Lady Gaga Parachutes with a Quilt to Decorate Cakes.

My body isn't too happy, so my hair is falling out again.  This is just what came out when I finger-combed through my hair Sunday morning.  I have lost several times this much in the last day alone.  Easily enough to make a new hair piece for Lady Gaga.

Sabrina cracks me up.  She was wearing this get-up before church yesterday.  Between the monkey backpack / leash and the pooh-bear hat she looked like she was ready to go parachuting!

Sabrina's quilt top is done!  She absolutely loves it.  Despite the fact it lacks batting, a back, and ties, she is ready to use it.  In fact she is determined to not sleep without it!  I like how it turned out and can't wait to see all three DONE.  Just about 400 more squares to sew together to finish the other two tops :P  I love the special squares of fabric.  The girls have so much fun just looking at the quilt!  Makes it worth it.

Last night was the Southern Family Monthly Birthday Party.  Lizzie's was one of the June birthdays.  She got a cool cake decorating set from Grandpa and Grandma.  We ended up having to leave all of a sudden when my cat allergies decided to present me with a blister on my eyeball.  I'll spare you that picture ;)  It's back to normal this afternoon.  Phew!

By 8:30 this morning Lizzie was up and done with her chores so she could try out her cake set.  It came complete with cake mix and pan ("bakes" in special "pans" for 30 seconds in the microwave) and fondant mix, sprinkles... all the fun stuff.  The resulting cake is probably about the size of a standard cupcake but they had a blast decorating it this morning.  She's already asking what her chores are going to be tomorrow!

  Just got home from the pediatrician's office.  Sabrina's spleen feels good, so she's recovering very well from mono.  Yay!  And even better -- the pediatrician helped re-wrap my foot in a way that will help keep down the swelling!  We love our pediatrician.  They are all so helpful.  She also gave me a few tips on how to help it heal faster.  Stuff that makes great sense once she said it, but we didn't know before.  Now I'm sitting with my foot up still (that's still on the list) with the ice pack back on (that's there too) with the splint off (as long as I'm not walking around it can help not get the burning pain in the back of my foot to leave the splint off more).  It's wrapped better and the swelling is already starting to even out better.  The whole foot is still some swollen, but it's a general slight swelling instead of balloon foot in front of the ace bandage.  Phew!
In the picture (below) you can kinda see the bump from where the bandage was wrapped before.  It was already improving by this point, but was rather comical at first!

Up next: tomorrow's visit to my doctor to see why this ankle is still so cranky.

The Demented Ameteur Balloon Animal

This puffy little critter still likes to be called my right food.  Doesn't function too well, but it does have the right general shape.  Since my last post my foot has swollen up to the point where I think they'll have to do some sort of plastic surgery to return it to normal foot shape when it's calmed down!

A big sigh of relief, though, is that the "foot" will now bear some weight.  I actually have *some* range of motion also which gives me hope that I won't always be a monoplegic mother.

The bruising is also pretty spectacular.  I've got my own masterpiece drawn in blood against the inside of my foot.  The dark spots on my toes that were dirt the other day are now black bruises instead.  The inside and outside of my ankle are both bruised too.

 I have had so much help since Monday when I fell.  One friend took all three children immediately so Michael could take me to the InstaCare -- took them for a hike and fed them dinner even!  My mom has been invaluable -- she has cleaned my house, made us meals, and kept the girls completely happy.  In the picture above Lizzie is happily mopping the stairs!  The happy part was particularly nice :)    Another friend has fed my children, helped them make cards, and brought me food also.  Yet another friend rearranged plans so I could be involved from my recliner and stayed after to help feed me and my daughters again.

Michael has had to work a lot of hours this week so he hasn't been able to be my feet for me this week.  He has always put me first and I know that he would have done anything I need this week.  I am so grateful for friends and family who have been able to help out so he could get his work done also.  It's been a long, hard week, but full of blessings and sunshine also.

For all those who have helped -- Thank You.  My children thank you, my husband thanks you, and I THANK YOU. 

As I've been sitting in one chair all day every day all week I have exhausted all my usual entertainments.  There are only so many blogs you can read, only so many decent shows on hulu.com, only so many emails you can write before you go completely stir-crazy.  This afternoon I slid down onto the floor and cut out a few last squares for a quilt I'm working on.  I've laid out the entire quilt top and have it labeled and stacked.  I even got the bottom 1/3rd of the quilt sewn together!  Well, the center small squares at least.  There will be a border of larger squares.  Most of the fabric is form worn out clothes.  The multi-colored stripes on white fabric is the theme for the girls' room.  Each of their quilts will have some squares of that mixed in and as part of the border.  This is Sabrina's - it has yellow squares mixed in also.  Kate's will have red and Lizzie's will have blue.  I'm going to tie the quilts with red, yellow, and blue yarn also.  I think the final product will be really fun.  They've certainly excited.  They like to sort through the fabrics and talk about what they used to be.

I'm hoping for a lower-key weekend.  I dont' know if I'll be able to make it to church on Sunday -- especially not in Nursery with my little ones kicking my ankles and whatnot.  I'm tempted to go sit an at least let them sit on my lap, but Michael is very concerned about me pushing it too much and slowing the healing.  I had a standard urology appointment on Monday before The Fall.  They just called yesterday to say that I've got another urinary tract infection.  So I'm back on antibiotics for the gazillionth time.  Sabrina's mono seems well under control.  She has an appointment on Monday to check her spleen and make sure it hasn't become enlarged.  Basically it's Life As Usual for us -- with a twist since it involves crutches :P

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch. And I'll say it one more time: OUCH.

I'm going to simply copy/paste what I wrote in an email to my family about today's events:

Here's my story:
The girls were arguing over a balloon this afternoon.  Kate dropped her free helium balloon from Roberts in the living room and it floated up by the ceiling fan.  Lizzie, in an attempt to free the balloon, turned on the fan and just managed to get the hanging ribbon tangled mostly up in the fan blades.  Enter: Mom.  In my endeavor to just make it better I grabbed the stool (an old counter-height folding stool) that was sitting right there and decided to see if I could reach the ribbon without going all the way out to the garage for the ladder.  Word to the wise; GET THE LADDER.  I stepped off the couch onto the stool: right foot, left foot... oh shoot!   The stool broke.  I landed first on my right foot -- the bottom of my foot facing directly to the left, the rest of my leg going straight down.  Extreme. Pain.  I am sad to know that a few of you understand all too well.  Michael came home and took me to the instacare.  Doctor says the x-rays look like all soft tissue damage.  I've got an air-cast on and crutches to use until I can stand to put any weight on it (so far, without the air-cast if my heel gets pushed one way a little my whole foot moves three different wrong ways.  Creepy.)  Hopefully it will be feeling lots better within two weeks.  If it's still hurting lots then, I go have my doctor figure out what's torn / further injured.  If it's still super duper awful in a week then I go get it re-x-rayed to see if there is a hidden fracture.  In the mean time, I just moved from the recliner in the living room to the bed, using my crutches.  Mega-lots of pain.  It does NOT like being moved AT ALL.  And that was while under the influence of percocet! 
Personally, I'd rather have my appendix removed again.

I do have to note: my first thought when the nurse brought me the crutches was "Ooh, it would be really easy to make some cute covers for those!"  If only I could stand to get downstairs where my stuff is. and if I could stand sewing left-footed, I'd be tempted to make something to cute-up my crutches ;)

 I'm afraid this ends my current record for most consecutive weeks without a doctor's appointment.  I made it 3 whole weeks!
I have discovered with dismay the obvious fact that the cheapest possible zip-top sandwich bags do not make effective ice packs.  Lots of dripping and leaking involved.  Bummer. 

Father's Day

So here's what Dear 'ole Dad got for Father's day around here:

 Notice how the girls are "spelling" Q90?  Cute, huh?  This one is for the wall in Michael's office :)

Daddy and Grandpa Southern each got one of these.  It's a large print -- big enough that each picture of each girl is a full 5x7.  I think the overall size is 12x16.  It turned out really cute (they're signing "I love you" of course).

We love the Daddys in our lives and enjoy celebrating all they do for us on Father's Day.

Love,
The Girls :)

Lizzie's Birthday Review

Here's the low-down on how we spent Lizzie's birthday.  It was a very fun day!  I had to go to the Stake Relief Society Retreat that morning to teach a class about hair bows, and didn't get home until after lunch.  Daddy was going to pick up the week's fruit and vegi co-op basket in the morning and this week was Lizzie's turn to go with Daddy anyway.  So she got up a bit early to go with Daddy.  They picked up the food, stopped at the grocery store and got some goodies, then came home just before I had to leave for the retreat.  Before I left Lizzie got to open up a present -- bubble wands for each girl.  The girls ran around outside chasing bubbles in the morning.
After I got home from the retreat (all went well there) Lizzie got to open another present -- a fun little swimming pool which they spent all afternoon in.  Note to self:  buy sunblock.

In the early evening Lizzie opened another present -- a hippity-hop (the ball with the handle on it to bounce on).  Another big hit.

Finally she got to open the presents from Kate and Sabrina -- a little velvety collectible Bella-Sara horse from each.  That was her greatest desire for her birthday, lol.

Grandma and cousin Madison came by and brought a present from Grandma -- A picnic tablecloth, "big girl" plates and cups all in a basket.  They're a huge hit!  Still plastic, but a bit larger and a whole lot fancier than the IKEA plates and cups the girls usually use.

 We spent the evening playing The Game of Life as a family and eating birthday cake. 

What a wonderful day to celebrate a wonderful girl!  We love our Lizzie :)





One final note: There hadn't been any comments on the "secret" project so I didn't think anyone really was following it. Turns out there are some curious people after all! Well the project was stalled because I wasn't happy with the color of paint. I have made some changes and the project will be back underway immediately. Keep watching for updates! Gotta go use the studfinder on the ceiling...

Happy 6th Birthday, Lizzie!!!

I'm so glad you're part of this silly family :)
You're such a bright, sunshiney girl and always can make me smile.
Love you lots baby!!!

Love,
Mom







I took these pictures while Daddy/Daughters were playing Life just a couple of nights ago. They are ALL photos -- no actual video. I think it's a kinda fun effect :)

Homemade Almond Joy Candy Bars

You store bought Almond Joy candy bar has an incredible ingredients list:

Corn Syrup, Milk Chocolate, (Sugar; Cocoa Butter; Chocolate; Milk; Lactose; Milk Fat; Nonfat Milk; and Soy Lecithin and PGPR, Emulsifiers); Coconut; Sugar; Almonds; Contains 2% or less of: Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, (Cottonseed and Soybean Oil); Whey (Milk): Cocoa; Salt; Natural and Artificial Flavor; Chocolate; Hydrolyzed Milk Protein; Soy Lecithin; Carmel Color; Sodium Metabisulfite; and Sulfur Dioxide. 

My homemade almond joy candy bar has:

sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, powdered sugar, shredded coconut, milk chocolate, whole raw almonds


Granted, if I listed the individual ingredients in the sweetened condensed milk and milk chocolate my ingredients list would grow somewhat.  However, when you're making something yourself you have a lot more control over what's in it.  I know there are all sorts of more natural options for chocolate and I bet there are alternatives in sweetened condensed milk too.  (Okay, I looked it up and you can use evaporated milk, sugar, and a bit of margarine to replace s.c. milk.)


These are YUMMY!!!  Every bit as good or better than storebought.  I mixed them in the food processor to chop up the coconut a bit more which I liked better.  They were a little crumbly and only about half of them actually got dipped :")  If I did these again I'd press them into mini-muffin pans to create individual round "bars" that wouldn't need to be sliced before dipping.


My favorite trick I've learned about dipping in chocolate has to do with the tool I use.  Spoons move too much chocolate and waste it and even forks can gather a lot, especially if the chocolate is starting to cool.  Chopsticks are handy, but leave marks on the sides or top/bottom of the candies.  So my solution?  A plastic fork with the middle two tines broken out.  That leaves you two tines spaced far enough apart to easily lift items levelly.  After holding or tapping the dipped item over the container to let excess drip off I slide the bottom of the fork along the edge of the container to wipe off excess that's hanging down.  Then set the whole thing on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper and slide the dipped item off the fork.  Leaves hardly any mark if you get it right and it's so much easier to handle!


I read several recipes and chose one posted on Chocolate-Candy-Mall.com.  It had fewer steps than many other recipes and looked tasty.  I chose to use raw almonds instead of dry roasted and loved the result.  I also used milk instead of semi-sweet chocolate because my husband is slightly insane ;)
Please note: this recipe only uses about 1/3 of a can of sweetened condensed milk to a full bag of coconut.  I used milk chocolate dipping bits intended to be melted to have things dipped into them so I put them in a plastic container and melted them gently in the microwave according to directions.  If I were using chocolate chips I'd probably add a bit of paraffin or coconut oil to thin it a bit.

Recipe for Almond Joy or Mounds Candy Bars

Ingredients:
5 oz sweetened condensed milk
1 t vanilla
2 C powdered sugar
14 oz shredded or flaked coconut
24 oz semisweet chips
1 cup whole dry roasted almonds

Directions:

1. Blend the condensed milk and the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until smooth.
   
2. Stir in the coconut. The mixture should be firm.
   
3. Pat the mixture firmly into a Greased 9 x 13 x 2 inch pan. Chill in the refrigerator until quite firm.
   
4. In a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, melt the chocolate, stirring often.
   
5. Remove the coconut mixture from the refrigerator and cut into 1 x 2 inch bars.
   
6. (For Almond Joy) Put 2 whole almonds atop each bar.
   
7. Set each coconut bar onto a fork and dip it into the chocolate. Tap the fork against the side of the pan or bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Place on waxed paper lined tray to Set.

 

Keeping busy

Here are the projects I've been working on this week...

Prep work for the Relief Society Retreat on Saturday is well under way.  I have 70+ clippie kits assembled, booklets printed and assembled, and all the sets sorted and put together with names on them.  It's taken several hours, but now it should be no more than one more hour probably before I'm ready to walk out the door :)  That's a big stress off my shoulders.

I've done the shopping trip to get ready for Lizzie's birthday on Saturday also, but I can't show any pictures cause I don't want to spoil her surprise!

Here's a project that's been "in the works" for a month or so :P 

These mod-podged clothespins are for nursery at church.  The children who will be moving into the older class next year have a sunshine on their clips, the ones who will still be in nursery have a star.  Helps when we're trying to sort them out by age ;)  We'll use them to clip up their art work if they're finished early -- and so the parents know which room to pick their child up in.


Random silly pictures.  I love how blue Kate's eyes are in this one!

Here Kate was taking a picture (that's why it's blurry) and wanted us to be silly :)

Remember Sabrina's swollen eyes and nasty cough?  Well on Monday I took her in to the doctor because the cough was SO nasty.  Then I took her to get some blood work done.  Yesterday morning the doctor called back to tell us that Sabrina has mono!  It's not likely to be a major issue, except we need to be gentle with her belly just in case her spleen becomes enlarged.  Since she's so young it's not likely to be as awful as a teenager with the bug.  And she's less likely to ever get it again.

You can really see the bags under her eyes in this picture ^.

I've also hulled, sliced, froze, and stored 16 pounds of strawberries this week.  And lost another battle with my food processor.  I got quite a slice on my finger this time.  I gotta wear gloves while dealing with that monster!

Now it's time to address the next major project:  dinner  ;)

Eating Fresh!

Recently as a family we've been improving our eating habits.  Not that the girls haven't been eating candy all afternoon that they got at the parade, but that the quality of the good food we eat is improved as is the variety.  In order to improve our eating and break us out of some "grab a can of green beans" habits, I did a little research and found a food co-op that looked severely tempting.  I have discovered since then that I know many people who use various co-ops for fresh fruits and vegis, some who were even familiar with the one I had chosen!  So the last two weeks we've taken part in the co-op.  Here's my personal review of Bountiful Baskets Food Co-op

Ease of use: Pretty Good.
Looks like they've been updating their site lately.  There's a limited window to place orders and I've learned that I have to pay attention of I miss out!  My area sells out every time.  I have an alarm set on my phone on Monday evenings to remember to get online to make my "contribution".

Price: Great.
I pay $15 per "basket" or portion of fruits and vegis.  Today I weighed our haul to see how much we got.  It weighed a whoppin' 35 lbs!!!  Good thing I have a strong laundry basket!  They also offer an "organic" option.  For $10 more all your produce is certified organic.  I'm fine with the pesticides :P but I like having the option.

Availability: Good to Great.
Bountiful Baskets exists in several states now.  For those with nothing very close you can go through a process to open your own site.  Here in Utah they seem to have decent coverage.  Springville isn't a particularly large town, but we have two separate times available every week with over 90 basket each and they sell out every time.  I did notice, though, that there are no sites available in Provo, which is just to the north and a much larger city.  Maybe that's part of why we're so busy?  Or do Provo-ites not eat fresh produce?  ;)  (I have plenty of family who lives in Provo.)

Variety: Great so far!
Today we got the following: bananas, apples, grapes, canteloupe, peaches, apricots, coconuts, red potatoes, string beans, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, celery, and broccoli.
Last week we had bananas, apples, grapes, peaches, romaine lettuce, and tomatoes also.  The other items were different.
A majority of the produce is stuff that we're used to and can easily use.  There seems to be the occasional less common item like the fresh coconut or last week's baby bok choy.  The girls are LOVING having fresh peaches with lunch and grapes to munch on during the day, just to name a couple.
The co-op also has random deals from time to time.  This week I could have ordered tortillas in a variety of types or some fancy schmancy cakes, or specialty breads.  They also had a "fiesta pack" of produce that would make great Mexican foods or salsas. 

Quality: Comparable-to or better-than store bought.
Last week's tomatoes were beautiful and ripe.  Absolutely delicious!  This weeks are sadly not very red yet.  The peaches, however, look absolutely perfect.  And last week's corn on the cob was as good as any I've tasted.  So I suppose it varies somewhat.  I'd say that overall I'm more happy with it than the options I usually see at WalMart (I avoid produce there) and as happy with it as the produce I see at Ream's (which we love). 

Overall: I think Bountiful Baskets is great for our family!  We need the variety in our diets and I just wasn't getting it done with my poor over-worked brain, lol.  I create our foods around the produce we have available instead of basing meals on whatever meat I feel like defrosting.  Today's basket of food cost us overall approximately $0.43/lb. too which I love.  A great price always makes food taste better to me :P 

My Favorite Part:  The pickup window for us is only 20 minutes early on Saturday morning (before 8am!)  That's not my favorite part.  Even though I've planned to go, my sweet husband who has already been awake has let me sleep in instead and he's taken one of the girls with him.  Last week was Sabrina and this week was Kate.  He says that next week will be Lizzie's turn.  They go with Daddy and stand in line to pick up the produce, then go together to the store to do the rest of the grocery shopping.  I get to sleep in and they have an awesome Daddy-Daughter time!  Priceless :)


NOTE: I've written two posts nearly back-to-back today.  Don't miss out on the parade pictures, keep scrolling down or click "older posts".

Parading Around

You can kinda see in this picture that Sabrina's eyes have been swollen lately.  I suppose it's probably allergy related... though she has no other symptoms.  She's had a really gross almost croupy cough at night too.  Poor baby :(  She looks like she needs a good night's sleep with dark puffy eyes!


Today was the annual parade the girls and I attend.  Michael is NOT a fan of parades, but I think they're kinda fun.  The Springville parade is one hour long and they throw lots of candy and have lots of floats / horses / cool cars.  We come at the last minute, sit in the gutter near the beginning, and wave at everybody :)

There are my girls :)

Waving at more princesses.  Lizzie has the parade wave totally down.  It's awesome, LOL.

Cinderella!!!  She was handing out flyers for birthday party appearances.  The girls had fun talking to her for a moment, though.

I totally dig this UPS truck.  I want my next package delivered by the truck with flames!!!

Sabrina got this little "finder glass' (Magnifying glass).  She was looking through it and said "Whoa!  I'm looking at your big bubble head, Mom!"  I can tell you it's not their fault if I'm getting a big head.  They keep me WELL grounded (Did I ever mention Lizzie pointing out that piggies have stubbly hair like my legs when I haven't shaved?  Yeah, kids are plenty humbling.  Sometimes even humiliating, LOL.)

My neighbor's sister has been visiting this summer and just had her baby.  My girls have had a great time playing with her girls, and my girls have always been joined at the hip with my neighbor's children.  This afternoon we went to deliver a picture Kate made for the new baby and she got to hold the little one!!!  She was so excited about it!  A baby less that two days old.  I got to hold her for a minute yesterday.  Babies are so sweet!!! 

After such an exciting week I'll be hard-pressed to keep expectations reasonable this summer!  Next week I think things will be a little more "normal".  It's been a fantastic form of busy, and that's what counts :)

Hope everyone else is enjoying their summer breaks too!