Pinterest Has Kept Me Sane

For the past three weeks (going on four) our house has been a messy disaster.  It is all due to our kitchen remodel/add-on (post to come at completion).  It has been difficult having our lives and schedules so disturbed.  I have not been sleeping well and feeling a little stressed.  To help me stay sane I have turned to pinterest.  I have found a lot of fun projects and have worked on a few to help me relax.  Here are a few things I have made...

These are a simple little treat I found.  There are 2 different kinds.  Both start with a pretzel bottom.  One has a melted hershey kiss with a M & M pushed in.  That one is called a belly button.  The other one (which we liked better) is a melted rolo candy with a walnut pushed in.  Super fast, easy, and yummy.

This worked out great because we had blueberries we needed to use and shredded zucchini.  It is a blueberry-zucchini bread.

 

Hair bows and flowers.  I used a variety of materials: felt, ribbon, lace, satin, organza, buttons, and rhinestones.

These are the satin and organza flowers.  They are my favorites.  I really don't think the picture does them justice.  It is nice because Ava actually likes to wear them in her hair.  It might help that she helped me pick out the colors.  Ava's favorite is the purple one.

This is something I made for Ava's room.

Ava's Rock Friends

This morning Ava wanted Rich to push her in the swing, so while I got ready they went outside.  When I was done I peeked outside and saw Ava up in the tree.  I wasn't surprised because she loves to be in the tree.  I went outside to see what was going on and was thoroughly entertained.

Ava had a few big rocks with her up in the tree and was referring to them as her rock friends.  As I walked out she was telling Rich her rock friends were sick and needed to go to the doctor.  Ava then started handing the rocks to Rich and I, so we could take them to the doctor.  This was weird, crazy, and hilarious.  We were both laughing.  Then Ava announced her rock friends wanted to swing.  She got out of the tree and put her rock friends on the swing.  Rich locked them in and then Ava pushed them.

It was priceless and I'm so glad I was able to capture the moment.  Ava sure does have a weird, wild, and creative imagination.  It is always entertaining to see what she will come up with next.  She makes me laugh, smile, and enjoy life more.  I am grateful to be Ava's mom.

Ava in the tree holding a rock friend.  She is also yelling.  She liked yelling over and over because of the echo.  She is also wearing her "Buzz Boots" which are probably too small but she loves them.  This is her second pair and we are considering buying another for this coming winter.  I know we are crazy but she really does love them.

Rocks strapped in and ready to swing.

Ava pushing the rocks.  What a good friend she is.

Temple Anniversary

Wednesday, July 25th was the 3rd anniversary of our temple sealing.  It was the day we became a forever family.  We decided to celebrate a little early on Tuesday with a picnic at the temple.

Snapshots of Life

I like to take pictures of everything.  Since I take so many pictures I end up with a lot of random pictures that don't really merit a post of their own.  I don't want to just forget about them, so this post is dedicated to life's little (but memorable) moments.

Sorry some of these pictures were taken with my iPhone and aren't the best quality.

I love sleeping pictures.

Ava loves to exercise.  Right now she really likes to lift my weights.

This pictures is terrible quality, but I love it.  Ava and I were squished in her tent with all of her stuffed friends and babies.

Ava likes helping prepare food.  As Rich was getting ready to put steak on the grill Ava said, "Wait!  I need to get my knife so I can cut something."  Shen then ran to her room and got her pretend knife to help daddy.  It was pretty funny.

Ava holding Rich's hand while watching a movie.

Ava reading a book to her baby.

Ava and I riding the carousel at the mall.  I don't know why I have such a scary smile.  Maybe it is because all of the going around made me a little motion sick.

Trying to squish together to get a family photo.

A tiny praying mantis got in and played on Ava's aquadoodle.

Swim Class - Guppy

During the second session of swim class Ava advanced to the Guppy class.  This was her first time in the pool without a parent and was a good learning experience.  Ava learned to follow direction and by the end of the session had picked up on most of the skills being taught.  Ava will definitely be in this class again next year, but it is amazing to see the progress she has made.

This is the first day of Guppy class.  Ava doesn't really like to jump in.  She likes to "slide" in.

Ava liked when they played, "motor boat, motor boat."

Ava hated "the shark" game.  It is really called what time is it Mr. Shark.  The kids would usually be fish and one teacher would be a shark.  The kids would slowly swim up to the teacher (kind of like mother may I) and then the shark would turn around and try to catch the kids as they swam back to their side.  Everytime they played this game Ava would say she had to go to the bathroom, so she could get out of playing it.  In this picture she is actually playing because the teacher let her be a shark.  She didn't mind that as much.

It is hard to tell, but in this picture Ava is all the way to the left and plugging her ears.  Sometimes during class the teachers would sing a song and be silly.  For some reason Ava didn't like this much either, so she would plug her ears and drift away from the group.  I don't think she liked when the older kids splashed and sang really loud.

This is how Ava would swim at the beginning of the session.  She would try to kick her legs with her arms stretched behind her.

This is one of the teachers working with Ava on different leg movements.  They taught them "monkey, airplane, solider" to show them how to move their arms and legs.  Ava also learned "monster arms" which help her learn to move her arms up and out of the water while she tried to swim.

This is Ava swimming on the last day of the session.  She never had a problem going underwater, but toward the end she would actually try and swim.  She can kick her legs well and improved on her arm movement.  I think next year she will be awesome.

This is a happy, but cold girl.  Ava loved swim class.  She always looked forward to it each day and still talks about it.

In the Kitchen

We still enjoy spending time together as a family in the kitchen.  Here are some of the things we have made lately...

Ava loves strawberry "milkshakes" (really yogurt smoothies).  Now that it is summer and strawberries are plentiful we have been making more.  It is usually an Ava and daddy thing, but sometimes when daddy is not home I help Ava.

Ava taste testing the milkshake to make sure it is good.

I thought I had half a cantaloupe in the refrigerator, so I decided to make some cantaloupe-coconut ice cream from our Ben & Jerry's recipe book.  The recipe called for coconut creme which I couldn't find anywhere.  After my 3rd grocery store I googled it with my iphone and was directed to the margarita mix section.  There it was in a place I never would of looked without google or my iphone.  When I got home and looked for the cantaloupe in the refrigerator I couldn't find it.  I then remembered I actually cut up the whole cantaloupe and we ate it.  So, back to the store I went for cantaloupe.

This is the final product of all my shopping and searching.  It was good and a big hit with all we shared it with.  Ava loved it and probably would of eaten it all by herself if we let her.  We will definitely make it again.

Stuffed French toast.  I made a cream cheese stuffing and an apricot stuffing.  This was the first time I made French toast with brioche bread, but it won't be the last.  It was delicious.

If they're not helping Rich and Ava are always lurking nearby when I cook to sample the goodies.  Ava is licking the cream cheese stuffing.

Stuffed Cream Cheese and Apricot French Toast

Watermelon-Lemonade Ice Pops

Happy customer!

Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows

Ava did help me make the marshmallows, but her favorite part is always the tasting.  She is always asking, "Can I lick it now?".

Homemade marshmallows for our FHE treat.

Yummy!

Milk Chocolate Chips & Carmel Bites Cookies

I got the recipe for the cookies from this cookbook.  I checked this book out from our library.  Several of the other recipes from this post are from books I checked out at the library too.  It is a great way to try new recipes and see if I like a book before making an investment.  I decided I like this book enough I probably will buy it on Amazon used (yes, you can buy used books on Amazon and get great deals).