Thursday, April 30, 2009

MHS Spirit Week

This week, Brady's school is celebrating "Spirit Week". The kids are encouraged to dress up everyday this week in a different theme.

Monday"s theme: Rocker ..... Brady forgot or didn't know about spirit week when he went to school. It just happened that he had on a "Music" t-shirt and fit in great!!

Tuesday's theme: Lazy day / P.J. day ..... Brady wore P.J.'s to school. I didn't get a picture with him in them - but these are the P.J. bottoms he wore with a regular t-shirt. He was only one of a few people who dressed up... Lot's of people in the halls commented "Nice P.J.'s".
Wednesday's theme: Cowboy and hat day: Brady wore this hat... His hat was the biggest at school. He really had a fun day yesterday!
Thursday's theme: Hawaiian day or Hippie day... Brady decided to wear his "peace" shirt. He is being nice to me and letting me take these pictures... What a great kid!!
Friday's Theme is going to be School Colors, which is appropriate for "Spirit Week".
I am really proud of Brady for participating in school activities. High School can be fun if you are involved and make it fun. I've always stressed that it is much more fun to be weird and have fun then "Too Cool" to enjoy life. I hope he always keeps this fun loving spirit in him, it is truly the only way to enjoy life and the journey!
This past weekend our stake had youth conference for the teenagers in our stake (area church members). Brady attended all day Saturday and wrapping up with a fireside on Sunday. I have been begging Brady to another guest blog about all the fun... Hopefully he will. I wasn't there which means I can't really blog about it.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Electricity

Sometimes it is hard to keep up with all the little things that need repaired when you are a home owner. For me it comes to having enough money to actually do the repair or taking time off work to wait for a repairman (usually an all day thing).

I've had some issues with my electricity that has needed to be fixed for a while. In the upstairs room the ceiling fan has been broken for several years. Yup, several years! It actually spit out sparks when it quit working - scary!!

About six months ago I found a ceiling fan at Fred Meyers that was on sale and it had addition 40% off the sale price. I was able to purchase it for under $40. It has been sitting in my garage since then.

When we had warm weather a couple of weeks ago I decided I really needed to get it fixed. This is the top floor room that gets very hot in the summer too. Since I only had to clean one house this past Friday, I decided to call and get it replaced with the new one. I didn't think to get a picture of the old one.
Yes!! It is finally fixed. The ceiling fan works, the light works and it is beautiful!!
Another electrical problem I have had is that the lights in my hallway have not be working for - ooohh about 2 years.. I know - just shake your head!! Yeah!! They work - you can turn them off and on!!! LET THERE BE LIGHT!
AND...... Yes -- AND the fan in the bathroom has been out for about 4 months. It's been horrible not having a fan in a bathroom with no windows.. It's new, smooth running and now we have a working fan in the bathroom.
Such a relief to have these things fixed! Sometimes it is hard to be a home owner and a single woman... but I manage... It may take months or years - but I eventually do get things fixed!!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Spring Flowers!

Oh how I love Spring!!! I love how the earth starts to awaken, flowers bloom, there is popcorn on the trees and the grass is green. After a long cold winter, it's nice to have milder weather. I love being outside enjoying the beauty that surrounds me.
I love daffodils! Last year I was able to get several bulbs in the ground after a 75% off sale.
The colors of some of the tulips we planted are magnificent!
I also love the plants that remind me of "Jesus".. like this bleeding heart.... each drop of blood our Savior shed for us - because he loves us!
Here are some pictures of the seeds I planted. They are finally looking good after putting them in my kitchen window. They were looking really sad and didn't have enough sun in the craft room... I was about to give up. Finally I put them in the window seal and now they are thriving. They just needed sun. I'm happy to see that the tomato plants look like tomato plants now.
Here are my trays of Geraniums and Fuchsias I purchased at Fred Meyers for 75 cents a plant. They are growing big too - I need to plant them soon!
You can see the Fuchsia is starting to bloom.
I have one bush in my berm that is a "popcorn" tree... Yeah!
My berm is finally looking like spring with all the bulbs starting to bloom.
I love the green grass, the Iris's are starting to grow and you can also see my Peonies are growing too at the back of the picture. Aaaahhhh the smell and beauty of a lilac bush... Filled with flowers this year! I love this time of year!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Pandemic Influenza Planning.

"Pandemics are global in nature, but their impact is local. When the next pandemic strikes, as it surely will, it is likely to touch the lives of every individual, family, and community. Our task is to make sure that when this happens, we will be a Nation prepared."
Michael O. Leavitt, Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

What You Need to Know
An influenza (flu) pandemic is a worldwide outbreak of flu disease that occurs when a new type of influenza virus appears that people have not been exposed to before. The pandemic virus can cause serious illness because people do not have immunity to the new virus. Pandemics are different from seasonal outbreaks of influenza that we see every year.

Influenza pandemics are different from many of the other major public health and health care threats facing our country and the world. A pandemic will last much longer than most flu outbreaks and may include "waves" of influenza activity that last 6 - 8 weeks separated by months.

The number of heath care workers and first responders able to work may be reduced. Public heath officials will not know how severe a pandemic will be until it begins.

Importance and Benefits of Being Prepared

The effects of a pandemic can be lessened if you prepare ahead of time. Preparing for a disaster will help bring peace of mind and confidence to deal with pandemic.

When a pandemic starts, everyone around the world could be at risk. A pandemic would touch every aspect of society - businesses, schools, churches, community organizations, and essential services.

As you plan for an influenza pandemic, think about the challenges you might face, particularly if a pandemic is severe.

*Plan for the possibility that usual services may be disrupted. These could include services provided by hospitals, banks, restaurants, government offices, telephone and cellular phone companies, and post offices.

*Stores may close or have limited supplies.

*Transportation services may be disrupted. Fuel shortages.

*In a pandemic, there may be widespread illness that could result in the shut down of local ATMs and banks. Keep a small amount of cash in small denominations for easy use.

Food and Water Supplies May Be interrupted and Limited

*Store two weeks of nonperishable food. Select foods that do not require refrigeration, preparation, or cooking. (what happens if you are the one sick and your children have to take care of you).

* Store two weeks of water, 1 gallon of water per person per day. (2 quarts for drinking, 2 quarts for food preparation/sanitation).

*If you cannot get to a store, or if stores are out of supplies, it will be important for you to have extra supplies on hand. This can be useful in other types of emergencies, such as power outages and disasters.

Items to have on hand for an extended stay at home:
*Ready-to-eat canned meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, beans and soups.

*Protein or fruit bars

*Dry cereal or granola

*Dried Fruit

*Crackers

*Canned Juices

*Bottled Water

*Canned or jarred baby food and formula

*Pet food

*Prescribed medical supplies

*Soap and water, alcohol-based hand wash

*Medicines for fever, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen

*Thermometer

*Anti-diarrhea medication

*Vitamins

*Fluids with electrolytes (See this link to make your own: http://blog.totallyready.com/?p=529)

*Cleansing agent/soap

*Flashlight

*Batteries

*Portable radio

*Manual can opener

*Garbage bags

*Tissues, toilet paper, disposable diapers

This information came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services May 2006

Here is the link to the LDS Church pandemic information: http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,8041-1-4414-1,00.html

My personal thoughts are to be prepared! Prevention is also key in this threat.
*Wash your hands often and teach your children to do the same thing. Brady has hand sanitizer in his locker to use between classes.
*Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
*Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
*If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
*Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth because germs can spread that way.

Over the weekend I thought of things I should get on hand like: anti-diarrhea medication, anti-nausea medication, NyQuil, Kleenex etc. I headed out to the store and purchased these items. Luckily there wasn't a "run" on these items and the shelves were stocked. But, what happens if you can't find them when the pandemic hits your area.

The other thing is that when we are at risk, we shouldn't be running to the store and exposing ourselves to the virus.... We should be heading home.

In the case of a true Pandemic outbreak in your area, the most important thing is to be prepared to Shelter In. This means having enough food/water/supplies to keep you and your family inside at your home for possibly several weeks.

You don’t want to be caught in a store-run in a pandemic outbreak! You need to make sure you are prepared for that possibility ahead of time. If you have your 3 month supply of everything at home already, then Peace is yours in this situation!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Update on Swine Flu and see post below

I saw that Totally Ready has an update on the Swine Flu coming out of Mexico and wanted to post it. They will keep updating their website so here is the link:

I know that some people will think we are overreacting or can't be worried about everything little thing. However, this statement by the CDC is pretty concerning. Please prepare your families. She also has some really great ideas on preparing for pandemics on her site.

The CDC has just released the following statement:
25 Apr 2009 17:45:06 GMT25 Apr 2009 17:45:06 GMT ## for search indexer, do not remove –>
Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - An unusual new flu virus has spread widely and cannot be contained, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Saturday. “It is clear that this is widespread. And that is why we have let you know that we cannot contain the spread of this virus,” the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat told reporters on a conference call.

Another link for an update of how severe the situation is.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Mexican Flu Outbreak

Have you heard about the flu outbreak in Mexico? It is being spread rapidly, human to human. It is a combination of the swine flu, bird flu and human flu. There have been deaths and the World Health Organization is very concerned about this being a pandemic.

Are you prepared yet? I currently have 80 surgical N-95 masks in my home. Do you have any yet? You'll need a new one each time you are out of your house, one before you enter into your house, an new one if you are taking care of a patient. If you have children, you'll need one for them too. We also need Clorox to clean our homes with. I really get concerned with all of this "earth friendly" cleaners that people are making in their home. I totally disagree and think you need something that can kill the virus. As you know..... I am a germ and clean freak. My goal in cleaning a home is to get rid of germs. I am afraid that with all this "green" cleaning stuff, people are putting their homes at risk of being "sick" homes. (that is just my opinion).

Here is another great idea to have in your homes is Peroxide. Check out this post:


We need to make sure we have at least a three months of supplies to take care of our families. Plus, savings to pay our bills. Who knows when our threat will be a pandemic that shuts everything down. Mexico is really close to the US. We have lots of Mexican Citizens here in Idaho and who are coming now for the farming season. I hope they don't come when they are ill or are carrying the virus. This virus could easily be spread to Idaho and many states in between. It has already spread to Texas and southern California.

Here is a blog I did a while ago about preparing for a pandemic...

Here are two articles you can read if you haven't heard about this flu. This is a real risk - please prepare your families.

I just can't say no to more work...

It is crazy that I have been in such high demand for my cleaning services lately.

One of my customers, Mary Kay (true name and not that Mary Kay), has been adding on an extension to her home as in-law quarters. It's another 1200-1500 square feet home of bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms, living areas attached to their house. I've been dealing with all of the construction mess for a good 6 months. I can't wait until it is done.

This week I finally asked her if they were going to have me clean the addition. I don't have more time on the day I clean her AND also clean the addition. Her regular home is about 4500 square feet and is huge. I told her the only way I could clean it would to do it as a separate house on a different day. She currently is cleaned every week, but I could only clean the addition every other week. I currently only have one opening that I have been reluctant to fill - I need the time off.

While we were talking she indicated that her mother-in-law would keep her own cleaning lady to clean her area. I was pretty relieved.

Then this past week they found out that her own mother has lung cancer and may not live much longer. She was pretty upset of course and we had a long talk about that - life after death - the gospel etc. It was a good conversation and even though death is a very difficult thing, you hope that you can give some comfort in the knowledge we enjoy from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mary Kay has been staying with her Mom and Dad to help take care of her at home. The night before her cleaning day, she called and asked if I would go and clean their house instead. Of course I would help her out and clean their parents house instead of hers.

Every time I clean a new customer's house - it is a major deal, because they just don't clean like I do and I have to fix problem areas like bathrooms and kitchens. This was no exception. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned as hard as I could as quick as I could because I still had another house to clean that day. I think I was able to do a pretty good job in fixing the toilets, shower, sinks and kitchen. I was exhausted by the time I was done. Plus, I feel pain in my wrist and elbow from all the hard work. I'm going to really have to baby my arm this weekend - with the hopes I can get it healed before Monday. (Do you think you can be addicted to Tylenol?)

Mary Kay called me and thanked me for the amazing miracle work I did to their bathrooms and kitchen. She was very happy and so were her parents.

Now for the dilemma.... Her in-laws and husband want me to clean the addition in their house so they don't have to work with multiple people coming in and out of their house. AND her parents would like me to clean their house too. Sooo much work and not enough of me...

I've thought about how I can do it and not let one of my favorite customers down - or possibly lose the customer to the other cleaning lady.

I finally had a thought and I told her I could rotate the in-law addition one week and the basement the other week - but do the main living area every week. Plus, then I could do her parents on my last opening every other week.

I have absolutely no extra time anymore... which makes it very difficult if I have to change any customer's cleaning day for a party, illness, conflict, company (etc) or even a holiday.. It's hard to say NO to money, to work... especially when your customers love you so much and I know I do the best job out there.

I get worried about getting over loaded. I know when I work so hard that when I'm done I am so very exhausted and come home an die. No energy to do anything fun.. I have to recover enough to clean the next day.

The dilemma is -giving up work and have a life with energy... Be proactive in case my two older customer die. Be proactive in case the economy effects one of my customers ability to keep me - a luxury.

I think at this time, I will work myself to death and save like crazy. I hope my body can handle all the physical labor and be able to keep up with my craziness in getting so over booked with work.

The other thing - do I have time and energy for my own yard work this summer? To be able to have a vegetable garden and then can food in the fall. I just don't know... Is it the right thing to always be working and working - and not living?

A side note... sorry to be complaining about work when so many people are without work. It's just a bit over whelming to me at this moment... Over whelming when I still can't say "no" very well... I should be grateful for all the blessing I am receiving and that my body does handle all the work.

I AM grateful for all the blessings I have and know that my Heavenly Father truly watches over me and my family.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Spring Swap

A couple of weeks ago, Cherie at Bakow Babbles held a spring swap. If we were interested in joining we signed up with her. Then she matched 2 people together and we were to send some surprises with at least 3 spring things in the package.

My swap partner was Wendy from "No Botox Allowed". I was able to get a little gift sent to her and today I received a package in the mail from her.
Woo Hoo - the mother load!! Look at all that cool stuff! Wendy sure did spoil me!! I totally LOVE everything! Isn't it fun to get surprises in the mail?? I love it!

She sent me eight fabulous wash clothes that match my colors... cool and very nice!

2 bars of Olive Oil soap... Orange and jasmine scented. How fun!

Also some Bath gel from Avon - scented blackberry and vanilla

4 piece manicure set - which my poor finger nails are desperately in need of - a good manicure.

Note tags to mark special notes to books without altering the pages! This will come in handy... I always mark up LDS books I read - especially Sheri Dew books. Now I'll be able to find the references quicker...

Kiss Me mints.... Hmmmmm Kiss me?? What's that?? But, I love the mints. (it has a frog on the front)... to find my Prince! Perfect kiss me mints - for me!!

Now....talking about kissable lips... she sent me some Avon lip gloss... Is she hinting that I need some kissing action?? I'll have to think on that --- or dream on that!! LOL!

A note pad to stick on my fridge that says: "i was never meant to work".. I'll say Yeah to that!! Where is that husband to work for me.... Oh... yeah --- gone... I guess I'll have to work... Darn!

And a really cute magnet that says: "Things happen for a reason. Just believe.


Like I said....Wendy totally spoiled me...

Thanks a bunch!! I loved it all!!

Cherie -- thanks for having a spring swap... It was such fun!!

The Joys of Cooking

One of my favorite things I love about blogging is all the inspiration I am able to get when I visit other blogs. You blogging women out there are simply amazing! You are talented, creative, smart, witty and inspiring. I can get sucked in to the blog world for hours and hours reading your blogs and searching your site. I try to limit the hours I stay on-line to have a real life ..... but sometimes it is hard to do.

I have really become addicted to getting recipes. You ,my friends, are awesome cooks. When I was a little girl and being the baby daughter, I had NO interest in learning how to cook. I didn't want to do it at all. I always said that if I couldn't get it out of a box - then I wouldn't eat it and my husband would have to deal with it - LOL! (this is true).

Through necessity, I have had to learn how to cook a few things. Of course, I have my few basic recipes that I cook over and over - the same hum drum... I like things that are quick and come out of a package - still to this day. I work hard every day and don't really want to spend hours in the kitchen when I come home.

Lately though.... I have been inspired over and over again by all the great recipes I run across. I really want to be a better cook and be able to use the food I store, which I think is part of self-reliance and emergency preparedness to know what to do with the food now and not just in an emergency.
Who would know that I would start loving to cook?? I have become better prepared and a better cook since blogging and being inspired by all of you.

I received the sweetest call on Sunday from my niece Zoey Michelle. When her family was here visiting, I sent 6 loaves of bread home to my family members with her. They liked my bread recipe and made it over the weekend. She was very excited and proud of her bread that she called me to share the news and invited their neighbors over for a piece of warm homemade bread. I was excited for her as much as I was excited for me when I made my first homemade bread. It's a great feeling to know you can provide basic food for your family without having to go to the store and in case of an emergency. We are learning what to do with our food storage and it's a great feeling.

Over the weekend I made the best soup. Wild rice and chicken soup from Pinks Cookies with Sprinkles. I found her blog when Cherie featured her last week. She is an amazing, health conscience and frugal cook. I have really enjoyed browsing her recipes.

I've started a binder that is full of detailed recipes I find on different blogs. Everyday, by your examples - I am becoming a better me! It's a great feeling! Thanks for all the inspiration you give to me daily through your amazing blogs!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Motivational Monday - Understanding Self-Reliance

If you look up the word "reliance" in the dictionary, you will find that it is defined as having absolute certainty in the trustworthiness of another. If you put the word "self" in front of it, you change the meaning to being absolutely certain of your own trustworthiness.

In the 1996 November Ensign, President Gordon B. Hinckley responds to a question on physical self-reliance. "Why are members of the Church expected to keep a year's supply of food, clothing and fuel?" he was asked. His reply was, "We teach self-reliance as a principle of life, that we ought to provide for ourselves and take care of our own needs. And so we encourage our people to have something, to plan ahead, keep....food on hand, to establish a savings account, if possible, against a rainy day. The individual ought to do for himself all that he can. When he has exhausted his resources, he ought to turn to his family to assist him.

Heavenly Father has placed us on earth to learn. He expects different things from us at different times. As we grow up we are expected to be able to do more and more for ourselves. You expect a fifteen year old to be able to do a lot more than a fifteen month old. Each year, as you grow older, your abilities change and you become more independent.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Socialism Explanation Made Simple

I read this at Idaho Preppers Network and love this explanation of Socialism. They have agreed to let me post it on my blog.

We do NOT want socialism to happened to the United States Of America! Socialism made simple

Don't know if this is true or not, but it's an interesting teaching process and a point well made.

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism..

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little..The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.


All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great,the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that....

I truly believe that things will get worse and worse with our country as socialism moves forward. When people expect the government to take care of them. There will be NO reason to try and succeed. You will just be paying for all of those people who don't want to try and expect the government to take care of all of their needs.

Please get involved to help save our country from a possible fall of all we hold dear. Capitalism works! Socialism DOES NOT!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Drivers Training

Yup, it's that time when my teenager is enrolled to learn how to drive. We sent in the registration for Drivers training summer school. I am excited and nervous at the same time.
Teenage drivers are kind of scary ... they are new to the whole driving experience. Brady is real "NEW". He hasn't even started a car or anything related to driving a car. Soon he will be behind the wheel and moving that big piece of metal.
I remember my first day at drivers training. I was the first one up to drive. We were in the church parking lot and my instructor tells me to back up. I put the car in reverse and push on the accelerator and go. All of a sudden we come to a screeching halt. Scared me to death. Then I received a lecture that we don't push on the accelerator when going in reverse - like I knew that without instruction...

I am a great driver ... a little impatient at times ..... well most of the time..

I was in a few wrecks when I was a teenager. I sure hope I can live through another teen driver. Actually, Jason was a great driver and didn't really have any wrecks when he was a teen. For some reason, I handled Jason driving better then I am handling Brady going to Drivers training. Maybe I'm just older and wiser now, and know the risks better. Not to mention the added costs of insurance and another car... Arrgghhh it's a scary day!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Tax Day Tea Party

Today thousands of people marched across the United States of American in protest to Big Government and out of control spending.

I wish I could have joined in ... but being self employed, if I don't work, I don't get paid. Unfortunately I have to work to support my family and couldn't attend. If I was able to be there, I would have taken Brady out of school to march too. However, I was thrilled that Boise, Idaho had a great turn out. I'll just keep sending letters to our government officials encouraging them to STOP SPENDING. (pictures are from http://www.fox.com/).
I heard there was a sign that said, "Stop Fiscal Child Abuse". It is true that what we are doing now by over spending and making big government is going to affect our children. Government is out of control and needs to hear from us! We need to stand up for our liberty!
Yes.... we are all Tax Enough Already!! I am NOT in support of Big Government that oppresses the people. I don't want them to control my life... I want freedom and the ability to continue to be self employed and take care of myself. I hate writing out tax checks on this April 15 Tax day. How much more can they squeeze out of us?? They need to stop now!!
The spending spree has got to stop. People need to take care of themselves and not rely on Government to take care of them. Let's be free and wise!

This photo is from our local station, KTVB.com on the Boise Idaho rally. Yeah for Idahoans who were there to let our voices be heard.

These are the reasons for the Tea Party gatherings around the U.S. today are below... We need to stand up against big government. We are the people who made this a great nation and we need to keep big government from ruining this great nation. Let your voices be heard and write your state officials.

Are you fed up with a Congress and a president who:

vote for a $500 billion tax bill without even reading it?

are spending trillions of borrowed dollars, leaving a debt our great-grandchildren will be paying?

consistently give special interest groups billions of dollars in earmarks to help get themselves re-elected?

want to take your wealth and redistribute it to others?

punish those who practice responsible financial behavior and reward those who do not?

admit to using the financial hurt of millions as an opportunity to push their political agenda?

run up trillions of dollars of debt and then sell that debt to countries such as China?

want government controlled health care?

want to take away the right to vote with a secret ballot in union elections?

refuse to stop the flow of millions of illegal immigrants into our country?

appoint a defender of child pornography to the Number 2 position in the Justice Department?

want to force doctors and other medical workers to perform abortions against their will?

want to impose a carbon tax on your electricity, gas and home heating fuels?

want to reduce your tax deductibility for charitable gifts?

take money from your family budget to pay for their federal budget?

If so, participate in the TAX Day TEA party rally, the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Our Easter and Recipe for Resurrection Rolls

Brady decorated our Easter Eggs Saturday night. I called Jason to see if they were coming over to help decorate. He indicated that they were not feeling well and didn't want to come over. I asked if they were going to come for Easter dinner and again they were not going to come because they had colds and were not feeling well.

Since it was only going to be Brady decorating the eggs, we only did 24 eggs.

The Easter bunny did come to our house for Easter. When Brady got up for church and went to sit down for breakfast, he said, "Do I have to find eggs?"
I said, "Only if you want to."
He said, "Well, there is one on my chair."
I said, "Well, I guess you can find that one if you want to"... LOL.. He found it.

After he ate breakfast, he started finding eggs - even though the Easter bunny wasn't suppose to come visit our house. He found a bunch and I asked if he had looked inside the plastic eggs. He hadn't and went to check. Right off the bat, he opened 2 eggs with $5 in them (there were only 3 with $5 in them). He got really excited and motivated to find all of the eggs. He started to have fun and loved the pile of money he got (about $30).

Then we got ready and left for church.

When we came home the ham and potatoes were ready for dinner. One of our traditions is to make Resurrection rolls. If you don't know about resurrection rolls - here is what you do.

Can of Pillsbury crescent rolls
melted butter
large marshmallows
cinnamon
sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Give each child a marshmallow, this represents Jesus (we cut the marshmallow in 1/2 for less mess)
Have them dip the marshmallow in the melted butter, which represents the oils of embalming.
Then dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.

Then wrap the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside). This represents the wrapping of Jesus body after death.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. The oven represents the tomb.

When the rolls have cooled sightly, the children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there. He is risen.. (the marshmallow and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty. )

Also to help with the mess, we put them in a cupcake pan with cup cake liners. It helps a lot.

They are hollow inside and really yummy. (Brady made his into balls - which worked too)
The Easter bunny made up 3 baskets, for Brady, Jason and Sharon.
Looking at the picture, it appears that Brady took out the spiritual stuff. He received a hymn book with his name engraved on it. An LDS hits CD, a DVD of Glen Beck's conversion (the store employees and customers recommended to me). We haven't watch it yet. He didn't get too much candy. Of course he receive a big chocolate bunny called "Da Bunny". Also Peeps and some Reese's eggs. He was happy and wanted more Reese's eggs which I just happened to have extras in case he changed his mind.
I asked him why he didn't want candy this year. He said that what he really meant was he didn't want small candy like jelly beans. He was happy with the cold hard cash - and his bunny. It was an excellent Easter for him. However, he refused to let me take pictures - and I was NOT happy about that. He was not in a picture mood.
Later in the day, Jason and Sharon stopped by to pick up their baskets. They only stayed for about 20 minutes... It made me happy that they at least came by.
I had an excellent Easter - even though my children are all grown up!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Primary Easter Lesson

It's April and a new month. Below is the monthly theme and scripture page. I was surprised that there wasn't a song for the month. The song leader gets to choose there own. Here is the journal page.
And the lesson hand out - they drew a self portrait in the middle of the circle.
I wanted to give the children a Easter surprise. This was a huge challenge for me to come up with something. I do not like to give treats - food, especially since they all received an Easter basket full of goodies that morning.


While I was trying to find cool things for Brady's Easter basket at Deseret Book and Seagull book - I wandered around trying to find something really cool to give the children. I just could not get inspired. I thought I would purchase a beautiful picture of the Savior - but neither store had enough quantity of anything for my class - I like to have quantity 15 in case I have visitors and to cover my huge class. The store clerks were worried about my wandering and kept checking me out - while I was trying to get inspire - LOL...


I had checked out Sophia's Primary Idea earlier this week and her great idea kept coming to my mind. Ultimately that was the choice I decided to go with. Here is her link to the Easter Ideas she posted - here:

Here is her idea that I used:
*
In the April Ensign 2009 on page 40 starts an article called "He is Risen". Take a jar and cover it with gray clay, making it look like a rock tomb. Make the lid into a rock. Cut out the scriptures and pictures from this article and put them in a jar. There are 20 pictures/scriptures total. They are short scriptures, perfect for young children. Along with some of the pictures, add small service projects that can relate to that scripture or picture. A week or two before Easter have your child draw one or two out each morning. Display the pictures where they can be seen. Plan so that on Easter the jar will be empty (just like Jesus' tomb) but our hearts aren't because we served others and read our scriptures!


This is what I decided to do: Make the play dough recipe here:

Covered a pint jar - I probably should have used quart jars - but I didn't. Cover the jar to look like a rock tomb and the lid is the rock that rolls away.
I copied, cut out and glued the picture information on the back of the pictures from April 2009 Ensign starting on page 40.

I sent a kit home with each student for them to spend the Easter sabbath making their tomb and putting the pictures inside. It was my hope that this activity would help them remember what Easter is truly about - the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I love visual reminders and absolutely loved every picture in this article.

Recipe for Play Dough

Ingredients:
3 Cups water
2 Tsp Vegetable Oil
3 Cups Flour
1 & 1/2 cup Salt
1 Tablespoon Cream of Tartar
Food coloring few drops or unsweetened "Kool-Aid" 1 pkg.

Mix ALL of the ingredients in a large saucepan.

Cook over medium low heat, until the dough comes away from the edges of the pan and it becomes difficult to move the spoon - as below:
Remove from heat. Cool until it can be handled.
Place on counter or wax paper kneed 3-4 times.
Store in an air tight container.
The secret ingredient here is cream of tartar. This recipe makes play dough that is not grainy like uncooked play dough and keeps for a long time.

Recipe Cherry Cheese Cake

Ingredients:
Cream Cheese (room temperature)
Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 cup lemon Juice
1 tsp Vanilla

Cream the room temperature Cream Cheese with mixer until it is nice and creamy.

Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix until nice and creamy.

Add the lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well for several minutes.
Put in a graham cracker crust and chill.
Add a can of Cherry Pie Filling on top (after it has chilled for several hours). Cut and serve.
This is one of our favorite desserts - and it really EASY!

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