The Magic of Muffin Tin Meals

I picked up some 6-cup muffin tins at the dollar store this summer. And seriously....this whole Muffin Tin Meal idea is pretty magical....

"Lunchables" muffin tin meal plus bananas

This is a brilliant way to get little ones to sample different foods. Somehow by simply putting stuff in the little cups, it makes lunch much more exciting.

And it's good for me, too. Instead of giving them just a half of a sandwich and some apple slices, this makes me think of a variety of foods to give them.

Here's Molly's "smiling" face for the camera.....

Nice pouty lips, cute girl.

Cheesy tortilla slices, carrots, ranch for dipping, apple slices
and blueberry yogurt.

And guess what? They might not admit it...but even my big kids like lunch like this. I tell you what.  The muffin tins are magic.

Maybe she's thinking, "Nope. Blueberry and ranch
are definitely not the next big flavor combo." 

How to French Braid... Wonky Style...

Yep. I acquired a new skill recently. Wonky french braiding. 

I've been wanting to learn to french braid for awhile now. Finally it hit me....I should look it up on YouTube! And I found this video....

And although I need to practice a quite a bit more, I'm pretty proud of how they turned out....

   (my pictures are being all weird...anyone know why this happens?)

Zoe was so excited about her hair that she instructed each brother when they came home to "look at my french braids!" and her daddy, too. So cute.

Good Times

Sam lost three teeth in three days...

This kid is brave. His dad pulled out the first. But he pulled out the last two. That one in his hand he yanked out while in class. He had a pretty good racket going there with the tooth fairy. 

But because his money begs to be spent, Sam already blew it all on a air-action bubble clam thing for his fish tank. But he couldn't afford the pumps and extension hose. His dad bought them and hid them away until Sam can afford them. So, sadly, it's just a big pink and yellow clam in his fish tank. No bubbles. No air action. 

Molly isn't a big fan of shopping trips to Wal-mart...

Neither am I. Who wants to put me to sleep and push me around the store? 

Zoe felt the need to see how many cheesy tortilla pieces she could stuff in her mouth...

I was rather impressed. I should have counted how many she managed to shove in there. And she even chewed them all up and was able to swallow them. Yep. That's talent, people.

The Ghost of My Childhood Past

I stumbled across this picture on a guy's facebook page who I went to school with a looooooong time ago.


Can you find me?

My son asked if the row of kids at the top were the cool kids. Yes,  they were. :)


And....heh.  I am not with them.  I'm not even sure who the girl is that I'm sitting by. It looks like I'm half-heartedly clapping while casting glances to the side of me. Who was I looking at?


This looks like around 6th grade.....so, about 1989? I bet you're wishing you had a pair of stonewashed denim jeans right now.


A year later I would find myself moving from the humid swamps of southern Florida to the cold mountains of southern Utah. Wow. What a change that was.


If I could go back and have a chat with myself, this is what I think I'd say to 11 year old Erin...


"You're cute. Yes, the pink glasses may have been an unfortunate choice, but you're still cute. And so what if some of the girls are all mega-busty? Be patient. You'll get there (ok. Maybe not the mega part...)"


"Nope. You don't have a closet full of trendy clothes. Find your own style. Who cares what the "cool" this is. And who cares if you don't fit into the mold. Make your own mold."


"Ignore boys. They're stupid. And most of them will only look at the mega-busty girls. They grow out of it eventually....well, a couple of them do. And besides, there is this super handsome tall cowboy growing up on a farm in southern Utah right now. He's busy changing sprinklers, riding horses and 4-wheelers and being too shy to talk to girls. But someday he's going to work up the nerve to ask you out. And it will only be the beginning. You're going to have all kinds of crazy adventures with him and your brood of happy kids. So, keep your eye out for him. Although the first time you see him....it's just not the right time. Wait about 4 more years. You'll have better hair, you won't be 13 and the glasses will finally be gone."


"And about that brood of happy kids....you're going to be blessed with a whole house full of them! They are going to be loud and wild and totally and completely wonderful. You are going to love them like crazy. Be patient with them. Remember what it feels like to be 11. Listen to them. And squeeze them every chance you get."


"Find friends who love you for who you are, ones that build you up and help you feel good about yourself. Don't worry about the mean girls that like to tear others apart to make themselves feel better. You're going to meet quite a few of them throughout your life....everyone does. 'Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." -Eleanor Roosevelt"


"It might not seem like it now, but someday you will have loads of friends who are awesome people. They will inspire you and teach you and be so amazingly great to you. They'll invite you to lunch.  They'll bring you random surprises. They'll want to be in a writing group with you. They'll drop by just to visit and chat. They'll call you up to hear how things are going. They'll get free tickets to plays and invite you to come. And they'll like you for the quirky, happy, creative and sometimes odd person you are. Just wait. It gets better."


"Write more. Write about your childhood, about your hurts, about your happy days. Write about your dreams and your wishes. Write short stories and novels and poetry. And don't throw away the sappy sad "deep" poems you write when you're a teenager. I could really use them when I'm having a rotten day. They'd provide me with a good laugh."


"You're going to move. It will be exciting and so fun. But it will be hard, too. Moving into a small town where everyone has known each other since birth can be tricky, to say the least.  Just laugh. At yourself. And others. And especially at those who like to harass the new girl. It will give you fodder for creating brilliant villians someday. Ok. Maybe not brilliant villians. But definitely evil ones."


"Also....about your hair. Um, yeah, it might take awhile. But eventually you actually like it. I know. Weird. And get this? You start getting perms when you're 13. And then when you're about 29 you stop. And soon after realize your hair is naturally curly.  Crazy, but true."


"Oh...and one more thing. Someday you are going to look at your life and be so so grateful. For all of it. Because it made you who you are. And the wonderful thing is? You really like who you are. So much. And that is a great thing."


If you could go back and tell your 6th grade self something, what would it be?

Homemade Fruit Roll-ups!

Did you know you can make fruit leather in your oven?? I. Did. Not.

The other day Sundi told me of this Grand Idea and how she'd been making some. She even brought me a yummy roll of it! Aren't awesome friends the best?

And so yesterday I whipped up two pans of the stuff. It was so easy. And the kids love it! You can find the instructions for these strips of fruity heaven over at Our Best Bites.

Evil Dangerous Honeybun Cake

I have a son who doesn't like cake.

Emmett! How can you not like cake??!!

Wow, right? Yeah, I just don't know what to do with him.....although I should clarify. There are some cakes he likes. His main requirement seems to be the amount of moisture in the cake. None of that standard iced birthday cake for him.

And what's his favorite? That would have to be Honeybun Cake. This stuff rocks.....

picture kifed from bettycrocker.com
Yeah. You can tell that's not my picture.
Fruit? Next to the cake? What's the point of that?

I whipped some up Monday night. And we devoured pieces while playing a rousing game of Rat-A-Tat-Cat.  That cake was all gone in (much!) less than 24 hours. I didn't even get a chance to snap a picture.

Honeybun Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans (I don’t use)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: 

Heat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9 x 13 pan or bundt pan....or maybe muffins? That could be fun.

Stir cake mix, oil, eggs and sour cream until well combined. Spread half of the batter in the pan.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts and sprinkle over the top of the cake (you can leave it as a middle layer or swirl it through the cake with a knife). And top with the rest of the better.

Bake for 45 minutes or until done.   For the icing, combine the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. I usually have to add a little more milk. Spread over still-warm cake and then...

Try to resist eating half the cake.

Don't say I didn't warn you. 

How to Get Rid of Things like Oil, Acne and Zombies...

Meet Pinky.

Pinky was a Christmas gift for Zoe when she was 2. And she has been well-loved.

But you may notice, that Pinky is having some struggles.

First Zoe picked Pinky's nose a bit too vigorously.

Then Zoe decided to share her oily lip balm with Pinky.

Finally, as Zoe helped Pinky into her jammies, Pinky's arm was brutally ripped from her body.

To make matters worse, Pinky was then hidden away in a dark corner under the bed. Yes, Zoe was trying to hide her crime.

So, yesterday, Pinky's arm was reattached.

Pinky  got a new nose.

And after some on-line research about removing oil from cotton, a very informative site called How To Get Rid of Things was found.

Not only can one learn how to get rid of oil stains there  (regular 'ole dish soap does the trick), but also how to get rid of back hair and zombies. Apparently we'll need to invest in a tiger pit and wood chipper if the Zombie Apocalypse occurs. Except I wonder if there would be a run on those? Maybe those are things one needs to purchase now? Hmmm, much to ponder.

Pinky's face was then scrubbed with (pink...ha!) dish soap and she now has an oil free smile.

Pinky! You look as good as*new!

And Zoe has plans to take extra-special care of her.

Next thing we'll need to work on is some new clothes for Pinky. She used to have quite the wardrobe...skirt, shirt, dress and coat. But, sadly, most of those are lost. Poor thing has to go out in public in her jammies. So so sad.




*Well, almost. Pinky's forehead has a permanent yellowish hue from face oils left behind by her owner during night-time snuggling.

Seriously? How can I have a kid this old?....

I've almost got a teenager in the house. 

Weston turned 12 this last summer. 

People are always complaining about teenagers. And I've been thinking lately, maybe this Teenage Adventure has a lot to do with attitude. If you go into the journey expecting it to be horrible and awful and the worst years Possible, then you'll probably get just that, right?

But what if you go into it expecting it to be fun? What if you look for the good and the happy?  

This boy is fun. He makes me laugh. We talk about books and school and cute girls. He asks me about the book I'm writing. He is a huge help with his younger siblings (he'll even play with Zoe in her pretend kitchen...that's a nice older brother, right?) He is impressed by what I sew or craft and tells me. I don't think I was half as responsible as him at my age. 

Doesn't he sound awesome?  That's because he is, of course. 

My Handsome Cowboy and I recently
took Weston to the temple. It was
a great experience.

Sure he makes mistakes, but don't we all? I know I'm not perfect. Although I like to pretend I am sometimes... and that never ends well.

He was pretty excited to eat in the cafeteria.
Especially since we said he could order
whatever he wanted. Yeah. He liked that
quite a bit.

But I have a lot to learn about this being a mom to an almost teenager. He's not really a kid anymore. He's a young man. And I can see it. In how he carries himself. In the choices he makes. 

And I'm so proud of him. I'm so proud and pleased I get to be his mother. 

Recipes {Sidewalk Chalk & Caramel Biscuit Ring}

I love General Conference weekend. We have a lot of fun sitting around in our comfy clothes, listening to the brilliant speakers and laughing and spending time together between sessions.

Saturday evening, while Ryan was at the Priesthood session with our oldest son (it was Weston's first time going....pretty cool) the rest of the kids and I whipped up some Sidewalk Paint and colored our driveway. If you ever want to see what if feels like to have about ten children, do this activity! It draws the neighbor kids in like nothing else! 

Sidewalk Paint

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

6-8 drops of food coloring (or more....just be careful! Once I made a pink and added a lot of drops and we had a hard time getting the color off our cement!!) 

Mix up and start painting. I always have to tell my kids, "Not in the garage. Only on the sidewalk and driveway. And not on the house!" You'd think the fact that we made SIDEWALK paint would be enough of a clue. But, of course, it isn't.  

I stripped Molly down to her saggy diaper so she could get in on the fun. And, boy, did she have a good time!

Don't you love the paint-splattered legs and toes? By the end she had it literally from her head
to her toes! 

Emmett and Sam were having a fabulous time splattering the paint all over the place in dribbles and dots. 

I told them about the painter, Jackson Pollock and how he'd stand on a ladder while doing similar paintings. Well, this sounded like a marvelous idea, apparently, and they had to get as high as possible to try it out. 

Unfortunately this was only about a foot off the ground. 

As you can see, Molly was completely disobeying the "Only on the Sidewalk" rule. In fact, she took to applying a bit of "Sidewalk Paint Make-up" to anyone she could get to sit still long enough. 

This wasn't very long. 

During some of conference we played Bingo with these printables and M&Ms. 

The kids love that. And....mmmmm, I don't mind it myself. 

For breakfast on Sunday morning we had Caramel Biscuit Ring, which is one of our conference traditions. The kids love this and often request it for birthdays, too. And it's super easy. 

Caramel Biscuit Ring

2 cans pillsbury refridgerated biscuits

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 Tablespoons water

Cut biscuits in half and roll into balls (this is a great thing for kids to do...I let them use my kitchen scissors and they love it) Melt butter in a small saucepan on the stove, add brown sugar and water. Let it come to a boil and then remove from heat. Drip some of the caramel sauce into the bottom of a round bundt pan. Layer half of biscuit balls and then half of caramel sauce. Repeat. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until nice and golden brown. Invert onto a serving plate and let your family devour them!

Last night we all sat around and each shared something we enjoyed from the talks. I'm surprised by how much the children absorb. They truly are little sponges. 

Wonderful, messy, lovable sponges.

Some of my very favorite talks were (it's hard to choose though)...

Elaine S. Dalton's talk about the importance of fathers in their daughters lives. "The most important thing a father can do for his daughter is love her mother."  Love it. 

Elder Tad R. Callister's bold discussion of the Book of Mormon. Love his frank talk. Really great.

And, of course, I loved all of President Monson's talks. I loved hearing that Star Valley is going to have a temple. I have a lot of family up there. And I can't imagine how happy they were at that news. And I loved his talk about the power of prayer, especially the story about the the lost $5. What a wonderful and amazing man.

What a great weekend. 

Now back to the regularly scheduled program!