Some Birthday Pictures...

Yesterday was my Birthday, and I thought I'd post a little about that. It was a great day. It was one of those days where the house was clean, just a little laundry to catch up on. I got all my "routine" chores out of the way early and so I spent the rest of my day lounging around and talking to Kallie and Kathy (my sisters) on the phone and my brother Mike. I read a little and did a little online shopping. Not anything overly stressful. Just a nice day!

When Laren got home from work, he made me taco's for dinner (my request) and then he also frosted the cake he'd made the night before when I was at the temple. That was so sweet of him!! My kids and Laren gave me gifts and homemade cards (to me, those are the most special kind), and we just celebrated at home.

Now the pictures...I only added a few and what you see is what you get. My days' makeup had long since worn off and my hair is in a funk of it's own, but it was my birthday and my chance to just be comfy and so I was!! And these pictures certainly depict that!!

Me blowing the candles out on my cake.

That is the lovely Carrot Cake that my sweet husband made for me from scratch! It may not look like a bakery cake, but it sure did taste better and had half the fat too! And that is 35 candles, or rather candles in the shape of a 3 and then a candle with a 5 on it to represent how old I turned.

Tyler and Rilyn had to help me unwrap my gifts. And for the record, I was A LOT happier than I looked in this picture!

And a purse! Laren found this purse for me and so far, despite there being no cell phone or receipts pocket, I think it may be just what I needed. It even looks great!! Thanks honey!!

Laren and the kids also got me a cute shirt (that I had picked out at Kohls a week or so ago), a movie, and the new Josh Groban Christmas CD and I have to say it is SUPER!! It will for sure live up to all of your expectations!!

All in all, it was a great day!!

The Road Less Traveled

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;



Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,



And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.



I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Today I'm doing something that is hard for me. Something I've never done before. It isn't easy but it's building my strength in many different ways. And when I came acrossed this poem today, it really helped me to realize the right path is not always the easiest one.

What's for Dinner?

What's for Dinner, and some other happenings...

As the kids arrive home from school there seems to be one common question. They all want to know what's for dinner. Sometimes I know the answer to that and sometimes I don't. Sometimes it's what they want to hear and sometimes it's not! Obviously if it's something they dislike, they groan and try to talk me into making something else. But if it's something they like and they're hungry, they are right there getting the table set early and counting down the minutes until it's done.

Tonight's dinner was something I'd consider is an "in between" favorite of theirs. They don't love it, but they don't hate it and they eat it well for the most part. What is it?

It's this, Baked Potatoes, Meatloaf Muffins (a good way to get them to eat meatloaf if they won't eat it the other way), Steamed Broccoli, Grapes and Milk.


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Tyler this morning next to his clothes that I had laid out for him. Today was Day 1 of Potty Training. Notice the 3 pairs of underwear there? We tried Potty Training him about 4 months ago but it was such a power struggle and after about 6 weeks we gave up and decided to wait it out a few months.

Here's hoping to a successful effort this time!!

And speaking of my Itty Bitty Lil' Boy Guy (yes, that's one of my many knicknames for him), he's had a rough day! This evening he fell down the stairs to the basement. He got a little roughed up but was fine after Mommy and Daddy helped him for a bit. And then he got his fingers in the door to the Garage. Poor guy. He cried worse over that one. I held him and kissed his fingers better. After about 3 minutes he was up and wanting to go back out and help Dad organize again. He's a tough little one!!

Tyler after getting his fingers smashed in the door to the garage.

I guess if you have a sucker in your mouth it helps you heal faster and makes everything okay? Maybe the drool helps too? I sure do love this boy!! :)

Tag You're it!

Denise Tagged Me:

Four jobs I've had:
1. Maid in a Hotel
2. Working Fast Food at both McDonalds in my hometown (Libby, MT) and Arctic Circle in Rexburg, ID
3. I worked in the Commisary Bakery one Summer in between my first 2 years of College. It was where my parents moved to outside of Spokane, WA at Fairchild Air Force Base.
4. Washington Water Power (Administrative Assistant) and Farm Credit Bank

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. I do not watch any movies over and over
2. Because I seldom watch movies.
3. I did watch Dirty Dancing over and over when I was younger
4. and also Can't Buy Me Love.

Four places I have lived:
1. Montana
2. Idaho
3. Utah
4. Arizona

Four favorite TV shows:
1. Oprah
2. Today Show
3. American Idol (some seasons)
4. (I don't watch much TV, just catch these here and there.)

Four places I've been:
1. To see the California Redwoods and wrap our arms around the humongous trees with my family.
2. The Ocean in Oregon in the wind with the waves in sub beachy temperatures, but it was a great time with my growing family!
3. Minot North Dakota - yeah, what is there? My Brother and his family when he were in the Air Force.
4. Banff Alberta, Canada - part of a Family Vacation as a child.


Four favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. Cafe Rio Enchilada
3. Tacos
4. Cinnamon Rolls

Four websites I visit daily:
1. My 2 emails
2. My blog most days
3. Other blogs
4. Random places, depends on what I'm trying to find (ie) today it will be a chocolate colored skirt

Four places I'd rather be:
1. Broadway - I love watching plays and best of all, hearing the great Broadway Music!
2. Europe - Never been.
3. Washington DC - I've never been and I want to see the sites!
4. Disneyland - never been, and want to experience with my kids one of these years.

I want to tag: Jannet, Mary, Kristine, and Ana.

My boring life...

My Boring Life

Laren and I are going out to dinner with some friends tonight. I'm looking forward to chatting with them but not to all the high fat food. I hear it's super good tasting food though. After those cinnamon rolls and Halloween Candy, I'm afraid to step on the scale.

Laren and I had game night with the kids last night for an hour, it was actually lots of fun!! Then we had Kayla babysit while we ran to Dollar Tree and Kohls. My birthday is coming up and he is panicked that he has nothing to give me for that, yet he doesn't like to shop to find me something. We found me a cute shirt at Kohls. What I really need is a purse.

My purse.

Those 2 front pockets house some very important things, one is my cell phone and the other is my receipt pocket. I keep receipts in there for about 3 weeks at a time before I purge them.

My purse is falling apart. But it was a cheapy when we bought it a few years ago. Laren wanted me to get something nicer at the time but I liked this particular purse and looked forward to something different than what I had.

The lining is literally falling out of my purse.

I figured if it fell apart sooner than later I'd just get a new purse sooner. But I didn't realize what a pain it is to find a decent purse! I mean it has to be functional as well as look nice, be the right color and it is not supposed to serve just me but the entire family since they all expect me to house their belongings in there too!

Good purses are hard to find. My last few purses have been the Rosetti brand and I tend to prefer their purses. I see many cute purses around and I think they look great, but they are really not functional. At least they are not funtional for a Mom of 5 kids!

One of my friends has a super cute pink Kate Spade knock off that she got at a purse party when her youngest grew out of the baby stage and she no longer needed to carry a diaper bag.

I love purses/bags and could so go for a cute purse, just for special occasions. But, I need a practical purse first!!

Editing to add: We are back from Dinner with our friends. We went to Famous Daves Barbecue, it was really good. I tasted Laren's "meat selections" and I had a salad with the dressing on the side. It was really a lot of fun. We gabbed the whole time with our friends. Laren told me afterward that he had a migraine and it was all he could do to sit there.

We ran to Walmart to get some dishwasher detergent and curtain rods for some curtains we bought for our bedroom and he ended up losing his lunch so to speak in the parking lot. He is starting to have these migraines more and more. I have heard there are some good prescriptions to help with that, I need to have him go into the doctor because this is awful. We came home and he went straight to bed.

From the Smile File

Pictures from the Smile File

Rilyn with some of her new bracelet supplies.

Rilyn showing off one of the bracelets she made herself!! She was so ecstatic to do this!

A photo of Grandma's visit earlier in the week.

The yummiest Cinnamon Rolls I've ever eaten! Seriously, and to think I made them? That is unusual!! Thanks, Pioneer Woman for the recipe!!

A shot of the dwindling food at the "Mom's Morning" this morning.


Because they were SO good, I had to post this recipe. Be forewarned, it is very fattening!! Oh YUM, these are seriously da BOMB!!! Kathy and Kallie (my sisters) and Mom, wish you guys were here to share these with, I know you guys share my love of Cinnamon Rolls!

Cinnamon Rolls from the Pioneer Woman
(Thanks for the suggestion, Kelly!)

Mix 1 quart of whole milk, 1 cup of vegetable oil, and 1 cup of sugar in a pan. "Scald" the mixture. Turn off heat and leave to cool 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the mixture is lukewarm to warm, but NOT hot, sprinkle in 2 packages Active Dry Yeast. Let this sit for about 15 minutes.

Then add 8 cups of all purpose flour.

Stir mixture together. Cover and let sit for at least an hour. Then add 1 more cup of flour, 1 heaping teaspoon baking powder and 1 scant teaspoon baking soda and 1 heaping tablespoon of salt.

Stir mixture together. At this point, you could cover the dough and put it nin the fridge until you need it (overnight or even a day or two, if necessary.

Sprinkle surface generously with flour. take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Then roll the dough thin, manintaining a general rectangular shape.

Now drizzle 1 1/2 - 2 cups melted butter over the dough.

Next sprinkle 1 cup of sugar over the butter, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.

Roll the dough in a neat line width-wise. Spray pan you intend to put the cinnamon rolls in. Then begin cutting rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the pans. Repeat this process with the other half of dough. This recipe makes 50 + cinnamon rolls.

Let the rolls sit for 20-30 minutes to rise, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.


Maple Frosting

While the rolls are in the oven, make the deliciously sinful maple frosting.

To a mixing bowl, add 1 bag of powdered sugar. To this, add about 2 teaspoons maple flavoring, 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup milk (the pioneer woman uses brewed coffee instead of milk for this part). Also add 1/8 teaspoon salt.

The mixture should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed.

Generously drizzle frosting over warm rolls after you pull them out of the oven.

Mom's Morning

On Friday I'm hosting a "Mom's Morning." I'm inviting 15 Mom's over to chat and have cinnamon rolls and fruit. Now, I've got to get a great cinnamon roll recipe (tried and true hopefully) and buy the fruit and juice.









I will have toys and a kids movie on in the basement for the kiddo's. Hopefully it will be a fun morning and not too crazy for me. Now that I got my busy month of October out of the way, I'm excited to have some fun for November and the coming months!



This will be kind of a trial run for a Girls' Night Out for the Mom's that I hope to host in a few more weeks. Maybe I'm crazy?