Andy's 4th birthday

It all started with this great idea to make a checkerboard cake... and he wanted "blue frosting"  well, so I went to work with the pastry bags and piped them into the pans, blue and white and so on... I thought it would turn out just fine.... Mom had pans that were specifically designed for such things, but I thought free form would work just as well...  He loved the blue frosting and the sprinkles and was really excited for the party and mostly the cake.  Fast forward through the longest day of a 4 year olds life... waiting for everyone to be in the same place at the same time to open presents, eat dinner and finally have CAKE!  Cut into cake, and awwwww well, not quite what I had hoped for with the checkerboard effect, but oh well!  It tasted good to a 4 year old and that's all that mattered. 

Can you believe, by the way, my baby is a 4 year old soon to be preschool boy?  NO, ME EITHER!!!!  there's something not right about that.  I hate to see him grow up, but love watching it all happen and getting to have him as my best little pal ever!  Andy is a special little boy!  Hope I made his day as special as a Mom can, in more ways than cake!

healthy chocolate muffins

Just in case you didn't think I could stand to make things that were healthy...  here's one for you.  No sugar and no flour!!!

Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffin Knock-Offs of Whole Food’s 6 Dollar per 4 Chocolate Chunk VitaTop Muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c oats

•  3 egg whites
•  3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar)
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.
Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.
Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.
Place  the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!
Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!
Servings: 12 Big Muffins or 24 Smaller Muffins
Calories: 116 Calories Per Muffin or 58 Calories Per Muffin

p.s. found it on pinterest!

p.s.s. i used granulated honey for the sweetener, and my oats were already pretty ground up and so my muffins are rather dense and yummy!  If you haven't tried granulated honey, it's good stuff.  (thanks for the tip Ana! :)

yw Book of Mormon challenge

Our Young Women just finished a 90 day Book of Mormon reading challenge.  It was really a fun challege all "Team" based.  We earned matching jerseys, water bottles, and most of all great habits.  Last night was our awards night.  These are the little treats that I made to help celebrate the night.  Hershey's treasures (some had toffee... yum!)

See it... Love it... Make it...

Saw this on pinterest... loved it... needed a gift for a baby shower...

Mine's not nearly as cute... but by its own right is cute enough... I plan on making many more of these... super fun project and a great way to use ribbon scraps.

I inherited a bunch of gingle bells of all sorts from my sister in law and found the perfect use for them. They make the cutest little tinkle-rattle sound inside one of these little soft toys! Thanks Ali!

easter 2012

I didn't take tons of pictures of easter this year... don't know why? Didn't even get the kids on Sunday... but here are a few glimpses into our weekend.

Andy at the easter egg hunt wasn't too excited about picking anything up... :) He still managed to get 30 cents~

Easter Dinner was grilled chicken salad in a bread basket!

And the Easter Bunny delivered! (quite eary in the morning, I might add...)

Baptism Day

It couldn't have been a better day! Look at the serious support we have in our family. Thanks to everyone for coming! We love you all.

strawberries in my garden

so I would like to learn...

I went a bought a few plants thinking it would be like a tomato or something you would plant and eat and pluck... not so....

these little puppies take time to reap the rewards

a whole year before we get any fruit!

why do I do this to myself? I'm the most impatient

person in the world!



oh, but if you've ever just picked a fresh strawberry and ate it! you know why I'm willing to suffer the year's wait.



...now, if only I knew how to plant and grow things better
oh by the way... click here to read what I've been reading to learn more.