Claire's Quilt - How will you vote???

It's about time I worked on Claire's quilt. I have picked out the majority of the fabric, pinks for the sides, back, flowers; and greens for the centers and leaves. (See McCall's/Elizabeth's quilts above.) Now I need to decide which color to add, I can go with pinks&yellows OR pinks&blues OR I could probably do pink, yellow and blue if you like that. It sort of comes down to placement of colors.

Claire's Choices...

Pinks with Blues

Pinks with Yellows

I would use a variety of fabrics so I would have 2 roses per fabric (give or take). Among the pinks I'd have darker and lighter pinks, see above choices.

These are not molecular graphs...just a few combinations I could use, if one jumps out at you let me know otherwise I'm most interested in color help as I'm running out of spring/summer fabric options soon.

SO HOW WILL AMERICA VOTE?

(I think that's what they say on American Idol??? I really don't do the A.I. thing.)

On my Honor to do my Best

I'll be upfront and tell you right now I am just going to rant a bit -- but I just spent an hour and a half trying to accomplish two minor things at the scout office amid my fed up three year old, and my fussing 1 year old. It is time's like this that I really start to question the whole scouting program. Not the benefits of the program and what it means to the boys -- I think those are all good things. I just wish the church would jump in and reorganize it. Cut out all the read tape and simplify the process; cut out all the ridiculous fee's and procedures set up just to necessitate expense; reduce the cost of uniforms and badges, neckerchiefs and socks; eliminate the high fee's and charges for camps and charges simply to be a unit. Maybe this frustration and growing hostility stems partly from the fact that on Sunday I was handed the "friends of scouting" packet for the third or fourth time since being called as committee chair -- and I'm just done being that annoying person asking parents/leaders to go out and collect money, participate in flags, get this application signed again because the scout office made a mistake and we have to pay for it....

It's moments like this that I have to remind myself that I was called by the Lord to serve here and he expects me to fulfill my responsibilities the best that I can. SOOOOOO...That is why I continue to drag my girls around and wait in long lines and hope that someday they grow up knowing what sacrifice means and how much I love the Lord. I just need to remember why I'm doing this sometimes!

So seriously, I just got to this point and was going to post and McCall said their was someone at the door. I went up and this little boy was standing there and I thought -- I guess it's that time of year, schools started and time for fundraising. Then the little boy said he was lost and didn't know where he was and could he call his mom? I gave him the phone and he called and just started crying. I felt so bad and I asked if he wanted me to talk to his mom. I told her where he was and she seemed hesitant and asked if I could point him in the right direction and send him home (she couldn't get him right now for some reason.) He was pretty scared and still had two miles of difficult roads to maneuver on the googled map. (I won't tell you what my opinion is of the mother who didn't drop everything and come pick him up but I don't know what was going at their house.) I loaded my girls in, his bike and had him climb in and drove him home up by Eaglecrest Elementary to make sure he made it home safely - I was worried he'd get lost again. He was only 11 years old. I guess the map reading and navigation is important and whatever means necessary, scouting and all, to help youth acquire important skills is important. Maybe my calling isn't so hopeless!

Another Tender Mercy. Thank you!

Flash Back Friday

So I have viewed a couple blogs where they show fun flash backs from the past on Friday. I thought it was a fun idea to show those photo's, so I'm join in on the fun. This is a picture of my cute hubby at about 4-5 yrs old. Erik developed Perthes 'disease' as a child, thus the leg brace. (See Perthes description below)

Sunday Dinner

At a family dinner one Sunday, at Erik's Grandparent's house, about the time of this picture, Pres. Kimball and Camilla showed up for dinner. (Erik's Grandmother and Camilla being sisters.) When Pres. Kimball walked in and saw Erik, he immediately grabbed him in his arms and set him in his lap. Pres. Kimball had a great love for children and especially those with limitations, his own son Edward suffered from Polio. Pres. Kimball talked with Erik and held him for awhile and then, placing his hands on each side of Erik's cheeks, he asked Erik to do something for him, he asked Erik to pray for him. At the time Erik's mom was a little taken back, she felt like Pres. Kimball should be praying for Erik, but as she looked back she understood the wisdom in Pres. Kimball's request. Pres. Kimball had great love and faith in children and he knew that he would be supported in his heavy duties and responsibilities by the prayers of young children like Erik. Secondly, and most importantly for Erik, Pres. Kimball taught him by that simple request to loose himself. Rather than feeling sorry because of his limitation for that brief period of time, Pres. Kimball taught Erik to think and feel for other's and their needs.

This lesson, the significance probably unrealized at the time, has greatly influenced Erik's character. Erik is so good about jumping in and helping out inside and outside of the home. He is such a hard worker, he is so completely honest in all his dealings, he truly wants to help people for the right reasons not for recognition. He does everything he can not to be noticed for his efforts. He is so right on when it comes to living the gospel. Erik really is a powerful influence for good in our home and I just think that Pres. Kimball could see all that when he looked in Erik's eye's.

Perthes is a condition in children characterized by a temporary loss of blood supply to the hip. Without an adequate blood supply, the rounded head of the femur (the " ball " of the " ball and socket " joint of the hip) dies. The area becomes intensely inflamed and irritated.

Perthes disease usually is seen in children between 4 years and 10 years of age. It is five times more common in boys than in girls.
Although the term 'disease' is still used, Perthes is really a complex process of stages. Treatment of Perthes may require periods of immobilization or limitations on usual activities. The long-term prognosis is good in most cases. After 18 months to 2 years of treatment, most children return to normal activities without major limitations.

Back to School

McCall headed out the door on Monday to walk to school with Erik and I thought... "I forgot to take her picture!!" (The story of my life lately.) So this picture is after school, after her stylin' hair cut by the most talented and beautiful AMY.

To me she looks so much older, I don't know if it's the hair or that she's about to turn 8! What do you think? McCall also wanted a messenger bag and not a backpack this year "...'cause the 6th graders have these, Mom." When we were school shopping she saw this top (www.nordstrom.com) and HAD to have it. The shirt has ruffles on the bottom back of it. She knew right off that's what she wanted to wear the first day. She also has this Henley that she adores and calls it her lucky shirt (cause it's green). I hope I haven't created a monster!!

I really should know how to focus!

Silly Elizabeth is always trying to crack us up!

I asked McCall what she wanted for dinner and she of coarse said Swedish Pancakes. So I thought I'd share my very favorite recipe for them out of the many different ones I've used. I love this one because on top of tasting great I don't have to butter the pan like some recipes. We put fresh fruit, powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, whipped cream, syrup, etc. in them but our favorite combo is fresh Strawberries and bananas with cinnamon sugar and a bit of whipped cream.

Swedish Pancakes (Crepes)

4 eggs

1 c. flour

1 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 c. milk

a little bloop of vegetable oil

Whisk eggs, flour, sugar, and salt together into a smooth paste. Slowly whisk in milk until just combined, then add a bit of oil (just to keep them from sticking) and stir again. Ladle or pour the batter onto the griddle over medium heat, and tip pan to swirl batter into a thin circle. Flip when edges look dry. Place whatever fruit or combo you like down the center, roll up (we fold burrito style) and enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake

I purchase a large thing of strawberries from Costco for Swedish pancakes and so I needed to come up with something other than freezer jam to use them up, I've made pie so much and so I wanted something different so last night I whipped up Strawberry Shortcake and this is now my favorite recipe for strawberry shortcake. I don't understand why people us that spongy stuff from the store or store biscuits when these are so easy and so much better. I love the egg and sugar top. It makes a crunchy caramelized top to the shortcakes which I love. If I had some of that larger crystal (natural) sugar I might use that next time but the granulated work just fine!

Shortcakes

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

3 T. sugar

8 T. butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 lg. egg, beaten

1/2 c. milk (I use slightly more)

1 lg. egg white, lightly beaten

2 T. sugar

Heat over to 425 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar in bowl (I use food processor but can use bowl and pastry cutter). Scatter butter pieces over mixture and pulse five times. Continue until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

Mix beaten egg with milk; pour into flour mixture. Combine with rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn mixture out into floured surface and lightly knead until it comes together. Roll out to 3/4 inch thick (about 9-6 inch square) being careful not to overwork dough. Flour a biscuit cutter (any like shaped cutter would work - I've even used a glass in years past.

Place on cookie sheet and brush with egg whites and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake until golden brown about 12-14 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

Split along natural crack on the side and place bottom on serving plate. Spoon portion of fruit over bottom piece and dollop of whipped cream. Cap with top piece (I repeated the fruit on the top).

*****For the strawberries I crush/mash up about a cups worth of strawberries and maybe 1/2 c. sugar and then add another cup of large sliced strawberries.

St George

So we are back from St George and had a fabulous time thanks to the perks of Erik's job. The St George house has all the amenities anyone could want and more...plasma TVs, sweet surround...we could sit inside all day and enjoy the comforts but no -- the pool is outside and amazing -- lots of fun for the girls. We spent most of the day at the pool doing whatever the girls wanted, walking to the cool park just down the road, eating out, BBQ-ing, going for ice cream, some shopping...doing typical things you do on a vacation. We made our trip to the St George Temple and visitors center. They have a sweet little movie about a pioneer girl and her brother which my girls really enjoyed. We all enjoyed looking at the woodworking tools displayed at the visitors center used by their ancestor Thomas Cottam.

The only problem is I am getting horrible at bringing my camera. I took it to the pool one day but every time we got anywhere I'd be quoted saying "Shoot, I was going to bring the camera."

Twilight Series

So I am one of those weird people...no I mean to continue...who like something until it starts to catch on and then when lots of other people get into it, like it, know about it, etc. ...well, I start to move on to something else. I guess it comes from my brother's advice when I was in 7th or 8th grade and we were school shopping. I told my mom I'd rather wait until I started school and then see what other kids were wearing and then shop. My brother (I won't mention any names Brendan), jumped right in and told me I should set my own style and find things I liked, and others would follow. I really appreciated his advice and I tried to follow it. Maybe I've just taken it a little too far and become a bit freakish with it.

So...back from memory lane and back to the theme of my blog...Twilight. So I got into it early on...before people knew right away who Bella and Edward were. (Thanks Paula). Anyway, I enjoyed the book with the exception of a few things which I now want to get off my chest! I mean no disrespect to Stephenie's books -- I do enjoy them -- although I've never gotten all freakish about them. And I will add that this might be some of the above mentioned disorder filtering through...

Can this girl have her blood pressure checked?

I mean come on, I know it was written for teens, but you can only handle so much swooning and fainting. Falling into Edwards arms this, catch her when she trips that... Arggg. Hopefully she turns out bloodless in book four and can toughen up a bit. :)

IS ANYONE EDITING THESE BOOKS!!!????

The first book was plagued with editing errors and in fairness, I can give it up to the fact it was the first publication, from a smaller publisher, with limited budget and financing. Okay, but then we come to number 2, maybe the budget still wasn't great but come on by number three couldn't they have cleaned it up a bit. I can't imagine what I will find in the fourth and final book (I'm glad it ends here -- not that I don't enjoy the books but she's begun to drag it out a bit, I think in attempts to get more money...sell out -- oh did I say that out loud?) Anyhoooo....I'm not saying that I am an expert on grammar -- I make a heck of a lot of mistakes -- especially when my mind is racing to get my thoughts to the screen -- but this book is going out to millions of people, the publisher is pulling in millions so why not spend some of that on editing?

I hope I don't sound like a book snob, I don't mean to -- even if I may be a bit of one secretly -- but I just wanted to get this off my chest. Now that I've typed this and the floors are mopped I can go upstairs and read Breaking Dawn while dinner cooks!!!!

A memory to share...

So this is a memory from Sarah Lunt, and it is so funny that I just had to share...It is so typical of Sarah to have a memory like this -- it seems her life is full of them! Ahh, I'm still wiping away tears (maybe it helps because I can picture it all!)

Sarah wrote:
"We were newlyweds and my ward was hosting an enrichment dinner at the Covey's beautiful home! Sister Covey was going to talk to us about manners I think...and just being a gracious person. Her talk was wonderful and so was the food. When it was over we said goodbye to everyone and headed out to the car. The Covey's lived on a hill in north Provo/Orem and we just parked on the street. I drove the only car that Darin and I owned at the time...which was a blue-green VW Fox...let's just say that a car like that is hard to find, very rare. I unlocked the door and got in, reached around and unlocked the passenger side and put the key in the ignition. For some reason the key wouldn't turn. The car was old and so we thought the steering wheel got locked up. So you and I kept jerking on the steering wheel trying to get it to unlock so it would start...but nothin'! Then we thought maybe it just needed a little push, so we took off the emergency brake and pushed it a little way down the hill, jumped in and tried it again. Nothing happened again. Pretty soon a big crowd from the activity was gathering and we were explaining that the car wouldn't start. Then I noticed that one of the hubcaps was missing and there was a rusty dent in the side. We were like, "NO WAY! Someone hit the car while we were in there and didn't even leave a note!" Sister Covey came out and asked if we wanted to call the cops and we said no we'd just call Tyler to come get us. As you ran in to call Tyler I chatted with everyone about "the accident". You came back and said Tyler was on his way. Almost everyone had left the activity but one girl who lived about a building down from me came over to see what was wrong. As I told her she said, "What car?" and I said, "This one." pointing to it. She said, "Oh, that's my car." LOL The whole time we were pushing the wrong car down the hill and yanking on the steering wheel! I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life. I'm sure Sister Covey and the other "have-it-all-together" women there were cracking up over us. But seriously, I had NEVER seen another blue-green VW Fox in my life! And I surely didn't know my neighbor had one! So we looked up the hill, and just one more car away was MY VW Fox!!!I seriously think we are like Lucy and Ethel!"

Sometimes we all just need a good laugh!

I stumbled upon this again....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk

This one is cute too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wIEihDAcpU

DISCLAIMER: In no way is it assumed or implied that either or any of the above babies are as cute, or laugh any better than my Claire. This is strictly for entertainment value only, and in no way reflects the views and opinions of this blogger. ;~)

Your It.....

So here's my tag...I tag... HAYLIE (I'll get you to blog somehow!), Cara, Kristy and Jessica. Anyone can copy these and tag - it's really quick & easy.

The Rules: Answer the questions using only one word. Then tag four others.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your significant other? erik
3. Your hair? highlighted
4. Your mother? kind
5. Your father? loyal
6. Your favorite thing? creating
7. Your dream last night? strrrrange
8 Your favorite drink? soda
9. Your dream/goal? author
10. The room you’re in? office
11. Your hobby? reading
12. Your fear? separation
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? fit
14. What you’re not? asleep
15. Muffins? cranberry
16. One of your wish list items? vacation
17. Where you grew up? Utah
18. The last thing you did? dessert
19. What are you wearing? pjs
20. Favorite gadget? ipod
21. Your pets? notyet
22. Your computer? Dell
23. Your mood? peaceful
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? safe
26. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
27. Favorite store? PineNeedles
28. Like someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? robinegg
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? weeks

Pie Crust & Strawberry Rubarb Pie

I was preparing pie crust to make a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie for my family tonight. There are lots of recipes out their for pie crust but the one from Cooks Illustrated is my favorite. It uses a combination of butter and shortening. The butter makes it flaky and delicious, the shortening makes it workable and holds together well. I use my food processor for all of it by simply pulsing the mixture. I love their cookbook The Best Recipe http://www.amazon.com/Recipe-Editors-Cooks-Illustrated-Magazine/dp/0936184388/ref=sr_1_10?e=UTF8&s=books&qid=1217180837&sr=8-10

They spent countless hours researching each recipe to come up with the very best, tried and true collection. It is like a cooking bible at my house. Their flour less chocolate cakes are another one of my favorites (mmm...maybe tomorrow for family night we'll make that...when's lunch? All this food talk has me hungry.)

My Strawberry Rhubarb Pie recipe comes from Erik's grandma with some modifications by me over the years.

1 1/4 c. sugar

4 tbsp. flour

2-3 tbsp. instant tapioca

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

2 c. rhubarb stalks, cubed

2 1/2 c. strawberries, quartered

2 tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine in a small bowl, sugar, flour, tapioca, and salt. (You can substitute corn starch for tapioca.) In a larger bowl combine rhubarb and strawberries. Add sugar mixture and combine until fruit mixture is covered. Dump into prepared pie crust. Dot with butter. Cover with remaining pie crust for the top, crimp edges.

Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees, bake for 30-40 minutes more until crust is browned. Allow to cool at least an hour before serving. (The cooling process is what thickens the mixture, if you can't wait long before serving it will still taste good, it will just be runny.)

There is nothing like a yummy pie baking in the oven on a summer afternoon! It just makes the whole family happy! Enjoy!

Reunion

Since I was just too busy to even get out my camera (I'm full of tidy excuses) I am having to borrow pics from my adorable sister-in-laws site. Thanks!

We had so much fun at our family "reunion". Boondocks was so much fun and Elizabeth and I were soaked on the bumper boats (and we got the people standing around good too)! Loon cabin was so fun and I'll have to link you to Kristy's site to see the pics of Erik when he dumped the canoe in the lake (with 10 yr old Matthew). When Matthew swam back to the dock he climbed up and said "I just wanted to go by myself." I'm sure you did Matthew, I'm sure you did! It was so fun and my kids were "going" the whole time. Every time they walked by I'd think, I haven't seen you all day -- "Hey stranger!" Anyway, it was loads of fun -- thanks Mom and Dad for an awesome week!! Here are some pictures...

http://www.abunchofstoners.com/

The Stoner Family

Just thought I'd show off my sWinGin' family! Isn't this photo of all of us so great? (Grady's just a little itty bitty thing so it's not much of a representation of him though.) I have the most amazing family in the WORLD. I am so glad that families can be forever because it just wouldn't be heaven if we were not all together through the eternities.

(btw...I know I got tagged a while ago --- I'll get to it soon!)

I am just amazed at the good people...out doing good things. Here's a link to read about my friend and HERO. Amy you are the greatest. I hope one day I can be as selfless and brave as you!
http://www.mostcutefamily.blogspot.com/

How forgetful we become

So I have been guilty once or twice of wondering why my younger kids are not as well behaved as my older one was. A big part of it is that with your oldest there is just one.....but doesn't your mind also play little tricks by forgetting just what each day was like. I have been going through scanning photos of McCall from my pre-digital era......and as I look back and remember each moment associated with each picture..... I must say..... she had her share of mischief.

(Oh and don't comment on what time this is posted -- I know I should be in bed!!!)