Christmas Wishes

This is our Christmas Card for the year.

Lovely Daughter said, "My wish is that I have Baby Jesus was born... in Bethlehem."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

While Dad Was Away

While Hard Working Dad was in Africa, the leaves were changing on our street. HW Dad had our camera, so all of the photos in this blog post were taken with my cellphone. However, I was thinking, "We don't need to travel to the East Coast to see the beautiful Autumn leaves changing. It's happening in our own backyard!" So spectacular!

(Notice the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.)


When we went to pick up HW Dad at the airport in San Fransisco, I decided the kids and I needed to have a special activity to do, too. I decided to go to the Exploritorium. I think we could have easily spent the whole day there, but we were able to squeeze in an amazing 3 hours of exploration and fun! I've personlly never driven to SF. I've always managed to be a passenger. Somehow I made it with the help of the GPS and Son #1 as navigator.

(This is Son #3 playing with a huge bubble maker.)

(Sunset on the bay marina. Beautiful!)

In addition to being an enjoyable day in the Bay Area,
this also completes my goal of doing 7 outings with the children.

Kenya Adventure

(see the elephant in the distance)

Hardworking Dad works an 8-5 job, takes a quick break to eat, hang out with the kids and then starts his freelance projects until sometimes 11:00 at night.

HE NEEDED A BREAK!

His parents have been serving an 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Nairobi, Kenya. Brother #3 and he decided this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore Africa with their own personal tour guides. Originally, they were going to take an empty suitcase to help their parents bring home gifts. However, their parents are teaching men and women in Africa about job skills/resources. Grandma B thought filling the empty luggage with fabrics and magazines would be more beneficial. The women there have sewing machines and make pillows and purses with the fabric. With the magazines, they create lovely beads to make various types of jewelry. Our family was thrilled to help in our own small way.





Hard Working Dad still has jet lag... sleeping and awake at the strangest time.
But we're so grateful for his safe trip to such a beautiful country.

Karibu Nyumbani Baba
(Welcome Home Dad)

Click here to see his photos and log.

Homeschool Read Aloud Stories

We've been learning about the Middle Ages for our history lessons.
The King's Chessboard by David Birch was a suggested reading on our chapter The Medieval Indian Empire. This also had a fun mathematical puzzle related to the story. There are many other books that we've supplemented with our lessons. Here are a few other favorites:

Chapter called The Glory That Was Rome
Rome Antics by David MacCaulay

Chapter called Christianity Comes to Britain
The Last Snake in Ireland by Sheila Challahan-MacGill
Across a Dark and Wild Sea by Don Brown
Stories of Saint Patrick

Chapter called The Byzantine Empire
Saint Nicholas by Ann Tompert

Chapter called The Medieval Indian Empire
Once a Mouse... by Marcia Brown
The Very Hungry Lion: A Folktale by Gita Wolf

Grandma and Grandpa B have been serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Africa. We wanted to learn more about some of the nations of Africa and decided to read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba. As a family, we are so grateful for the simple things that we take for granted everyday... like light in the evenings, food and water, access to travel, education, etc. We recommend this book. We noticed that there is now a "Young Reader's Edition" of the book on Amazon.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare is our October/November read aloud. I wasn't sure if the boys would like the book, but so far they've enjoyed learning about the Puritan life during the Colonial Days of the 1600s.

October Fun

We haven't been to a pumpkin patch for about 4-5 years.
We enjoyed our outing and choosing our very own pumpkins.
Next year, we hope to plan a little better and find a farm with a corn maze.

We don't decorate for Halloween every year, but this year we got into that festive spirit. We took about 10 photos of our front porch and walkway with pumpkin lanterns, jack-o-lanterns and ghosts hanging outside the front door. Even bats and a skeleton were hanging in the window. This photo taken by Son #1 was the most impressive! FYI-The pumpkins were not blazing infernos!

Happy Autumn!

Halloween Costumes

Luke Skywalker training to be a Jedi Knight with Yoda

an "OPEN" store sign

(sorry, hard to see)

Spy Kid


Simple, quick-to-make and creative costumes... our favorite!

Not a Food Blog: New Recipes 11, 12 & 13

I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately. And it's been fun doing it! Some have truly been winners and others... I will not be saving the recipes.

My 11th New Recipe Tried is an altered version of one of my favorite after school treats when I was growing up. My mom would buy some canned coconut milk and make us Haupia ... maybe once or twice a year. I loved it! I loved when my parents would make Hawaiian food for us. I grew up eating rice pretty much every dinner but occasionally, we'd have fried rice & SPAM for breakfast. Every New Year's Day, my dad would make poi, Laulau, his special stew, long rice, Portuguese sausage drenched in soy sauce and sometimes Lomi salmon. Mom would make Haupia during the year, and I knew that it must be a special day.

Anyway, even though I loved this coconut pudding, I'm thinking that not everyone does. So when Hard Working Dad put together a missionary-themed ward activity and they needed desserts from around the world, I volunteered to make a twist on my beloved Haupia. I found the recipe, Haupia Squares. I think it was a success. Most of the pan was empty when we brought it home. But like I said, some people may have tasted it and said, "This is disgusting!" (Some people just don't like coconut). I thought however, that it was delicious!




My 12th New Recipe Tried: French Bread. My entire family thought this was probably the best bread recipe that I have ever made! It was truly scrumptious!



The 13th New Recipe Tried: Flax Bread. Maybe I followed the directions to this recipe incorrectly, but this bread did not taste quite right. It was just too heavy for me. I ate the entire sandwich that you see in the above photo. However, I will not be making this recipe again.

13 New Recipes Tried, 5 left to go!

New Recipes, 8, 9 & 10!!

I've decided to get more fiber into my diet and try to make a true effort at exercising. I'll be honest, though, I have LITTLE to NO motivation to exercise! However, once I start doing any type of exercise, I love it and feel GREAT after the workout. (That should be motivation enough, but it's not.) But trying to eat more fiber has been interesting.

The 8th New Recipe Tried comes from a magazine Living Without: Gluten-Free Black Bean Burgers. I actually really liked this recipe. As you can see from the picture above, my burger's bun is not gluten free. However, one burger has 8 grams of fiber! According to the American Dietetic Association, adults should have between 20-35 grams daily. The only ingredient that I couldn't find was the nutritional yeast.





My 9th New Recipe Tried is homemade juice! For Family Home Evening, I had the entire family watch this great documentary called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead about 2 men who make a journey to better health. In homeschool, we were discussing various body systems. We ended our unit on the Digestive System by watching this film that taught ALL of us about our bodies and how to be healthy by basically (unbeknownst to them) following the Word of Wisdom. In the film, the men start with a juice fast and later learn ways to just eat better. So I started juicing, too. The above photo was just pretty but tasted very GREEN! The photo just below actually tasted a bit better, though doesn't look as colorful as the first.

And these were the fruits and vegetables I used for the juice in the second picture.

So for my 10th New Recipe Tried, I decide to do something somewhat off the healthy chart. However, I still tried to implement the MORE fiber rule by putting half white, half wheat flour to make baked donuts. No picture here, though. The kids were watching me make, then watching the donuts rise and bake before, during and after the morning session of General Conference. They got eaten up far too fast once they were dusted with a bit a sugar! Even the child who HATES bread ate these yummy treats!

Though this quote comes from a financial expert, I think it applies here as I try to figure out the healthy habit goals:

If the truth were complex, we'd have figured it out long ago. The fact that it's simple is what has us stumped.

~Joe Dominguez
from the book, Your Money or Your Life

10 New Recipes Tried.... 8 Left to Try!

Something to Always Remember

This post features special guest writer, "Hard-working Dad."

I have a rather large quantity of pinto beans in storage. The last time I tried to make chili with them, they turned out a bit crunchy. This was after boiling them for an hour and putting them in the crock-pot all day.

We had the opportunity to host 4 missionaries at our house for dinner and I thought it would be a great time to make a big pot of chili for Navajo tacos. Remembering my last experiment with our food-storage beans, I wanted to make sure the chili was just right for our special guests.

At 4:00 on Saturday, I washed the beans and let them soak in the refrigerator until 7:45 the next morning. I put them on the stove and boiled them for an hour, then dumped them in the crock-pot with the chili ingredients. I cooked the chili on low for 8 hours and then added some water and cooked it on high for 2 hours... and the beans were.... crunchy. I was very disappointed. I apologized to the missionaries and told them of my trials with tough beans. They listened to my lengthy apology and explanation and gave some counsel that we should always remember, "Brother, you should have prayed first."

**From Very Involved Mom: The beans were edible and only had a slight crunch. The chili was still yummy.

Edification at BYU Education Week 2011!

Here are some of the witnessed facts and snippets of wisdom I was able to see and hear during my relaxing, tiring, bonding.... just plain fabulous 40th birthday gift weekend!

Saturday:
My sister-in-law #1 is a brave soul to come hang out with my brood for a WHOLE week!

Sunday:
Appreciate your ancestors and love the family that you inherit.
Excited to hang out with my Sister #1 and my Sister #2 throughout the week.

Monday:
My sister-in-law #3 is a great mom to two beautiful children.
She also makes a yummy chicken salad sandwich!
Utah has A LOT of road construction.

Tuesday:
Richards Building stairs can make you think, "If I can get up these stairs, I can do anything!"
These were the stairs to the main campus that Sister #1 and I took for 3 days.

8:30 Class:
"Time is a created thing. To say 'I don't have time' is to say 'I don't want to.'" Lao Tzu
-shared by Tom Taylor

9:50 Class:
"True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior..."
Elder Boyd K. Packer, CR, Oct. 86, 20.
-shared by Ronald Bartholomew

12:30 Class:
I only report to the Savior. -Merrilee Boyack

1:50 Class:
D & C 136:27- Thou shalt be diligent in preserving what thou hast, that thou mayest be a wise steward; for it is the free gift of the Lord thy God, and thou art this steward.
-shared by Bryan Sudweeks

3:10 Class:
Prayer + Scriptures = Increase of Personal Promptings/Revelation
-shared by Connie Sokol

4:30 Class:
Sometimes He will calm the sea, sometimes He will let the sea rage and calms His child.
- Kirk Wilkinson



5:30 :
BYU Football Season is starting soon!!!!

Remember to look for landmarks where you park your car,
especially when you are in a frenzy to get to your classes.

7:10 Class:
Cook on Monday a batch of grains (amaranth, buckwheat, millet, teff, kaniwah, quinoa)
and use it in recipes throughout the week.
-Chef Brad Petersen

8:30 Class:
A child who has less, loves more.
- from Marie Ricks class

Wednesday:
Richards Building stairs can make you feel both young and old!

8:30 Class:
When writing personal histories, think of "low hanging fruit"... start with the easiest story to tell.
-Tom Taylor

9:50 Class:
Prayer is the act of becoming one with God. Choose to ask His will
and then submit or act accordingly. - Ronald Bartholomew

11:10 Class:
Natural Energy Enhancers- Improve sleep patterns, Moderate physical activity (30 minutes/day), Water consumption, Complex Carbohydrates - from Beverly Neville

12:30 Class:
Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper from $1 Store to get rid of ants.
Edible Landscaping Ideas- Strawberries as ground cover, chard w/ pansies, plant lettuce in the pattern of a river to add a different look to your garden
-shared by Karen Bastow

1:50 Class:
Decatastrophizing
Step 1- Build a Menu of Alternative Explanations
-Worst Case Scenario
-Best Case Scenario
-Most Likely Scenarios
Step 2- Assess Probability of Each Scenario
Step 3- Develop a Coping Strategy,
especially in the event of a highly probable worst case scenario

3:10 Class:
John Bytheway showing a clip from the 2008 Worldwide Leadership Training meeting. In the video clip, Sister Julie Beck shares how as a teenager, her family sang "Love at Home" at EVERY Family Home Evening. Here are her words from the panel discussion:

It was more a belief than a practice. But every week, Dad would say, "Now we'll sing our opening hymn, 'Love at Home.'" And when I was about 14 or 15, in that age when you question everything, I asked father, "Why do we have to sing this hymn every week? There are a lot of good hymns in the hymnbook we could sing." And he looked at me very sternly and he said, "When you have learned lesson 1, I will teach you lesson 2." And I don't know what lesson 2 was; we didn't ever get there, but I have to say that after the passage of many years, I look at my family, and we do love one another. We did, somehow, over years, learn to love each other because that was lesson 1 my parents wanted to teach. They didn't try to cover everything. They knew if they started with that, it would work.

This made me smile.

4:30 & 5:50 Class:
The Financial Path of Choice to Million Dollar Choices
-Scott Marsh

7:30-10:00 pm
Enjoyed the rest of the evening watching "Aida" performed by Scera (local community theatre) with Sister #2 and two of her children.

Thursday:
The Richards Building stairs are a great way to get exercise at the start your day!

8:30 Class:
Work in the Home Stages:
Stage 1: Fetch & carry companion
Stage 2: Go-fur companion
Stage 3: Apprentice companion
Stage 4: Supervisor
-shared by Lucy Beutler

9:50 Class:
Learned about the Roman, Greek and other various cultures who may have converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ during the time of Paul. Surprisingly enriching!
-Thomas Wayment

11:10 Class:
www.eatrightamerica.com
-shared by Beverly Neville

12:30 Class:
Learned how to grow potatoes and when to harvest other vegetables.
-Karen Bastow

1:50 Class:
A place to go to help manage finances. -Bryan Sudweeks
http://personfinance.byu.edu

3:10 Class:
Pat Graham's experiences with putting our current Primary Children's Songbook together. She was the master teacher as she taught us various children's songs in about 5 minutes each.

4:30 Class:
Learned how to make an Apple Box Reflector Oven!
Plan on doing this as a science project at home.
-Leslie Probert

5:50 Class:
How do we nurture?
-Question given by Don Wilson

7:10 Class:
"So often we only focus on the present, giving no thought to how powerful our current actions effect the future." -Chef Brad Petersen

8:30 Class:
Set Up the Optimal Home
-A Functional Home Library
-Learning Stations for Each Child
-The Invention Box
-Instructional Toys

Prepare Yourself to Teach
-Learn, then teach
-Be Interested to be Interesting
-Every experience=Adventure
-Keep it FUN

Prepare Children to Learn

Teach Lifetime Skills

A Climate of Excellence
-ideas shared by Marie Ricks

Friday:
Marriott Center has stairs, too!

8:30 Class:
Hugging the Monster (coping with anxiety)
1. Breathing
2. Grounding
3. Thought replacement
4. NOW! Hug the monster
-shared by Kevin Hinckley

9:50 Class:
The first color created was yellow according to President Thomas S. Monson???
-shared by Vickey Pahnke Taylor

11:10:
Q: What do I buy from the BYU Bookstore?
A: a BYU Rise Up T-shirt, Football sippy cup, Nerf football, military scriptures

12:30 Class
SILLINESS at the piano
-by Marvin Goldstein

1:25:
Yummy Pasta and Bread Stick at the CougarEat


3:10 Class:
Strategies for Handling Others' Anger
*Protect Self

*Use empathetic listening & responding

*Find some way to agree
Practice the Pahoran Principle

*Pray
-Ideas shared by Stephen Duncan

4:30 Class:
I lean towards a Blue Personality with a touch of Gold and Green.
-Shawnda Moss

5:50 Class:
Empathy to your Spouse
Step 1: Look what is going on in your spouse's life.
Step 2: Try to identify what your partner is feeling.
Step 3: Remember/Imagine a situation in your own life when you felt the same.
-shared by Don Wilson

7:10 Class:
Elder Richard G. Scott said, "It is through the repeated process of feeling impressions, recording them, and obeying them that one learns to depend on the direction of the Spirit more than on communication through the five senses."
(CES Symposium, Aug. 11, 1998)
-shared by Mark Beecher

8:30 Class:
Purging:
Dark Plastic Bags: Not Useful, Not Needed=Throw Away
White Plastic Bags: Useful, Not Needed=Donate to charity
Box: Useful, Needed=Keep 1/2 then donate the other 1/2
-Marie Ricks

10:00:
Last few hours to hang out with my far-away sisters.

Saturday:
Place all 3 oz. liquid hygiene items in one 1-quart ziploc bags when packing for airline flight.

Home Sweet Home

A bit of an information overload.

I told Hard-Working Dad that I've got enough material to give at least one full year of Family Home Evenings! I'm so grateful for him allowing me to have this week to learn ways to help me be a better wife, mother, daughter, teacher, friend and child of God. He took off the entire week to be with our children. He's the bestest friend and the most wonderful helpmeet for me.

I'm also so grateful for the time I got to spend with my older sisters. All of my siblings are my dearest friends on earth. They make life a little bit easier to meet the challenges that we all seem to face. I hope to be able to go to Education Week in the future. And hopefully, I'll be able to take the husband and maybe even some of the kids. That would be fun, too!

~Very Involved Mom

Next 3 New Recipes Tried

I technically made 2 variations of the same cake recipe for last month's Ladies' Book Club.

I am not on a vegan diet however because I need to eat dairy free foods, I often find vegan recipes that fit perfectly.

The first recipe variation was a banana cake. I made a frosting for this cake from dairy free butter, powdered sugar, and hazelnut milk. Then I topped with chopped walnuts.

The second recipe variation was a chocolate cake with chocolate chips. This did not need frosting. The link below will take you to the recipe and give a few more variations. This is a great cake!

Vegan Cake

Okay, so the next new recipe I tried was actually on the back of a Trader Joe's Organic Red Quinoa box. A woman (she and her husband are usually always one of the top 3 chili recipe winners at our ward chili cookoff) in our ward had made a similar salad at last month's Relief Society BBQ. Everyone there RAVED about this salad! I'm hoping this is the same recipe... I think it's pretty close even if it isn't. I made this for a family get-together last Thursday and again, everyone who tried it RAVED about this salad.

Black Bean, Roasted Corn & Avocado Salad on a Bed of Red Quinoa

1 cup Red Quinoa (I used regular), cook with broth
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1-15 oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed
2 cups roasted corn kernels (I used canned)
1 avocado, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup red onion, finely diced
3/4 cup Cilantro Salad Dressing
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Zest of 1 lime (I also used the juice of the lime)
sea salt & pepper

Cook quinoa with broth according to package directions. While quinoa is cooking, combine beans, corn, avocado, tomatoes and onion. Top with salad dressing and toss gently. Add salt, pepper and lime zest (and juice) to taste. Add 1/2 of cilantro and gently toss once more. Set aside.

When quinoa is cooked, toss olive oil; add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool. When ready to serve, spread quinoa on a large serving platter and top with corn and bean mixture. Garnish with remaining cilantro.

Serves 6 as a side dish. (I think this made a lot more than 6 servings.)

So, that's now 7 New Recipes that I've tried this year... 11 left to go!

Side Note about my 40th Year Goals:
My #2 Goal was to attend 2 Days at BYU Education Week. As a student at BYU, I worked for the catering services there and would usually be the one passing out yogurts, bagels, sandwiches, etc. to the attendees during that week. The women and sometimes youth and men always looked so energized during those breaks. Occasionally, they would mention some snippet of knowledge they had gained in their classes. I've always wanted to attend. For my 40th birthday, Hard Working Husband bought me tickets to go not for just 2 days but the Tuesday-Friday tickets. I'M SUPER EXCITED!!! I'm especially thrilled to be seeing Chef Brad at one of the classes as well during that week. WooHoo!!!

~ Very Involved Mom

End of Another School Year - Changes Ahead

This time of year is always a bittersweet time for me.
I'm so excited to see the wonderful strides these great children have made
and then, I think they are growing up way too fast!
Where does the time go?

I remember when Son #1 arrived at this school 9 years ago! We could have moved him many different times, but I'm glad that we never did. He's learned to focus on his studies and was able to excel here. He received a medal for High Achievement in Overall Academics and English. The trophy was for the 8th grade student having Outstanding Achievement in Math. He will be entering high school starting with Geometry.

He's also started Frosh Football Conditioning at his high school. He already knows quite a few other young men from his previous school, church, and community soccer. It's tough, but he seems to be enjoying it. (I see a lot of volunteering and bleacher-seating/cheering in the future.)

I have a child in high school!

Son #2 has accomplished HUGE feats this year. It was a challenge making a transition from elementary to middle school. But he was able to consistently have a high GPA the entire year. His time at this highly college-oriented school has brought him up to above grade level in many areas. I am truly grateful to his patient teachers and counselors both in the 5th and 6th grades.

Son #2 is so imaginative! Since the age of 3, he's been a creative storyteller and I'm glad he was able to show that in many of his classes: English, Art, History. I love his thought process and wish sometimes I could be as direct with my own thinking.

Now for Son #3. I don't know if you remember your 4th grade year, but I actually remember quite a bit. I remember working on some fun and challenging projects. I also remember learning cursive and division. Son #3 had all of this this year. He had a great time learning about the Santa Cruz Mission and constructing the model all by himself. He's a builder! He may have the best handwriting in the entire family and he's great at math.

This year, he also had the opportunity to be in the school Spelling Bee. Parents got front row seating. Son #3 made it through to the 4th round and came in 3rd Place.

I know he's had a difficult time with some of the aspects of this school. It has been night and day from the Montessori approach of learning to this "College for Certain" mentality. However, I'm grateful for wonderful teachers who were able teach him self-disciplining strategies and help him to challenge his mind.

On August 15th, we begin a new phase for our family.

One child is starting high school and will be attending early morning seminary.
Two other children will be starting on the adventure of homeschooling.

We are looking forward with excitement and a lot of faith!

~Very-Involved Mom

Memorial Day

I think Pop (Tutu) would have been honored that the family made the decision to lay his body to rest among his comrades. We are so very grateful to all those who have served and sacrificed for their country and it's citizens for freedom here and abroad.

Completed Goal #3

(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1)

Goal #3 of 40 COMPLETED-
Watch 3 movies in the theater.

I'm actually surprised I was able to complete this goal so quickly.
I honestly only maybe see 1 or 2 movies in a whole year!

Here are the movies I saw:

On the spur-of-the-moment, the entire family went to the less expensive movie theater for a family home evening. While hubby went with the three youngest children to see Tangled, Son #1 and I watched the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Years ago, the two of us made it a reading competition to see who could complete the entire Harry Potter Series first. There was a lot of scheming to secretly get the one book we may have both been reading at the same time. I could keep it at home and read whenever I'd get the chance. But for a whole week, he took it to school and read. Anyway, it was neck and neck to the finish, but Son #1 prevailed as the winner. We are looking forward to seeing the last movie that comes out on July 15.

(The King's Speech)

Ever since I'd seen the previews for the movie, The King's Speech, I had wanted to see it. However, the rating was R, and our family makes it a rule to NEVER watch R-rated films. Then the Academy Awards came along and Colin Firth was given an Oscar for Best Male Actor! I had started to hear rumors that the film would be made available at select movie theaters as a PG-13 film. I looked for weeks! Finally, I found that one theater was showing the "cleaner" version. So, HW Dad and I went on a date! OKAY, now the reason for the R rating was for the foul language. Let me tell you... if you see the PG-13 version, there will be the same amount of foul language, but just different ones! The bulk of the bad language is fairly central to the plot and basicly in 2 scenes. That said, I loved the amazing acting performances! And then to see a man overcome a challenging impediment who had an incredibly supportive wife was heartening. I think my eyes may have even watered at moments.

(Jane Eyre)

I have an account on Goodreads.com. A few months ago, I took the "Jane Eyre Challenge" in which Goodreads gave 5 steps to complete it. The final step was to watch the newly released movie, Jane Eyre. No one at my house was even remotely interested in seeing the film. So, I went with my mom and asked my brother to chauffeur. I'm always trying to get my mom out the house and it was fun hanging out with those who appreciate my fascination with Jane Eyre.

Well, about two weeks later, I received a surprising email! It read, "Congratulations! YOU HAVE WON a copy of the Jane Eyre novel signed by the director Cary Fukunaga!" WOOHOO! I rarely win anything! So within a couple of weeks, I received my prize! I have read the book, but did not have my very own copy, so I'm excited to reread it.

I have to add that the movie, in my opinion, was just okay. There were occasionally weird camera movements that bothered me. Also, some of my favorite parts of the book were not put into this film version. I guess that's what happens when one must cram an entire novel into a 2 hour film. Oh well, I'm grateful and totally excited to win a book!

~Very Involved Mom

Easter

Easter Sunday Family Photo

Princess C in her pretty dress with egg stash

Some of the hard boiled eggs made it into the egg hunt.
Princess C loves her collection of one dozen pretty pink-dyed eggs in the refrigerator.
(The family will be secretly eating them in the mornings.)

Learning from a Great Blog

Hard Working Dad and Son #1 visit a beautiful 90 year old woman once a month. She's a wonderful woman and she looks amazing! A couple of months ago, she mentioned that her son started a blog and that we should check it out. We have, and we love it! We have been using some of the ideas from his blog to make healthier eating choices. He shares ways in which we can fully obey the commandment known as the Word of Wisdom. I invite you to check it out too!

Word of Wisdom Living

Happy 4th Birthday, Princess C!

Princess C getting ready for her Princess Party in her birthday dress.

Royal Coronation with Belle at the Princess Party.

Birthday Celebration with family.
The cake tasted MUCH better than how it looked. We made homemade frosting and to make a more moist boxed chocolate fudge cake, I added 1/2 of a small can of pumpkin.

We are so happy to have this sweet and joyful Princess in our family.

Porkchops & Applesauce

Found the Brady Bunch clip! Enjoy!

3 New Recipes Tried!

Tried three more new recipes to meet my "18 New Recipes" goal for the year.

The first is shown in the photo, "Cheese Popover Puffs". If you look closely, the "puffs" look a little different in each of the muffin tins. The tin to the top-right of the photo shows the original recipe. The tin to the bottom-left shows my altered version with non dairy options. Here are the recipes:

Cheese Popover Puffs (original recipe)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all except cheese. Beat at medium speed of an electric blender until smooth. Stir in cheese. Heat a well greased muffin pan at 425 degrees for 3 minutes or until very hot. Spoon in batter, filling 2/3 full. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce heat, bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately. Makes about 8 popovers.

Cheese Popover Puffs (Non Dairy Version)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Almond Milk
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon non dairy buttery spread
1/4 cup shredded rice cheese

Same instructions as above

I liked my Non Dairy Version! Everyone else in the family tried 1 of each version. HW Dad liked both. The children preferred the original version, but thought the non-dairy was okay.

The next new recipe was a Disaster! Why? Perhaps because some recipes just don't go as well with non dairy changes OR maybe because I used a vanilla flavored potato milk instead of an original flavored almond/rice milk. Either way... The Best Baked Corn was gross with my changes. I'm sure the original recipe is delicious?

The last of the three new recipes was a gift to my great husband who works almost non stop to provide for his family and to help those around him. I made pork chops for him. I think I can count on 1 hand how many times I have made pork chops in our 18 years of marriage. It's not that I don't love the flavor of it, but I physically have adverse affects on too much pork in my diet. However, HW Dad loves pork and there was a great price at the supermarket last week. So to show my love this Valentine Season, I made a Rachael Ray recipe "Pork Chops with Golden Apple Sauce" for him. (Think Brady Bunch with Peter's impression of Humphrey Bogart. Anyone else remember that?)

Of course, knowing me, I always have to alter my recipes, right? But this time only because I didn't have all of the ingredients. For the apples, I used 2 golden delicious, 1 pommes, and 1 honeycrisp. I didn't have raisins, so I used dried cranberries. I didn't have apple juice, so I used cran-pomegranate juice. We all thought the pork chops were yummo and 4 out of 5 of the family thought the applesauce was great with the chops!

14 New Recipes Left to Go!

New Recipe: 17 left to try

One of my goals (Very Involved Mom) is to try 18 New Recipes. Here is #1:

Bacon, Spinach and Cream Potatoes
by Rachael Ray

Altered it slightly. I only used 1 box of spinach. Instead of cream, I used Trader Joes' Original Almond Milk. (I must eat Dairy Free foods due to eczema. It has been quite challenging for the past year and a half!!! Do you know how many dishes and desserts that we eat in this house that have some type of dairy in it? If I sneak anything with cow's milk or cheese in it, within a few hours, I'm itching like crazy!)

Also, just noticed on the recipe that there was nutmeg on the list. Oops! Forgot to add that... no problem... I'll add it to my leftovers.

This was DELICIOUS!! The adults in the family will definitely be making this again!

1/1/11

Very Involved Mom's 40th Year Resolutions!
-by Very Involved Mom

I've made 40 goals to achieve by the day before I turn 41 years old in May of 2012! Can I do it? As Bob the Builder would say with high energy and enthusiasm.... YES, I CAN! My goals are quite varied and doable. There are probably only about 4 of the 40 goals that involve some money. They involve giving service to others, spending much needed time with my family, becoming a healthier me, enriching the talents that Heavenly Father has blessed me, taking advantage of quiet times in my life and finally some that just needed to be written on a "To Do"-type list.

I'm SUPER excited about these goals! Hope everyone has a GREAT New Year and for me.... A GREAT 17 months ahead!