looking up

I ran into this poster while looking for an idea on Pinterest -- I haven't been on there lately (which is a good thing!), but when I go I always find little gems...and this was a favorite :)  When Elder Cook gave his talk during the last General Conference (October 2011 - click HERE to read), I loved his story of being in the elevator and having President Monson tell him it's better to Look Up.  True advice for anyone, anywhere.

For myself, I remember hearing that during an extremely hard time we were going through with the PTA.  I sometimes have to laugh because I tend to talk about how crazy and hard everything was - there were great moments as well, and some amazing friends...but it was a trial for sure!  Anyway - the talk, the quote and remembering to LOOK UP really helped me out during that time.

I'm thankful for the words of encouragement and advice we are given in the gospel.  

Here are some of the favorite lines that I keep handy in my mind....what are lines that you remember?
Look Up - Do it NOW - Stop IT! - Lengthen Your Stride - Every Member a Missionary - Come What May and LOVE It! - and on and on and on.

Divine oatmeal in a bowl...who knew?!

I'm switching things up today and posting this morning as I have a recipe on my mind that we tried last week and just love!

When we were in MBA school, the MBASA did a cookbook each year & these two simple books are some of my favorite cookbooks. The recipes are the tried & true recipes from women and families everywhere and there are some awesome gems in there. There is also the occasional funny recipe such as 'go and get a bag of Cheetos, open up a can of pop and enjoy' :) That one makes me laugh - the guy who submitted it was married to one of my good friends, and their son was in my preschool class both years. It's not a recipe I have tried, but it makes me laugh because of his zany personality and for putting such a dorky recipe in!

I have spied recipes that I've wanted to try for years & I'm trying to go through and do more of them now that I've got a bit more time in my life. With not having the PTA taking up huge chunks of my time, it's amazing how many hours there are to do things each week! It really does feel like I quit a part/full-time job & there are times when I miss all the events & projects we did....however, I have enjoyed how much time is in each week & not feeling so rushed all the time! I looked over this week's schedule and realized that it's rather empty & I get to choose what I'm going to fill it with! I have the typical cleaning, laundry and shuttling kiddos around in the schedule - and having Jacob home in the mornings without full-day Kindergarten is huge! I have an appointment here and there, and I did realize there is a PTA meeting & I'm volunteering in Bryson's class - but that is only 2 hours of time at the school & I'm going to the PTA meeting just to be informed....not because I'm signed up to do anything in particular. I used to spend between 30 & 40+ hours at the school on various projects. It's really nice & rather exciting to get to choose how I'm spending my time these days - and doing things for and with my family is a top priority....so cooking more meals at home that are healthy is something I'm spending a lot more time on :)

Anyway - pulling myself back to the main topic (wow, I get out on some tangents, eh?!), the recipe that I've wanted to try for some time is Baked Amish Oatmeal. We love oatmeal in our family, but the regular bowl of oatmeal each week gets a little tiring, so it was time to change things up. We finally made it to the grocery store at the end of the week (having the kiddos home for Spring Break was awesome, but it was tricky to go shopping with all of them...I'm going to need to think about options for this summer! Once we had the eggs for this recipe I pulled it together last Thursday morning & Bryson Jr., Jacob and I were in heaven! We couldn't believe how yummy it was! Bryson Sr. tried some the next morning (we doubled the recipe so we could have extras for a few days after and I'm so glad that we did!) and he said it was like eating warm oatmeal cookies doused in milk. I think of it more like a big oatmeal cake....whichever of the two you prefer it is one of the best breakfast meals and it will definitely be showing up on our table a lot more!

Here is the recipe that I followed...but I'm going to work to tweak it a bit to see if I can make it a bit more healthy. These measurements are doubled, because I made it for the 9x13 pan and again to give us those yummy left-overs for subsequent mornings. If you don't want as much 1/2 the recipe and use a 9-inch square baking pan.

Amish Baked Oatmeal

1 c. vegetable oil (*I'm going to try applesauce next time, or at least 1/2 oil & 1/2 applesauce)

1 c. brown sugar (*it had originally called for 2 cups & I knew that would be too much, and even halving the sugar it was plenty sweet. I'm going to try honey or agave next time and see if I can work with the sweetener.)

4 eggs

6 cups regular rolled oats (*it called for quick oats, but I don't think they are as healthy...plus, I don't even have them so we used good old fashioned rolled oats & it still cooked beautifully!)

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

2 tsp. cinnamon

*fruit options - apple (peeled & chopped) or dried cranberries, or I saw this website & picture that put in fresh blueberries. Oh, the yummy-ness!

Mix everything together (wet first and then add the dry) and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour....although when it gets brown on the edges and firm in the middle it is done (it was 45 min. for me). Cut into pieces and serve as you wish...get ready for some definite "Mmmmmmm's" from those enjoying!

I put fresh blackberries on top of mine and did a little heavy-whipping cream. Oh wow - it was a party in the mouth! We also had some fresh whipping cream from a dessert, and Bryson Jr. and Jacob had a spoonful of whipping cream and then some regular milk over their bowl. They were all delicious ways & I really felt like we were cheating breakfast somehow and going straight for the dessert...which I'll be honest I've had the cake for breakfast on some mornings, and although it's good this was far better because it was the same sweet taste but much healthier!

Alright, I'll stop writing about oatmeal :) I have a storage room to clean out, and plants to get into the garden as it's going to be around 78 degrees today! I'm putting in a little herb garden in the soil next to the back door so that I can step out in my kitchen herb garden! I only have cilantro and spearmint to put in right now - but I want to add basil, rosemary and green onions....that is one area that I've enjoyed filling my time with - playing in the dirt & gardening. It's been incredible to have a yard again!

Happy Valentine's Day!

kiss & tell

After Jacob gave me multiple kisses on the cheek - he looked at me and said,

"I give you so many kisses, maybe I'll marry you Mommy!"

I love this boy's tender heart!

our charlie

Bryson Jr's class is reading 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Yesterday, Bryson came home and told me....

"Mom, Ms. Z (his teacher) told me that if she were Willie Wonka, and the school were the chocolate factory she would give it to me."

His teacher has told me routinely she wishes she had a clone machine for that boy as well. Of course - he seems to have the golden ticket to life.

We are blessed to have him. Really, truly.

{pictured above} Bryson at a Poetry Publishing Party that his class had about a month ago. He has a love for learning that we are incredibly grateful for....and we love that he can remember facts about everything from tornadoes & volcanoes to homophones....and most things in between :)

love - LoVe - LOVE

an unconventional post for this Valentine's Day to celebrate some of the little things I love....

love

I kept thinking about my favorite treat today - Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears.  I tried not to think of them too much, as I have yet to find a place that sells them, or even a place that sells Cinnamon Bears that I could dip into chocolate.  Then as I was taking Jacob to preschool, our Concierge told me we had a package, and I waited patiently until after my errands to open it up.  Thankfully Grandma Joy's Valentine's Day Box included a little indulgence for myself as well as for the kiddos....there were my dreams in reality....my Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears!  I love these amazing morsels of goodness!   I love my mom more for thinking to send them to me.  I would really love if I could figure out a way to order their 25 pound box and put some of these bites of heaven into food storage.  

LoVe......
When Bryson Jr. gets excited to clean the toilet for me and tells me he is the best toilet cleaner ever!  I completely agree :)  These are pictures from last Saturday's chores, and I am still only taking pictures on my camera so the quality isn't the greatest, but I'm going crazy with not having a camera!  I feel like I haven't really documented life since my camera broke last November....ahhhhhh!  I was going to send in my camera to be fixed this week....but now I can't find the receipt which is supposed to accompany the camera.  I hope that I can find that receipt soon - I want a "real" camera again!  Anyway - that isn't what I LoVe, so back to this....

One of Madeleine's jobs was to help Jacob match the socks and then fold them up to put away.  She was very patient and made it into a fun game (she is getting great at this - many times having more patience and better ideas than I come up with!) - where Jacob took the folded socks and shot them into the basket (a.k.a. the IKEA bag) and quickly worked their way through the pile of socks while have a great time and practicing Jimmer shots!

and i LOVE these cheeks and this precious new babe!  Welcome little Juliet to the family....my sister Brooke had her second little girl early Saturday morning, and this is our only picture of this sweet new love in our family.  I wish we were closer so I could hold her and kiss those cheeks!

p.s. I don't love.....
*that I can't figure out the date system on the new blogger!  I had started this post on Valentine's Day....around 11pm.  However, Bryson got home right after that (another part that I don't love so much....the late nights home) and so I published the post to make the sure the date would hold, and then saved it as a draft.  Now, when I went to publish it - it came up for Tuesday, the 15th.  The old blogger did not do that!  What is going on?!  How can I make sure to have a post actually post on the day that I want it to?

Anyone?  Please help!! :)