around until dinner cause it was always something yummy. My Best Friend even now when I am home for Vacation will call after work and I will invite her to dinner and she always accepts.

Among others she is talented in Drawing and Painting. She Illustrated a children's book and she is very good at Watercolor. Lately she has been dabbling into other things like oils and acrylic. She sells her paintings in Sassafras, a little boutique in Montana and in various art fairs. She has recently started to sell them online and one day she will have a fabulous web site. But for now she is selling them on her new Etsy site. She has originals and prints of some of her paintings on there. They very in size and price. She also sells greeting cards made from her paintings. So go check it out!

I am grateful to have grown up in a home with a mother who was crafty. So that now I can craft and create things for my children and friends. Sometimes its cheaper and sometimes its not but, its always fun! So for all of the crafting and sewing and art that I create it is all because of her.

The Classics!

It would be so cool to live in this time! Although I would have to live in the movies. One of my favorite types of movies are 1940's - 1950's Black and white Dance/Musicals. I always loved the romance and the dresses the women got to wear. Things were so innocent in the movies back then. No violence just plain romance(and dancing and singing of course!)

You Belong in 1959

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Formula Crafts

So as I said earlier, I am obsessed with crafting lately. There are too many to do! And most of them need to be done by Christmas. I have been saving all my Baby food jars and had some formula cans that I kept. Why I keep them all I don't know, I just figured it was a waste to throw them away when there is probably a craft I could use them for. Big J thinks that I am crazy I'm sure. If you open our cupboards you will see mostly baby food jars. Which is not good cause I have absolutely no room for them! Anyway.... I decided that today I would figure out what I would do with them. After searching on the Internet and finding a few ideas I came up with these....
These are made from the Formula cans, wrapping paper, and a little bit of ribbon and scrapbook paper. I made them to match my Turquoise/Brown/Gold/Light Green bathroom. It's amazing that the wrapping paper that I bought for another project, that I will post after Thanksgiving, matched my bathroom perfectly.


Before, I had all of these ribbons and bows in an old diaper wipe container. Not nearly as cute! I am going to make one more so that I have 3 up on the cabinet. Oh and if anyone has any other ideas on how to use these let me know.

Homemade Halloween Costumes

So every year I have made the Kid's Halloween Costumes. With the exception of Little D's Transformer costume which Big J made. So this year I did the same.

First Little A. She is a Cowgirl this year. I made her dress and belt. Found the hat at the fair (the tiara lights up) I didn't let her turn it on cause it is blinding if you look at the lights. I found the Boots at the Boot Barn. I was hoping to find purple ones but I'm glad I was able to find white. In all her pictures I made her say "YEE HAW!" I wanted her to have a little pony on a stick but I didn't have time to go to the toy store, Oh well, she'll never know the difference. Here is a picture of her best YEE HAW!



Now Little C's costume was by far the funest to make and cutest! I made this one from the hat right down to the shoes! I even made the clown. He He. Little C made a super cute clown. Too bad he fell asleep so soon at the Trunk-or-Treat. And it just so happens that one of the things that I am worst at is sewing on buttons. They never seem to stay. I just can't figure them out. They seem so simple too. But his three big buttons fell off by the end of the night. So here he is in his best clown smile, Little C the Clown!



Now This is Little D's best Jedi Pose. He has a super cool light saber that pops up with a push of a button and it makes sounds and has lights. Unfortunalty I didn't make his costume though. My sister Samurai Mom loaned it to us. (Who was Sarah Palin for Halloween.)

Crafty

So lately there has been no shortage of things that I want to make but there seems to be a shortage of Time, Energy, and Motivation. I have however, been able to do a few things for Halloween. The first is something that we had done 2 years ago. We all got a pumpkin and decorated it. But 2 years ago Little A was too young and now we have Little C. So we made 2 more. Here they are...


The other project I did was with baby food jars. I was getting quite a collection built up and I almost started to throw them away when I came a cross an idea to make Jack-O-Lantern tea candle holders out of them. All you do is modpodge the tissue paper over the jar and then draw a face. You could also use streamers but I couldn't find any when I was getting supplies. Then I put a fake tea candle that I found at Costco (in a pack of 28 with extra batteries. But I don't remember how much) in each one and lined the sidewalk. I plan to put them out on Halloween. I also used them to decorate my trunk at the Trunk-or-Treat.



I hope to have more crafts to show you later.

"Four Eyes"

Let me start off with saying what I learned through this ordeal. I learned that there are two types of eye Doctors (if you will), Ophthalmologist and Optometrists. Ophthalmologists are actually Doctors and have studied the eye and medical treatment of the eye. Optometrists call themselves "Doctors" although they can only give you a prescription for glasses or contact lenses. I had no idea! I'm so glad that I knew enough to know that the Optometrist that I had seen didn't know what he was talking about.

So this all started in July. One day I was talking to Little A from across the room and realized that her left eye was turning in. This had never happened before. It was like it happened over night. Immediately I knew it was Lazy eye. So I made her an appointment with the "eye doctor". When we went in to the little room they examine you in we sat down and I told him what had happened. He asked her to look at him and she did. He then had her cover her right eye and look at a big picture of an airplane projected on the wall. He asked her what it was and she said a plane. He then told me that she was far sided and needed glasses. (which I already knew since Big J had this when he was a kid) I said, "Well, she has lazy eye right?" And He said, "Even if it was you don't have to catch Lazy eye until they are eight." Right then I thought even if that were true, which its not, wouldn't it be better to catch it when they are 3? I asked him if we should patch the good eye at all, (again something that Big J had to do) and he said,"No one does that anymore." Now as he is saying this he is writing a prescription for Little A. The rest happened so fast I had no time to process what had just happened. He handed me the paper told me that a lady out in the other room would help me pick out frames and showed me out. I sat for a second and thought this can't be right. So I told the lady that I would come back later.

After leaving there I knew I had to get another opinion. I mean he didn't even put those huge funny goggle things on her to see what her prescription should be. He just wrote me one. I guess he thought that he could guess. I told Big J what had happened and he agreed. So I started asking around to see where I should take her, as I was doing this I learned that she should see an ophthalmologist. I also learned that the vision plan that we had wouldn't cover another exam. (Even though they shouldn't have counted the first since it was hardly an exam.) But since it was her eyes I was willing to pay for an exam. Then someone told me that I should take her to the pediatrician and that they can give me a referral so that it would be covered through medical instead. So I did and she said that it was Strabismus (Lazy eye) and that I could go to a specialist.

When we were able to get into the Ophthalmologist (two months later) I felt much better and he confirmed that the optometrist that I went to before didn't know what he was talking about. He was a cute little old asian man with the oldest office ever. When you walked in you could tell when he probably started his practice. Everything was 70's. At first I was like great, another old office with crapy care. But After talking to him I realy liked him. He was so funny talking about the "Eye Doctors" And how all his friends had sold out. So that the Optometrist would referr them when they came across someone that needed an Ophthalmologist. He said that he would never do that and that he didn't care about the money. After seeing his office it all made sense. I mean there was not one computer in the whole place. The secratary was useing a typewriter! Big J made the comment later that they better hope that there wouldn't be a fire.

Anyway..... about 3 months later here are her glasses! Little A could tell you that we tried on almost every frame in Bakersfield trying to find ones that fit her small face. But we finally did and they are here. She has to wear these all the time and we have to patch her stronger eye for 2 hrs a day to strengthen the weaker one. Hopefully she after doing this her eye will no longer turn in.

Here are my 2 "Four Eyes" Being silly for the camera. It helps that Little D has glasses. I think that if he didn't it would be alot harder to get her to wear them.

P.S. This is by far my longest post! And I forgive you if you didn't finish. Although you wouldn't know that I forgive you if you don't get to the bottom!

For These Things I Am Blessed

When I started this post I must say that it was a whole bunch of complaining. Mostly about how Big J has been gone and wont be back for what seems like forever. How I now have to get up in the mornings and get Little D out to school and how I miss, on the off chance that the kids slept in, sleeping in. That my house is always messy and cluttered and I hate that there is 15 yr old carpet in here. And there is never enough storage space.

But then I stopped and thought, Why am I complaining? I'm blessed that I have a good Husband who works hard for us and even though he hates to be away, he goes because he wants to provide for us. I'm blessed that I have a nice warm bed and a roof over my children's heads. I'm blessed to have things to clutter up my house and that my children have toys and food to eat.

Certainly in these times when people are loosing there houses and are trying to make their rent I am blessed that Big J has a good job. I am grateful that my family is healthy and that we have our needs met. So from now on I hope to complain less and just to make do with what I am blessed with.

Finally! I did it!

Well after months of procrastination I've finally done it. I've put my nursing covers on Etsy! I know! I thought that it would never happen. You can take a look at my nursing covers and some super cute baby shoes and bonnets at MissMossMadness.

Link To Older Blogs

Here is a link to my older blogs on Million Gallons.

Welcome!

Yeah for my new blog! I was getting tired of my old blog and wanted something new! With this blog I will be able to change the theme more and in turn it'll be more fun. So Welcome to The Best Things in Life are....