I'm trying to find happiness every day.

I haven't been very "happy" lately. Stress from getting calls from Colin's school, the family getting colds. the overall Utah weather and multiple other small things have kind of put the kibosh on that.

Things have been looking up- Colin is doing better in school, the family is getting better and the weather, well the weather still sucks but not much I can do about that. Colin has recently decided it would be fun to help me in the kitchen. My favorite time so far, was when he helped me make French Bread to go with an easy Chicken Alfredo meal. We both had a lot of fun and he did a GREAT job! He doesn't pose for pictures very nicely, so my picture for Leigh's Happiness Project is the first loaf of French Bread he formed. Not only does BREAD make me happy (my thighs will attest to that) but spending that time in the kitchen with him makes me happy too.

I'm linking to Leigh vs. Laundry and her Happiness project (check it out!). She is on week 49 of her project and well, I guess I'm starting over again. Hopefully I will start to find the happiness in every day things again.



I'm also a Mom sick of my last post.

 I'm sick of my last post being at the top of my page. I don't have a REAL post even remotely prepared but the Holidays are so far gone and I hate to be reminded of my slacker qualities each time I check my blog.
It has been cold here, so cold that the kids haven't played outside for weeks and we haven't had enough of a snow storm since December. Hopefully we will wake up to snow tomorrow morning so I can send the kids out to play and we can get rid of this COLD.

Here are pics of the kids playing after the last snow storm. Check out how cool the "snowman" is. Seth made a fort and the kids wanted to build a snowman when he was done but he had used most of the good snow for the fort. The result of Seth making the kids happy is in the second pic below.

WHEW! Now my "Happy Holidays" post isn't at the top of my blog.

I'm a blogger saying "Happy Holidays!"

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I'm a homemaker having some fun making Christmas Treats!

I like to make treats for my family and friends through the month of December to show them I care (as do most people). I have my "usuals": Oreo Truffles, Spritz cookies & Sugar Cookies and each year I do a few new things. Last year it was Peppermint Bark (so easy to make, but I left it in the garage fridge and we forgot about it), Vanilla Wafer Pops (they didn't work out well for me...my fault entirely) and Rice Krispie Balls (a throwback to my childhood).

This year I've tried TWO new recipes that aren't too bad. Through a couple of friends (Hi Katie! Hi Barbi!), I found a local (and by local I mean on the WEST side of the Salt Lake Valley) food blogger that shares her family friendly recipes at Jamie Cooks It Up. LOVE her! Most of her recipes that I've tried, work! And they are ones that I can make while Colin is doing Homework and the kids will eat them! I've used my Kitchen Aid way more often since reading her blog, and I've made bread (not something I ever thought I'd do).

I tried her Sweet Cherry Candy Cane cookies and her White Chocolate Popcorn. YUM!

The Sweet Cherry Candy cane cookies didn't work out as candy canes (the dough was too crumby- again, my fault!) but we rolled the dough into balls and they turned out! The colors are Christmasy and Lilly loved helping me roll the cookie dough. And she loves eating them.

The White Chocolate Popcorn was SO easy to make once I figured out how many cups of popcorn are in a bag of microwave popcorn AND how much un-popped popcorn would make the same amount of air popped popcorn. (BTW- there are approx. 12 cups in a microwave bag, and 1/3 cup un-popped kernels make 12 cups air popped popcorn). I didn't add the peanuts (we don't eat nuts in our family) and to one batch I added 1/2 cup dried cranberries. It looks so pretty and is a perfect item to give as a gift. Like Jamie says, make some up, put it in a cute bag and you've got something yummy to give to a friend. 

Now that I've tried the new recipes and added them to my recipe box, it is time to make my traditional treats. Oreo Truffles are up first, hopefully followed by homemade sugar cookies for the kids to decorate (gonna try PW's recipe this year). Hope your Holiday baking is successful!

 

I'm a Mom trying to WIN- to give her kids a game filled Christmas! (Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme)

TodaysMama and GameStop are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.


Mama's Holiday Wish List Meme
1. What is your holiday wish for your family?

For us to all get along. Some days are filled with peace and other days are well, NOT. I'd LOVE to have 31 continuous days of all of us getting along, no fights, no yelling, no back talk from the kids. *sigh* I'm gonna try my best!



2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition?

We (the parents) check to see if Santa has come to visit. Then we all go downstairs together, check to see what he brought us and dig through the stockings first. Usually he leaves us a little bit of a cereal snack, so we don't get hungry while opening gifts. Once all the gifts are open, Mom makes breakfast while the kids play with toys.


3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be?

A bedroom set. My husband and I have been married for 12 years and we STILL don't have matching bedroom furniture.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money?

We try to take a drive through neighborhoods and look at the Christmas lights. The kids oooh, and ahhh over seeing the houses lit up!


5. What games did you play with your family growing up?

I remember playing Chutes and Ladders (my Mom's from when she was a girl) and Guess Who. Usually it was just the kids playing, but man did we have a fun time!

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood?

Every Christmas Eve each member of our family gets a new pair of PJ's. I know a lot of families that have that tradition, but it is one thing I remember fondly about my childhood.



7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?

I would LOVE to take the kids to Disneyland or Disney World during the Holidays. To watch the kids see such a magical place dressed up in it's best would be so fun!


8. Check out GameStop and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?

The top 3 GameStop items on MY wish list this year are a Nintendo DSi in PINK, Big Brain Academy for Nintendo DS AND Call of Duty Black Ops for PC (for my husband). Hey...the question said "YOUR GameStop wish list". NOT the kids!




Go check out Today's Mama for this Meme- and other ways to enter EVEN more cool items from GameStop!

I'm a woman STILL trying to be healthy.

I AM. Even though I don't workout as much as I used to (or as much as I'd like to), I'm still trying to make better choices in my every day goings on. And I am going to reiterate that I am trying to be HEALTHY, I'm not trying to get rid of those curves I so proudly bragged about in my last post. (Yeah, yeah, I know. It has been about a month since I last posted, so sue me. Again)

Anyway....winter is a hard time to stick with healthy foods. In the summer it was so easy to grill a chicken breast, or a lean steak, pair it with a salad and call it dinner. In the winter, not so much. I want soups, and roasts and comfort food. Winter food is just designed to pack on the pounds. And it isn't so healthy.

Any suggestions for yummy comfort/winter food that is healthier than other foods? I'm at a loss, and really want to switch it up!

I'm a "curvy" Mom too.

Curvy. I like that word better than "plus-sized". I've got a belly. I've got big boobs. I've got childbearing hips. I've got an ass that sticks out. I've got "curves".  

Every time the seasons change I have a hard time finding clothes that don't make me look like I am 75 years old that actually fit me. I know I've complained about this before, but today I read a blog from Barefoot Foodie (Brittany) that says exactly how I feel in a better way.

Go check it out: Big Fat Rant. She rocks! (AND she looks marvelous too!)