...just like CHICKEN!

I just love my Madeline!! She makes me laugh everyday.

I had to write this story down before I forget. I was cooking dinner in the kitchen tonight and kept hearing Madeline sing, but couldn't figure out where she was. I called to her and asked what she was doing. She said she was going to the bathroom. About ten minutes later I realize that she is still singing and playing in the bathroom. I decided to check on her since she has been in there so long and has been known to poop, wipe her bum (sort of) and get poop on the walls...(sorry for the mental pictures). Well when I get in the bathroom I ask if she is done and if I can help her wipe. We get that done and she looks in the toilet and says...
"Oooh my poop smells like CHICKEN!"
I respond, trying not to laugh, "it smells like chicken does it."
Maddy: "yep, BUT it's not chicken mom, it's poop!"

As I was pondering this conversation tonight, I recalled a day last week we were driving home from somewhere and she kept telling me knock knock jokes and the ending of all of them had to do with poop. I finally had to tell her that I was not going to do knock knock jokes with her anymore if she kept using poop. She wasn't very happy about it. For some reason the conversations in our house always end up in potty talk. I thought only boys were like that. Who knew!!

Happy 8th Birthday Haley

I cannot believe that my little girl is eight years old. I still remember vividly the day we took her home from the hospital. It was a beautiful Easter morning. She was dressed in pink and orange. She looked like a little Easter egg. She was the best Easter gift ever. How appropriate that this year when she is turning 8 and made the decision to get baptized her birthday again falls the day after Easter. Haley is such a great example to her mother. She has such great faith and a strong testimony of prayer and her Savior. She is constantly reminding us to read scriptures and helps us all remember to keep the sabbath day holy. I believe that her spirit is much older than either of her parents and she was sent to us to keep us in line. I love Haley so much and am grateful for all of the joy she brings into our family!! She is a great big sister. She is responsible, kind, affectionate, she love to read, run, play and play the piano. WE LOVE YOU HALEY!!


We celebrated Haley's birthday on Easter Sunday in Texas with Scott's family. She found this adorable Fairies cake at Walmart that she had to have. She got her much awaited American girl doll Mia. Her grandparents gave her a beautiful necklace and a couple of Hank the Cow Dog books and Aunt Cara and Uncle Heath gave her an I tunes card. She made out pretty good. I think she had a good day. Family is very important to Haley, so just the fact that she could spend her birthday with family was special!



Here are some pictures I took of Haley in her Baptism dress. She is such a great subject to take pictures of. We had a fun afternoon at the park. Madeline and Scotty played while Haley and I took pictures. Marianne was content to sit and watch from the stroller!

Grocery Smarts

Tonight I finally went to a Grocery Smarts class. I have been hearing wonderful things about it from several friends. My friend Jill even sat down with me and gave me a quick run through but I had never taken the class and gotten the great discount on the paper, which is where you get your coupons. So, tonight I took the plunge and ordered 5 newspapers!!! Yes, call me crazy.... I ordered 5 newspapers to get 5 sets of coupons to save hundreds of dollars on groceries. We will see how I do.

Here is the website and a blog to look at and see if this might tempt you. In this economy most people will do almost anything to save a few dollars, why not save a few hundred. I think this is only available in Utah and Nevada, but who knows if the word gets out it may come to you.

I will post in a few months and tell you about my savings! Who knew that couponing would become all the rage!!

Nevada grocery smarts
Utah grocery smarts

grocery smarts blog

BYU Mint brownies

OK, for any of you fellow alumni of BYU you have to admit that the mint brownies you could buy at the Cougareat were THE BEST BROWNIES EVER!!!! I look forward to eating a half dozen or so when I go up for Women's conference. Well, Haley loves brownies and since it was her birthday yesterday and we were in the car for 12 1/2 hours (driving home from Texas for Spring Break) she wanted me to bring brownies to her class today for her birthday. Well, I thought for sure Costco would have a sheet of brownies so I started there this morning. No luck. All they had were the brownie bites which I do not particularly like. So, I headed to Vons, no luck there either. By this time I have two tired little girls so I head for home and decide maybe I am making them. Well in my quest for brownies I couldn't help but salivate as I thought of the BYU mint brownies. So I decided to take my chances and look online for a recipe and viola!!! There is was straight out of the BYU magazine. They were not hard to make and they were simply amazing!!!!

Here is the recipe! Give it a try, I promise you will not be disappointed!

BYU MINT BROWNIES



Sugar-n-Spice, Cougareat Food Court

MAKES ONE 9-BY-13 PAN OF BROWNIES.
PREP AND COOK: 90 min. COOL: 1 hr.

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting. You can also search the Internet for chocolate icing recipes.)

MINT ICING
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

1. Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Inspirational

I just love President Monson (president of the LDS church). I went to the general YW broadcast on Saturday night and came away very inspired. He talked about how important it is to gain the attribute of COURAGE! He was talking to the young women of the church and they definitely need this to face the trials that they encounter on a daily basis, but I believe this message was for me as well. He gave three main points:

1. Have the Courage to refrain from judging others.
2. Have the Courage to be chaste and virtuous.
3. Have the Courage to stand firm for truth and righteousness.

My favorite was the first one. He gave this quote from Mother Teresa that I loved, "if you judge people, you have no time to love them!" How true is that! I also realized that one person can make a difference in the world. That really motivated me to make sure that I am living my life the way I should be and that I am actively trying to have the courage to stand up for what I believe and make a difference in one persons life or in the world in general!