Whatever!

Today's Wednesday's Words come from A Mother's Book of Secrets by Linda Eyre and Shawni Eyre Pothier:

"So the secret is, say "Whatever"...and say it a lot.  Life is crazy as a mother.  You have to pick your battles carefully.  There are some things that are essential to ingrain into these precious minds.  Children need to know we love them unconditionally.  They need to know they can trust us.  They need to feel safe.  But the minutia of life:  I say, "Whatever."  As long as the important stuff is intact, I'm good with that!"

I need to say "Whatever" more often...usually my go to response to things is "No" or "We'll see" which often creates a battle.  So when Kaylee asks if she can get out the paints, when Aaron wants to wear a long-sleeved shirt and pants that totally clash in 80 degree weather, and when Nathan wants me to read him the same book that I have read for the past 4 nights in a row; I am going to try to say "Whatever".  Life is too short to say no to everything!

Here are some "Whatever" moments that we caught:

I caught Aaron playing with the baby powder..."Whatever, thanks for making your carpet small nice and fresh."

Nathan really enjoying his first birthday cake...it was a HUGE mess, but "Whatever, will you lick the counter and chair clean when you are done with that plate?"

Kaylee playing dress up with Nathan...I think that Nathan is thinking "Whatever, at least she is playing with me".

Kaylee let her Dad do her hair..."Whatever, retro 80's is coming back...right?"

Nathan finding new uses for a popcycle stick..."Whatever, have at it buddy!"

I have also linked up with Welcome Wednesday.  Check it out if you want to find other cute blogs or have other people follow yours:

Hair Bows and Bands Hangup

I have been hung-up about what to do with all of all of Kaylee's hair bows, bands, flowers, ribbons, clips, and elastics.  They just become a tangled mess in the bathroom cupboard:

Do you see the tile above the jumbled mess? ..."Please AIM to keep the bathroom clean"  Ha, ha, ha ya right!  Between hair stuff and boys who don't know how to "aim", this bathroom is a disaster!  So today I tackled the hair accessories ( I will save the aiming problem for another day).






I took one ribbon the length of the door and simply stapled the top and the bottom of it to the inside of the door to hang the flower clips on.
(I must confess that is wasn't that simple to pull the trigger on the staple gun...I was terrified of that thing.  But I did it, triumph #2)










The headband hangup is the same idea except I added loops for the headbands to go through.  To make the loops, I sewed another ribbon on top of the "foundation" ribbon in one inch increments with a loop in between the stitching.  I then stapled it to the other door.








Here is the after picture:  hopefully this solves the first part of our aiming to keep the bathroom clean problem.  Stay tuned for the second half of the problem...any great ideas???

Thumb Sucking Son

Ugh!  Today is definitely a Monday!  It started off with Aaron beginning a throwing-up episode (he has abdominal migraines which cause him to throw up constantly for about 2 days...no fun!)  So then began the task of dumping the throw-up bucket and keeping my one year old niece and Nathan away from it - no accidents...yet.  Then Nathan threw a huge tantrum at lunch because he wanted a piece of bread.  "So give him a piece of bread" you say...well the problem is that he is throwing this tantrum while holding a piece of bread.  It was resolved by him throwing his lunch and me putting him to bed.  Phew, I got through the morning and everyone is napping :)

To add to my madness, Travis has picked up a new habit-sucking his thumb.  I try to stop him by giving him his binky but he just spits it out and sticks his thumb in.  (It's not quite that instantaneous;  he is still very uncoordinated so it takes him a while to get his thumb to his mouth.  He usually ends up smacking himself several times before he finds his mouth.  It is pretty funny to watch.)  I know that this is a bad habit and that I should stop it now before it gets harder to break...but it sure makes him content.  He has slept through the night 3 nights in a row now and I really don't want to give that up!  Oh, what am I to do...try to break the habit, or enjoy a full nights sleep?  Right now I am leaning towards sleep...it has been so long and I love it so much!

Happy Monday...I hope that I survive this one!

Places of Security

This scripture in The Book of Mormon is one that I have skimmed right over until my good husband centered an entire Family Home Evening lesson on this simple line:

3 Nephi 4:15:  "And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites did return again to their place of security."

Eric pointed out that just as the Nephites had returned to their place of security after battling the Gadianton Robbers; our families also need a safe place to return to after battling a hard day at school, work, bullies, and disappointments.  We had a great family discussion on how we can each make our home a place where we all feel loved, accepted, safe, welcome, and secure.  Thanks Eric for turning such a simple scripture into a great lesson that really stuck with me!

Grandpa's Stories

One of my favorite family traditions is going up to our family's cabin with my extended family.  A tradition within that tradition is my Grandpa telling us stories before we went to bed.  I grew up with his oral stories of Brer Bear and Brer Rabit; The Friendly Mormon Pioneer Cowboy; Peter Rabbit; Jack-A-Dori; and Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego.  Now my kids request a story from Great Grandpa before they go to bed at the cabin.

A couple of years ago, Eric and I recorded Grandpa while he told his stories to our kids.  Then for Christmas we made a CD of them for my family.  Now we can listen to Grandpa whenever we want.  It will be a priceless treasure when he is gone to be able to hear my Grandpa's voice as he sings "Zippady Doo-Dah", impersonates Brer Bear, and Brer Rabit, and performs his Indian chant that he learned on his mission while he tells his amazing stories.

If you or anyone you love has a favorite story to tell, record them so that you can always hear those stories.  It is so much better than reading a picture book!  Here is one of my favorites-"Brer Rabbit and the Laughing Place".  Thanks Grandpa!

Sweet Pork Salad

Mmmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about these recipes!  My favorite place to eat out is Costa Vida or Cafe Rio.  I must admit that I always get the sweet pork salad because it is SO good!  I make fun of Eric because he is a creature of habit when we go out to eat...but when it comes to Costa Vida so am I.  These recipes are so easy, and taste just as good, so now I can get my fix at home.  I made these recipes for a crowd of 25 people and it was a big hit.  I just doubled the pork and beans and we had plenty.  I get the raw tortillas and cook them up, then top with the pork, beans, rice, chopped romain lettuce, cheese, salsa, dressing, and tortilla strips.  Enjoy!!

Shredded Pork Barbacoa 

5 lbs pork roast         

Salt, Pepper, and garlic powder           

1 can Coca Cola 

15 oz can green chile enchilada sauce 

1 can (use can from the green chile) brown sugar (not packed)

• 1. Sprinkle roast all over with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 
• 2. Place in crockpot with Coca Cola and cook on low 7-8 hours. 
• 3. After cooking, take roast out and shred. 
• 4. Dispose of remaining cooking liquid. 
• 5. Place shredded pork back into crockpot. 
• 6. Add the enchilada sauce and brown sugar, mix all together and heat through. 

Green Dressing 

1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
3 tomatillos
1 jalapeño
1 clove garlic
½ bunch of cilantro
juice of 1 lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove the papery covering from the tomatillos. Cut each tomatillo in half and place on a greased cookie sheet. Using disposable gloves cut jalapeno in half, remove seeds, and place on cookie sheet with the tomatillos. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes. Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate. (If you are in a hurry you can skip roasting the vegetables)

Black beans 

2 (10 oz) cans black beans (don't drain the liquid)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin powder
11/2 teaspoon oregano
11/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1. Fry the onion in a little oil. 
• 2. Add the garlic and saute a little. 
• 3. Introduce a little of the bean liquid until all previous ingredients are soft. 
• 4. Add the beans with the remaining liquid. 
• 5. Add spices and simmer about 30 minutes. 
• 6. Add the vinegar just before serving. 
• 7. These are quite good when served over a bed of rice seasoned with just lime. 

Rice 

½ bunch cilantro
4 tsp garlic, crushed
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 can diced green chilies
1 Tb butter
1 tsp salt
4 tsp chicken bouillon
3 cups rice
6 cups water

Blend cilantro, garlic, onion, and green chilies together in food processor. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and cook covered 20 minutes. Stir.

Shaving Cream Finger Painting

Here is an easy activity that my kids LOVE!  All you need is a bottle of shaving cream.  Simply squirt some on the table and let your kids spread it around and draw pictures/letters/hand prints in it with their fingers.  The best part about using shaving cream is that after playing with it for about 10 minutes, it drys up and actually cleans your counter top/ table.  All that is left is a little residue that you simply wipe up with a wet rag.  He-he-he my kids think that I am such a cool mom for letting them make a mess...little do they know that I am actually having them clean the counter while they play.