Free Entertainment!

The landscaper started construction today to prepare our backyard for a lovely paver patio including fire pit and wall seat.  Remember how excited I was to get into our new house and out of that cramped apt?  I'm almost that excited for the landscaping to be completed!  We've had to either play in the driveway, which is sloped downhill and all the toys end up rolling into the street, or go to a playground to get our fill of fresh air.  I am thrilled to see something other than BROWN around our house.  Color will make this place look even more beautiful.

We've got two tractors in the back - a bobcat and CAT compact track loader (yes, you have to know the specific types of CAT tractors to be a part of the Hershock family!) as well as a compactor.  They first took off our back "deck" (if you can even call it that) ripped up the mini-slab of concrete it was on and then dug out the area for the patio.  The compacted the dirt and filled it in with "road fill" and have to compact the fill as well.  Thankfully Sissy is a good sleeper and seems not to notice the noise and vibrations coming from right under her window!

Hey Mom!  Do you know what's happening back here?

"Free" entertainment - think of it as live t.v on a VERY big flat screen!  It's our own version of HGTV and no commercials!

As long as there are Girl Scout cookies to go along with the entertainment, the kids are happy!

Dressed In Their Easter Best

We woke up Easter morning to a winter wonderland...I thought it was spring?  It took me back to high school and college and those few brisk, snowy early Easters in PA and selling Easter flowers for the Herr's.  This is the exact reason I didn't buy some cute, adorable sleeveless Easter dress for Kendall.  I figured if we could get tights on her as well as a sweater, we'd be good.  Well, as you can see, I can dress them up, but can't seem to get them to both smile at the same time!  Goofy kids!  Maybe it was all the sugar?

Hope you have warm weather and sunshine wherever you are today!

The Easter Bunny Arrived in Utah!

The Easter Bunny found us out here in Utah...Under all the SNOW that we woke up to today!

Kendall's basket filled with bubbles, gardening tools, ring pops, gummy lifesavers, lacing beads and dress up jewelry.

Riley's basket filled with numerous books, a Dale Jr. Pez dispenser, ring pops and a few chocolates.

Kendall spotted her basket under the dining room table.

Look at that expression when she pulled out the bottle of bubbles!

Checking out her new gardening tools. 

Riley showing off his new dinosaur books while Kendall takes inventory of his basket.  She's a "what's mine is mine and what's your's is mine too" kind of girl!

Riley showing off his Dale Jr. Pez dispenser.

Now it's time to get them sugared up before heading out to church!

Repurposing A Board Book

I've been wanting to repurpose one of Riley's old train board books (surprisingly this bothered Andy who wanted to preserve the torn and tattered book that he use to read to Riley) but I went ahead with it because I've changed my pack rat ways and figured it would be better off repurposed, than in the trash or hidden in a box somewhere.

This is what I created with the old board book:

My sweet little niece (actually my cousin's daughter) is turing one.  I've only been able to meet her once - at Christmas - and she's the sweetest little girl.  Since we don't get to see her often because she lives about 8-9 hours away in Wyoming, I wanted to make something extra special for her birthday present.  

Kendall LOVES this book so I'm hoping that Maddie will too.  I plan to make a few books for Kendall.  Colors, Animals, Alphabet, etc.

If you want to make one, they are pretty easy, but take some time to do.  Here's what you need:

old board book

exacto knife

scizzors

scrapbook paper/cardstock

vinyl for lettering

mod podge

cricut

animal kingdom cartridge

lyrical letters cartridge

doodle charms cartridge

cropadile

1 inch rings

The first thing I did was to cut the pages of the board book apart with an exacto knife.  I trimed each page so it had a nice clean edge.

Next, I cut the animal print paper to match the size of the pages and mod podged them onto the page.  When that was dry, I mod podged the blue layer on top the animal print paper.  I also went back and trimmed each page incase there was any paper that went over the edges of the book page.  

I used my cricut to cut out all the different animal shapes and then mod podged all of the animals onto the pages.  The animal kingdom cartridge is awesome fo this project.  Then I used black vinyl to cut out the letters for each animal page with my handy cricut and the lyrical letters cartridge.  Once I was pleased with the look of each page, I mod podged the ENTIRE page to seal everything so it would stay put and be harder for Madison's little fingers to pry off the animals and letters.  

I made the cover and back page using more cardstock and vinyl.  I cut the dog's head out using the doodle charm cartridge.  I thought he was so cute!  Once everything was mod podged down and dry, I mod podged the entire page as well.  I did the same on the back page and left a note on the back for Miss Madison so she would know who gave her the book and when she got it.  

Once the entire book was sealed and dry, I used my new cropadile (a new fantastic tool I just acquired) to punch holes through the thick board book pages.  Then I took 1 inch rings and threaded through each page.  If you've never seen this tool before here's what it looks like:

(You can use it to set eyelets, punch holes through thick material, etc.  I can't wait to see what else I can create with it!)

Viola!  A personalized animal book for Madison's first birthday!  It took me some time to do...about 1 1/2 days of semi-seclusion in my craft room, but worth every minute!  I knew if I didn't get it finished before Andy left next week, it might not get completed for a while.

Happy Crafting!

When It's Quiet In My House...

It's not usually a good sign, unless of course it's naptime.  When Riley's quiet, it usually means it's LEGO time in his room.  That boy can play LEGOS for hours by himself!  Praise the Lord for that!  But my darlin' daughter...not as lucky.  This is what I found today when I was wondering about the sudden silence:

She found the candy from the MOMS Club Egg Hunt last night.  Have I mentioned my daughter's sweet tooth before?  If there is chocolate anywhere in the house, she will sniff it out like a bloodhound and find a way to get to it! 

Yummy Peanut Butter Eggs

I haven't made these in YEARS, maybe even a decade.  I think the last time I did, I was coaching lacrosse back at BC in good ol' Delmar, NY!  Wow!  I'm suddenly feeling rather old!  I made them for the girls for an egg hunt that I had them do at practice.

It's such a rich, but yummy and easy recipe.  I use my Aunt Beth's peanut butter fudge recipe and then chill it, roll the fudge into an egg shape and dip into melted chocolate.  I must admit they look a lot like a dog turd, but they taste delicious!

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe:

1 c. Peanut Butter (I prefer Organic PB)

1 lb. box 10x Sugar

2 sticks butter melted

1 tsp. vanilla

Add vanilla to melted butter and mix with PB and sugar.

I gave these and some of the chocolate covered Peeps lollipops I posted about earlier to the nursery workers at church.  The same two wonderful women take care of Kendall each week for Bible study as well as MOPS.  We also handed some out to Uncle Kevin as well as Riley's teacher and his little girlfriend Kathryn.

Happy Easter!

I Won! I Won! I Won! It's A Major Award!

No it's not as wonderful as a "fra-gee-lay" leg lamp from Italy, but I'm just as excited about it all the same!  I was checking out a blog that one of my friends Tracy follows (yes, I admit I'm a blog-stalker) and on this blog was a giveaway for a new line of Christian children's videos out called "What's In The Bible?"  It is created by the same person who brought us the wonderful Veggie Tales movies and videos.  (We are HUGE Veggie Tales fans in our house!)  So...my major award...is a certificate for "What's In The Bible?  Vol.2" that can be used at a Christian book store (and thankfully there are two here in SLC that carry this series).  I can't wait to check it out!

If you are interested in learning more about this series, you can check it out HERE.  If you'd like to check out Brenda Loves Book's blog where I won this awesome "Major Award"  check it out HERE.

When You Find Yourself In Hot Water...

Try this!  If you place a wooden spoon on top of a pot of boiling water, it will prevent it from boiling over!  I've started doing this while making pasta because it never fails that the kids distract me and then I have a boiled over mess to clean up along with all the dishes!

Happy Cooking!

Why Can't I Hear The Ocean?

Kendall got into the plastic eggs today and this is what I caught her doing...Holding them like sea shells and trying to hear the ocean...My little beach baby!

Why doesn't this work Mom?

The Sweet Tooth Fairy Lives Up To It's Name

So today I had some extra time to kill after my class at the gym and before picking Riley up from school so Kendall and I made a trip to the Dollar Store to pick up a few items for their Easter Baskets and to check out their selection for things for his Pirate themed birthday party next month.  After that we still had some time left over so I wanted to go scope out the newest bakery in town...The Sweet Tooth Fairy.  Oh my word...talk about delicious!  They had some free samples so of course Kendall and I needed to try out the banana cake w/ caramel icing as well as the frosted oatmeal cookies!  YUMMO!  We came home with two cupcakes...I know, that's a lot of restraint for me!  I wanted to try one of EVERYTHING!

How cute and simple is this packaging?  They will also pack your cupcake in a little box with a bow if you are taking it to someone for a special occasion!

This one is Grasshopper       

And this one is Strawberry Shortcake

At first the kids' hands were flying, each trying to grab a cupcake...hence the somewhat blurry chocolate photo!  I cut each cupcake into thirds and we all got to try a piece...well, actually I saved the grasshopper for after dinner for me and Sis, but Riley insisted on tasting both of them after lunch today.  They are delicious! (I did lick the knife I used to cut Riley's piece of grasshopper!)

I can't wait to go back again...thank goodness they aren't cheap because this could be VERY dangerous.  I'm a cake-loving girl!  It's my weakness for sure!  Andy could care less about cake, he'd rather have some good cookies or an apple pie, but I can't get enough cake (must have buttercream frosting or it's not even worth it!)

For those of you who follow Nie Nie's Dialogues (aka Stephanie Nielson who lives just south of here in Provo), they have a vanilla cupcake named after her.  It's called a Va-NIE-la cupcake!  If you go HERE you can drool over all the different kinds of cupcakes they make...

At least now I'm inspired to make Riley's pirate-ship birthday cake...maybe I'll have to practice over Easter break?

Before & After..

I've been searching for a new computer table for our family room.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a table that we may not even use in our next home...wherever that may be.  In our house in Jax, I had a nice desk area in the kitchen and it was the perfect place for my mac...As big as this new kitchen is, we don't have a space like that here.  I don't want to put the computer upstairs anywhere because I want to see what Riley is doing online.  (I still can't believe my baby is old enough to know how to use the computer!)

This is what I had been using temporarily until I could find something I liked:

Of course I made it look as bad as possible so you could really get the effect!  The printer will go into the laundry room (after I get Andy to splice a cable outlet in there from the basement) since we finally bought an Apple wireless airport which will also make the printer wireless by plugging it into the airport...Maybe I can convince him to do this over Easter break?  I won't hold my breath.

This is what I found to replace the wonderful card table:

A much better look, right?  The drawer in the middle folds down to house my wireless keyboard and wireless mouse.  What a much nicer look and at a GREAT price plus 15% off AND free shipping!  I found it online at Target of all places and got it shipped right to my door.

On a sad note, after I put the table together, I found this:

Which means, it will have to go back and be replaced by another table...but I really like how it looks in the space and I can't wait to get it's replacement!

Oh well!

Counting Down to Easter!

My dear friend Kerri from Jax shared this idea with me a few years back.  I finally came across the instructions on how to create one myself instead of buying a "kit."  It just so happened that I used up the last egg in the carton today and we had a bunch of plastic eggs from yesterday's egg hunt so I figured it was as good a time as any to create my Countdown to Easter!  I looked up the scripture to go along with what is inside each egg.  You could always change them to a different gospel if you don't like the ones I chose. 

Inside the carton, I labeled the eggs #1-12 and included the instruction sheet to reference the verses.  You could type up the verses with the symbolism and put them inside the eggs, but I prefer the kids see us read from the Bible instead and then discuss the symbolism.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Countdown To Easter:
Using 12 plastic eggs that can be opened and filled, either you give a basket with all 12 eggs (label each with the number of the day, i.e. Day 12, Day 11) , or give one egg each day to be opened. (Day 1 is "Easter Day", so start 11 days before Easter with "Day 12")

Day 12 = Place a cracker or small piece of cracker inside the first egg with a slip of paper explaining how this symbolizes the bread & wine of the Last Supper.  Matt 26:26

Day 11 = Place 3 dimes to symbolize the "30 pieces of silver" that Judus received to betray Jesus.  Matt 26:14-16

Day 10 = Place a toy soldier or picture of a soldier to symbolize the soldier who arrested Jesus. Matt 26:51

Day 9 = Place a "feather" to symbolize the cock rooster that crowed 3 times.  Matt 26:31-35

Day 8 = Place a die or a couple of dice to symbolize the "lots that were cast" for Jesus's clothing.  Luke 23:32-34

Day 7 = Place a "thorn" in to symbolize the "crown of thorns" that Jesus wore.  Matt 27:27-31

Day 6 = Place a "sponge" in to symbolize the sponge that was dipped in vinegar when Jesus said, "I thirst".  Matt 27:47-49

Day 5 = Place a "piece of cloth" in to symbolize the cloth that Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus in.  John 20:6-8

Day 4 = Place a "piece of black paper or black cloth" into the egg to symbolize the "shadow of darkness" that covered the Earth.  Matt 27:45-46

Day 3 = Place a "cross" inside to symbolize the cross on which Jesus was crucified.  Mark 15:21-32

Day 2 = Place a "rock" inside the egg to symbolize the stone that was rolled away.  Mark 16:1-5

Day 1 = EASTER MORNING! This egg will be "empty" to symbolize the tomb that was empty, that Jesus was "risen" !!  Mark 16:6

Hope you all enjoy this Easter season and remember that we should be celebrating more than bunnies and chocolate!

Resurrection Cookies

We started this tradition last year with Riley and plan to continue it again with both kids this year.  On the Saturday night before Easter we have the family gather in the kitchen and make resurrection cookies.  I found this recipe a few years back but had to wait until Riley was old enough to understand the verses in the Bible.  He understands the meaning of Easter and how God gave us the gift of his Son to bring us closer to Him.  He knows that Jesus died to forgive us of our sins.  This is a great illustration of the Easter story.

Resurrection Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup whole pecans                  1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vinegar                         ziplock bag

3 egg whites                         wooden spoon

pinch of salt                           Bible

Preheat oven to 300 BEFORE beginning.

1.  Place pecans in zipplock bag and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into small pieces.

Explain that after Jesus was arrested he was beaten by the Roman soldiers.  Read John 19:1-3

2.  Let each child smell the vinegar.  Put 1 tsp. vinegar into mixing bowl.

         Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given

vinegar to drink.  Read John 19:28-30

3.  Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.

         Explain that Jesus gave HIS life to give us life.  Read John 10:10-11

4.  Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.

Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.  Read Luke 23:27

5.  Add 1 cup sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus dies because he loves us.  He wants us to know this and how to belong to him.  Read Psalms 34:8 and John 3:16

6.  Beat with mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff peaks form.

Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those who’s sins have been cleansed by Jesus.  Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

7.  Fold in broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.

Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.  Read Matt. 27:57-60

8.  Put the cookie sheet in oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

9.  Go to bed.

Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight and Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.  Read John 16:20 and 22

10.  On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow.  On the first Easter, Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.  Read Matt. 28:1-9

Enjoy!

First Meeting With Peter Cottontail...

Our neighborhood had an egg hunt at the local park today.  It was a lot of fun for the kids...Everyone had to donate 20 filled eggs per child and then after lunch, they had the fields divided up into different age groups and let the kids have at it!  Once Kendall discovered the eggs had chocolate in them, she all but stopped collecting them.  Opening them up and eating the chocolate became more interesting than collecting more!

Afterwards we hung out with our friends on the playground and then the Easter Bunny showed up for the kids!  Kendall was so excited to see the "munny" but when it became her turn to go say hello, she backed away.  I had to hold her to get her close enough for a picture!  What a stinker!  Riley always loved people dressed in costumes, but Kendall is more cautious...probably the only thing she's cautious about!

"Hopping" this was good practice for the MOMS Club Egg Hunt next week!

        

       Love,