What It's All About

Put your whole self in.

2012-02-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

That's what it's all about.

Crushing on you...

2012-02-07T12:23:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite traditions is our "Valentines Dinner of Family Love". We have a fancy dinner of steak and shrimp and chocolate dipped strawberries. We also take the opportunity to tell each person why we love them. It is a special time for our family.

I saw this idea for a drink on Pinterest and had to copy.

This will be fun for our dinner. Here is the link for the PDF I made.

When I got put in as Primary president in December it was crazy. We didn't have time to give the teachers a Christmas gift in appreciation for all they do. Now that things have slowed down a little bit we put these together (idea from Pinterest, once again) for the teachers for Valentine's Day. Here's the PDF (generic, just Primary kids) for that as well.

I love Valentine's Day and it makes me appreciate my sweet family and husband. It's nice because there isn't the pressure like with Christmas, and often it's the small tokens of affection that remind us that we are loved.

Pin It

Forget me not

2012-02-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

I planted these seeds back in October and I had almost forgotten about them. I wasn't sure really what would happen, or if I planted them in the right season, etc. But lately they are looking great and yesterday I noticed the first blossom! Yay! Nature amazes me. It gives me hope. If there is that much potential in a little seed; if I just keep doing everything I can to nourish myself and my family that Heavenly Father can make something beautiful out of us too.

Pin It

Freezer Friday - Mini Cheesy Meatloaves

2011-10-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

OK... let's just get this out there. Not many things look grosser (is that a word?) than raw hamburger, especially with flash photography. I know it looks disgusting. Also, no one (including me) in my family is a big meatloaf fan, but then I started making these. Everyone but Tyler loves them, and he may join the ranks soon. He has to practice liking a bite of what he doesn't like so maybe one day he will be on Team Mini Meatloaf.

I found the recipe on a blog called My Sister's Cucina almost three years ago and I adapted it to the freezer after I made it the first time. It's a great thing to have in your freezer. We love to eat it with Stuffed Bleu Cheese Potatoes or just baked potatoes and green beans.

Mini Cheesy Meatloaves
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp onion (chopped)

Sauce - make extra to get them really good and covered.
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp mustard
1/3 cup ketchup

Combine all ingredients very well. Use ice cream scoop to form into scoops of meatloaf.
Place in greased, shallow baking dish. Cover with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

To adapt it for the freezer be sure to use fresh, not previously frozen ground beef. When you scoop the meatloaf just put them onto a greased cookie sheet and freeze. I freeze with the sauce already on. It is a little messier, but I have found that is the simplest way. (I am all about simplest way :) Once they are frozen put the desired amount into labeled Ziploc freezer bags.

To prepare, thaw in fridge during the day and cook for 30 minutes. Or cook directly from frozen for about 45 minutes (covered).

Pin It

Freezer Friday - Chicken parmesan

2011-09-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite freezer recipes is Chicken Parmesan. Everyone likes it.

Here is the recipe from my mom:

Chicken Parmesan

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon water

1 large garlic clove, minced

½ cup dry bread crumbs

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

1 ½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning

¼ teaspoon salt

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - (pounded thin)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 oz. grated mozzarella cheese

½ cup heated pizza sauce

Whisk egg whites in bowl with water until foamy. Stir in garlic. Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan and seasonings in shallow bowl. Dip chicken in egg whites then in crumbs. Repeat. Heat 1 ½ tablespoon of olive oil in skillet, add chicken. Cook for 4 minutes until golden brown. Add remaining oil to pan and turn chicken over. Cook 4 minutes longer or until cooked through. Top each chicken breast with cheese and cook until melted. Transfer to serving dish and drizzle with sauce.

This is how I adapt it for the freezer:

I cook an obnoxious amount (usually about 10 pounds), but at the end of the day you have several dinners but the same amount of dirty dishes. Once the chicken is browned on both sides, instead of covering it with sauce I let it cool slightly on the cooling racks. Then you know the drill, the pans go into the freezer to freeze them quickly. Once they are frozen I put the amount my family will eat into labeled gallon size Ziploc bags and then right back into the freezer.

When we are ready to eat I put the frozen chicken into a baking dish and cook @ 350 for 30-45 minutes (can vary depending on thickness of chicken). Towards the end of cooking I put the sauce and mozzarella cheese on. This keeps them nice and crispy, not soggy. Sometimes we just eat them plain with no sauce. I love having these in the freezer, they are so tasty and really freeze well. Be sure to use fresh, not previously frozen chicken.

I really need to learn to take better pics - these don't look very appetizing, but man they smell and taste so good.

Pin It

I remember.

2011-09-10T20:57:00.001-07:00

This has been an emotional week. Every time I start thinking about 9/11 I start to cry. I know it's partly lack of sleep (hello cross-country 4:40 a.m. carpool) and baby hormones, but the loss of all of those lives has really affected me this week. I was grateful we could go to Tempe's Healing Field and walk around tonight. They have one flag to remember each life lost. Nearly three thousand. Very touching.

Freezer Friday - Raspberry Lime Rickey

2011-09-08T11:25:00.001-07:00

I love yummy punch. Mel's Kitchen cafe blog has a delicious recipe for Raspberry Lime Rickey. Here's a quick idea to make it ahead and make life easy on party day. You can also take advantage of a good sale. (Raspberries are on sale this week at Albertsons for 99 cents).

Just follow the recipe. I did a quadruple batch. When it was cooled off, I put 2 cups of the syrup into freezer quart size bags. Lay the bags flat in the freezer and smile because now you can have yummy punch when ever the mood hits you. I like to serve one bag in a punch bowl filled with Sonic Ice, a 2 liter of Sprite and some lime slices.

Freezer Friday - I'm an Idaho girl!

2011-08-26T05:41:00.001-07:00

We love the Stuffed Bleu Cheese Potatoes from Our Best Bites Blog. I really don't like bleu cheese, but these are delicious. I made a bunch of these when potatoes were on sale at Thanksgiving time. We have really enjoyed them and they have been gone for a while. Lucky for us potatoes went on sale last week and I got the bug to make up a big batch. I just follow their recipe but adjust the amounts for how many we want to use.

Once they are all stuffed, I freeze them on cookie sheets.

Once they are frozen I put 6-8 in a Ziplock freezer bag.

I stack the still frozen bags of potatoes in the freezer. They come in handy for making a Sunday dinner feel fancy, with not much work. I just cook from frozen or thaw in the fridge, depending on when I decide what's for dinner.

The Plan... Dallin's turn

2011-08-23T09:19:00.001-07:00

Dallin has not been the biggest fan of "the plan". He thinks I'm always trying to train him or teach him something. He already knows everything, so I am just wasting my time... :)

Sunday night was the exception. He really wanted chocolate chip cookies (sadly our freezer supply has been depleted) He said, "But mom, don't you need to teach me how to do this? I need to learn this!" (He had me at hello...) He was a great student and even though he wouldn't let me initial it in his book, he is well on his way to being a great cookie baker.

Everyone has to test the dough... it was great!

"Mom I think things just taste better when you make them yourself, and you appreciate them more. I don't want all the boys to eat up all my cookies! I worked hard on these!"

Lesson learned. Great job Dallin!

Freezer Friday - Double is No Trouble

2011-08-12T05:22:00.026-07:00

I used to be able to set aside an entire day or two just for stocking my freezer. Those days are gone for now, but I have found that just grabbing a little bit of time when I can get it allows me to keep it pretty well stocked.

Whenever you make something, ask yourself, "Could I double (or triple) this recipe and freeze the extra?"

1.Double the food for your family with the same amount of dirty dishes and minimal extra prep time.

2.You save time and money because you don't have to buy fast food or eat out on nights when you are in a hurry. You have something on hand if you need to take dinner to someone without a lot of notice.

A super easy thing to freeze is home-made pizza. When you are making the dough just double it. When the pizza comes out of the oven fill your empty pan or pans with another pizza, cover it in plastic wrap and pop it in the freezer for next Friday night. You can cook it from frozen, or allow to thaw if you would like, just adjust cooking times accordingly. I like to use homemade frozen pizza within about a month.

"On the first day of first grade..."

2011-08-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

Man they grow up fast.

Summer to do list... UPDATE!

2011-07-25T05:08:00.003-07:00

We have really enjoyed our "Summer to do list" (read about it this post).

Here are pictures from recent activities:

Slip and Slide!

Talent Show!

Jeff demonstrated his incredible Rubik's cube skills

Grant did a pretty amazing card trick.

Dallin ate 13 pancakes! (after eating dinner, he also ate his candy bar prize without skipping a beat. I am beginning to understand what people talk about with teenage boys and their appetites!)

There were also many other talents: push ups, uno skills, fruit snack eating and piano playing.

Run a Race!

We inaugurated the first Judd/Lish/Hall family race around the block

(.38 miles... I don't know how many "k's" that is)

Of course David won, but Haley was a close second.

I came in last, but at least I finished :)

Thank you Summer to do list - We're having a blast!

Freezer Friday - Inventory

2011-07-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

Here is my very high tech way of keeping track of what I have in my freezer. I have tried different ways, but this seems to be the one I stick with. It is very simple. When I add something to the freezer I add it to the list with numbers to indicate how many there are. When I take something out - I cross off one of the numbers. I keep list inside one of my cupboard doors next to my shopping list. My big freezer is in the garage and this saves me from going out and poking through it to figure out what is for dinner. It also helps me know when I need to make more of something or use up something.

Freezer Friday, Sanity Saver!

2011-07-15T05:37:00.006-07:00

I don't know about you but my kids are always needing a plate of cookies to take somewhere... treat for YM/YW, fireside, sick friend, presidency visit... etc. They also love cookies during these long summer afternoons.
One idea that I'm sure a lot of people do is freeze cookie dough balls. You can just make a few without messing up the entire kitchen or heating the house for very long. We have even been known to cook a couple in the toaster oven for cookie emergencies.
It's very simple. Make your favorite cookie dough. (I've frozen many different kinds and they have all worked just fine.)

Use a cookie scoop to fill a large cookie sheet with dough balls. Put cookie sheet in the freezer and let them harden. Pull sheet out of freezer and put 12-15 into quart size freezer bags, date them and pop them in the freezer.

Next time your kids or you need a cookie fix (there could be a legitimate reason) pull one out of the freezer and put right onto the cookie sheet. Preheat your oven. Frozen cookies usually need to cook 2 or 3 minutes longer than normal.

Put some ice cream between two cooked
cookies to help you survive a hot summer day!

He'd better eat his Wheaties!

2011-07-14T05:01:00.001-07:00

I noticed on one of my son's desk calendar that he's got a pretty big day coming up.

I wish him the best of luck!

Look Mom! I can roll over too!

2011-07-12T05:31:00.000-07:00

Calvin is rolling over! It is so exciting. Our whole family cheers for him.

It is quite The Event.

All my kids have done this, so it shouldn't surprise me, but it still makes me smile.

Here is Tyler... "Look mom, I can roll over too! Take a picture!"

We cheered for him too! :)

Warning: Potty humor

2011-07-11T05:48:00.007-07:00

Here's a joke for you... When is the ONLY appropriate time to yell out "I've got diarrhea!"

When you are playing Scrabble of course!

Here's a cheap and easy decorating idea: Fill a jar with scrabble tiles (you may have them or pick a game up cheap at Goodwill) and write messages to your family.

The "chill out" was for me... Maybe this way my scrabble game (or at least words with friends) will improve.

Freezer Friday... oooh Fajitas!

2011-07-08T05:00:00.002-07:00

Another reason to use your freezer... save money!

When something is in season or on sale it is a great way to take advantage of the sale. For example last week chicken breasts were $1.67 a pound, peppers were 3 or 4 for $1 and onions were 19 cents a pound. An easy way to use all those ingredients... Fajitas!

I chopped up the veggies and diced the chicken into bite sized pieces.

I marinated the chicken with some water and fajita mix... lazy I know but I haven't found a good fajita recipe I like. I used 5 pounds of chicken so I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

Put one pound of chicken into a quart size freezer bag and several cups of veggies into a gallon size freezer bag along with the sealed bag of chicken. Stack them in the freezer. When you are ready to eat it's best to let the chicken thaw before you cook it in a little oil in a hot skillet. Add the veggies (still frozen is best). This is a quick easy dinner on a busy night. The kits keep for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-07-06T19:49:00.001-07:00

I know Mother's Day is over but... I wanted to share.

72 hour kits

2011-07-05T06:00:00.001-07:00

Over a year ago I took all the food out of our 72 hour kits because it expired in 2009. It has taken a year to get new food back in them... (Luckily we didn't need them in the meantime!)The old food kits were very fancy, a menu for each day with very cute individual cans and portions. I decided I needed to do something easier and that didn't need to be replaced as often. Also I wanted the food that we replaced to be something that was practical to eat when I switched it out. I found the answer in the Ensign... amazing :)

Basically to simplify each person gets:
Energy or protein bar for each meal, jar of peanut butter, saltine crackers and 2 bags of dried fruit (craisins, etc.)
I found emergency food bars on Amazon (link on picture) that last 5 years. I'm happy not to have to rotate those. The peanut butter, crackers and dried fruit is something I can switch out once a year and we could use up easily.

For water I have had individual Mylar packs that have held up pretty well for several years. I tried one and it seemed fine. I ordered more from Amazon (link on picture) so now everyone has enough for all three days in their packs. I would certainly try to take some water bottles with us, but if we couldn't at least they would have the bare minimum.

I switched out the light sticks, batteries and toiletries. The boys' clothes moved down to the next younger brother. I made a backpack for Calvin with diapers and formula, along with all the baby kinds of things.

I also updated the tags for each bag. They include a family picture on one side with the name, birthday and addresses and phone numbers for us and our close relatives and out of town contact.

Yay! It's done for now. The increase in natural disasters in Arizona and around the world makes me appreciate the counsel to be prepared.

I left the big kits alone for now. They have lots of other things like a shovel, axe, toilet paper, garbage bags, tarps, etc. I think most everything in there should be ok. I need to wait for another burst of preparedness energy to tackle those.

Freezer Friday

2011-07-01T06:54:00.002-07:00

One thing that has helped me save time, money and sanity is utilizing my freezer. I grew up cooking for a big family so that is the way I have always cooked, even when it was just me and Jeff. Poor Jeff. I have found it is much easier to make a lot of something and freeze the extra. I love having a freezer full of meals ready to go. Freezer cooking has definitely evolved for me through the years. I hate to admit it but I used to have a freezer full of casseroles... ug! Luckily there is a lot less (if any) cream of chicken soup in my cooking now.

To me the biggest advantage of freezer cooking is saving time. I want to share some of the things that have been helpful to me. In an effort to record what has worked for me I'm instituting "Freezer Fridays". I'll try to post one freezer recipe or idea that works well for our family.

A local farmers market has insanely cheap produce. (Strawberries 4 pints for $1, Blueberries 3 pints for $1, Pineapples 99 cents, you get the idea) When something is in season the price is amazing. One way to enjoy this inexpensive bounty all year long are smoothie kits. I use lots of different types of fruits but here is one example.

I use 3 or 4 types of fruit or veggies and fill a quart size freezer bag. In this case I used almost 2 cups of blueberries, 3/4 cup fresh pineapple, 1 and 1/2 bananas and a handful of spinach. These stack easily in the freezer and when I'm ready to use it I just dump it in the blender with some vanilla yogurt and orange juice. One blender full makes 6 small glass servings. Super quick and easy. The total cost for each bag is less than 75 cents.

It might be time for a bigger bathtub :)

2011-06-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

Our summer project

2011-06-28T05:58:00.005-07:00

Our game room/bonus room has just been a catch all store all room. It was pretty crowded and didn't leave a lot of room for the kids and all their friends when they come over. It wasn't very comfortable to hang out in either. We were able to move a lot of the books out and make some changes.

Here are the before pictures:

Now here are the after:

It suits our needs better now and it is a fun place to be.

Canning, what is it good for?

2011-06-25T05:42:00.000-07:00

Canning is so deceptive... you see the picture like this and think canning is a good thing. I wish I had taken pictures of my kitchen, laundry room, family room, etc. while I was trying to can. Then, the next time I walk into the neighborhood farmers market and see such beautiful cheap produce I will turn around and walk away instead of getting sucked into the idea of canning. I am glad I did it and glad it's done. I'll probably never let anyone use it. We'll just look at it and try to remember not to do it again.

Just say "YES"

2011-06-24T05:28:00.001-07:00

Several months an old friend that I reconnected with on Facebook told me she often thought of me and my "just say yes" philosophy of parenting. I had to ask her what she was referring to because I had forgotten. So, she reminded me of something I had learned when I just had one or two kids and knew everything about parenting. (Man I miss knowing everything, it was the best).

The just say "YES" philosophy was to say yes as often as you possibly can, that way when you say no, kids know that you mean it. Your automatic response is "how can we make this work?" instead of "no!"

I hate to admit it but my automatic response is often no. If I stop and really be present, in the moment with my kids and think about what they are saying, I can say yes more often. Especially to the younger kids who are just really asking for time with me. I will always have to say no to some things that don't meet our standards, but I was grateful for the reminder to try to say yes when I can.

One thing we are doing this summer to help me look for the positive and say "you did great" instead of "why didn't you" more often is tokens. I used a coupon and got nearly 200 tokens from Chuck E. Cheese (what does the E. stand for?) anyway, I am trying to look for the good and point it out with a token. The boys all have a jar and so far it's going well. I'm really trying to not take them away (I'll admit I took a couple away when there was a major punch fest going on). I want it to be a positive fun thing. The only downside is at the end of the summer we are going to have to spend a long time at Mr. Cheese's to use up all these tokens.

Grapes...

2011-06-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

I wish I had paid more attention to all the grape vineyards when we lived in Fresno. The church even had vineyards for welfare (they were table grapes, not wine grapes... :) This year my two grapevines really took off (maybe the long spring?) and produced an amazing amount of grapes. This red bucket was filled to overflowing 3 times. They are very sweet and yummy. I think I was supposed to thin them or something though because some were big but many were small. Haley spent many hours taking them off the stems for me and we froze the ones that didn't get eaten up. They are yummy right out of the freezer and I may try putting some in smoothies...we'll see. For now I am amazed at nature and God's creations.

Haley's room... with pictures added

2011-06-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Haley chose, edited and printed (all part of the plan... :) some pictures to add to her room. It really added a lot. It's fun to see her friends go into her room and look for themselves all over the walls. She did a great job!

Tyler "reading" his scriptures...

2011-06-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

When Tyler was 4 we taught him to look for the all names of Jesus and Heavenly Father in his scriptures, and then mark them with a scripture marking pencil. I think it started as a way to get Tyler to be reverent during the Sacrament, but now he does it for most of Sacrament meeting. He also does it each day for "reading" his scriptures.

His little red scriptures are turning into a real treasure.

Hundreds of little markings on many, many pages.

Trek

2011-06-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Before Trek...

During.

She had a great "Ma and Pa" and really enjoyed it.

What an amazing experience. I'm grateful she got to go.

After Trek... :)

Our favorite book this summer

2011-06-14T09:16:00.001-07:00

One of Tyler's "jobs" this summer is to read everyday. He just finished kindergarten and is just starting to be a pretty good reader. We've been reading this book each day and it has worked out great. I get to help him with a few words, the stories are short (it usually only takes 5 minutes or so) and pretty funny.

What do you do in the summertime?

2011-06-10T16:47:00.001-07:00

Summer is in full swing at the Judd house. Swim team and sports camps, job charts, swimming and video games... My friend had this cute idea on her blog. You can get a free printable here. I just printed it off and stuck it on top of a frame (it had something else in it) with double stick tape. We are starting to cross some things off. It's fun to see what we've done and get some ideas for things to do.

My kids have been doing great at their job charts too. I feel better about them playing video games and watching movies if I know they have been productive and gotten all their jobs done. I decided to give them Saturday's off this summer, we work hard all week and then when Jeff is home we don't have to spend all morning getting everything done. It will be good to have a day off. I just printed off and laminated some blank charts from here.

I also wanted my boys to work on learning to type this summer. Typing their reports are taking way too long.... I looked around for a long time and finally decided on Type to Learn 4 from Amazon (link below). It is working great. They take a pretest and it gears the lessons to their level -from Tyler (age 6) up to Dallin (age 13). They do a lesson a day.

Well... so far so good. Wish us luck. Happy summertime :)

The Plan.... Haley style

2011-05-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Haley is teaching Grant viola lessons this summer. In payment for that I said I would pay to redecorate her room. We worked hard getting it cleaned top to bottom and de-cluttering. She learned how to patch walls and touch up paint. She decided to get a new rug instead of a new paint color for her room. We had a good time picking everything out and spray painting a lot of her existing room stuff. It was fun teaching her a few design principles and seeing it all come together. She kept within her budget of $200 and I think she did a great job!

I LOVE my kids!

2011-05-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

With the addition of Calvin, I had to update the "LOVE" pics of the kids... They don't all fit in one frame anymore, so I changed it up a little. I found these frames for $5 at Walmart! Thanks to my Vegas buddy Amy for the idea. (I miss her and her good ideas :) It's amazing how fast everyone has grown up since these were taken!

The Judd kids at 3 months old.

2011-05-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Dallin

Grant

Tyler

Calvin

Haley

The Plan

2011-05-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a great book by Merilee Boyak,

A pretty detailed plan and ideas for helping your kids learn to work and be independent, competent adults. LOVE IT! One really good point she makes is that kids have never loved working (I thought it was just mine). It is our job as parents to train and teach them to work. She details a plan of what kids should know by certain ages.

We try to do interviews with the kids on Sundays (at least once a month). This will help me plan what they need to be learning and what Jeff and I need to be teaching them. So far Grant and Tyler are all over it and loving passing off the younger ages and looking forward to what they are going to learn. Haley is excited about learning to buy things on the internet, shop for cars and learn to decorate her room. Once Dallin found out you don't actually get a car when you are done, he's not interested....

If nothing else it is a good roadmap for what I need to be doing to help train some competent adults.

Happy Easter and Birthdays!

2011-05-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

I love to see the temples!

2011-05-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

We have 2 big maps on the wall (one of the U.S. and one of the world) in our game room, for FHE we printed a list of the current temples and put a little stick on diamond on each temple. It was amazing how long it took to put them on. It is amazing to see how temples literally dot the earth. It will be fun to add the new temples as they are announced and completed.

Look what the Easter bunny brought us!

2011-04-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

Judd Orthodontics...

2011-04-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Tyler picked up some of these business cards the other day at a orthodontist's office next to an ice cream shop we went to. That night I found these on everyone's bed... I guess Tyler is open for business. Sounds great to me, I would love to have an orthodontist in the family! :)

I LOVE Spring!

2011-04-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

(radish from our garden)

I love spring (even though it doesn't last long in Arizona). I love looking around the yard at all the new growth and beauty. Yay spring!

These are my kind of flowers... :)

2011-02-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to an incredibly talented friend for making this for me. She also made a small one for everyone at a little dinner/shower I had the other night. So beautiful and they tasted even better. Amazing!!!!

Calvin Charles Judd is here!

2011-02-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Calvin was born Feb. 6th. We are so happy to have him here! 12 hours of labor, an emergency C-section, cords wrapped around everything and tied in a knot.... Worth everything to have him here healthy. We are in love!

Calvin and Hobbs :)

Getting ready for our new addition...!

2011-01-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-01-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

Grateful.

2010-11-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea on Becky Higgings blog. I loved it and wanted to do it. Later that day I found this great shadowbox frame at Goodwill for $5. Added the lettering and quote and now before we eat dinner, I have everyone write what they are grateful for. So far so good. It's been a good daily reminder. I hung it and it is fun to see it fill up with our blessings. I love looking around and seeing the reminders to be grateful around the house. Happy Thanksgiving!

Time flies....

2010-09-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

Got cucumber?

2010-08-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

Guess we left this one on the vine a little too long. We'll be eating salad all week kids :)

Huntington Beach 2010

2010-08-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

A Little Arizona Sunshine

2010-07-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

M.I.A.

2010-07-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've been a little bit missing in action. I don't do much, I have very low expectations for myself each day and even those often get pushed until tomorrow. I really did forget how not fun this first part of pregnancy is. Hopefully I'm almost done with this part and ready to feel a little bit like myself again. You know... care if the house is clean, care if plants are dying, care if my kids have been playing video games for an hour or two.....

Today I had an ultrasound and saw little Judd jr. It made me remember exactly why I am willing to go through all of this. It's worth it, I just forgot for a little while. :)

How am I going to fit another shelf? :)

2010-06-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

My boys and baseball

2010-05-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

4 games a week. That's what it's been. It's nice not to have games on Saturdays, but most of our Tuesdays, Thursdays and some Wednesday and Fridays are spent at the baseball field. I decided a while ago to like baseball. (It was either that, or be grumpy a lot) It's busy, but it is fun to be with my boys and watch baseball. Next year there will be 3 playing (I'm secretly trying to convince Tyler that tennis is way more fun, I'll let you know how that goes) and it will be even busier. It's a good thing I like baseball.

Overgrown bushes beware!

2010-05-15T14:24:00.000-07:00

I pulled out some overgrown bushes in front of my house and have really enjoyed having a place to plant flowers. It kind of spread to all three areas in the front of my house. I have just been experimenting, it's like painting with flowers (and patience because you have to wait for them to grow and fill in). I'm hooked and will now be one of those old ladies who gets upset if the dog runs through her flowers...

Is there a 12 step program for Goodwill Addiction?

2010-05-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

I have been trying not to go to Goodwill too often, but we live near four of them and it's hard not to go once in a while. I have scored a few good things lately.... Can you guess what is from Goodwill in the picture above?

$50 bucks for both. They are well made but a little worn. It makes it ok to put your feet up and the other day there were 10 sweaty boys sitting around my living room. I was glad I could just relax and let them hang out, I wasn't worried about the chairs getting ruined. I love them and couldn't believe I found orange ones!

$25. I like it. I like that it brings some blue into a very warm palette of colors in this room.

$10 for the lamp

Different room, but $30 for the chair. It is a lazyboy and very comfy. This is where I read my scriptures. I like having them set out, it helps me remember to read.

$80. I painted it and bought new hardware. So I spent another $60 on that. This is solid oak from Broyhill and very heavy. We have it in our bedroom, it's nice to have the TV hidden. The plant on top was $4, I just put it there. I'm not sure if I like it there or if I need to add something.

There you have it. I have gotten lucky, but I need to stay away. It's fun to go because you never know what you will find!

Fruit!

2010-05-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

I planted several fruit trees last year. I had to pick off most of the fruit this year when it was little so the trees could grow(not just the fruit). I wanted to leave one on each tree, just to see it grow. These are on an Earligrande peach tree. I thought I left just one on, but we just found the other one growing. It is so exciting!!!! ( I need to get out more, I know...)

These are some grapes I have growing over an arbor at the entrance to our side yard and garden. I am always amazed at nature. What an amazing thing, each plant knows what it is, and what it is going to become. I need to learn more about grapes and pruning (I should have paid more attention when we lived in Fresno.)

Here is some more fruit... not as healthy, but very yummy. Our local farmer's market had these huge Granny Smith apples so I tried to make caramel apples. I have loved eating them, but had never made one before. It wasn't too hard. They don't look perfect, but they taste great!

A great cause!!!!

2010-05-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone (if anyone is out there... :) Please check out this fundraiser for my good friend Melinda's sister's family. Her husband was in a accident that left him with a severe spinal cord injury. They have two boys on missions and need some help. If you can, please check it out!

"My Brain told me"

2010-04-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

This is why I love being a mom. Here's a conversation with Tyler this morning:

Me, "how did you know that?"
Tyler, "My brain just told me that. Does your brain ever tell you stuff? When I was very little my brain told me to pray, but how old was I?"
Me, "I'm not sure"
Tyler , "We better look in my book."

How am I going to send him to Kindergarten next year?!?!

Watch out Humpty

2010-04-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

On the way to roll eggs between Conference sessions on Saturday I mentioned to my kids that not everyone rolls eggs. They were so surprised! " I thought everyone did this!" Nope, I told them I had never even heard of it until I married your dad. (I'm not sure what we DID with all the eggs we colored.) I think since we got married we have rolled eggs every year. It's evolved a little bit into throwing, but it's always a lot of fun. Good idea Judds!

It's a little too quiet....

2010-04-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

I had that little mom alarm go off the other day. It was quiet... too quiet. You know the kind where you find your kids dumping flour on the ground, drawing on the walls, you get the idea. I went around and checked on everyone, and wouldn't you know it they were all busily occupied, happy and quiet. I had to take a picture of everyone. They didn't even notice, and for at least the next 10 minutes I was out of a job.

Good-bye Tonsils!

2010-04-05T21:08:00.000-07:00

This is the way Haley and Grant communicated for about a week. They each had a magna-doodle and a bell. It was a long week. (2 actually) They were in a lot of pain. Thankfully we are on the other side and now hope to be strep free (Haley) and able to breathe at night (Grant).

Just one more James story...

2010-02-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

My brother James was born when I was a freshman in high school. While he was growing up I would always tell my friends all the cute things he was doing. One day my friend told me "No more James stories!" (I must have sounded like a proud grandma or something, always talking about the cute things he did.) Anyway... I have always been proud of James. I always joke that he turned out better than any of us, he got to see all the mistakes we made and do better. He got married on Saturday to a beautiful girl (inside and out). It was such a special day. I loved being around all of my brothers and sister and their families so much. We had a great time and enjoyed being together. Everything was beautiful and they are very happy. So if you will indulge me, here is one more James story... :)

My kids also had a great time with their cousins. The cousins from Idaho even talked my kids into swimming (it pretty much took their breath away, it was so cold!) Their favorite part was "decorating" James and Tricia's car. They had a lot of fun making memories this weekend.

"Dinner of Family Love"

2010-02-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

A few years ago my friend Robin (a mom to 4 cute boys) told me how each Valentine's Day she did a "Dinner of Brotherly Love" for her family. I thought that sounded fun, so we've been doing our "Dinner of Family Love" for a few years now. We did it early this year because we have an exciting weekend coming up (my brother James is getting married!!!!! :) I love my family! Happy Valentines Day!

Follow the Prophet

2010-02-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

At a friend's house the other day I noticed she had a small picture of President Monson. What a good idea, so I totally copied her and then ended up putting the vinyl letters I ordered a while ago near the picture too. It all happens to be by the computer (which is a happy coincidence and a good reminder that the prophet is watching... :)

"What da heck?"

2010-01-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

OK... Tyler can't be five. That went by way too fast. We had a fun time yesterday. He opened his presents first thing in the morning (I'm not sure where that tradition started) An hour later he got out his birthday scrapbook that has a page for each birthday and asked why I hadn't put his birthday pictures in yet... Give me time, I don't feel like it's behind until they have another birthday. Anyway, very fun day of presents, cake, Chuck E. Cheese, ginormous cupcake bigger than Tyler (from his Primary teachers), phone calls from Grandma, and overall being treated like a king. (although that last one happens on non-birthdays more often than we'd like to admit... we're working on it). Happy Birthday Tyler! We love you!

Peace on Earth, "Good-will" rocks!

2010-01-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Problem: When you walk in my front door, if my bedroom door is open you can see my bed. (Side note: One of my neighbors with the same floorplan has a mirror on the wall above her bed. She was in the shower and her kids opened the front door. Let's just say she made eye contact with the person at the door while in the shower. Yikes!) No mirror for us and we've gotten in the habit of making it, but really.... it's annoying. The other day at Goodwill I saw this hutch and I couldn't get it out of my head... "where could I use that?!?" I couldn't figure it out and I didn't buy it. When I got home I saw the half wall and it hit me... That's where I could put it! It's two sided so it would look good on both sides. I went back and got it. A couple of coats of paint by me and some trim work by my handy brother David later... built in shelf. Cost $20, plus about $30 in supplies. Not being able to see my bed from the front door... Priceless!

In my pretty garden...

2010-01-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

Ok... I'll admit it. I'm addicted to gardening. (and Goodwill and maybe Diet Coke, but that's another post) I love my garden. I drag my family outside to see it and tell them about each of the plants. (To their credit they try to seem interested.) I love being able to go outside and get everything I need for a salad. I love seeing my kids pick veggies and eat them right out of the garden. Most of all I love the quiet, peace and beauty of being outside and puttering in my garden.

All the whos down in whoville...

2009-12-20T09:25:00.001-07:00

Haley and 23 of her closest friends (yikes, right?... nearly all of them are in our ward) had quite the party. We did the Grinch thing, Cindy-lou hair and all the green food I could think of. (Carmel popcorn turned green looks pretty gross if you ask me...) They had fun and I was amazed how much teenage girls can eat :) Haley is no longer one of my Beehives... but I am so proud of the great young woman she is!

Yay! The Ornament Exchange!

2009-12-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

My friend and I hosted an ornament exchange for the YW Board. It was great to get that tradition going again. It sure made me remember all the many years of ornament exchanges and the good times with good women.

Some things never change...

2009-11-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a few years since the Yankees won the World Series. When we were first married I figured they just always won, because they always won. Jeff was a happy man this year, his Yankees won it again. Haley looks a little older this time though, right?

It's that time of year again....

2009-11-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for the past several years my good friend has taken pictures of my kids each fall. She always did a great job. This year I had to do it myself. Group shots were not my favorite. (see picture above) but the ones of them by themselves turned out ok. I don't know how to do the fun actions that make them look cool (I miss you Amy!) but at least they are done!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great Halloween. Haley and some of her friends were the villains from Disney movies (I remember when she wanted to be the princess, but that was a long time ago :)

Dallin and Grant were nerds. A couple of their friends ended up being nerds too. It was fun and they really got into character.

Jeff was.....drum roll please..... A Yankee! Can you believe it? OK... that was a little sarcasm, Jeff has been a Yankee just about every year that we've been married. Tyler was Darth Vader and the best part was when we were taking pictures he (with mask on) would always say "Cheeeeeeeese". Very funny. I was a busy mom, but I wore an orange shirt (with a black shirt underneath even... very spirited) Halloween is pretty hectic but it was fun to have the kids bring all their friends over.

The wheels on the bus

2009-10-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

Tyler gets to ride the bus to preschool. (He's in the speech program) I think he likes the bus ride as much as he likes preschool. Pretty fun stuff. (Notice it's taken me until the end of October to finally get a picture of him on the bus.)

"What bus do you ride Tyler?"

"The short one" :)

P.O.D. (Purchase of the Day)

2009-10-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

I found this entire modular desk set at Goodwill the other day for $55. It's from Ballard Designs. I went online and looked it up, if I were to buy all the pieces it would be $2300. Crazy!!!!

We also did these fun circle pin board and magnet boards for Haley's wall. Gotta love spray paint, especially all the great colors it comes in now.

Guess we don't need to sign up for T-ball- he's already got the trophy!

2009-10-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

"I put Grant's trophy right there, (by his bed) because I'm a good hitter too!"

No more excuses... :)

2009-10-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

I love this website. It lets you pick what you want to read, set up a program and then they send you emails with the reading and even audio if you want it. You can take notes and even get your Sunday School Lessons and Ensign. Amazing.

Come to Zion

2009-10-18T21:14:00.001-07:00

Our favorite things about Zion National Park this year:

Everyone but Tyler hiked Angel's Landing. (and we all made it out alive :)

Having Grandma and Grandpa Judd come for the day.

The fall colors were amazing.

Jeff and I got to spend a day alone in the park, which was great. Thanks grandma and grandpa!

Tip of the day

2009-10-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Just in case you were thinking about it,

think again... please.

Yummy Peaches

2009-09-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

The big deal around here lately is "Utah Peaches". Everyone has them for sale advertised as "Utah Peaches". I've canned a bunch and made jam this last week. I'm actually pretty sick of Utah Peaches now. But thanks Utah for sharing your bounty with us lowly Arizonans!

That's a lot of hair...

2009-09-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

Haley and her friends had a little retro fun the other night. They had a great time dressing up 80's and making a music video. It was fun for me to demonstrate my bang and side-wing skills (it's like riding a bike I guess) They were impressed that I still remembered how to do 80's hair. Here's hoping that hair that big, and that much make up never comes back in style! :)

More Young Women in Excellence

2009-09-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures from our "I Believe" Young Women in Excellence. We have some amazing women in our ward that worked very hard to make it look so nice. It was really a special evening.

David rocks!

2009-09-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ok... I think I have a pretty awesome brother (ok 4 awesome brothers) David is such a good sport to help me out. He put in some shelves for me. We don't have much storage space in this house and these will help. The best part is I think I learned how to do it so I may be able to do it in another closet. Thanks David!

"I Believe"

2009-09-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

For Young Women in Excellence tonight we copied an idea I found on a blog. Part of what we're doing is we had the girls write out their testimonies and we typed them up and put them on these to give the girls. I'm happy with how they turned out and so grateful to work with such amazing girls in YW. They have such strong good spirits.

Help from a "higher power"

2009-09-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

"When you press that button on the Wii, Jesus helps you you can't see him, he just helps you."

Glad to know we have extra help for the really

important things! :)

Rain, Rain don't go away!!!!

2009-09-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had a great surprise, a morning with lots of rain! We had fun (ok the kids had fun, I was under the patio taking pics and staying dry) playing in the rain and jumping in the pool and puddles. We love the rain!!!

"If you leave, I be shy"

2009-09-06T18:33:00.001-07:00

Tyler finally started preschool last week. He was very excited, but a little nervous. I was a little sad leaving him but he had a great time. I am not looking forward to next year (gone all day for kindergarten), two hours is long enough!

Table Topics

2009-06-16T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here's the part of the dialog from dinner last night. We use the "Table Topics" sometimes. The question for last night was "Would you rather be spanked or grounded?" Haley, Dallin and Grant all promptly said how they would much rather be spanked. (Nice try guys) When everyone was done, Tyler says, "I'd rather be good." Way to go Tyler!!!! Hold that thought!

Good luck Haley!

2009-05-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

Great to be 8 (almost)

2009-04-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

Take me out to the ball game, please.

2009-03-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

It's official... baseball season is upon us. Dallin is playing Major Cubs and Grant is on the Coach Pitch Braves. We're looking forward to a fun season!

Don't forget my Senior Discount!

2009-03-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Happy 60th Birthday Mom! I know you wish "60" was April Fool's but we're grateful to have you for our mom!

Glad you liked the "Don't forget my Senior Discount" hat... "The hat that pays for itself!"

You are an amazing woman and I am so proud to call you my mom. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for me. I couldn't ask for a better mom. I love you!

"Create"

2009-03-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this link for a video from President Uchtdorf's talk, "Create". It is very inspiring. Here's my nod to creating today. I am grateful for this desire that we have to create, even if I don't always get to spend the day painting at least I can make some freezer jam, right?

I couldn't figure out how to get the link to work, but if you want to see the video just paste this address into your browser.

http://www.lds.org/pa/display/0,17884,4644-1,00.html

Why I love boys.

2009-03-22T21:15:00.001-07:00

Girls Day Out

2009-03-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

The boys all went to a spring training baseball game today so Haley and I went out for a little girl time. We had such a good time. She needed a dress and we finally found a place to get modest cute ones. (Everyone else probably knew this but I'm usually 1-2 years behind) Dillards carries a cute "Jody" brand that are long enough on the top and bottom! Amazing. I think this is the first time she's had a dress, not a skirt with a shirt forever. I also discovered we have a Down East Outfitters in the mall. I guess I should go to the mall more, but I'm glad to know there are good places to go close by. After shopping we hit Sonic and then went to "Confessions of a Shopaholic". It was better than I thought it would be. Good times. :)

We finally found a modest swimsuit!

2009-03-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Haley and I spent the evening online looking for modest swimsuits, I found the one I want her to wear, what do you think?

I'm grateful for my Sunbeam!

2009-03-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

My favorite quotes from the last little while:

"If someone is bigger than me, then I win"

He pulled a feather out of Peaches (our bird), in explanation he says, "Peaches said, (in high squeaky voice) 'Hey Tyler! Pull a feather out of me!' "

I don't like my carseat, I'm just stuck in here.

If my guys play with it my football will be so sad.

(explanation for not wanting to share)

Allow me to brag for a moment... :)

2009-03-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Haley had an orchestra concert last night. "YMCA" and "Mission Impossible". She did great. I am amazed by her talent and grateful for good genes (not mine :)

She also found out she gets to go to the City Track Meet next week. She was the best high jumper in 7th grade at her Junior High. Until last week she had never even done the high jump. Again I am thankful for good genes and her willingness to try new things, even hard ones.

I am so proud of you Haley!!!

Hope and my new favorite smell

2009-03-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

The orange trees are in bloom and the air is filled with the sweet smell of oranges. I can't believe how good it smells.

Grow plants grow!

Play Ball!

2009-03-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

We just found out Dallin got drafted into the Major's Cubs Team for Little League. He's pretty excited. (I can't believe it's time for baseball already...:) His friend from church and school is on his team so that worked out really well. It will be strange going to all the games and not seeing all our baseball family friends. I also posted a couple of blasts from the past of Jeff's baseball days. Don't worry, I won't let him tell you any old stories. :)

Now if I could just scrapbook...

2009-02-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

I've had my scrapbook stuff randomly in my closet, on the floor etc. I got some shelves from Home Depot and put them up. I love that everything is in one spot. Now maybe that it's organized it will start getting caught up, right?

"I know my Savior loves me"

2009-02-27T12:53:00.001-07:00

Tyler's cousin Emily is playing over today. They were sitting on the couch reading books. It was one of those priceless moments. They were so sweet, taking turns reading each page. The phrase that came up almost every page was, "I know my Savior loves me". Very sweet. Of course now, it's back to reality and Tyler is in time out for chasing Emily to take away the book she was reading. But I am grateful for the small moments.