If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

Have you ever read that book? It is about a mouse who you give a cookie, which leads him to a glass of milk, which leads him to a napkin to wipe it off, which leads him to a haircut... Some days, okay, most days, I feel like that. I start with one simple thing, and at the end of the day I end up somewhere I can't even account for. I realize that is partially my own fault for wanting to pursue so many different ideas and projects, but I think part of it is just life, and I have to adapt. Now that I have that blogged, it is time to exercise, then do another blog, then...

Snow!?

We woke up this morning to a blanket of snow outside. Keep in mind, this is APRIL 19th, and we have only had two real days of snow this whole winter. And this is spring! I knew I loved the weather here. Although, going to the boys (my brothers Dallyn and Leith) soccer game this afternoon just turned into much more of an adventure. Instead of bringing and flying the kites we were planning on, we will probably build snowmen!

Birdseed Cookies

Our art project this week was birdseed cookies. I found a recipe online, and then we altered it. What we ended up with was:

2 c flour
1/2 c shortening
3 eggs
3/4 c birdseed
~2 Tbsp peanut butter

You mix the flour and shortening together and then add the eggs, shell and all. Dump in the birdseed and then knead in peanut butter. After that was done, we rolled the dough out about 1/4" thick and cut them out with cookie cutters. Then, we mashed extra birdseed into the front and back. You bake them at 325 for about 20-30 minutes or until they are hard. Most of the extra birdseed on front and back fell out, but it was fun. Also, use a straw to punch a hole through each cookie so you can hang it later.

I am not sure if the birds will like them, but we had fun. The cute extra is my sister Erin's little girl Madison. Erin and Madison are visiting for a couple of weeks. I think Paul has a crush on Madison. Anyway...

Mixing:


Kneading


Rolling


Cutting (the most fun part)


Mashing


Finished cookies!

As a side note, I would not eat these, they are definitely for the birds!

More Flying Papers

The other day I came downstairs to Brigham, throwing some squares of paper up into the air and exclaiming, "More flying papers!" They were just 8.5x11" sheets that I had cut into quarters and stacked on a counter, but to him, they were a great toy. He would pick them up, throw them over his head, and say, "More flying papers!" over and over. I can't remember the last time I was so excited about something as he was about those papers. What a sweet little guy.

Paul's 4th Birthday

Chocolate Cake

Today was a bit of a stressful morning. I had a quarter of a fabulous chocolate cake that has been staring me in the face every time I open the freezer, and the boys are constantly requesting a piece. So, when the going got tough, I pulled it out, cut it in four pieces, and we dove in. It was one of the richest cakes you will ever eat, and even a small piece is work to get through. After the boys had been eating for a while, they decided that what they really wanted was frosting. You can't tell, but Paul is digging his finger through the layers (3) to get all the frosting. Brigham didn't use his fingers, but he did about the same to his piece. I didn't have any problem finishing off my whole piece.

Follow Up on Egg Heads

The grass has sprouted, and I thought I should show you how well they turned out. I think they have about grown out of their heads, so we are going to plant them in the back yard in some spots I can't seem to get grass to grow.

more pictures

Brigham watching "Signing Time" from behind the couch.

Joy built a "house" out of blocks and puzzle pieces to show Dad. What a builder.

a mass of pictures

I have a bunch of pictures that I just have to share, sorry about the scrolling!

Joy made this hat for Hyrum. If you can't tell, it is a princess hat.

After Joy's hat for Hyrum, she decided it should be hat day. Everyone got one, but Brigham looked particularly adorable in his.

Another of Hyrum sitting independently. He is doing that more and more lately.

Paul is extra cautious on his new bike and almost always wears his helmet. I decided to torture Hyrum into wearing it too!

Spitting

I looked over the other day because it sounded like someone was spitting. Sure enough, there was Hyrum testing out a newly discovered skill. He would suck his lips in, the spit out with as much force as he could muster. I am sure that if I would have been at the other end of the table, I would have been hit. The faces were SO cute!

Thoughts on Cleaning

I was visiting a friend tonight (Happy Birthday, Chivaun) and she showed me her drum set in the back of her car. I don't know where she had it stored, but it had been there for some time. I was admiring how nice it looked, and she said something about needed to take the drums apart and clean them. That little comment really got me thinking about life. I think that my life looks pretty shiny and impressive from the outside, but I am feeling the need to take it apart and do some cleaning. Maybe it is because I listened to General Conference today, and Conference always gets me re-evaluating and thinking things over. Maybe it is because I am married to an improver/innovator who is always looking for better and more efficient ways of doing things. Maybe it is because I just need it and the Spirit is prompting. Maybe I just like organization and my life seems to be spiraling toward an ever more disorganized state. Whatever the reason, I want to clean life. A little planning seems to be in order...

Underwear Art

I try to do a weekly art/craft project with the kids. Today we combined form and function. Paul started potty training on Tuesday, and he really favors the underwear with "stuff" on them. So, we took all the plain white underwear and decorated it. We did potato stamps. For those of you who haven't done them, they are very easy. You draw your design (simple) on a potato, and cut away the excess. Then you dip in paint and stamp away.

Since Paul is most fond of cars, we went with automobiles. A true artist could probably create realistic trucks and cars on potatoes, but mine are basically recognizable. The white blobs are actually the potatoes, photography is the next skill I am going to try to pick up.

Brigham didn't get to stamp more than a couple, he was most interested in licking the paint off the stamp, and that really isn't part of the process!

After we put the body of the vehicles on, I went back and added the wheels. I think they are now distinguishable as vehicles, at least.

And, the final touch was one vehicle on the front. Paul liked them, and we had a fun project. Next time, we might wait until Brigham is down for his nap!

Haircut

I refuse to pay for the kids to have their haircut. I figure the sooner I learn, the better. Paul's hair grows very fast, so I decided he would be a good guinea pig. This is before...

















this is after.

Quick nap

I sat Hyrum at the table for lunch so he would be with us more. The meal was done, I took Paul to the bathroom and when I came back, this is what I found. Poor guy! It was so quick, and he wasn't even acting tired before.

Click

Yesterday we started potty training again. For those of you who don't ready daily, let me give you a quick recap of this monunentous occasion. We have started training 2 or 3 other times, and each time ended unsuccessfully with me pulling out my hair. Last time Paul was so disturbed we thought he had a urinary tract infection. It was a mess. Well, this is spring break and we have over a week with no school, so we canceled all out-of-house excursion and decided to train. I found some fun big boy underwear and when Paul got up on Tuesday, he picked the pair he wanted. And, something clicked. I am happy to say that we are now 4 trips along with no accidents! He even went through nap time without wetting! He is prompting me when he needs to go, and seems really proud of himself. These pictures are after the first successful attempt. My friend Paula made us a scrumptious chocolate cake (I think she is trying to sabotage me on the Dump) and Paul won a piece for going on the seat. That is the brown ring, he isn't growing a goatee.
Joy couldn't resist getting into the pictures.
And, since Paul is obviously a big boy now, I pulled out the trike he got for Christmas and put it together. He now rides the circuit through the kitchen and living room over and over. I am thinking about detaching the bell on the handlebars though. And, I think I will just end up painting over the scuff marks at wheel-height.
On a side note, Brigham is really excited too. I decided to go ahead and let him wear the underwear in the morning. He only made it about 30 minutes yesterday before he went in his chair at the table. However, he has had them on for 2 hours this morning with no mistake. We will just see how that goes.