Homemakin' Mama!

Remember when I made those really "nice looking" chocolate chip cookies. Well I decided to be a part of the "Redeem Team" and try again and go for the gold! Ok that was way lame and the Olympics are over...so even lamer! (is that a word)

My friend Amber sent me her recipe of Chocolate Chip Cookies - which I guess is famous in Idaho - and I made those!

Now in defense of my sister's chocolate chip cookie recipe....I'm sure they would have come out fine if I had indeed added the baking soda AND the right amount of flour!!!

So apparently making Chocolate Chip Cookies on Thursday wasn't enough to satisfy my sweet tooth, because on Monday I made more stuff. My friend Ami on her Christmas plates had made these delicious peanut butter corn flake deals! I LOVE THEM! I've made them several times since then and I decided I needed more! This is one of those treats where you go....peanut butter - good! corn flakes - good!

This is one of those recipes that is really really simple, but just takes a little time. Kind of like Rice Krispy Treats...until I figured out I could used the microwave!!!! But it's the same idea.

Here is the recipe:

1 c sugar

1 c light Karo Syrup

1 c peanut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

6 c corn flakes - I like to use about 8 cups because then they aren't soooo gooey.

So you bring to a slow boil everything but the Corn flakes, making sure that the Peanut Butter is all dissolved (i know that's not the right word - but I didn't think melted was either) and there is a very smooth consistency. But be careful....a slow boil and burnt peanut butter happen very fast! Once you really start to smell the peanuts, take it off the burner. Then in your separate bowl where your corn flakes are, pour the peanut butter mixture over corn flakes. Stir well to get an even coating over all corn flakes.

Now you have two options. As you can see I opted for the small bunches. It makes it go way farther but is a little time consuming. Or you can go the Rice krispy treat method and spread it evenly into a pan or a cookie sheet and then cut later. I only spread it into a cookie sheet when I'm not sharing and I just pull off how ever much i want to eat!!!! LOL! But they are really good and if it's the holidays you can tell your kids that it's Reindeer Food or something cheesy like that!

And last but not least...considering I still have Chocolate chip cookies and Reindeer Food (uhkkay) left in my house....not to mention some Cookie dough in the fridge...and I won't even begin to tell you how much ice cream I have in my house.....This is what I came home from Wal-Mart last night with......Really, ericka? really!!!?!??!

California Marriage Amendment

I know I dont' live in California, but my sister does. And I'm sure each of you know someone who lives there as well. I figure if we could do our part, even in a small way, it would help!

Go to Gabby's blog and read about it. It's a little long, but well worth it!

http://danandgabby.blogspot.com/2008/08/california-marriage-amendment.html


Thanks!

Pop-u-ler! Lar!

While we were on vacation last week, Betty, Brooke, and I met up with Gabby in LA at the Pantages theatre to watch Wicked! IT WAS AWESOME! I don't know why I hadn't seen it yet, but it was awesome. The music, the singers, the orchestra, the lighting, the set, the story - ALL AWESOME! So now I go around and randomly sing out "No one mourns the wicked" and "Popular" and "loathing...."
It was wonderful and would love to go see it again. If you haven't seen it, try and go! It's worth it! (By the way...I made a face when Betty took the picture)


I also got to see the stars on the sidewalk. I had never seen that before, so that was cool. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's is directly in front of the theatre! pretty cool!

Roses are......

$2.50!!!!


That's right! I got these roses at Wal-Mart for $2.50. They were on clearance!!! Paul likes having fresh flowers in the house, so every once in a while I buy a bouquet of flowers at Wal-Mart. Well they had a whole bunch of different types of bouquets of flowers on clearance for $2.50 and $5.00. SO I bought two. And they were really pretty and lasted a long time!!!! So when Valentine's comes around roses cost $60 a dozen.....I'll remember my pretty pretty pink and hot pink roses from Wal-Mart that I got for $2.50!!!

Carlsbad Vacation

My family, along with Paul's parents and Mark and Brooke and their two kids went to Carlsbad for a quick vacation. It was so nice to just sit and do NOTHING! We got up (a little earlier than I normally like) and just got ready and headed to the beach. Then we would go back to our room, take a nap, eat outside, and go for a walk and then go to bed! It was so nice to just sit and relax and not be hot and sweaty!

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures because I forget to do that, but here are a few that I did take.

The kids playing in the sand with Grandpa watching.

Riley running towards me....

Guess which one is which? And those farmer tan's are hideous!!! LOL!

Grandma brought a little craft for them to do!

So now we're back home and we're already planning to go back! We love to stay at this place called Ocean Palms Beach Resort. It's wonderful! It's directly across the street from the beach. This year we split a two bedroom suite with Mark and Brooke and it was worth every penny!!! The website is http://www.opbr.com/ in case you're ever interested in going to Carlsbad!!!!

Bag Ladies!

This past Friday night, my sisters and I and Linsey got together to make these tote bags! It was way fun. We started at 9:15 and didn't finish until 5am!!! But we had a great time and a blast! You should read Linsey's post at http://fararside.blogspot.com/ about her bag...it made me laugh. But here are a few pictures and then the results.

We turned my family room into a sewing room. Here is Edna cutting her fabric.

Here is my mom double checking Edna and Gabby's cuts. Linsey's laughing at them.

Here is Griscel waiting for further details.... You can see we even had a dry erase board propped up on my TV so that we could see what pieces we needed to cut.

Linsey sewing!!!! Edna watching so attentively!

My mom helping us all out! And Gabby trying hard not to mess up!

This is Linsey's bag! I loved it so much, I went out and got the exact fabric to make this bag again! Well actually, my mom made it for me!

This is Edna's bag! SO CUTE!!!

This is Griscel's bag. I also got the more of the same fabric to make this bag too. Actually I had picked out this fabric already, but Griscel didn't have time to go to the store to get her fabric so I let her have mine....then I got really jealous that her bag came out so cute with the fabric I picked out (well Linsey and I picked out) that I went and got more! I know...I'm so dumb! But it's a good kind of jealous.....right?!?!?!!?

This is Gabby's bag! SO SO SO CUTE! I am really into damask right now so I LOVE IT!

This is my bag. I like it a lot...but I don't know what it is about it that makes me think twice......

This is also my bag that my mom made for me. I had bought three sets of fabric and I couldn't make up my mind which I wanted to make first. Well I did the pink one first and Griscel made the blue one. So later my mom did the last of the fabrics. I also really really like this one!

There are still 2 bags missing from this post. My mom's - which will be SUPER SUPER CUTE...because it's a damask with some red accents! I can't wait to see it. And Karla's bag which is brown and very retro-ish. That one's done, but I don't have pictures of it yet. It's a funny story because Gabby and I both thought that Karla would really like this fabric. Well once I bought it and we were looking at it, we wondered if she would really actually like it. So I sent her pictures of Griscel's bag, Linsey's bag and the modern fabric to see which one she would like....and.....she picked the fabric that we had originally intended for her!!!!! CRAZY!!!

So I'll get pictures of the last bags and post them later!!!

My Grandma!

This past Sunday we went and visited my Nana! I hadn't seen her in like 2 or 3 years. So we went and introduced her to her grandchildren, some of whom she had never met. It was nice to see her and she hasn't aged ONE BIT! She is 86 years old.

Target Trauma

I feel the need to post about this strictly for memory purposes. It was one of those events that leaves you feeling "Really? Really? I mean, REALLY?!!"

Last Thursday I went to Target, my absolute favorite store in the whole wide world, to do Hunter's school shopping. As I mentioned in my previous post, I love uniforms. I walked in, got 6 t-shirts in different solid colors for $3.99 each, 3 shorts for $7.99 and even a pair of easy-to-put-on tennis shoes for $12.00! Can't go wrong there! And I was done in 30 minutes and that even included trying on the shorts and one of the shirts to make sure we got the right size.

So I'm sure you're thinking "where's the trauma?" Oh...I'll tell you where's the trauma! (is it just me or does the word trauma looked spelled wrong because I've used it three times now....ro-ads......movie trivia)

Ok back to my story.

We left the house about 11:15. Got to target fine. Hunter had a hair appointment at 1:30 so I had plenty of time to kill and I knew they were going to get a late lunch so I decided to buy them popcorn and Icee's because then I can enjoy Target for a good while.

We get our snacks and head to the boys department. Meanwhile Hunter and Riley are both sitting in the back of the cart and they are doing quite well considering they are so close. Taylor is in the front of the cart with me sipping at the Icee. She thinks it's DELICIOUS! Can't get enough. Well...she gets enough. Goes down the wrong tube, brain freeze, I don't know, something happened. So she starts to cough. Then she spits up a bit. As I'm reaching down to get my package of wipes (that are unopened by the way) She starts to throw up - in my direction. Ahhh. Ok so she throws up a bit, I still can't get my wipes opened, she looks up at me and smiles. And then she starts again. All over herself, all over the cart, all over me, and eventually down into my purse. And I still can't get my wipes opened. This lady standing right next to us doesn't even look over. I was actually shocked at that. I didn't expect help or anything, but you think the sounds of a child throwing up and me going "gosh dang it" and "oh crap" as I'm trying to "catch" and open wipes would have caught her attention, but it didn't!

Ok so I finally get the wipes opened and Taylor stopped throwing up. Relief. Well Taylor is passed the age where I carry an extra set of clothes for her, so I went and got her a little dress and Riley informs me "I need a cute outfit too!" So I get her a dress too. I figure Hunter's getting clothes, what the heck! So I get their dresses, pay for them and head to the family restroom. But that's right, someones in there! So I wait......and wait.......and wait......and wait.......and FINALLY this man and his son come out. I don't know what they were doing in there but it was forever....like 15 minutes!!!!! Very Questionable! All the while Taylor is laughing and my kids are eating popcorn wondering why we are standing by the front door. Also during the above mentioned waiting, this lady came up to me and said "I just want to tell you that my friend and I were watching you. I have two kids and am thinking about having another one and it was just nice to see how calm you are, your hair is done and you're dressed and how well-behaved your kids are and it makes me feel as if I could have one more child." I told her thank you very much and told her that my baby just threw up so I was waiting to change her clothes. So she laughed. (on the hair is done comment, as a mother I know sometimes that is just my goal for the day...shower, hair, make-up, change clothes. that's a whole other post.)

So I finally get to the bathroom, I wipe Taylor completely down, change her clothes and put on her new dress, and then changed Riley as well. Then i proceed to clean out my purse. Luckily I didn't have my nice coach diaper bag with me that day cause I would have flipped, but it was just my vinyl mickey mouse bag. So I proceed to take out everything and wipe it clean of Red Icee Vomit! And the ONE TIME, THE ONE TIME I actually have cash in my purse....that's right! The extra diapers also got a little throw up on them! Crap! Ok whatever. So Finally I get all cleaned up and we head out to get Hunter's clothes. It's 12:40. I have 30 minutes to get out and make it across town to Hunter's haircut appointment. Blasted!

So we quickly get his shirts and shorts and head to the dressing room to try them on! As we are getting there I notice Taylor smelling questionable. So I change her with a diaper that was wiped off on the front, not the inside. She is contently drinking her bottle so I leave her there and continue on with Hunter. Oh, did I mention it was diarrhea. yeah, that's right. So I'm on Hunter's last pair of shorts and I HEAR Taylor going at it again. So I stand her up and her brand new dress that she has worn for thirty minutes is tucked in her newly changed, newly-diarrhead diaper. That's Right! Come on! So I pull out her dress and wipe that down too. So we head out, me holding Taylor cause I couldn't stand to let her sit in that crap. I get a package of diapers and some baby powder and head to pay. I paid and then went out to the car and I changed my poor baby girl in the back of the suburban. We then went to Hunter's hair appointment where everything went smoothly! Yay!!! Needless to say, we all got Happy Meals on the way home and then took a nap!

Here's the little crazy herself!

This is Riley in her green dress from Target and a cinnamon moustache.
She wanted a picture too.

First Day of School

Hunter is a big time first grader! Let's hope for no fights this year! And of course he wanted to wear his orange shirt for the first day of school.

Also I LOVE UNIFROMS FOR SCHOOL! I know it's easy to say because Hunter is a boy. But solid colors, jeans or khakis! I love it!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Did you guys ever learn that song about chocolate chip cookies in elementary school?


Chorus:

Chocolate chip cookies, you gotta have more
You can bake 'em in the oven, or buy 'em at the store
But whatever you do, have 'em ready at my door
And I'll love ya till I die.

They're made out of sugar and butter and flour
You put 'em in the oven about a quarter hour,
But the thing that gives them their magic power
Is the chocolate chips inside.

You can't eat one, you can't eat two
Once you start chewing, there's nothing to do
But clean your plate, and eat the crumbs too
Then go and find some more.

Now when I die, I don't want wings
A golden halo or a harp that sings
Give me a book, a fire, and someone that brings me
Chocolate chip cookies all day.


Well, on Sunday Paul was feeling like chocolate chip cookies, only I didn't have brown sugar. So on Monday I went grocery shopping and bought some brown sugar to make some cookies. My sister Gabby, who I've mentioned before thinks she has the best of everything, emailed me her chocolate chip cookie recipe. So as my parents get to my house for dinner, I started to make cookies. Then I somehow managed to aquire 2 wonderful helpers while making them. I also somehow managed to miss one of the steps: add 1 cup flour and 1 tsp baking soda. Needless to say...this is what I got:

I then made the next batch which is strictly for eating, not baking, and I remembered to add the baking soda and more flour. The dough is wonderful! My parents said even my flat cookies tasted good, but I know they were just being nice. My kids called them "pancake cookies." So moral of the story is: pay attention when you're baking, especially with "helpers" and read the recipe very carefully!!!!! twice!!!! (isn't that how Santa does it?)

So I'm going to make more cookies today, before my helpers eat all the chocolate chips so that I can get my baking self-esteem back and know that I CAN MAKE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!!

P.S. I told paul I was going to bake the "eating batch" and he gave me the evil eye. I was not to bake it. He also called me this morning to remind me that we are going to the beach next week and that I shouldn't eat the cookie dough because next week when I was complaining about how "fat" I was he would tell me "it's cause you ate all the cookie dough!" Gotta love him! Edward would never say that! LOL!!!!

One more side note. Here is the recipe and you can see why I could have easily forgotten that one step. And I have had gabby's cookies and they are good.

(Also this is exactly how she sent it to me)

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVAH!!!!!

Cream:
2 sticks softened butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt (I never use salt but you can)
1 tsp. vanilla (I always put a little bit more)
3/4 cup each of brown and white sugar

Add and mix:
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Add and mix:
1 cup of flour

Add and mix:
3/4 cup flour
Chocolate chips

Bake at 350 until barely brown on top. (Usually 9 minutes)

Serve on a red heart shaped plate for your husband while you massage his feet....uhhhkaaayyyy

I finished!

Breaking Dawn....I finished it. It actually took me longer than normal. As in i took me ALL of Saturday instead of half of Saturday. I had to stop because people (my children) kept bothering me. Then we had to clean the garage for some odd reason. Then those same 'people' wanted to go to Grandma's and swim. I mean really!?!!!? Do they not know that I was busy!

So I'm satisfied. I thought it was well written. And I think we should have a "book club" type gathering an discuss how much we loved the books and especially this book, but also discuss how much we hate our husbands because they aren't Edward! Ok hate is a strong word, but how about how much we wish our husbands were Edward.