D.I. finds

I had another successful find at D.I. today - skis for Bryson Jr.! And they were only $3....yippee! I am so excited to start collecting ski equipment so that next winter season we can be on the slopes more often and the kiddos can improve their skills.  Also, it's just a lot of fun to go skiing together!

Here are a few pictures of some other finds I have found at D.I. over the past few weeks...

Lamp: $2 - The lamp was found last week - I spied it across the room when I was there with the kiddos so I sent Madeleine to quickly lay claim on it.  I thought I'd need to replace the shade - but it matches the color in the arm chair perfectly, and the one bad spot that was on the shade is now facing the wall :)  Quick and easy (not to mention cheap!) solutions.  

National Geographics: Around $5 -  I needed some color that wasn't a main color in the room & I saw a post at http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/ about using the YELLOW in National Geographics.  I love that magazine & knew that it would be a hit to keep so that the kids could read it...especially Bryson Jr., he LOVES facts about, well anything.  I went through & found the titles that I thought looked most interesting for our family & that were in the best condition and walked out with almost a dozen National Geographics for $5.  This is far less than the "news stand" price, however I found it ironic that a few days later a BRAND NEW Nat'l Geographic showed up in our mail.  I forgot that I purchased a Groupon subscription for our family!  We will now have plenty to read!  

Wood "sunburst" decor:  I found a set of 3 for $2.  I thought I could use them (1st rule to thrifting is to be sure that you know exactly where or how you want to use something...otherwise you are just acquiring junk), and it turned out that I had the perfect spots in 3 areas around the living room.  I don't usually pick up knick-knacks that are just for decor purposes - but I ran out of our own memorable knick-knacks (ex. the elephant was a gift from my Grandpa & Grandma Miller after their trip to India.).  I decided that for $2 I could take them home, see if I like them and if they didn't work I could sell them at our upcoming yard sale.  I'm so glad that I saw them on the cart that had just been wheeled out and that I (nicely) staked my claim when the worker stepped away from the cart and the masses moved in :)  I've been to some D.I.'s where the mass moving in on the cart is crazy - this time it was very mellow, there was no one fighting over items and nothing got knocked off or out of the way...which has happened before!  

Black shelf w/hooks:  $2!  It needs to be touched up on the top part where the frame is hiding the lonely 'E' left over from the word Cafe.   I might try to find other letters and spell out 'HOME' - or I might just try to take off the E and paint over the spots in black.  It's a work in progress - but definitely worth the $2 I paid to work on it!    

Framed Picture:  $1 -  it says 'Embrace the Day' & is hand-stitched.  Really cute - about as folksy-art as I'll go, but I liked the simple lines of the frame & the saying goes perfect with my find of today...

Hanging Plaque:  50 cents - "Come what may and LOVE it" ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin. 

I have loved this quote since he first said it in conference about 4 years ago - it's become a mantra for me, and to embrace that means to accept all that is given and find a way to love it :)  It was a great find as my hanging Easter Eggs will be taken down in a few days and I was looking for something a little more permanent when the shelf isn't decorated for holidays.  I want to find 3 little black frames that I can put ribbon on and have hanging pictures of each of the kiddos as well.  

I found the following quote on Pinterest & found it summed up our home furnishings perfectly!  

The pictures were sub-par in this post, I'll try to take better pictures with "the other" camera (it's so handy to have one on the phone, but the quality is just lacking compared to the Nikon)...and post more updates on my finds.  I'll also post general pictures of the rooms as they are completed (which the living room is the closest room to being what I could refer to as "finished") - and give a run-down of all the great freebies, finds and deals that make each space our own...and full of great little memories in how we brought it home :)  

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!

Easter Celebration

We enjoyed our Easter celebration at Nate & Lauren's home with the company of Nana & Papa Lord & Grammy.  The weather was beautiful today & we enjoyed eating outside with a spread of delicious food - oh the yummy-ness of that food, it was a great little feast!

Rebecca was the party planner and was so excited to put on a talent show, which could also be called an Easter Pageant.  She was into every detail...I love her in this photo directing everyone on what to do :)

 We packed our handy-dandy scripture dress-ups that we've had for years...these pieces of fabric have dressed up many children for scripture story reenactments...I had no idea when Bryson & I were Noah & Mrs. Noah years ago that we'd still be using the fabric for many other purposes...we sure do love that scripture dress-up bin!

Rebecca had written out an invitation for the Easter Party and dropped it off at our house yesterday when their family was out running errands.  I should have taken a picture, but it was darling and had a role for everyone to play...except that we found out today that there was fighting over who got to play the part of Jesus, and so the part was given to Uncle Nate....which he did such a great job, he sealed his commitment to that role for years to come!

Nate & Bryson acting part of the Last Supper 

This is one of my favorite photos from the pageant...the Garden.  It was amazing how well laid out their yard was for this show - Bryson pointed out that the Wall of Jerusalem is in the background, which wasn't even planned.

The cast members waiting to come on ~ Rebecca was Mary, Madeleine was one of the other women (Elisabeth I think), Rachel another woman, Jacob was a Roman Soldier (he still calls it a Shoulder and it's too cute that I've given up correcting him), and Bryson Jr. played the part of multiple disciples.  

Jacob was excited about the thought of being a soldier before he got "on stage" - then he froze up a little.  He didn't want to push Nate around as the soldiers pushed Jesus, and when he was supposed to act out nailing the hands to a cross, he barely lifted his arms from his side and did the tiniest hammering action.  Nate whispered to him to nail his hands & Jacob came back with "I DID!"  Funny kid....very dramatic at home, but not as inclined on another sort of stage!

The women preparing the spices to go and annoint the body 

Jesus appears to Mary - I loved this scene as well, as Rebecca took the part so seriously.  It was adorable.  

Running to tell the disciples that Jesus is RISEN!  

Jesus appearing and allowing his hands & feet to be touched 

The Cast!  They did a great job & I have to say that I was once again reminded how well children learn and internalize something when they have a hands-on experience or act something out.  At first I was a little hesitant to think about acting this out - we act out the Nativity each Christmas, however the atonement and crucifixation is an event that I want to be careful to portray in the right way...and I get that we aren't the LDS movie studies.  However, the children took this very seriously - they wanted to show what happened and they did it in the most loving and child-like manner...it was absolutely perfect.  I hope that we'll be able to do this for many years to come as it really was beautiful to see the children acting out some of the very significant and most important events about the final hours of our Savior's life.

After the Easter Pageant, the kiddos started to play games with a few beach balls...

Which turned into a group game of volleyball/just keep the ball off the ground (and off the roof for Madeleine!...she has the extra height that sent the ball up there a few times!)

The cheering crowd or photographers :)  Grammy & Olivia - I have found a few different pictures on Pinterest that show generation photos and I like to pretend that I'm a budding photographer....

Olivia reminds me of Jacob - he would just stare at you like he was looking into your soul...they both seem to be older spirits in their little baby bodies....

Madeleine is super competitive - something we've noticed as she has gotten older, but she refuses to let us sign her up for team sports.  Too bad as she is super fast and I think it would be great for her to give it a try...then again, I always disliked the group sports I played and just wanted to do dance & singing.  Maybe we more alike after all...

We had a wonderful and beautiful Easter Sunday.  Once again, how blessed we are to live where we do and to have these opportunities for family events....the kiddos have really taken to the idea of going over to a family member's house for dinner so they can have cousin time.  I can't say that I blame them one bit!  

new circus in town

We did an Easter Egg hunt at Grandma Joy's this evening & while listening to Gma Joy gives instructions on the number of eggs for each child to find, Jacob clapped his hand over his mouth & Noel immediately copied. These two are so funny together - they adore one another & play really well....I think so much of it is that Jacob finally has someone younger than him that looks up to him...he doesn't let a chance go by to make Noel laugh, chase her and do things that she'll copy. They are quite the pair!

After the egg hunt we had a light-dinner & then we were back outside for relay races (it was definitely chilly, but we started to move up & warm up rather quickly. My mom has an amazing backyard that my sister Brooke and Dad designed & put in years ago (it was probably at least 12-13 years ago?).  It has an old English-style design which was well used to have us all on different courses for the race. The kids had a blast, and I laughed more than I did the group any good.

The last relay we were supposed to square off to see which team could hula-hoop for as long as possible. I don't know how long we actually did that exact activity - however the side shows were hilarious and much more fun! We stood in a circle and threw or rolled the hula-hoop to the person across from us. Jacob learned how to turn the hoop on his arm, as he was getting rather frustrated with the traditional hip version.

The kiddos were taking the hula-hoops and throwing them extremely high and they started to go close to the fence separating our yard from the neighbor. Eventually, a hoop went over and after a few moments deliberation on what to do, Bryson (Sr.) stood back and took a run to scale the 8 foot wall. Once on top, he lowered himself over the side & was going to let go when I mentioned to him that I thought the neighbor's had a bulldog. His face popped back up over the fence. I told him I wasn't sure on the type of dog, but they definitely had a dog. He brought his upper half of his body up, and then his whole body was finally resting on the fence. He told us that he wasn't afraid of a possible dog - he was the one that made the choice to try to get the hula-hoop this new way. The timing and delivery of the line was perfect for the moment - it's hard to recreate how funny it was...but he did lean his body down and with his arm grabbed the missing hula-hoop and then after doing a circus wall routine - was back down on the ground.  If we ever need to act out Samuel the Lamanite we know where to go...and who will be cast as Samuel :) 

Oh, those hula-hoops provided the best entertainment of the evening! We were probably out there for at least a 1/2 hour just playing with those, and fine tuning our skills in case as a family we want to join a circus. Or maybe we'll create our own circus...although I think we are already a certain type of circus most days :)

We definitely look forward to what we've decided Grandma Joy's Easter Games will definitely be an annual treat now that we are in the area to enjoy with family!