Growing old, or growing young?

So, this is it. Tomorrow, May 1st, I will be 30!

Does this bother me? Maybe. Not in the "oh-my-gosh-I'm-so-old" way...but in a more reflective way. Here are the things I'm pondering, in no particular order.

* I'm glad that I married an older man. So, no matter how old I get, he's always older! LOL!! (Honey, I love you! :) )

* I'm wondering when I'll feel like a mom. It's been 6 years now. When do you feel like a mom? My memories of my mom show a women who is on top of things, who always knew just what to say, who fought for her kids tooth and nail. She was/is a MOM. I really don't feel like a mom. But who knows, maybe she didn't either. *shrugs* I don't know if this makes sense...but it's the truth. You always look up to someone older, and then when you get there, when you are that person, it doesn't feel like you had imagined it would.

* I need to realize that I have more say and more authority over my kids then their school teachers, church teachers, and even sometimes their doctors. I love all the aforementioned!! But, sometimes, in their presence, I fell less, like I should be deferring to them. Ultimately it is ME who makes the decisions in my child's life. It is ME who knows them best, and will do what is best for them. I guess realizing that does make me a mom!

* I was told by someone I trusted when I was 12 that my life would be full of joy. That I would have difficulties and trials, but overall that my life would be grand. And, you know what? It has and is. I graduated from University. I worked in the career of my choice, (but not the one I went to school for) and ended that career doing my dream job. How many people can say that they had their dream job by age 23? I can. That fact makes me secure in my homemaking, and in the low-skilled job that I do now. (sorry employers- you know I could do more!)
I married the most wonderful man on earth. My soul mate. Yes, we've had difficulties and trials, but we've stuck together and pushed through them. Together.
And the best blessings of all are my 3 wonderful, beautiful, brilliant children. They are my dearest treasures.

So, no matter what the next 30 years bring, I can handle it! Because I have everything I need right now. And besides, I won't be a year older on May 1st; I'll only be a day older. Just like every other day. As my mom said every year on her birthday, "You are only as old as you feel." And only you can decide how young you really are!

Wordless Wednesday

Rock On!

It's Random Tuesday!

And believe me, with a wonderful headache friend with me today, anything I write would end up sounding random!

*I love breakfast for dinner. In fact, that's what I'm feeding my parents when they visit this week.
*Someone is always watching you. (That doesn't sound mental, does it?)
*My 4yr old is planning on marrying my 25yr old sister. He said so on Sunday.
*Shopping with a 3yr old little girl is a lot of fun!
*National Food Month ends on Thursday! So my 20% off sale does as well!
*My birthday is on Friday. I'm not getting older, I'm getting wiser.
*I'm getting BITTY BITES from TheFetchingHound for my birthday cake.
*I am in love with anything and everything that smells or tastes like coconut.
*THE END.

Bread Machine Challah! Yum!

Bread Machine Challah Bread

Italian Spiced Challah Bread!

I wanted to make bread in my bread machine, so I searched for a good recipe. This one is A-mazing! Very easy to make, and you can turn it into so many different flavors! Here we go!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Milk
3 Eggs
3 TB margarine/butter
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teas. salt
1 1/2 teas. active dry yeast

1. Add ingredients to the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. (Usually wet ingredients first, and then dry)

Then do EITHER of these options:
A. Select Basic Bread and Light Crust settings. Start. Bread will be cooked completely!
B.(I did it this way) Select DOUGH settings and press Start.

1. After the machine is done, take the dough out, and place it on a very lightly floured board, punch the dough down, and let rest for 5 minutes.
2. Divide the dough in half. Then divide into 3 equal pieces, roll into ropes about 12 to 14 inches, and braid into a loaf. Do the same with the remaining other half. Gently put the loaves on a greased cookie sheet, mist with water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm, draft free place, until double in size.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a small bowl, beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water.
4. Brush risen loaves with egg mixture. Sprinkle with sugar. (optional)
5. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Then, cover loosely with foil, and bake for another 10-15 minutes. This prevents the crust from browning too soon.

Then, check out all the variations I have thought of... and let me know if you come up with more!
* Add 1-2TB Italian herbs to dough. Sprinkle garlic powder on top of loaf after spreading egg/water mixture. This tastes BETTER than Italian Bakery Bread! (The top picture is of the Italian bread!)

* Add Cinnamon, Sugar, Nutmeg to dough. After cooking, drizzle cinnamon roll frosting on top!

*At your machine's add-in cycle, add shredded cheese and spices.

Etsy Day!

Friday Food Fest 4/24/09

Come party with Team EEAT!

It's Friday Food Fest once again!

Rules:
* Sales are good for Friday nights only
* Secrets: Find the word "Secret" in an item description and you get the prize that the shop owner has outlined.
*Only 1 secret per person per night please!

Sales and Secrets!

CiaoHound
20% OFF
1 SECRET worth a $5 gift certificate for my shop

Sweet Treats by Maryann
10% off entire purchase excluding shipping. Refund will be sent via Paypal.
2 Secrets! Find the word "secret" in item description, and get a half-dozen Red Velvet cookies with your purchase.

Just Bakin'
10% off entire purchase excluding shipping. Refund will be sent via Paypal.
2 Secrets! Find the word

A Thyme To Bee Comforted
15% off entire order, excluding shipping
2 Secrets! Find the word "secret" in item description, and get a free order of my Dark Chocolate Covered Pecan Fudge-Brittle

Double Dipped Sweets
Buy One get One 1/2 off!
*Discount applies to product equal or less in price. Refund will be sent via Paypal.
2 Secrets! Find the word "secret" in item description, and get a $5 gift credit towards your purchase!

Giveaway from DigitalRoom.com

Head on over to this wonderful blog: Alas4Lads to win a FREE 16x29 High Gloss Poster Print from DigitalRoom.com!
DigitalRoom.com is sponsoring a giveaway for Alas 3 Lads readers. One lucky winner will receive a free 16x20 high gloss poster print. Photo poster prints are a fun and easy way to accessorize a room in your home or office. And, they also make lovely gifts, especially with Mother's Day right around the corner. Just choose one of your own favorite digital photos and have it transformed into a high gloss poster.

See the blog above to enter! Hurry! It ends tonight! Or...don't hurry...so I have a better chance at winning!

Random Tuesday Thoughts... on Wednesday

I'm joining The Un Mom in her quest for all things random! I know, I know...don't you hear enough random from me? Well, now my randomness can have an official day! If you would like to do your own randomness, check out her blog! (And, yes, I realize it's Wednesday. Who cares about being on time?)

*I just finished writing a "book". The story has been in my head for years, so it only took about 2 months to write. Can a best seller be written in 2 months?
*I started writing another "book" last week. This one will take longer.
*I was craving ice cream last night. Luckily, I was too lazy to go to the store.
*My parents are coming to visit next week. Somehow, I need to get up the willpower to clean the house. Not sure it's going to happen.
*Do my neighbors really care if my lawn is mowed regularly?
*Is anyone even reading this?
*April is National Food Month. Go ahead, eat. You have an excuse.

National Food Month!

Did you know that April is National Food Month? No? Well, now you do!

To celebrate, Etsy's Edible Arts Team is offering special discounts in their shops! What could be better? Nothing!

So, click on THIS LINK and go shopping!CONTACT the store owner BEFORE making your purchase to make sure that they are accepting the discount! (I am accepting it! lol)

Here's the technical stuff. No small font stuff here!

National Food Month Sale!
20% off entire purchase*
Use code: April EEAT (Must include in notes to the seller to receive discount)

*Excludes shipping. Discount will be refunded to your PayPal account at the time order is processed. Offer Expires at Midnight 04-30-09

Have fun shopping!!

Kids say the funniest things...

Don't you hate it when someone tells a joke that has to be explained? Well, I'm about to. Michael said the funniest thing at dinner tonight, but it requires some background. Sorry!

*We play the "Animal Game" in the car. Describe an animal, and the others guess it.
*We have 2 cats. A black/white cat, "Brigham", who is our lover cat. Then there is "Wednesday", part Siamese, who is our devil cat. Seriously.

Lately our game has turned into the following dialogue: prompted by McKenzie (3yr):
"It's (the animal to be guessed) black and white... nice...it is Brigham!!!" This is hilarious in itself, since she does either cat every time, and never lets us guess. Last night in the car, we did all Black and White animals, just to be funny.



So...fast forward to dinner tonight. Dad starts the game..."What's black and white..." Michael immediately thinks he'll be funny and shouts "Brigham!"

A few more guesses and laughs later, it's Dad's turn again. He starts to describe Wednesday.

"What is brown and white..."
"Brigham!!!" yells the kids.
"No...BROWN and white...and hisses when she gets mad."
Michael promptly responds: "MOM!"

Yeah... game over.

Quote of the Day

"Cleaning your house while the kids are still growing is like shoveling your walk while it's still snowing."

Life with Triplets.

Triplets? You have triplets? Well, not technically. But close enough! My kids are 6, 4, and 3! They are all roughly the same height and weight. Triplets.

Taking kids to the store, any store, is never fun. Try taking 3. I really don't have a choice though, as hubby works in the afternoons, and doesn't get home until 9:30pm.

Last week we went grocery shopping. Not for much. Just a few things for my orders. We went to the self-checkout, where I start warning the kids to NOT touch the scale! Every time they touch the bagging area/scale, the machine thinks I skipped a step. *sigh* So... there we are, Tanner on the other side of the cart, Michael IN the cart...and McKenzie...where is Mckenzie??? I look around to find that she is not to be seen. My heart falters a little. I peek around the corner to where the balloons and flowers are... no daughter there. The shop attendant hears me calling her, and gets on the phone and pages: "McKenzie, please come to the front doors". I look at her and mouth - "She's 3." A minute later, we have at least 5 employees searching for her. The paging attendant stands guard over my sons, as I run around the store. Nearly a month later...or so it felt... probably only 5 minutes... as I'm waiting for Tanner to check the boy's bathroom, I hear another page. "McKenzie has been found." Oh, sweet relief! I grab Tanner from the bathroom and hurry back to the cart.
Where was she?? In the flowers and balloons. Hadn't I checked there 5 times? Yep. I hugged her, and then scolded her for running away. Such mixed emotions! I then plopped her into the shopping cart, and let her whine about getting out until the checkout was complete.
THANK YOU!! to the wonderful Smith's employees who helped me find my daughter! What a terrible, frightening 5 minutes!



So...yesterday we were back in Smith's. This time was a good trip. The kids were amazingly good, which resulted in a soft-hearted mom who bought way too many treats for them. (Do they realize how this works? Naw....)
Anywho...Tanner and I had a great time in produce. We were picking out items for salsa, and he was touching all the greens, and I had him smell the wonderful scents. (Especially cilantro! yum!)
At home, we proceeded to make the salsa. He stirred while I chopped! It was a lot of fun, and a good bonding activity. We determined that Tanner liked the smell of cilantro, but NOT the taste!
Oh, well. Maybe when he's older.

So... in recap... good times and bad times in the grocery store. I still hold my breath until we are safely back in the car...hopefully with minimal tears!

What are your fun shopping with kids experiences?

Oh, yum!

I was in a mood to bake tonight...but not from scratch! So, I went to the cupboard and pulled out this fantastic mix from Kitchen Stories.



Let me tell you, these were FABULOUS! They didn't look like other oatmeal cookies I've had. The oatmeal was big, and the mix was chunky. I'll be honest. I was a little worried. But, oh no! My family of 5 ate the 2 dozen I made in less than 2 hours! They were delicious!

Here they are! (Go ahead and click to make the picture bigger...you know you want too!)



The best part is that Deirdre from Kitchen Stories is the nicest person! Go ahead and check out her BLOG and especially her ETSY shop! She has so much more to choose from! Spices, mixes, and salad dressing! You won't be disappointed!

Creativity

Creativity

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 01:00 AM PDT

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before."Everyone can create. You don't need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty."Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. . ". . . Remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn't it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination."But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy (see 2 Nephi 2:25). Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage," Ensign, Nov. 2008, 118–19

Fibromyalgia - It is real.

Time to rant.
NOT a time to get pity, or worry. Just a time to rant.

What is Fibromyalgia? One definition says: "A debilitating chronic syndrome characterized by diffuse and or specific muscle, joint, or bone pain, fatigue, and a wide range of other symptoms"

This is a REAL condition!
Some Doctor's still refuse to acknowledge this condition. But IT IS REAL! Any Fibro sufferer will testify to this!

Think back to the last time that you were working out and over-worked your body. The next morning you felt SORE and STIFF all over, remember? Fibro patients feel like this ALL OF THE TIME! Each person has varying degrees of pain, but there is always pain.

Think back to the last time that you had the FLU. Remember how exhausted you were, even after sleeping all night and all day? Remember how weak your body was, and how shaky and unsteady you were? Fibro patients feel like this ALL OF THE TIME!

Think back to the last time that you forgot someone's name, or forgot where you left your keys. Fibro patients have what they call FIBRO FOG. It makes it hard to concentrate, to remember things, and they sometimes lack the motivation to do anything at all.

Okay, so maybe this is the worst case scenario. But, let me tell you, any combination of any of these symptoms makes it hard to get through the day.

Fibro results from a traumatic experience, or very high stress levels. Researches have found that Fibro patients don't sleep well. They don't enter, or stay in, the Level 4, Restorative sleep that everyone needs for their body to heal. They also have a much lower pain threashold. This adds up to muscles never getting healed correctly, and the mind never able to completely refresh itself.

I have suffered from Fibromyalgia for 3 years now. Ever since my youngest was born. It's not her fault! I believe my "high stress" trigger was having 3 kids in 4 yrs! But, that was God's will, and I don't regret any of it! (That story is for another blog post!)

I was finally diagnosed after 3 yrs and 4 doctors, about 6 months ago. The 1st Doctor tested for everything, and got nothing. "It can't be fibro...you don't have the required trigger points." The 2nd Doctor never said, but clearly thought, that I was depressed. Maybe postpartum. Hmmm... do I still have postpartum 3 years later? And if you are depressed, aren't you supposed to FEEL depressed? Yeah, I was loving life. My 3rd doctor said there was nothing further he could do, so left me on the terribly expensive meds. My 4th doctor a year later finally diagnosed fibro and put me on meds that ACTUALLY WORKED! (I went to so many doctors because of moves and changes in insurance, not because I was searching for the answer I wanted to hear)

My fibro has gotten worse over the years. I now have the "requried trigger points" of pain. The meds help control my pain and "fibro fog", but I still have many bad days. I have days when I look around at my filthy house, at my kids watching tv and playing on the computer, and think "Hmmm..there is nothing to do". So, I lay down and take a nap. I am ALWAYS tired.
I NEED a nap every day. Let me tell you how much that disturbs my schedule! My kids hear "mommy is sick" all the time, even though I try to work through it, and go on with life. My poor husband gets the brunt of my complaints, but is SO AMAZING and SO SUPPORTIVE!

There is a section of my life, BEFORE I got the fibro, that I CAN NOT REMEMBER. This wouldn't be so bad, if it wasn't the 1st year of my Michael's life. Good thing we have pictures! And don't even ask what we had for dinner 2 nights ago, or when I shipped an order. It will take a few minutes to track down the info in my mind.

There are some days that I just need to curl up and sleep. The pain is too much, my mind is foggy, and I feel nauseaus. If I'm not at church, this is probably why. I feel like I have the Flu. The other days, when I can't get out of my regular duties, I do the best I can. That's all anyone can do in this life. DO THE BEST YOU CAN! I have found pain meds that help. I find JOY in my CHILDREN. I've discovered that I need to write things down. I find happiness in every moment that I am able to live a normal life. I celebrate the days when I go to bed remembering the smiles and laughter that I had with my children that day. I LOVE LIFE! This is really a small burden to bare compared to others. For that, I am grateful.

Now, again, I'm not looking for pity or despair. I just want people to understand that this is a REAL condition, and if I don't act 100% alert, or move a little more slowly than usual, you know why!