Fun times in the kitchen

WOW! WOW! WOW! I don't know what else to write but WOW! Today the kids and I did a little cooking. . . Apple dumplings, from Pioneer Women Cooks or should I write the most amazing little treaty treats. Those little darlings of mine love it when we do a little something fun. This is how it broke down.

First Maxie boy gathered ingredients;

2 Granny Smith Apples

2 packages of crescent rolls

1 1/2 cups of Sugar

2 sticks of (salted) butter

1 tsp Vanilla

Small can of Mountain Dew

Sprinkled Cinnamon

Barrett Boy did the buttering of the pan. Go superman go! shhhhh. . .don't tell Barrett but all those boys are superman today.

Next we rolled up those peeled and cored apples in our crescent rolls. My little darlings thought that this was the best part of all. Well. . . except for the actual consuming of the little devil dumplings! I write that as I am drooling over them right now. Love them.

Speaking of eating it. . .Jacqualynn might have snuck a bite or two. Love her. What's a girl to do.

Look how pretty that is. Good job kids. You guessed it ~ those kids had to place each individual apple dumpling in the pan all by themselves. Love cooking with helping hands. Sense the sarcasm?My favorite part of the whole process. . . . Goofing around. A+ for Alexander.

Next we waited not so patiently while the butter melted. The boys dumped in 1 1/2 cup of Sugar and we hardly even stirred (per directions). Next we hardly stirred (per directions) in 1 tsp vanilla. Smothered those little dumpling with the calorie free topping (tehe) and. . . .The boys loved loved loved dumping just a touch of Mountain dew around the edges and down the middle. Sprinkle Cinnamon on top. Put them in the oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

And then we waited. . . . And waited. . .
And waited. . . dirty faces and all.

And then we enjoyed! Boy did we ever enjoy. Pretty sure everyone had a couple helpings and I caught Tim licking his plate. Yes it is a true story. . they are that good. I immediately packaged the leftovers to be consumed somewhere other than our home. They have already been delivered. :) So happy to say that the event was a huge success. . . and . . .it didn't hurt that those devil dumplings were beyond delicious.

Apple Dumplings
2 Granny Smith apples

2 cans crescent rolls

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoons vanillacinnamon

1 small can Mountain Dew

Peel and core apples. Cut apples into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan. Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

Tiny Moment * Day 29

*While I said I was done with these never ending Tiny Moments I have this nagging thought in the back of my mind that I just can't quit. After all I am on day 28. . .I only have two left. If I were running in a race I wouldn't just quit two feet away from the finish line. That said here is Tiny Moment 29 ~ You think a dishwasher? You probably think I am one random lady. Well this is no ordinary dishwasher. This one has the ability to mimic the sound of rain. Delusional? It is possible that I am going crazy. Whenever the rain decides to pour my heart jumps for joy. I know . . crazy. I don't love the rain every day like those folks in Washington and Oregon do, but a little rain every once in awhile definitely turns my heart to home. Sure do miss you guys. The other morning I was lying in bed when I heard the sound of rain or so I thought. It brought a smile to my face. I was tricked. I hopped out of bed with a little extra beat in my step that morning. Tricked. I looked out the window. . .Tricked! Don't kill me . . .it was sunny and I was sad. On any other day I would have been thrilled. The sunshine equals hours and hours of outside fun. On this particular day my thoughts were in Washington and I was craving the rain. Call me crazy. Now whenever I hear the dishwasher I have a little laugh to myself. It's my own little version of home.

Safety ...psssshhhh... safety shmafety

Every once in a while you have to throw caution to the wind and trust in a doctor's ability to fix broken boys. The easter bunny was loony enough to buy this circle wheel of death and well, we were just looney enough to let the boys play with it...on the stairs. In our defense, we made them wait until they had been naughty so it we thought of it as a substitute for a spanking. :)
And heck, they had helmets on.
Oh yeah, the weight limit on the wheel O' death is sufficient to carry an adult, so if you want a turn come on by!

Easter Easter

Just Sharing Easter joy and way tooooo many Easter pictures.

Perfect Hard boiled eggs

ZOOOOO much fun!

Do my kids love the zoo or what. It was hard to get cute pictures of them, because most of the time I just saw this. . .
Lucky for me I actually got them all looking at the camera for this one shot. . . Love them and love it that they love the zoo.

Even though Max had his nose glued to the map, I still managed to get us lost. He was always pulling out his map to make sure we didn't miss a thing. He could not ~ could not wait to get to the gorillas. Good thing we found them. I don't think he would have let us leave the park.

Alexander would just stand outside every animal cage for what seemed like my whole life. The family just waited and waited patiently while he soaked all the zoo excitement in. I have to say that Barrett was Hilarious. After nearly three hours at the zoo we were way done. Tim told the kids that the zoo was closing and we had to hurry out. After all they let the tigers and lions out. Who knows what happens at the zoo once it closes?!?!? Barrett proceeded to tell every animal to go into their homes, "Elephant, roar coming, go home, you need to go home!" "Monkey, Tiger coming, roar coming!" Barrett wasn't just telling them. It was pretty intense. He was yelling at every single animal all the way to the front gates. He was genuinely concerned about their wellbeing.Little Miss was still a little under the weather, but you better believe that she was not letting that stop her. She was all about keeping up with her brothers. She was just a step behind with her bag of grapes.

Because my mommy says so. . . .

I emptied out my nasty full of junk purse. I am kind of anti-tag but my mom said that if I played her little game I could stop those tiny moments things. I'm kind of done with that.
Here is all my junk in all its glory.
My planner, checkbook, pouch full of credit cards, gift cards, buy 10 get 1 frees, etc, camera, Kleenex, green tea powder mix, band aids, tampons, empty gift cards (for the kids of course, they like to pretend to spend money), fruit leather, lots of suckers (you never know when you need a sucker or three), Special helper tag, Chuck E. Cheese coins, comb, lists from who knows when (pretty sure it says send Brooke family pics), panties for Jacq, and red coupons for the farm.
Fun stuff. . . do it if you wish. I'd love to see all your junk! :)

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Do you know about Patrick? Did you know that he is NOT from Ireland? What about the snakes. I think the story about snakes is Max's favorite. Do you know the legend behind Leprechauns? If you ask the boys they will tell you that you don't want to take your eyes off them. Those little guys will lead you to their pot of gold. What about the rainbow? And the pot of gold? I love hearing stories even if Tim makes them up.

Tiny Moment * Day 28

"Hold you"
It really does break my mommy little heart like you wouldn't believe to see my precious babies in so much pain and so so helpless. When they come down with a bug that actually slows them down I would do anything to trade places with them. Jacqualynn Grace came down with something just nasty. All day she has been saying, "I hold you." or "Momma, hold you!" or. . . "hold you!" You get the idea. :) I couldn't help but drop everything and just hold her. Rub her hot little head and just hope that her pain would go away. If that isn't the face of a sick little lady I don't know what is.

Tiny Moment * Day 27

"Sunday Best"

It wasn't so long ago that I did not welcome Sundays to come. As I rolled out of bed on Sunday Mornings I would think to myself, "Not Sunday!" in the most unwelcoming way. It wasn't that I did not enjoy attending church, well actually it was that I did not enjoy attending church. Attending church for 3 hours with 4 little ones was wearing. So incredibly draining. I would come home and need a nap. Tucking and re-tucking shirts, zipping ties, shhhhhhhhhhhhh let's be reverent, don't stand in the pew, let's not rip the pages out of the hymn book, why are you fighting with Jacq?, Barrett off the pew on the floor, two minutes later . . . Jacq off the pew on the floor, messy diapers, tired babies longing for their beds, crying in fear of the nursery monster. After all there has got to be one in that room, the sheer terror that comes over my kids tells me so. :) Sick kids week after week. You know why! Anyway, I am tired just writing it out and I could seriously go on about the dreaded moments with babies at church. While we still have our moments and they are big moments, I don't have the dreaded, 'Not Sunday" feeling come over me the same as it did. I remember asking anyone who would listen, "Why do we go to church on Sunday?" It's not like we get a stitch of anything out of it. In fact, in sacrament meeting we were a huge distraction and the other two hours were spent pacing the hallway with a tired baby who is used to a rigid schedule. Life goes on and babies grow up and we officially have all our children in their very own classes. I can even catch a glimpses of what the message is in sacrament meeting. That makes it all worth it. My children running home with excitment seriously bursting out of their little lips to tell me all about the Holy Ghost makes it all worth it. Max getting up and giving his talk makes it worth it. Alexander sad because the other brother gets to give a scripture and not him makes it worth it. Knowing I am exactly were I need to be on Sunday makes it all worth it.

Tiny Moment * Day 26

"Love them more every day!"

At the end of the day nothing beats peeking in on my snoozing little ones. After a non stop day from sunrise until late into the evening it feels as if we are on the go .. .go. . . go. There are bums to wipe, mouths to feed, little ones to hold and to hug, stories to read, arguments to work through, the list could seriously go on for pages. Looking in on them gives me a sense of peace, an unconditional love that keeps growing for them, and an assurance that I am doing the best that I can as their mom. It truly is an irreplaceable moment!

Tiny Moment * Day 25

"Major Weekness. . "

Tiny Moment * Day 24

"Crying Shame"

Is it just my kids or are mine the only ones that think that they are entitled to anything and everything? I know for sure that my kids fall in this category. Here are some examples of why.. .. .Yes this is parenting at my best. Please bear with me.

1. They say while grocery shopping, "Can I have a treat?"
I of course say, "NO!" Who do they think they are talking to? A treat? Maybe some raisins or nuts, but NOT a treat.

MELT DOWN!

2. They say, "Can we have a new toy?"

Every time I say the same thing, "Maybe for your birthday."

This actually works 50% of the time. The other 50% MELT DOWN!

3. They say, "Can we have cereal for Lunch?" They would have cereal for every meal if I would let them.

I say, "How about Chicken and apples."

MELT DOWN!

4. I say "Nap!"

MELT DOWN! NO nap so no circus. Actually putting it down on paper it seems so mean. Who doesn't let their kids go to the circus? There was alot of crying and gnashing of teeth. I'm seriously over it. Maybe next time they will realized that we, Tim and I . . . .OK. . .when it comes to discipline I am usually the heavy handed one in charge. :) These kind of pictures just kill Tim. He does not like to see his kids cry. In my defense, they were warned and warned and warned repeatedly. I am a big believer in that if you tell your children something you have to enforce it or your kids won't know what to believe. So no circus for them.

Those are the four situations that cause some serious melt downs and grief for me at our house. We are working on them pretty much all the time. It really is a crying shame that for them that "we" are in charge and it is seriously a crying shame for me that I have to deal with these "MELT DOWNS!"

Dr. WHOS. . . .

NO Dr. Seuss! I am sure most of you know that it was Dr. Seuss's Birthday on March 2. We have had such a fun week celebrating this dead guy's birthday. Yes you read that right. The kids actually wanted Dr. Seuss to come to our house in person for a party. After I explained to them that he was actually no longer living, multiple times a day I would hear, "That guy dead!" "Him Dead!" "Why'd him have to die!" blah blah blah. . . next year it's going to be a "Cat in the Hat week" cause "Him not dead."
You can see more of our fun Dr Seuss Week pictures here.

Tiny Moment * Day 23

"Sneak peak"

I never realized how addicted to routine I am. OK! I know I am. I love routine. I love knowing what to expect every single day. My life is pretty boring and predictable Sunday - Friday. Saturdays are a tough one for me. Saturdays tend to be a little more loose. When Saturday rolls around I am always begging, "what's the plan?" What can I say, I like a plan. I need a plan. I thrive on a plan. Can you tell I like a plan? I try to be spontaneous once in awhile, but mostly I am all about the routine. I don't know who to quote and I am just too darn lazy to look anything educational up, but I am pretty sure that kids thrive on routine as well. Just from my personal experience my chilly children are much happier kiddos on a routine. This is a picture from our Friday routine. I am shuttling to and from preschool/kindergarten. BTW Last day of kindergarten! Occasionally I'll look in my mirror and sneak a peak at the precious moments that my little ones create all on their own. I mention here what an amazing big brother Max is. Love this kid. And all that he does. Love routine and the stability it creates in my little life.

Tiny Moment * Day 22

"The Little People"

There was a little something special in the mail for Jacqualynn Grace this afternoon. "TUTU. . . TUTU. . . .Deb!," Jacq kept saying repeatedly as she twirled and twirled around the kitchen. She thinks this new purple tutu is better than Dora. This tutu is now the new prized possession. She loves this little purple princess tutu so much that I couldn't pry it off her if I tried. She ate her lunch in purple tutu, wrestled with her brothers, she even slept in the sacred purple tutu. On a different note. . It's crazy, my daughter calls my mother by her first name. Who does that? It's not like she sees herself and "Deb" as equals, she just thinks she is "Deb" to her. Funny girl. Since the request of the purple tutu she think "Deb" walks on water and so do I. Grandma Deb maybe down and out with a broken knee but she is still trying to find ways to make the little people in her life smile and she succeeded in a major way. I think we will be wearing the purple tutu for days and days to come.

Tiny Moment * Day 21

"What's a girl to do!"
I'll take random flowers any day of the week over overrated commercialized holiday flowers. Even though it has been just over 8 years it feels like just yesterday that Tim and I were married. I tell you looking back if I knew what I know now I would have not even hesitated. When I think of our engagement it makes me sort of a chuckle almost like a little girl ."Oh" how silly I was? As an uncertain 22 year old the thought of marriage terrified the living daylights out of me. I was convinced that "happily ever after" only existed in fairytales and no matter how much effort one put forth, marriage was destine to be a tragedy. Sad huh? Especially since I knew the day (OK the second day) I met Tim that he was someone I wanted to spend forever with. I will never forget our marriage sealing in the temple. I hesitated. Who hesitates? I guess I was waiting for my angel. No angel. But a little extra prompting from my Timmers gave me the extra courage to move forward and create our very own "happily ever after." To have a crystal ball. . .the engagement path would have sure been easier. Now I am the first one to write that this road we have traveled together has not been an easy one. Oh NO! It has not, but I would not have my life any other way. In fact, looking back on some of our challenges makes them feel so insignificant now and even wonder why we fretted over them. The bottom line is that as long as we have each other we truly have it all. Tim completes me. He knows what I am thinking before I do. He picks me up when I am down. He knows when it is a chocolate brownie day topped with peanut butter and hot fudge (Everyday!). He knows when I need a kid break or a girls night out. Most importantly he makes me whole.

Tiny Moment * Day 20

"Decisions! Decisions! Decisions!"
I never realized how tough being a parent was going to be. I knew these little ones of mine were not going to arrive with an owners manual in hand and an on/off button to push whenever I was done playing mommy but I tell you I did not have a clue what I was in for. The sleep I willingly loose to wrestling with myself over decisions that probably will not make a whole lot of difference. I think I am in for it some day. My most recent development is Max. I have been so torn and twisted about how to proceed with his education. The problem. . . his birthday just barely misses the deadline. Silly deadline?!? Last year he attended preschool. He loved everything about preschool. He wanted to go to school every day and he excelled very quickly. We thought why not kindergarten. . he is a bright kid with a strong desire to learn, plus all his friends are going to school. This past September Tim and I put Max in a little Private kindergarten. The first half of the year he still could not get enough of school. Loved Loved Loved it. Just recently I hear repeatedly, "I don't want to go to school." "School is so boring." "I don't want to read. " The list of dislikes towards school goes on and on. It breaks my little mommy heart that he has developed such a distaste for school especially when he loves learning so much. Now on to the decision part. I have been going back and forth between Kindergarten and first grade. My thoughts on Kindergarten have been . . .Will he be too far ahead?.. . .Will he get bored? . . .Will it be a waste of time? And then there is first grade. . . Will he be the youngest?. . . Will first grade be too much for him? . . .Will he continue to dislike school? What about High School? Well the bottom line is that I have been so unsettled about both decisions. I have been flipping back and forth. . . one day I am sure the right decisions is kindergarten ~ the next day it's first grade. I feel so silly that this decision has been so difficult for me to find some sort of peace. Anyways, my heart has been telling me that maybe neither decision is the correct one for Max. So I am looking into other options for him. Who knows we just might have a home schooler in our future?!?!? I know - I know home school? When I was growing up there was this stigma that came along with home schooled kids. It seems like homeschooling has come a long way. I honestly just can't watch Max's love for learning die in a system and style that does not allow him to excel. Nothing is set in stone but the one thing I am certain about is that sometimes making decisions as a parent is one tough job. . . .

Tiny Moment * Day 19

"Lucky Me"

Oh how my heart sings for spring. Just thinking about Spring puts a smile on my face. It is still a little chilly but not so cold I go running for a cup of hot chocolate and not so hot that sweat drips down my face as I step a foot out the front door. I just can't get enough of the giggles and laughter that echos from the children. The joy on my little ones faces when they master a new skill. Max is feeling pretty good about riding his bike and is ready to tag along with his dad. The twins have finally * finally given up their "bubble cars." HAPPY DAY! Jacqualynn Grace is as happy as can be trying to chase her brothers down the street. I on the other hand can not wait to get my hands dirty in the yard. I never in a million years pictured myself as a little gardener. I don't even have the "Haws green thumb." I just like battling the weeds. Or do I? Let me rephrase that. . .I enjoy creating something beautiful in the process of battling the weeds. Happy Happy Day. Didn't I already write that? I am one happy lady. Kids running from here to there with big smiles and constant giggles. I get a front seat to it all. Lucky ME!

Down but NOT out!

My mom is the cutest little Grandma ever. Check out her most recent post. Just love her and all that she does for the little people in her life. I swear to you that grandmas are the B*E*S*T*!

Tiny Moment * Day 18

"Mindless Escape"
I had really good intentions of posting my 30 Tiny Moments consecutively. I kind of feel like patting myself on the back for making it to day 17. I was on a pretty good role. The delay? It wasn't the lack of time. Time is always tight and I am usually wishing for more of it. Let's be honest. . .I am pretty good at ignoring my husband, neglecting my children, and dismissing housework whenever I feel a blogging binge coming on. My name is Shauna and I am a blog-aholic. I spend way to much time typing away on this keyboard checking up on all my blogging buddies. Sometimes . . . I am just looking for some mindless way to escape my day. Not posting my 30 moments was definitely not because of a lack of possible entries. I notice "little moments" instantly through out the day. Between the four of my little rugrats someone is constantly cracking me up. . .there is always something/someone to post about. I am usually wrestling with some silly issue or parenting tactic. This is reason enough for a post. I have am now waking up from my blogging nap and hopefully will complete the second half of my tiny moments. Before I sign off just wanted to thank all my blogging buddies out there. Some days there is nothing better than a blogging escape.