Chocolate Nutella Cookies

There were REALLY YUMMY!!! I didn't have the "hazelnut extract" so I just used vanilla as it instructs. I also just used just regular "toll house cocoa", not the fancy stuff this recipe calls for. I think my oven might be SUPER oven because my cookies also came out PERFECT after only 8 minutes, but at 10-12, it was BURNT. (I have dark cookie sheets)

they should be GOOEY when you take them out guys! They firm up quite nicely!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/08/chocolate-nutella-cookies/

Busy Activity 5

One last one for today.

Here's another activity I had the kids do.

Needed: Paper, pen and scissors

Age 3: I drew a straight line on paper and had Jaiden cut the black line with scissors (couldn't do it, but it's good practice)

Age 4: I drew "zig zag" and even a flower for Kai to cut out. (did the zig zag but not the flower)

All you need to do is draw on the paper (thicker line is better for kids I think, so use markers, wider crayons, etc.--in the end, I guess it might not matter that much) and have the child cut along the lines.

Busy Activity 4

Are you loving me for these posts yet, or what? lol

Here's something we did today that had the kids BUSTING UP LAUGHING. Ok, me too.

Need: paper, pen and scissors

Age: whenever they start to understand what is SILLY.

What to do: you draw silly face parts on paper, then cut out (doesn't have to be neatly cut or anything)

Objective: hand the child a round piece of paper, representing the FACE. Then, let them create SILLY FACES with the face parts you drew and cut out for them.

They will laugh.

You will laugh.

Laughter is medicine for the soul.

I'm no artist...but here are my "silly" face parts drawn and cut out, ready to assemble.
Jaiden's creation.
Kai's creation.

Kai's busily making his "so silly" face.

I take it back. For younger children who still don't understand "silly", just draw face/body parts and have the child place the cutouts to where it corresponds.

Busy Activity 3

Boy, I'm on a roll!

Here's what we've done several times.

Need: Beads and string or ribbon. Anything thin enough that the kids can thread beads through.

Objective: have the kids string the beads through yarn, thicker thread, ribbon, etc.

They can make necklaces, bracelets, or just string things to practice using their fingers.

Time engaged: at least 30 minutes.

It's great!

Such a simple, inexpensive activity, but it works every time! For older kids, I'd suggest challenging them a bit---"can you make a pattern?" "Can you rotate from blue, green, yellow and red all throughout it?" etc.

Fun Activity 1

Not so much a "busy activity," but it's REALLY FUN way to spend time with your kids, switch things up a bit from the mundane routine and heck, it's CHEAP (if you already have some face paint or finger paints around). If not, it's well worth the $5-7 to spend to get some kid friendly finger paints (is there even an "adult friendly" finger paints? lol)

What got me to do this crazy thing?

We like to explore the library often. We go once a week, or every two weeks if we can wait that long. We check out like 30 books at a time, no joke (a good tip here is to RESERVE books ONLINE folks! It makes life a LOT easier if you have no time and kids running in different directions :)

Anyway....I randomly picked up a "face painting" book from the kid's section and thought it'd be fun. The kids got to choose what they wanted on their face, and I have to admit....

I HAD SO MUCH FUN! LOL

The kids? Well, they were STOKED. They were SO GIDDY and SO happy and SO excited and SO amused! They had fun playing their accompanying roles and well, we had a great day.

So cheap.

So fun.

So together.

Success.

(ps. Kai's a vampire and Jaiden's a skeleton--I never said I painted well) :)

Busy Activity 2

it gets pretty intense around here, sitting on top of the table and all. lol

Kai: (age 4-5)

PUZZLES

Again, I found these awesome 100piece puzzles at Target's dollar section. Trust me, a buck for puzzles are a stinkin' catch of a deal. I snagged ALL of them.

It keeps the child busy.

That's all I care.

No but really, puzzles are GREAT for kids and their brains.

Heck, it's a GREAT way for parents to spend quality time with the kids too. Talk with them while you help them find pieces.

They love it! I will find Kai spend HOURS just sitting doing puzzles after puzzles. I literally have to tell him "that's enough, you crazy puzzle head!" but, it's bought me time to SLEEP IN in the mornings :)

for a younger child like Jaiden, I've found that less and bigger pieces are better. We have puzzles ranging anywhere from 10-25 pieces of which Jaiden LOVES to put together. I do have to help him with the 25 pieces, but again, this is a GREAT time to spend quality time with your kids. Jaiden loves to sit on my lap and be told what puzzle piece goes where, and I let him place it in the right spot. He absolutely loves it.

Busy activities 1

I've been into finding "busy bag" ideas or "busy activities" for kids.

Here's one I did the other day.

Jaiden: (3 years old)

needed: beads and bowls or something to separate them into

Objective:

separate beads into bowls according to different colors

Busy time:

more than 30 minutes

Mission accomplished?

YOU BET YOUR SWEET BUNS IT DID.

Halfway into it, I had to put up this awesome box that had sides to it to contain the little suckers, but it all worked just fine. Jaiden had a blast, learned about colors, and enabled me to do my things.

PS. I'd like to add that I found these beads at Target's dollar section...marked down 75% to a whopping .25 cents. Bowls=free from around the house. Score! You could also use diff. colored pastas or really, anything that's small and colorful!

You can also have them spoon them around to practice measuring and not spilling!

Dear Abby. Why are men and women so different?

Ok, so this is a bit more candid than I usually am--about marriage and relationships, but I felt like I needed to write, and I'm pretty sure a lot of you out there would be able to relate to me. I needed someone to understand me and say "that happens to me too," or "I totally understand!"

So here's the scenario. Your husband (in my case, since I'm a woman) comes home from work. You've been home all day with the little ones, and gosh darn it you love them to death, but as soon as that man of yours walks in, you just want to CLING to him and blabber at him about your whole day! You feel happy to see him and want to follow him around like a puppy. "So, what do you think about this?" "Isn't it so cute?" "How was your day?" "What should we do about this?!" It's not anything BAD that I'm reporting to him or that I'm asking, I simply just vomit on him about all the things that happened, the things I want to get done, and well, I am just so darn happy to see him and maybe even more so, I am just thrilled to talk to an ADULT.

On the other hand, your spouse smiles at you, gives you a hug and a kiss and then suddenly you realize....he's done it again. He's disappeared into the abyss. You can see it in his eyes that he's no longer roaming this planet earth. Your words don't reach his ears at all; the blank stare tells all. Maybe he's even a great actor that day in which case he smiles, nods, even grunts on occasion, but you realize; there's no body home! It's still just me and the kids!!

Ahh, you may say, the typicalness of it all. The universal struggle indeed. I see the challenge here, I really do. Men are out all day, bowing down to superiors and being around adults. When they come home, they want peace and quiet, go away and hideout from all human being. Women on the other hand? Especially for those stay at home mommies struggling to keep her sanity in tact, all she wants to do is cling on to dear life...I mean, cling to her dear husband and yack away to ease the pains of loneliness, or simply to stimulate her brain cells once more, reassuring herself that she's in fact NOT going crazy from listening to kid's wild absurd stories all day and talking with little people who require detailed instructions to EVERYTHING they undertake.

So what do you do? The common mistake I see women (okay, myself) making is that when the spouse goes into "shut down mode," I take it as he's "mad" at me, or "doesn't want to be with me," or I so wisely think; "he's in his cave"--I will be the good wife and leave him alone. But before you know it, HOURS have passed and they're still in their "cave"...I don't know when he'll come out. I've heard men say "that's not it; I'm not mad, I love you, and I'm not in my cave." I'm no doctor Laura and I'm not a gender expert. I simply want to know that I'm not crazy. I still find myself, after six years--wanting to be with my husband every second that he's home. Fine, call me crazy. I love that guy! But alas, I feel the magnitude of this universal controversy that have been known to men and women everywhere and feel like I need some answers. Do I leave him alone completely? (I've tried that) Does he succumb to my neediness? (he's tried that) Do we find a middle ground? (that'd be nice--although we thought we had found that-time and time again...) Is there even an answer?? Or do we get mad, get hurt, and try again and again?

Whatever the case, it's been nice to share my honest thoughts and feelings and would even be nicer to get some positive feedback. I'm not looking for lectures, I'm wanting to hear what you've done cuz I know I ain't the first and only one to have this challenge in a marriage!

Yours truly,

me

Moments that matter most

Is it just me, or do these make you cry too!??! So beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l70e1TfN34w&feature=relmfu

Hello, it's me and my testimony again.

Btw, an old friend of mine wrote me out of the blue today.

Long story short, she asked me if her husband could use an entry from my recent blabberings called "my testimony" (or something like that) in her husband's upcoming Sunday lesson at church.

1. I was super flattered that anyone would be reading my blog

(I know for sure you guys read it, Dayna, Norma and Dee :)

2. I thought. hmm, maybe I need to repent. lol

Repent wouldn't be quite the right word, but point was, that I was reminded that no matter how "simple and of no importance" people think their testimonies are of what they believe in, they--I-- should be sharing it wherever, whenever, with whomever.

I always think; my testimony's of no worth, I have nothing important to say, it's the same old, same old.

so what? I think sometimes we LIKE to feel that we're normal. I think we sometimes NEED to feel that we're okay--that our mediocre testimony--the non-flashy--not wordy--"I believe" testimony is what 99.9% of the people can relate to--but we don't hear it--almost never. Maybe that's why so many of us feel less important a lot of times? Because all we hear up at the podium at fast Sundays, while great, are how people came to know the gospel was true by means of powerfully answered prayers and okay, just plain amazing experiences of which, I'm so far from. (again, those are great stories, thanks for sharing, but I'm just talking about normal people like myself here--I've never experienced such hard core earth shattering witnesses for my testimony)

I just feel it's the right thing.

I just think I don't have anything to lose by believing.

I just...well, I know that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me because whenever I think about it, my heart quiets all other doubts and fears.

That is why I believe.

Thanks Mindee for waking me up. :)

(art by Greg Olsen)