Car Wreck

So I have posted before how much Branson loves his Hotwheels cars. I have also mentioned how those Hotwheels cars end up all over the entire house. Well yesterday those cars got the best of him when he stepped on a car on the wood floor with his left foot. His left leg went one way and his body went another. After a trip to the ER we discovered that Branson has broken his Tibia (the large bone between the knee and the ankle.) The copy of the X-Ray that we were given wasn't all that clear and trying to scan it into my computer made it even less clear so I have gone over the break with red so that you can see it more clearly.Before the Pain Meds kicked in... After the Pain meds kicked in...No hard feelings towards his precious Hotwheels cars...
In fact...the splint makes great racing lanes for the cars.

Mom can't wait for the leg to be in an actual cast on Monday. Toddlers might have a little more difficulty removing that. Until then we will watch lots of Elmo, race Hotwheels cars, keep up on pain medication and play in the beans.And maybe open up a few Birthday presents a week early.

Why I am a Lucky Woman

So Monday found me once again in the dentist chair. I don't know why my teeth are so sensitive but they always have to numb me up more than normal and when I have work done like a crown or a root canal I am always in pain for days after. Monday was no different, but when I woke up from a wonderful drug induced stupor I saw Branson holding two beautiful red roses and a bottle of Lavender Spa Bubbles. So for the last two days I have enjoyed having fresh flowers in my kitchen....and last night after everyone else was in bed I soaked in a hot bubble bath and read my new Peg Kehret book for several hours. Have I mentioned that I love my husband?

A Ghostly Presence

Is it a creepy ghost from the hauntings of Halloween's past? Nope...it's just the Flour Game
(As a side note: This game was first introduced to my family when I was 17 and I had a bunch of friends over for a big party. Several of my friends wanted me to invite this one guy who was a total Jock. So for their sake I invited him and that night he showed us all how to play the "flour game" and...lets just say that the jock captured my heart that night and the rest is history.)

John's FHE Snack...er BLOB

John's Most Dangerous Cake Recipe!
And why is it so dangerous? According to John it is because it is soooo easy you'll make too much and get fat.

STEP 1: Cram the whole dang family into the kitchen to share the little counter space that you have to bake on.
STEP 2: Take up some of that counter space with your toddler by simply plopping him on the counter so he can make his own cake too.

STEP 3: Add all your dry ingredients to a big mug...

4 TBS flour---(Anderson don't worry if it's not level, rock solid cakes taste good too)

4 TBS sugar----(No Sydney, it DOES NOT say "heaping" TBS of sugar)

2 TBS cocoa----(Uhhh Branson I don't think you want to try licking this chocolate off the spoon)

STEP 4: Mix it well with a fork until it is really sticky gooey thick and gross looking
STEP 5: Add 1 egg and mix it again thoroughly
STEP 6: (Branson's recipe) Add the egg shells as well STEP 7: Pour in 3 TBS Milk, 3 TBS Oil and 1 splash of vanilla extract. Stir it up and then smell it to see if it's going to be any good. STEP 8: Put in a handful of chocolate chips and stir it again.

STEP 9: Cook the mug of sludge in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Watch the ooze grow! (And remind me never to buy a black microwave again...I seriously have to wipe the front of that thing down several times a day!)

STEP 10: Ohhhhh and Ahhhhhh over what you have created.

STEP 11: Make lots of jokes about what your cake really looks like.

STEP 12: Drizzle caramel, chocolate, whipped cream or just pour in some milk.
STEP 13: Then faint away from the sheer goodness of it all.

DISCLAIMER: (I didn't really think it tasted all that good...but the kids (and John) loved it.)

Learning

So I have never missed attending school. I don't miss the textbooks, the lectures or the tests. I am grateful that I earned my degree but I have not looked back since. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy learning and I love that at this time in my life I can actually learn about the things that I want to. I am anxiously waiting to get into Jessica Sprague's Photography class, but until then I am getting a lot of information on the computer. Every day I discover talented people who are willing to share what they know. One scrapbooker encouraged us to find a photo that didn't turn out so great. She said to mess with it and alter it until you get it to look not just good, but amazing. I found a blurry photo of Branson and his cousin Audrey. Not only is it not very clear, but their faces are blotchy and they look like they have ginormous foreheads. After tweaking it for over an hour...I think I can live with the results. It's like Photo Rescue 911!

Before PhotoAfter

A Challenge

I took on my very first digital scrapbooking challenge! As I have mentioned before there are awesome designers on line that offer tons of great freebies. Many of them encourage scrapbookers to use their products to create a layout and then enter a challenge. I am so new at this digital thing that I have never taken the opportunity and accepted a challenge. At Three Paper Peonies the colors and designs are always gorgeous and after taking a peak at the newest papers I just had to give it a shot. It was so much fun! I usually start with a template and go from there but this time I relied on the beautiful papers to guide me. I started from scratch and created it all on my own. We were encouraged to go with the theme of focus by designing a page that shows evidence of something we have been focusing on in our life lately. As I have mentioned before, with taking a parenting course I have really been focused on my children and what kind of mom I am each and every day. This really was fun but I am also nervous knowing that someone else will be looking at my page and seeing what I have done with their materials.

Cayden's Digi Pages

For Home Economics Cayden was given the assignment to create a 10 page 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbook about himself. He had to spend at least 8 hours with family members on the project and include things like journaling and titles. After I mentioned to him that he could design the pages on the computer he was all for it. So with my guidance Cayden produced 10 pages that are all him from start to finish. It was interesting to see how particular he was about choosing his template, photos, papers and fonts. He loved learning how to use Adobe and he was pretty proud of the results. I loved the hours we spent working together on the computer and I thought he did a great job on his pages.

Parenting

There has been a shift in the way I look at parenting. I am enjoying it the way I always wanted to. It is still hard but I am finding myself spending more time having fun with the kids than yelling at them. I have been taking a Love and Logic class at the school and it has helped me realize that I need to treat parenting like Heavenly Father treats us. He sent us to earth to learn and to experience both the good and the bad. But he didn't just abandon us without any guidelines. Christ came up with the perfect plan, one of choice and accountability and that is exactly how I feel I should raise my kids. I plan to teach them through example and loving conversations what is right and safe and true. But I will also let them know that I will always love them no matter what choices they make and I will follow through and allow consequences to happen. Parenting is tricky...everyone has an opinion on how we should or should not raise our kids. But I think my best bet is to follow the only perfect example I know, don't you?

Fall is in the Air & the Trees are Full of...

Sydney's favorite thing to do in her "me" time is write stories.

My favorite thing to do in my "me" time is to scrapbook on the computer.

But I guess you already knew that.

True Leaders

Anderson and Cayden traveled to Utah with their Scout Leader and were able to go to the Priesthood session of conference. It is weird to me that they are having this awesome experience without me or John there to share it with them. I guess I need to get used to it. In a few years they will be having tons of amazing experiences in college, on their missions, in marriage. I was so dang excited when I checked Debbie's blog and there was a photo of my boys! Cayden is second from the left (and bald) while Anderson is front and center with the grey tie. Can I just say how thankful I am for good leaders. Scott Ashton and Brandon Mitchell took both my boys to Scout Camp at Fire Mountain in August. The second night of camp Cayden became very sick. He was feverish, sick to his stomach and pretty much down right miserable. He wanted us to come and get him (it was about a four hour drive) and we were ready to do just that. Nothing is worse than being sick and not being home in your own bed. These two wonderful men not only took care of Cayden and kept us up to date on how he was feeling, but they are worthy Priesthood holders who gave him a blessing. Cayden had a good night and felt much better in the morning. As a mother I am so grateful that these leaders are the kind of men who they are. It didn't matter that my children were away from home because even without their parents nearby they were in the best possible hands. These men don't have to live the life they do, but I am so blessed that they choose to follow Christ and be such an example to these young men.

I Spy an Easy Birthday Party!

So when you have a few extra items left over from CSI: Cub Scout Day Camp...it is real easy to purchase the left over items and use them for a birthday party. I didn't think a group of nine year old girls would enjoy a crime scene party as much as they did!It was Sydney's idea to have the invitations printed backwards so her friends would have to read the directions in a mirror.
OK...so I remember when I would spend hours and hours creating the perfect cake. How did I do that!? I spent exactly 5 minutes on her cake. Two minutes buying it from the Wal-Mart bakery (it was blank other than the little circle candies sprinkled around the sides) Two minutes writing "I SPY" with store bought icing in a can (it comes out like the cheese in a can) and one minute to push the candles and magnifying glass into the icing. I can truly say that Sydney was thrilled with the cake...so glad I didn't worry about building a cake in the shape of a magnifying glass like I had originally planned.Decorations were easy...crime scene tape and caution tape everywhere. We always get a picture with each friend as they arrive at the party.Each "Secret Agent" received their own clipboard, and while we waited for the other guests to arrive they "fingerprinted" their boards.
The only other planned activity was the CLUE/TREASURE HUNT. Each girl placed her Suspect list on her clipboard and was ready for the big case.

To make the game go smoothly I let them know that it wasn't a race. All the girls could look for the two hidden papers at each spot but unless your name was on it you weren't supposed to pick it up. At each station there was a HINT and a CLUE. The hint helped them check off their suspect/item/room list as they tried to narrow down: 1. who committed the crime 2. what item was stolen 3. what room the item was taken from. Then there was the CLUE that told them what location they could find the next HINT and CLUE. All the girls did a great job. They would shout out the person's name when they found the hidden clue and then they all listened as they took turns reading the clues out loud.
The final clue led the girls to our BBQ Grill where hidden inside was their goody bag...a small Spy kit.
The bags were 3 for $1.00 at Dollar Tree. The girls also got a magnifying glass, tweezers, note pad, pen, specimen baggie, fingerprinting dusting brush, vinyl gloves, chalk, and candy.

With time left before parents would come, the girls continued to play "SPY" for the rest of the afternoon.