scenes from a General Conference saturday

I look forward to this weekend each spring. I love hearing the words of our Prophet and other church leaders. I especially loved Elder Eyring and Elder Holland's talks today. They are both so tender. Give them a listen and let me know what you think.

We started the morning with conference bingo in the hallway and conference donuts from Bosa. It turns out that General Conference weekend is a great time for potty training. No leaving the house, no three hour church meetings. Just lots and lots of time at home, mostly in pajamas.

I hope tomorrow is more of the same.

Happy weekend!

english muffins

We eat a lot of eggs. We eat them so often, in fact, that my kids are pretty tired of them. I am always trying to think of new ways to serve them, or more exciting things to pair them with. I don't know about you, but at our house, english muffins are pretty darn exciting. I don't buy them very often, but when I do, they are gone in a snap. I decided to try making them today, and was pleased with the results.

I found this recipe in my favorite bread book. If you own a bread machine, then you really should own The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook. All of our favorite recipes seem to come from it.

English Muffins

1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I used salted, not-melted)
1 large egg
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 teaspoons SAF yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast
cornmeal

Place all of the ingredients in your bread machine pan according to the manufacturer's instructions. Use the dough cycle.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a work surface that has been lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Roll into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle the top of the dough with cornmeal, too. Cut out the muffins with a 3-inch biscuit cutter or with the rim of a glass. Roll out the scraps and cut the rest of muffins. Cover with a clean towel, or place them in the fridge if they are rising too fast while the others are baking.

Preheat an electric griddle to 350 degrees. Immediately place the muffins on the hot griddle. Cook for about 10 minutes on each side (they will be quite brown). They will get very puffy while baking. On the second batch, I smooshed them down flat after turning. This made them look a little more like a store-bought english muffin. The recipe didn't call for the smooshing, but without it, they were a little too round.

I ended up with 22 muffins! Quite a bit more economical than the 8 that come in the package from the store.

This afternoon is our busiest. We go straight from piano lessons to little league, and won't be home til well past dinnertime. I think these muffins will make the perfect after school snack. And you know what? We'll probably eat them with scrambled eggs for a late dinner, too.

life lately

I've been busy sewing. Mostly for other people. I am grateful for the work, and for the teeny bit of money it brings. This is the view above my machine. It is a pretty motley collection of sewing supplies, but I think it is beautiful.

Despite the five years that separate them, Oliver and Elliot get along so well. That makes me happy. Mostly Oliver is just a really good sport and does whatever Elliot wants him to do. Lately, that includes lots of piggy back rides.

I haven't cut my hair in six months! This is the longest it's been in a very long time. There are so many cute hairstyles around these days, but this is my question: Do they give you a monster headache, too? I'm afraid a braid is about as much as I can handle.

Yesterday, the afternoon light pouring into Elliot's window stopped me in my tracks. Light equals happiness around here.

Sometimes I think our neighborhood is stuck in 1978. In a good way. Kids ride their bikes all afternoon and play pick-up games of baseball in the park, neighbors are friendly and take care of each other. I love it. Last night was our semi-annual block party. The weather was just right and we all had such a good time. I am so grateful to live here.

I've been kind of overwhelmed the last few days with happiness. I don't know if it's because I've been taking more naps, or eating more cookies, but I am just so happy, and so very grateful for this little life of mine.

the door I've been waiting for

It was worth the wait. It is beautiful and so bright.

happy birthday, Dad

If you've met my dad, then you know that he is kind and generous. He is also intelligent and very fair. I'm so lucky to be his daughter. Happy birthday, Dad! I hope you are turning your phone off to celebrate, or at least taking a nap. :) Love you.

My dad is kind of a big Mitt fan. You can find out why by reading his essays here, here, or here, or by listening to his interview with Hugh Hewitt here.

my little guy

Wherever I go, my Elliot is not far behind. He steals my food, my attention, and my lap. He is my shadow and my right hand man. And that is just how it should be, I think.

me and prada

This is my favorite kind of sewing project. A friend fell in love with that gorgeous (and so very modest) green Prada dress and asked if I could make her a custom copy in her favorite shade of red. I said yes! And I'm so glad I did. Pretty dresses are my favorite.

one of those days

Yesterday required chocolate. Or ice cream. Or both. By six o'clock I was spent. But the kids had eaten their dinner and practiced piano and cleaned up the living room like I had asked them to. So I thought we all deserved a little treat to pass the time until bedtime. Mike pulled into the driveway just as we were heading to the grocery store. What started out as a somewhat desperate attempt to get my hands on some chocolate ended up being a nice little family outing. And nothing brightens my mood more than something like that.

trimmed

one little boy's hair and one new front door

spring break, the end

These cousins (+ Parker, who is missing in this photo) had so much fun. So much fun that they all turned into surly teenagers by the end of the week. 

My mom and dad came for a day or two and some hugs. Stella couldn't take one more minute of excitement and finally crashed Friday afternoon.

We found fun, cheap entertainment at the Gilbert Rec Center (the kids climbed for two straight hours!), and silly faces and dinner at Pei Wei.

Miss Audrey turns 11 tomorrow, so we celebrated one night at Elliott and Ginger's house with Pioneer Woman's four layer chocolate cake. It was delicious, and even more amazing the next day (and the day after that, too).

It was quite the week.

Special thanks to Leslie + family for making the long drive into town, and for letting me steal photos 2 and 6 (leslie_ruth on instagram).

spring break, so far

cousins Henry and Miles making faces over breakfast

Aunt Leslie is so very nice.

lots of time at the park, and lots of donuts

swings

cousin love

chips!

scenes from a Saturday

waiting for Texas cousins to arrive

morning yardwork

indoor bike riding

wisteria in bloom

more waiting, lots of draw something on my phone, and too many eggs

I finally dusted the basement.

Dusting is the chore I skip the most. But this week I have been busy spring cleaning (fueled almost entirely by chocolate chip cookies) and getting ready for a visit from my sister and her family, (hooray for perfectly aligned spring breaks!) so I broke down and finally did it. And you know what? It wasn't even that bad. This little spot in Oliver's room always makes me smile, but especially when it's freshly dusted.

This weekend we will be outside as much as possible. How about you?

chocolate chippers

I'd rather bake than do just about anything else. So yesterday, instead of taking a nap or sewing or cleaning the bathrooms like I should have been doing, I made cookies. I didn't even feel like eating cookies, but the urge to bake was undeniable. The sad news: I tried a new recipe and the cookies were flat (good for stacking and photographing, not so good for eating).  The lesson: Once you find a chocolate chip cookie recipe that you love, stick with it. I should have made these instead.

We believe in swaddling guys, too.

instagraming

We get up so early most days, that when we don't have to, we like to lay around for as long as possible. The kids usually find their way to our room and we hug and discuss breakfast options. High on the list are always pancakes or waffles or french toast. (I don't know what this says about me as a mother, but those seem to be their favorite dinner options, too.)

One of the souvenirs we brought home from Cancun was a bright hammock. I spotted Mike and Elliot from the kitchen window there the other day. Since this picture was taken, the orange blossoms have started to bloom, which means that our backyard now smells just like heaven.

Every time I vote I think I'll sign up for a mail-in ballot, but I kind of really love going to the polls in person.

Elliot refuses the baby swings at the park now. Don't tell him I said this, but he's still my baby.

For years after my pregnancy with Oliver, I couldn't hear the Elmo theme song without feeling nauseous. Small Mabel and I had spent too many yucky mornings listening to it. I think I'm finally over it, and just in time. Elliot is a major fan.

And who knew that Stella wore shorts? She inherited some things from her cousin, Sophie, and has since been changing clothes at least three times a day.



I'm so glad that I snap these little pictures everyday. They help me remember that these are my best and happiest days. This is what I have learned: these small moments add up to one good life.