Puffins!

A few months ago my sister-in-law introduced me to Bakerella. She is a brilliant woman who obviously does not have kids of her own or she would not have the time to come up with everything that she does. I'm so grateful for her inspired creations for they have added some new, super-easy rotations to my small arsenal. This is her original post for Cake Pops and she has come up with variations for every holiday. They are the cutest things EVER and are delicious to boot.

My absolute favorite of hers are Mini Maple Pancake Muffins . You take pancake batter, mix in some chocolate chips and bake it in mini-muffin pans at 350 for 10-13 minutes. Pancake muffins - Puffins! The kids love them cause they are little and get to dip them in the syrup. I love them cause I'm not standing over the griddle and the kids don't use as much syrup. They are only dipping them, not sending them swimming on their plates.

Bah Humbug!

While I love the season of fall with a passion, I've never been a big fan of Halloween. I don't really enjoy dressing up or the stress of deciding what to be. I think of it as another holiday to endure before we get to the ones that really count, Thanksgiving and Christmas! But, being the great Mom I am I try hard not to stifle the Spirit of Pretend that exists in my children. I do however love the excuse to sew fantastic costumes that will be used for dress-up play for years to come. So, next year I am banning store-bought costumes so that I can indulge my inner seamstress. That and if I have hear that a child is not wearing a piece of their costume because, "It's itchy!" one more time I'm going to scream.

Happy Halloween!

Say Hello to my Little Friend (Or One more thing on my To-do List)

Now that it's in my house, do you think I will actually use it?!

Learning to say No.

Why is it that one of our first words becomes harder for us to say the older we get? As toddlers we say no to everything, even when we don't mean it. When we become adult women we realize that more is expected of us than we can possibly give but guilt and pressure bend us to agree to do the things that we really can't. There are never enough hours in the day and we aren't SuperWoman. And I've decided I'm okay with that.

I wish I could be at every Daisy Girl Scout meeting, helping. I wish I could be at every Tiger Cub meeting. I wish I could be a volunteer in the Tank's classroom. But there's only one me.

This year I have taken on finishing my bachelor's degree, homeschooling my children, and two week cross-country trip and accepted the calling as Primary President. What makes me think I can do all of it on top of my everyday duties as a wife and mother? Something has got to give and I've realized that it has to be the one thing I never prayed about.

Homeschooling? Prayed for months. Primary president? I received a confirmation that I would receive the call before I was asked into the bishop's office and already knew who my counselors were supposed to be. My children? Each one of them is a blessing from the Lord and have been greatly wanted before they arrived in our house. The family trip is already over.

That leaves my schoolwork. I never prayed if now was the right time for me to finish my degree. Why do I think I know better than the Lord? Why do I think that I can do more than what He has asked of me? We are never given more than we can handle with His help, but that only applies to the things that He asks us to take on. Not all the extras that we think we can squeeze in.

So for now I'm slowing down so that I can find more joy in my journey. This stage will not last forever and before I know it I will be searching for projects to fill my time.

I'm also hiring a cleaning lady so my house isn't a complete disaster all the time.

Happy Moments in Mommyhood

Tonight at the dinner table the Bug was standing up in her seat singing nursery rhymes and church songs. The other kids were applauding her and she would then take a bow while saying, "Thank you, thank you." She is now dancing around the house singing, "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Sweet moments like this that counterbalance the bickering and screaming.

P.S. My account of our big trip across the country is coming.

The sky is falling!

Or not. Maybe the roof will just cave in around me as I finally get to cross "Blogging" off my mental to-do list. And I can't think of anything else witty to say so here are just the facts Ma'am.

Tom is working like crazy these days. We are gearing up for our two-week trip to NM, stopping at several Church history sites, Arches Nat'l park and the Grand Canyon along the way.

I got to go visit my mom to help her recover from her hysterectomy (another future event for me to look forward to?) and got to indulge in chile rellenos and sopaipillas.

Tweedledum is super-excited to start homeschool and Tweedledee is not. She keeps telling me she wants to go to regular school now that all her friends are not around to play with during the day.

The Tank is going to be going to pre-K. I had filled out paperwork last year for him to be put in one of the "over-income slots" in Head Start. There was never any room and he had a great year at Mom's Day Out. I had been getting nervous, wondering how I was going to keep him and Tweedledee separated so they could each get their work done this year when I got a random phone call from the HS director and that they had a spot open for him this year. Priority is given to a 4 year-old who falls in the over-income area over a 3 year-old who is under the income limit. So I called Tom and we felt it would be a good experience for him. I think he was starting to feel a little left out of all the "school experiences". After all, he watched the twins ride the school bus for a year and then go off to the big school last year. I think some structure away from home will give him the boost we both need to have a successful homeschool next year.

The Bug is officially in her terrible twos. Her language developed in leaps and bounds while I was out of town and now has no problem telling me exactly what she wants. She is starting to pick up some back talk from the big kids that needs to be nipped in the bud all the way around.

As I write, Tweedledum is at his first Cub Scout campout with Daddy. Of course, it's pouring rain so he is getting the full experience. In the morning they will be going for a hike and the "big boys" are cooking and doing some afternoon activities with them. I cannot describe the look of pure joy and pride when Daddy finally got home from work and they got the car packed up to leave. I hope Cub Scouts is everything he expects it to be, he is so excited. My heart is just bursting for him to have, maybe, found his niche.

Who wants some Shabby Apples?

Jana over at The Meanest Mom is teaming up with the Shabby Apple to give away one of their super-cute, super-modest dresses. Go on over for your chance to win! Or not, cause I *really* want one of these dresses.