snowflakes

I made these snowflake ornaments with my 3 year old the other day and she loved it. I got the idea from a magazine and I think they turned out pretty cute, I still need to find something to hang them with but it was super easy and fast so I thought I'd share with all of you! 

What you need: 

popsicle sticks

glue

buttons

I heart Etsy.

I'm not a big shopper and most of the shopping I do is online. I have a few favorite online stores that I regularly shop at like old navy and amazon but one of my very favorites is Etsy. It's where people can buy and sell homemade products and there are such unique things to choose from. You can find anything there I swear.

Here's the link...

http://www.etsy.com/

It's also a great place to sell all sorts of things. You pay a small fee to list things but don't have to pay a percentage like on ebay.

I'm buying these Christmas gift tags from there (minus the blue)...

Twilight Reviews

So ladies, it is here! What did you think about Twilight? IF you didn't see it you DON'T READ THIS PLEASE!

Reminder

I love this talk by Elder M. Russell Ballard in April 2008 conference. I've been feeling frustrated with my lack of energy lately. I feel like there's always so much to do and not enough time/energy to do it all. I remembered this talk and it is very encouraging and uplifting. I really like the quote from Anna Quindlen. I need an occasional reminder to stop and enjoy the moment instead of rushing to the next task.

"What can you do, as a young mother, to reduce the pressure and enjoy your family more?

First, recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction.

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. … I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less' (Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11)."

Ornament wreath

I made this today and people seem to like it so I thought I'd post a link to some basic directions on here too in case anyone is interested. It was very easy, not too time consuming, and turned out really cute.

Here's mine...




http://www.deepfriedkudzu.com/2008/01/mardi-gras-wreath-ornament-wreath.html

intro: Misty

hey everyone, I'm Misty and Katy invited me to be part of your great group! I know the McKinney's from when they lived out here in Modesto, Ca, we went to church together and it's been fun finding them again! 

A little about me: My husband Ryan and I have been married for 6 years, we met while we were at school in San Diego and we were married a short 7 months later. We lived in San Diego for 4 years and moved back up to Modesto right before we had our daughter. So now we have 2 kids, Dylen who is 3 and Max who is 18 months. My husband is a Paramedic and also in the National Guard and I work a couple mornings at my Dad's office and get to spend the rest of the time with my two cute kiddos. I love being a mom and I look forward to getting advice and great ideas from all of you! Thanks for inviting me Katy.

Who is ready for Twilight?

Opening in Theatres near you November 21st!

Need ideas

I'm going to wrap a bunch of boxes and use them as outdoor decorations. I need advice/ideas on what I can wrap them in so they will be snow and rain proof. Any ideas ladies??

Free Photobook from Snapfish

You can make a free custom Snapfish photobook through the link on Oprah's website (click here). The offer ends at midnight so hurry and check it out. Thanks Britney for the info. I'm gonna go work on mine.

Pumpkin Bread

I've been making this a lot lately. It's so yummy, especially when you add chocolate chips to the batter.

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans. *I use two standard bread loaf pans (not sure the measurements) and cook about 60 minutes.*

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.