Halloween costumes!

I got the idea to make the girls super hero costumes from pinterest. I thought they were the cutest costumes and so I decided to make them. Mine don't look as awesome as the ones on pinterest, but I think they look okay for not having any instructions on how to make it and for winging it on my own. The girls are "Super," excited (no pun intended) for their super hero costumes! :) Audrey is going to be "Super "and Gracey is going to be "Batgirl." I cannot wait for Halloween to get here!!! :)

DIY marble magnets

So I know I am behind the times a little (okay maybe a lot) but I finally made my first set of marble magnets. I especially wanted to make them so that I had some for my lessons for YW. Talk about super easy, super cheap and fun and fast to make! I just might make some of these as gifts for friends. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Chrissy for explaining to me how to make these! And thanks to a couple of my friends for coming over to my house to make these with me. I had so much fun!

DIY scarf

I made my first ruffle scarf today. I have had this cute purple fabric for a very long time and I bought it at Walmart when it was on clearance for like a $1.50 a yard or something like that. Anyways, I saw this idea off pinterest and have wanted to make one like this for a very long time now and finally made one. It's not exactly the same as the one you see on pinterest, but that's okay. I like how it turned out. I want to add lace or something to my next one to make it even cuter.

Pinterest Recipe critique: Chocolate Chip cookies with cornstarch

I saw this recipe on pinterest that gave you a tip to have puffy chocolate chip cookies. I love puffy chocolate chip cookies and thought I would give it a try because mine always go way flat after they are done cooking. They said instead of using Baking soda, use Cornstarch. So I tried it.......and well, let's just start with the positive thing(s) about it.

First, they really did poof out. I was so happy about that part. Second, well.....that is the only positive thing I have to say about it. Sad huh?

Here are the cons:

*The cookie dough did not even taste the same as it usually does. I really did not think that cornstarch would make that big of a difference to the taste of the dough but it did.

*It gave you a bad after taste after eating the cookie dough.

*So I figured well, maybe they will taste better all warm and yummy. I took them out of the oven let them cool off a bit and tried it, and it was not good at all. They tasted nothing like my chocolate chip cookies that I make, even though I used all of the same ingredients except the Baking Soda.


So needless to say I was pretty sad they did not taste as good as they looked. But that is just my own personal opinion. Brandon was pretty sad too because he really likes my chocolate chip cookies. Oh well, now I know.

Duncan Hines Frosting creations mixins~opinion

I just wanted to share my opinion on the new Duncan Hines Frosting Creations mix ins.

*Love the idea of it
*They have a variety of flavors you can choose from
*It gives you more ideas on differents kinds of desserts to make with it.

Though it's a good idea, the flavor of the mix ins are off a little. Just my opinion though.

*I tried the Cinnamon roll one and that one tasted more like a pumpkin spice. Still really good, but didn't quite taste like a cinnamon roll flavor. But I actually kind of really liked that it had a pumpkin taste to it. I thought it tasted pretty good.

*I also tried the White Chocolate Raspberry flavor mix in and that one tasted like it had a hint of grape flavor in it. You can kind of taste the Raspberry but it tasted more like Grape to me. But here's the thing I love Grape flavor things and so I didn't mind it,  but was hoping this one would taste more like raspberries.

*I tried the Orange cream one as well and that one was true to it's flavor. So that one was good.


But, all in all they are still good, but the flavors are just off a little. They don't really taste how you think they should taste.

Kid craft- Duct tape slap bracelets

I had my two nieces over the other day and they were begging me to do a craft. I just bought some super cute duct tape the night before and knew there had to be a cute craft to make out of it. So I found some slap bracelets we had and I let the girls cover them in the cute duct tape. They did want to add embellishments to it, but sadly I didn't have any. But they would be super cute with buttons, flowers, bows......or could even be used as binoculars. :)

Young Women handout- lesson 19

I have the lesson for YW again tomorrow and this is the handout I made for it. I am teaching them about personal records and I thought it would be cute to decorate some cheap notepads to personalize it for them to use as Journals. I have seen these done a lot and thought it was the appropriate time to make some. My favorite part is the ribbon I designed for them to open and close it shut. I think it adds a lot to it.

Oh and that argyle print is duct tape. Isn't it sooo cute?! I was having a lot of fun with it!

Youn Women handout- Temple Marriage

I know you all have seen this picture all over pinterest now. I decided since my lesson is on temple marriage tomorrow this would be appropriate to give to the girls. I then took a couple of quotes (Found from Sugardoodle and from me searching LDS.org and combined them into one bigger quote that I glued to the back of the picture. I then glued the picture onto some cute scrapbook paper and used contact paper as my laminate to laminate the pictures. That way they can use them as book marks or something. I also bought them some hostess donettes (super cheap at Sam's club by the way)  in white (to signify purity) to go with part of this handout. I did get the donut idea from Sugardoodle but I came up with the idea of buying white ones to signify purity in the temple. :)

Anyways, this is what my beehives get tomorrow with donuts.

Teacher appreciation gift!!

Teacher Appreciation week was this past week. Audrey and I made a cute little gift for her teacher last week letting her know how much we appreciate her. I used a combination of ideas from pinterest and put it all into one.


Here is what they say:

Highlighters: "You are the "highlight," of my week."
Ice cream scoop: "Here's the "scoop," you are a great teacher
Cheese grater: You are "Grate."
Oven mit and cookie mix: " I have to AD"MIT" you have turned me into one smart "Cookie." Thanks for being a great Teacher.

Then we just put everything in the oven mit and I did actually tie it all with a ribbon and had Audrey sign her name at the bottom.

I love doing things like this for other people. It's so much fun!!

Cake mix cinnamon rolls

I found this recipe to make cake mix cinnamon rolls a couple of weeks ago. They looked super yummy and so I decided to try them. I made mine with spice cake mix and they were yummy!!! I will definitely be making them like that from now on and will use the frosting mix in that they used next time.

Mine don't look nearly as good as the ones from the blog I listed above, but they still tasted good!

Paper wheel napkin rings!

For Young Womens we are doing a dinner for our bishopric and their wives and we were in charge of the centerpiece for the table. I decided it would be cute to do some cute little place cards for each member of the bishopric and his wife. Well, then I thought it would be cute to make them into napkin rings. So I am going to have the girls (my beehives) make these paper wheels into napkin rings for the dinner next week. Isn't it so cute? I think I have decided to use that decorative paper as a place mat for their dinner too. Super cheap and super cute!! I was pretty happy with the idea it all!!

This picture is not the finished product of the centerpiece or the layout of the table, but you can get an idea of what it will look like. I did the centerpiece colors according to each bishoprics wedding colors too. I will post pictures with it all finished when I get that done.

Mint oreo crunch cupcakes!

I have seen lots of oreo cupcakes and mint oreo desserts lately, but I decided to just experiment and make some chocolate cupcakes with some crumbled mint oreo cookies on top! They were so easy and turned out really good!!

"You're one of our favorite "chicks."

I saw this idea to get some "chick," peeps and put a tag on it that said "You're one of our favorite chicks," to use for the Young Women. I wasn't going to do it at first because the lady that did it bought the smaller packages of peeps for each girl and I did not have money to do that. So, I came up with a better solution that fit our needs. I decided to add a stick to each peep and wrap it in cellophane and tie the tag on. It was a lot cheaper this way too! I am so glad I did this. A huge thanks to http://lifedesigncraft.blogspot.com/2012/03/for-our-favorite-chicks-yw-easter-treat.html for the inspiration!!

Lemon crunch cupcakes ?

I made lemon cupcakes the other day but before that I was thinking it would be so good to make some kind of lemon crunch cupcakes. I looked on Pinterest to see if there was even such thing as a lemon crunch cupcake (because Pinterest has everything and it's my go to site these days to find what I need), but they did not have a lemon crunch cupcake on there. At least I couldn't find it. So I decided to make up my own recipe for it. I just used brown sugar flower and butter and a little bit of oats for the crunch part and put it on top of my cupcakes. I thought it was quite tasty. I also don't have the exact measurements because I just eyed it.

So, here is my version of a lemon crunch cupcake. I made one with frosting on top and one without. I think it tasted good both ways.

Flip flop refashion

I am in the process of making the girls Easter skirts. It's not going so well. For some reason, me and sewing do not understand each other. :) Maybe one day we will be able to communicate better. Problem is, I see all of these super cute things to sew and I think I am better at sewing than I really am. :) I just need to learn to be patient and start by practicing the small things first and then move my way up to the harder things.

So because I was frustrated at sewing and I needed to keep my brain from thinking too hard about the skirts, I decided that it would be really cute  to make the girls matching flip flops to go with their skirts. So I did. :)

Here is how Audrey's turned out. I don't have flip flops for Gracey yet, but I will get some and they will look the same. If I ever get these skirts done, I will post pictures of the girls with their skirt and flip flops.

Here's a before and after shot. Doesn't it look so much cuter? Audrey will be so happy to wake up to this! I can already predict her reaction and it's going to be great! I bought these flip flops last week and look how worn out they already are. She definitely loves her flip flops!

Here is what they look like all finished:

Spotlight of the week- Chrissy

Chrissy was the lucky winner for the spotlight of the week last week. There are so many things I can say about Chrissy. So here we go:

*Chrissy is incredibly incredibly smart! Seriously!
*Chrissy is soooooooo creative!!!
*Chrissy has a knack for making people feel better!!
*Chrissy is a confident person! I love that about her
*Chrissy is so kind
*Chrissy is so thoughtful
*Chrissy has such a strong testimony of the gospel. She served a mission in Florida and changed so many people's lives!
*Chrissy is always thinking about others and is always interested in others lives. She really cares!
*Chrissy is a great listener
*Chrissy has a great style.
*She is the best Mom!
*She always tries to find a way to make things positive.
*She is very understanding
*Chrissy is BEAUTIFUL!!! Really!
*Chrissy has a lot of energy and I love it!!!
*She can always help you with whatever problems you have. She is a great person to talk to when you need help with anything
*She is really funny!
*I love her motivation to learn anything!
*She always wants the best for others. She really does.
*She always has great ideas for anything!
*I can really confide in Chrissy.

That's just a few of them! lol!! Thanks for being who you are Chrissy! You have been such a great example and friend and sister to me! Thanks for always loving my girls too! Even if they are being monsters, you still manage to love them. I love that you get just as excited about the funny things that they do as I do. It really makes me so happy! We love you!!!!

Love,
Audrey and Lisa

Spotlight of the week- Gene

My Brother-in-law, Gene was the next spotlight of the week. I have known Gene since I was about 17 I think it was. That is when he met my sister Jamie. We are so grateful Gene became part of our family. I really love it when Gene is at our family parties. I really do. I was just saying to my family today how grateful I am for all of them, especially the brothers-in-law and sister-in-law. They all really bring so much to our families.

Just like my other brothers-in-law, Gene is a really smart guy. I especially love Gene's testimony of the gospel. I love that he is so strong in the church. I really do. There have been some things that have happened in our life recently and without Gene's faith, I don't think we would have been able to experience those things.

Thanks Gene for being who you are and for always being a great example to me! I know I can be kind of weird sometimes, but thanks for putting up with me! haha! We love you!

Spotlight catch up!

Okay, so first of the last three spotlights was my brother Mike. I really love my brother Mike! When I was little, maybe not so much! Haha! Just kidding. I only say that because Mike was the meanest to me out of all of my brothers. Seriously, he woke up one day (and I specifically remember this by the way) and was just so grumpy towards me and was annoyed at everything I did. Thank goodness that phase didn't last forever! haha! Since we have grown up, Mike really has stood up for me. He would not take it if somebody said bad things about or to me. He is always so happy to see me and the rest of our family. It makes me feel kind of special. :)

Mike really is such a great guy! He is such a great daddy, and husband to Melissa. He has taken full responsibility to take care of his family and would do anything for them. He really is so nice too. Anybody that meets him or knows him, knows that this is true!

I have seen a huge change in Mike since he met his wife Melissa and since they had their little boy. He has changed for the best! He was still a great guy before, but is even better now!!!

Love you Mike!!

Kid craft- Easter topiaries

So I saw this idea to make an Easter topiary. I decided it would be fun for the girls to make one too. I just bought mini pots at the dollar store (3 for $1.) and some sytrofoam balls at Walmart and some Jelly beans. The girls decided to take a different approach with them, but that's okay. I was okay with letting them doing it the way they wanted to do it. K, so mine isn't supposed to have the topiary ball at the bottom but I forgot to get some foam stuff to be able to keep the topiaries from falling and this was the best way I could come up with.

Anyways, the girls had fun making these and so did I. I think it would have looked cuter with more pastel colored jelly beans. Oh well!

Multi-tasking

I discovered the best way to be able to play and give my girls some attention and clean at the same time
Turn on music and dance!!! We turned on the radio and danced to a song. After that song was over we would hurry and clean up during the next song. Then, after that song was over we would dance again! So every other song we would clean up and the girls didn't fight me on it!!!! It was the best! I know it's hard trying to find time to play with your kids and wanting to get the house clean all at the same time. Most of the time I would let the cleaning wait, but this way we all have fun and we all get our chores done together!!! It's a win win situation!

That's my tip for the day!!! :)

Valentine marshmallow pops

I found this idea off pinterest to make Marshmallow pops and they had some really cute Valentine versions of them. Audrey decided she wanted to make these as her valentines for her friends at school. They turned out really cute.

Before we made them I decided that we needed something to put the marshmallow pops in. I took an empty pizza roll box and wrapped it up and tied a cute bow to it. Then I poked some holes in it and stored the pops in it! It was super easy and it looked super cute!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE! I HOPE YOU ALL GET TO SPEND IT WITH THE ONES YOU LOVE!  I GET TO SPEND MINE WITH MY CUTE LITTLE FAMILY!!! I LOVE THEM AND ALL OF YOU WHO ARE IN MY LIFE!

Young Womens lesson "Finding Joy now!" and handout!

I gave my lesson today in Young Womens and it was about "Finding joy now." While I was preparing this lesson I was trying to think of an object lesson I could do but I just can't think of creative things like that. So I asked my husband if he had any ideas and not more than a couple seconds after I told him what my lesson was all about, he came up with some awesome ideas. He really is so creative when it comes to thinking of things like that. I am going to ask him for ideas more often!

This is what I did. He told me to get an empty box or a basket of some sort with a lid and put it at the front of the class on the table. They had the choice to be quiet the whole lesson and sit there and do nothing and don't participate, and if they did that, then they got whatever was inside of the box....which was nothing but they didn't know that. They would have missed out on those opportunities that would have made them happy now. They would have missed out on the special moments we really shared during this lesson.

Or...I gave them the choice to participate during the lesson and each time they were taking time to say nice things to the other girls I rewarded them for it with M&M's. Each time they were taking time to enjoy the little moments I rewarded them for it.  If they had not participated in the lesson they really would have missed out on the opportunity to make one or all of the girls happy today.
The whole point of this lesson was to explain to them that they need not sit and wait for better things to come along. They should not sit and do nothing because they "can't wait," for bigger and better things to arise. If they did then they would miss out on opportunities to serve, opportunities to love and they wouldn't enjoy the moments now because they are too focused on, as I call them, the "I can't waits."

For example:

"I can't wait to get my license."
"I can't wait until I am in High School."
"I can't wait until I can date."

Those are awesome things to look forward to, but they will miss out on the moments that will help them find joy now and they will focus too much of their time worrying about the future. They will miss out on the little things right now that matter the most. One of my beehives was telling me that sometimes she will do something and she will focus so much of her time worrying about why she said or did things she wishes she wouldn't have done...but learned that she has missed out on so much by worrying about the past and not enjoying the moments now. Ditto to that!

I tied it all together and grabbed the empty box and said that if they just sit there and don't find opportunities to serve and focus too much on the "I can't waits," they will miss out on the ("What can I do now,?")  moments (M&M complimenting activity), the moments that will help them to find joy now.  Ultimately, they will get nothing for doing nothing.

I am so proud of my girls, they all participated in the lesson and that made me extremely happy. They all were enjoying the moment and were doing nice things and saying nice things to the other girls. You could see that they were truly enjoying the moment and I love it. One of my beehives told me she wanted to cry because of how happy it made her feel to hear the kind things the other girls were saying to her!

Here is what I did to give the girls the opportunity to serve and to enjoy the small moments:

In order for them to earn some M&M's I gave them opportunities to say and do nice things for each other. I grabbed a mirror (like the lesson suggested) and gave them a turn to look in the mirror and I asked one question per girl and the other girls,  if they chose to, had to answer that question about the girl that had the mirror at that moment. The questions I asked are as follows:

"What do you like most about the girl you see in the mirror?"
"What are the talents and blessings of the girl you see?"
"What do you want most for the girl you see?"


I am not sure if that even makes sense. I have a hard time explaining things sometimes. But it worked out so well with my girls and they all chose for themselves what they wanted to do during the lesson...they truly had the "Power to bring happiness into their lives," (D&C 58:27-28) at that moment......and they did!!!

I noticed the girls were eating conversation hearts on Wednesday so I knew they would love this treat for a handout. They were so excited about it!

Showing some love Day 11 and 12

I cannot believe Valentines Day is almost here. I have definitely enjoyed doing these fun little Valentines each day for Brandon and Audrey. I will do this for Gracey next year when she understands it better!

BRANDON VALENTINES DAY 11 AND 12

Day 11- I found a babysitter for the girls all day yesterday and originally it was supposed to be a surprise to him that we were going to have a whole day to ourselves, but I ended up telling him. He didn't really find out everything we were doing that day so it was still a surprise to him to find out what I had planned.

Day 12: "REDEEM THIS COUPON FOR A RELAXING NIGHT. I WILL TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING!"

AUDREY'S VALENTINE COUPONS:

DAY 11: SORRY, APPARENTLY I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE. IT SAID:

"GOOD FOR ONE FAMILY SLEEPOVER." She was able to choose who she wanted to have over for a sleepover one night. She chose her cousin Hazel.


DAY 12: She gets to have a gameday!!!

Showing some love day 9 and day 10

Brandon's Valentines:

Day 9

Day 10: Yeah I wasn't paying attention to the kind of rootbeer I bought, so the tag that I wrote out ahead of time doesn't really make sense with it. Oh well. We will pretend.

"I am in "AW," that you chose me!"~ Was supposed to be A&W rootbeer.

Audrey's Valentines coupons:

Showing some love day 7 and day 8

BRANDON'S VALENTINES:


Day 7: I got him a gift card to the movies and came up with the phrase,
" LET'S FANDANGO!!!"

Day 8: I gave him the gift card to Texas Roadhouse and said

"IT WILL BE A BIG "MISTEAK," IF YOU DON'T TAKE ME OUT TO DINNER!"

AUDREY'S VALENTINE COUPON:

DAY 7: I forgot to take a picture of her coupon. But her coupon said let's have a read-a-thon!
DAY 8: "YOU GET TO HAVE ONE EXTRA SPECIAL TREAT TODAY!"

LIVY VALENTINE COUPON!

She chose to do a craft and watch a movie while Audrey was at school!