Turbo Soup Cans

One morning last week, I got up to exercise, but didn't quite make it through before the kids were up and needing attention. So, I left my DVD going and went off to get breakfast for Kayla and do "morning" things. A few minutes later I noticed that Nathan and Lily had gone into the pantry to get soup cans for their weights and started exercising along! It was so cute to watch them! They did pretty good, too!!

Tonight, Bryson got out the "real" chess game, not just the one on the computer. Nathan was so excited to play with him. They played a couple games and Nathan is a pretty good little player!

And lastly, here's what saying prayers with Lily is like every night right now:

Lily: "Let's each say our prayers in our head."

Me: "Okay."

So I begin to say my own prayer in my head . . . meanwhile. . .

Lily: "When will you be done? When will you be done? When will you be done? When will you be done? When will you be done?. . . "

Me: "I'm done now."

Lily: "I'm not done yet, I'm saying a long prayer tonight."

I can't help but chuckle every night. :)

My BIG 5 Year-old!

Nathan celebrated his 5th birthday on Saturday, the 7th of March. Crazy! He is so excited for kindergarden. In fact, on his birthday he asked if he would go to school in the morning. He thought that as soon as he turned five, he would start school. :) He now understands, that school will start at the end of the summer.

He is growing up so fast! He is a great helper to both me and Bryson and he is a great big brother who loves to play with Lily and Kayla. Sometimes when I run upstairs to do something real quick, he will surprise me by cleaning up the downstairs! It is always a WONDERFUL surprise! He is always thinking of ways to make something better (boy, does he get that from his dad, or what!) and he likes to help Bryson play chess on the computer before bed. He's becoming a pretty good little player. We are so lucky to have him in our family!

Are you a winner?

Okay, I won on my friend's blog, so now I get to post this:


Lucky you! The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:



1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!



2- What I create will be just for you.



3- It'll be done this year.



4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may sew or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!



5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.



The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

My Favorite Things!

So, beware there are many pictures that follow . . . I just couldn't stop adding pictures. These are my very most favorite things!!

The kids helping Daddy with a mailing project. . .

No, these aren't Halloween pictures. . . they just like to dress up. :)

Yes those are fleece superman blankets tied around them like capes. . .

Oops, I guess I added this pictures twice. . .

How sweet is this one? Nathan is such a good big brother and actually a peacemaker between the girls. I never thought I'd put Nathan and peace in the same sentence. . . he is really growing up.

These two have a lot of fun playing together. . .

Lily. . .

Kayla. . . she has caught on and says her form of "cheese" as soon as I get the camera out.

Nathan . . . miraculously I caught a normal face, you should have seen the ones he was pulling. . .

Gotta love 'em!

Do you know the secret to straight lines?

What is the secret to these perfectly. . . .

straight (sorry they're blurry) . . .

lines. . . ?

Well, here it is: first you tape your wall like normal. Then take the color UNDER the tape and paint just the very corner of the tape and the wall you are about to paint. For example, my wall next to the one I was painting, was red, so I taped the wall (the tape is on the red wall because I'm painting the other wall), and took my red paint and just painted the corner in red. That way, when that little bit of paint leaks under the tape (like it always do and then you don't get nice straight lines. . . even though you taped them!) is the color of the wall. So, in this case, the red paint leaks under the tape and onto the red wall. The paint then dries and seals the tape down so the color you are painting the adjacent wall does not leak. Brilliant, huh? I can't take the credit for this, I learned it from a friend in my ward. I am ever so grateful for my straight lines!!

Before:

After:

And that's it! It is so quick and easy and you get perfect lines every time! Happy painting!

Busy Painting!

This is what I did last week. . .



Antiquarian Brass for the living room walls (the wall opposite this one is the same color now-and I did the red last year - and it's the leftover paint from Bryson's office):

Shingle tan for the family room walls (I did this red last year, too):

Herb tea green for the kitchen:

I am on a total painting kick. We'll see if I'm burnt out yet. . . Nathan wants me to paint his room for his birthday. :)

What to do with that wheat. . . make nuts!

What are wheat nuts? They are like corn nuts, but made out of wheat. So, one thing you can do with all that wheat sitting in your pantry. : )



I had these for the first time last summer and have made them several times since. It is so easy and they are a yummy snack. Here's how to make them:



I use 3 cups of wheat (red or white) and about 8 cups of water. Put them in a pan on the stove and simmer for 1 hour. (Alternative: Put it in a crockpot on low before you go to bed and they will be ready in the morning)



When they're done, drain any excess water. This is what you get:

I take a medium sized pot and fill it with oil (about 2 inches from the top). I use a metal strainer ($2.50 at Wal-Mart) to create my deep fryer. Fry no more then 1/2 cup of wheat at a time. When the oil gets hot (this is tricky because I don't know what temperature my oil is at. I warm it up on medium-high (7-8 on my knobs) and then move the heat down to medium (6). Put 1/2 cup of wheat for 2 minutes. I then dump the kernels onto a paper plate to let dry and start another batch for 2 minutes. You have to fry them twice to get them crunchy, so after my second batch is done, I put them on a second paper plate and then put the kernels on the first paper plate back into the pot for another 2 minutes. Because life is kind of hectic, I put the lid over the wheat when it is the first time in the fryer. . .

And the second time in the fryer, I leave the lid off. That way, whatever I do in the two minute increments I don't have to remember how many times the wheat has been fried.

This is what it looks like after one fry:

Ater the second time frying, I put them ont a large cookie sheet covered with paper towels and then sprinkle them with some seasoning. Our two favorites are garlic salt, and cinnamon and sugar. They are a great snack (don't eat too many at first. . . it's a shock to the body if you haven't been eating whole wheat . . . and whole wheat bread doesn't count. Trust me). I like to sprinkle the garlic ones on salads to give them a little crunch or add it to trail mix or granola.

It sounds kind of times consuming, having to be at the stove every two minutes, but I tend to do a lot of organizing in my kitchen while I'm waiting for the timer to go off. It's amazing how much you can accomplish in those two minute increments while you're waiting for the wheat to fry.

So, here's the bottom line in case you've gotten lost in my explanation:

Cook your wheat either on the stove or in the crockpot. Fry it twice for 2 minutes each. If they are not crunchy still, fry them a third time and maybe turn up your heat. Good luck!