FHE

I don't want to go all 'church-lady' on anybody, but I do want to discuss big kid FHE. FHE is this dandy institution (also known as Family Home Evening) suggested way back in 1915 by Joseph F. Smith, president of the LDS Church. It's a Mormon thing, yes, but it's also just a logical, good-sense way to teach your kids and strengthen your family. Everyone wants that, right? 

For those of you unfamiliar with FHE, here's the low-down: FHE is family night. It's a time set aside to connect and enjoy each other's company. Traditionally, FHE is held on Monday evenings. The whole family gathers together for a song, prayer, a short lesson, maybe a game, and some refreshments. The refreshment part is critical to FHE, but all of the other elements are flexible. For us, FHE is sometimes a family walk, a family swim, or a bowling night. Other times we might make homemade ice cream or play board games. And yes, there have been lots and lots of lessons -- where we talk about all kinds of things, from honesty and money management to Bible stories and spiritual enlightenment. 

In the last couple of years we've fallen off of the FHE bandwagon. It's shameful. I'm ashamed.  As the girls got older, the little lessons on 'being a good friend' or 'Noah's Ark' seemed less germane. Although, let's be honest -- the kids were busy and I was lazy, because being a good friend and practicing obedience are probably most needed during teenage years.

Thus, in the spirit of getting back on the proverbial horse, we have taken up the FHE banner once again. Last night I asked Parker to prepare the lesson. I pointed him towards a few websites with FHE ideas and left him to his own devices. After reading around a bit, he asked Becca and I to be prepared to share a talent (he texted these instructions to Sterling).  

Okay. I had exactly one hour to learn how to juggle. (I do like to impress my kids from time to time). 

In the end, the boy gave a nice lesson on developing one's talents through hard work (he told a story and shared a scripture). And then there was the talent portion of the evening.  Here's how that went down: 

1. Becca sang "The Man Who Can't be Moved" by The Script while accompanying herself on the guitar. It was really good, and I felt compelled to explain that some people's talents are very demonstrable and entertaining, while other's talents are more hidden. Ahem.
2. Sterling did a silent skit where he completely acted out a scene in a restaurant. I can't even explain it to you here in less than 1,000 words, but Becca and Parker thought it was HILARIOUS.
3. Failing to learn to juggle for the 273rd time, I fell back on an old talent standby. I did a dramatic recitation of Shel Silverstein's poem "Peanut-Butter Sandwich."  It was no show-stopper, but it was . . . interesting (and short).
4. Parker displayed and provided commentary on six of his recent lego creations. He showed us hidden compartments and really talked about his interest in building vehicles of war (you know, tanks and the like). 

Guys, it was really fun and Parker took his job of conducting and teaching VERY SERIOUSLY. And then I remembered all of the reasons FHE is so good and needed -- time spent together, lessons shared and learned, responsibility divided, budding teachers encouraged. Big kids need this. Parents of big kids need it maybe even more.

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Note: FHE isn't just for traditional families. Madison was recently asked to coordinate a FHE group at BYU. She and a guy are responsible for planning weekly activities (games, outings, acts of service) for a group of eight freshman. I think it's a great way to help students get to know each other and to foster a sense of belonging.

A few good gems

I'm still in New York, but I saved up these awesome gems all last week. Just for you. I'm sure, by now, I've gained at least 5 pounds since vacation to me means moving from one great restaurant to another. So, by virtue of extreme caloric intake, I bring to you. . . A Few Good Gems:

via cornerblog

Ever since the tissue pom hit the design scene, I've been a big fan of hanging decor. I've experimented with changing it up a bit -- hanging lanterns, hanging marshmallows, hanging mobiles. My new hanging love? These giant paper peonies. CornerBlog makes them into pinatas (and come on, who doesn't love a pinata?). I do admire a peony.

 Jane Austen is the face of the new ten pound note. Now that's what I'm talking about! The bummer is she doesn't go into production until 2017.

I actually happened upon this Richie Parker video (which is amazing) at This Little Miggy. I haven't been able to get it out of my head. The human ability to adapt is incredible, and this guy's attitude is humbling (to say the least).

Tom Rinaldi reports on the life of Richie Parker, who overcame being born without arms to become a chassis and body component designer for Hendrick Motorsports.

This is a real product currently being produced by Rustoleum. It's completely blowing my mind. 

I've never been good at suffering my children's disappointment. Because I NEED to make things okay for them. Uh oh. Read the whole article here.

"During those years between routine extrication of choking hazards from my first born’s chunky hands and now, I never gained fluency with the two-letter word “no.” I tried to make everything better — way too often. I never mastered the “oh well” shrug, because I was unable to tolerate my children’s disappointment. Had I been able to say “no,” my life would be easier, and so would my children’s." 

My husband has long had a penchant for Magic Shell (you know, the ice cream topping). And look! You can make it yourself! I'm going to make it for him as a BIG OLE SURPRISE! Isn't he lucky?

Grad party 2.1

It might seem like I give a lot of parties. This isn't true. I just timed my children poorly. But the hour of my rest is near. I have a full three years until Rebecca graduates. Or one year if Maddie decides to go on a mission. Or 50 years if I move underground. 

Maddie's party was fun. I went with the 'One Smart Cookie' theme, remember? I made a wagon-load of cookies.  

So. . . yes, it's out of focus. . . and the table isn't completely loaded, but this is the only pic I could find of the whole table. I cannot style, cook, clean and photograph simultaneously. It's a flaw. But there were cookies. I have witnesses. We served:  Chicago Toll House, Peanut Blossoms, Snickerdoodles,  Homemade Oreos, Chocolate Crinkles, Funfetti, Gingersnaps, and  Sugar Cookies.

For the decor, I based the color scheme off of this piece of fabric I found at Hobby Lobby (or, as my kids used to call it: Hobby Yobby). 

From here we picked cardstock colors for the mobiles hanging above the table. Jordan was with me, and I nearly drove her insane with the picking of the colors. She was not aware she had signed up for a two hour visit to The Lobby. You have to suffer for your art, people. Also for your mobiles. The mobiles are simple to construct -- keeping in mind, I do not recommend making them at one in the morning. I'm just not a night person. The strips themselves are 1" x 7", and there are approximately 30 strips per mobile . . . although the number of strips really depends on your ceiling height, mobile needs, etc. Assembling them is easy as pie: Start feeding them through your sewing machine, keeping them as close together as possible. Leave plenty of thread on both ends for hanging and tying off.

Other decor pretty much boiled down to flowers and some pics of the graduate. I love to buy flowers but am a complete novice when it comes to arranging them. My mom swooped in and saved the day on flower assembly. But really, in my book, anything with a hydrangea is going to work. 

I've already posted the faux chalkboard signs that I printed up on ye olde HP printer. Just download a chalkboard background (I used one at the end of this post). Then download some chalk-y fonts and go to town. I like clementine sketch, frenchy, and ffftusj, but there are tons of them out there. 

Jordan's friend Rachel graced us with some chalkboard art. Rachel's leaving for an 18 month mission in Tahiti, so I'll be interviewing for chalkboard artists in her absence. Please direct applications to everyoneisleavingme.com. 

Here's the chalkboard banner that I pinned a few weeks ago. Yes, I actually made something I pinned. Call the papers. Actually, I bought all of the stuff, and then my mom offered to make it. And I totally took her up on it because my head is chock-full of my children leaving me, allowing very little room for sewing antics.

I wanted guests to be able to leave a note for Madison, so I hooked up my old, junk-shop typewriter with a new ribbon and set out a pile of typing paper. Never underestimate the fascination of primitive technologies to the youth of today. We ended up with about 10 fully typed pages.

See the Y cookies? They were fun to make except for the outline piping part. The icing was so stiff, I gave myself carpal tunnel just doing the outline. I even remade the icing -- still too stiff. What's the secret cookie people? Because everyone loves a Y cookie (except for possibly Utes), and I should perfect my process. 

And after all of the cookies and flowers and hoopla, I got this very sweet graduate. I hope she knows that I love her more than Y-shaped sugar cookies, or chalkboard banners, or armfuls of white and yellow flowers. Raising her, having her in our home for 18 years, has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. And if I could, I'd hog-tie her in her bedroom and make her stay for another 18. At least. Love you Maddie!

One smart cookie

It's the first day of summer, and I hopped out of bed at 6:30 AM (tragic). It's go time around here. Tonight is Maddie's graduation open house. As I sat icing BYU sugar cookies (for said open house) last night at around 1 AM, I pondered my proclivity to bite off more than I can chew. The rest of the house was sleeping. Not me. I was piping and flooding and thinking existential thoughts about cookies and icing and running away to a deserted isle.

But this morning? Things are looking up. The weather is beautiful. Much of the food prep is done. And we are in the home stretch for ending this school year.  

I'm going to share one of the cookies I made for the party tonight. This is an OLD family favorite. Try not to study the ingredient list too carefully lest your arteries close off completely. Despite the caloric atrocities committed by this cookie, it is hands down one of the tastiest cookies in the history of cookie-dom. (And it makes a ton, so it's perfect for a big gathering.)

Chicago Toll House Cookie

3 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 TBS milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup vegetable or canola oil (gulp)
1 cup corn flakes
1 cup oats
1 cup pecans, chopped
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a mixer, cream butter and sugars. Once nice and fluffy throw in the egg, milk, and vanilla. Gradually add in the flour mixture. Once everything is combined, close your eyes and pour in the oil. Mix for another minute or two, until everything is well combined. Throw in the corn flakes, oats, pecans, and chocolate chips and mix by hand. Eat a bit of the dough while mixing. Bake at 375 for approximately 10 minutes (watch them because they brown easily -- because of all the, ahem, butter and oil).  

Back tomorrow with more party STUFF. 

So long, farewell

This past weekend was my daughter's farewell. 'Farewell' is a Mormon term for when the soon-to-be-missionary speaks in church. Ideally, the farewell occurs the Sunday before the missionary leaves, but because of a host of scheduling difficulties we held Jordan's farewell a few weeks early. And because I like to celebrate every event with the trump of exhaustive fanfare, we made an entire day of it. Lots of visiting family (and one visiting boyfriend) converged on the church Sunday morning to hear Jordan speak. After the service, we all caravanned to my mom's house where she, my SIL, and my sister put on a brunch for 30. Remember, we are Mormons...that's pretty much just immediate family.​

After brunch, my crew headed home to finish our preparations for an Open House to be held in the evening. And by finish, I mean DO A BUNCH OF STUFF. As you may have gathered from my macaron-making posts, I had settled on a French food theme for the Open House. ​This experience has yielded me an exceedingly close relationship with my pastry bag. The only downside with the French foods was that much of the menu needed last minute finishes, so I was cooking down to the wire. The final hour of prep found all hands on deck in the kitchen. We even put the boyfriend to work. 

I went with the colors of the French flag and a little gold thrown in for good measure. Coming up with a color scheme early on in the party-planning process really helps streamline procurement of the party ​goods. I'm not a big fan of the cooking, but I do enjoy considering the presentation. Some of the most time consuming part for me, then, is collecting the supplies -- cups for the fruit, tiny square, plastic shot glasses for the pots de creme, table runners, flowers, teeny, tiny spoons. But it's worth it people! What's a party without tiny plastic shot glasses?

Here's a blurry pic of the mini strawberry and cream eclairs we made by the dozens. (Seriously, over 100 . . . and not a single leftover). Eclairs are deceptively simple to make. I did all of the shells in under an hour. From here on out, we'll be having eclairs at every family function. Or until I get sick of them. Which will probably be never.​

Tada!!! I went back and forth on the macarons about two dozen times.

I'll make them.
No, they're too hard.
I CAN DO IT.
No, they're too hard.
I can buy them.
I should buy them.
But they are $2 a piece!
I'm definitely buying them.
Nope, making them.​

Even though my understanding and expertise of the macaronage did increase with practice, I'd say overall my success rate was only about 50%. I ended up with 150 total: 50 vanilla, 50 strawberry, and 50 chocolate. We flew through those 150 macarons in about 45 minutes. I call this "America and the Macaron: A Love Story."

And just for your planning pleasure, here are the deets:

Macarons: The vanilla and strawberry macarons use an Italian-style meringue. For the strawberry I tinted the shells pink and used strawberry puree in the buttercream filling. For the vanilla I tried Swiss Buttercream, which pretty much changed my life.​ The chocolate macarons are also an Annie's Eats recipe, although they employ the French method.

Mini eclairs with strawberries and cream: This Martha Stewart recipe is seriously easy and tasty. People were eating these in multiples. Make sure you have real vanilla beans on hand for the filling. I bought mini eclair papers, but found they fit fine on cupcake liners, which ended up taking less space on a platter, (according to my husband who is something of an efficiency expert in these matters).

Baked brie en croute with apple compote: My brother and SIL had made this before for a family dinner and it is delicious. I made the apple compote the day before and used frozen puff pastry, so this took like 7 minutes to put together. The only bummer was I forgot to thaw the puff pastry. If I had it to do again, I'd set a timer on my phone that screamed "TAKE OUT THE PUFF PASTRY." I did two of these...and there was not a bite left.​

Bite sized Greek salad: Okay, this isn't exactly French, but I wanted something savory, and Jordan LOVES feta. And I thought they would look pretty.​ I wish I had a picture of these for you -- lovely little appetizers lined in rows on a square, white porcelain platter. I found feta for the best price at Costco.

Pioneer Woman Pots de creme al'orange​: My SIL and brother made these. They did 40 and people were literally fighting over them. We put them in these containers and included tiny spoons, which somehow make eating decadent cups of chocolate even more fun. Like that's possible. 

Pain au chocolate: I originally planned on buying these from Central Market. But when I arrived at Central Market on Saturday, they had all of three on hand. I made a call to Panera, who obliged me with two dozen. I cut them in fourths, dusted them with powdered sugar, and put them in cupcake liners.​

Fruit: I've seen these fruit cups on Pinterest any number of times. At first I thought the cups might be too small, but they were the perfect size. I included watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. We originally put out 40. Then made another 20. We could have easily done 80-100. The cups are super cute and have a shiny coating that make them perfect for fruit. I bought mine here. ​

I also served Petite Palmiers and truffles coated with cocoa powder -- both from Costco. We still have some leftover truffles, which call to me from time to time from their shelf on the pantry. Do NOT buy these truffles. They are dangerous and evil. And I love them dearly.​

And that's it folks. We have a bit more shopping to do, some serious packing (only two suitcases allowed), and then she's off to Lyon via the Provo MTC. If I didn't have an impending high school graduation to consider, I'd probably be bereft. I'm saving bereft for mid-June. Meet me there?​

It's getting hot down here. . .

I think this May just might rank as the craziest month of my entire life. There is family arriving, multiple celebrations, and umpteen preparations. In fact, I have so many irons in the fire at the moment, I'm sure to blow something up. I'm just waiting. Somewhere I'm forgetting something VERY IMPORTANT.

Last night we had a crawfish boil at my Mom's in honor of my very sweet Aunt Rebecca, who is visiting from Utah. Unlike our Cajun neighbors, we are relatively new to the crawfish boil. For myself, I prefer the baguettes, corn-on-the-cob, and new potato parts of the meal -- partly because I don't like getting my hands messy with the crawfish and partly because I don't like dismembering the crawfish. I'm a delicate little flower; it's true.​

​Sterling and Jordan. Trying to soak up every last moment before she heads to France.

My contribution to the party? Our family's favorite homemade ice cream -- affectionately known as the orange ice cream (cuz it's orange). I could also mention at this point that when I was very young we had three horses: Whitey, Blacky, and Browny. Our family seems to lack a certain amount of naming panache. We're working on that. But this ice cream? This ice cream is orange-y, and fizzy, with more than a hint of sweetened condensed milk. And, it takes about five minutes to throw together. Yep, it's the dessert trifecta: quick, tasty, uses sweetened condensed milk. I can barely contain myself even writing about it.

I've often wanted to share this beloved ice cream recipe on the blog, except I've been waiting for a whiz-bang Orange Ice Cream photo shoot. That, it seems, might be slow in the making. I don't want summer to get away from me . . . so I'm posting it here with just a little old iphone pic. My apologies.​

The recipe:​ [Note: This recipe is for the old fashioned, ice-with-rock-salt, ice cream maker. So put away your new-fangled, sophisticated Kitchen Aid and go old school with me.]

2 2-liter bottles orange soda 
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

Directions: Mix pineapple and sweetened condensed milk in ​ice cream maker. Add orange soda to the fill line. Layer ice and rock salt. Plug in the ice cream maker and let it go. I like to chill the soda first just to shorten the freezing process.

And that's it folks. Sometimes, in the fiery depths of summer heat, I've been known to mix up a batch, serve it to the kids in the pool, and call it dinner.​

Desperate times call for desperate measures.​

Let's play

My husband's family is big into game playing -- card games, board games, lawn games . . . you name it and they are interested in playing it. And even though my own family was not much for games, I can boast that I introduced the husband's competitive family to their all-time favorite family card game -- a game we call Oh Hell (or Oh Heck for the kiddies). I think if you added up all the hours we've spent playing Oh Hell, it might tally somewhere near six and a half months. That's a lot of card playing folks.

My point is that playing strategic or thought-provoking games with older kids is a great way to spend time together as a family. Heck, my kids' strategy skills can often run circles around my supposedly-educated 42 year old mind. ​There's nothing that boosts one's ego quite like having your twelve-year-old trick you into playing your trump cards too early. And when my ego gets bruised? SOMEONE'S GETTING GROUNDED.

A few years ago our family friends, the Pearsons, taught us a great big kid/adult game called Celebrity. It's fun, fast-paced, engenders some interesting conversations, and puts kids and adults on a fairly level playing field. It's great for big groups (like 10-25), and you'll learn a thing or two about teen culture to boot. Just you wait.​

Here's how to play (well, our version anyway):​

1. Divide your group into two teams. You can number off, play boys vs. girls, or even kids vs. adults. [Note: the kids will likely be better at this so choose your team wisely.]
2. Pass out strips of paper and pens. Have each player take three strips, write the name of one celebrity on each strip (living or dead, fictional or real), fold up the strip, and place it in a large bowl.​
3. Round one: Team One selects one player to pull strips from the bowl. The selected player gives clues to help her team members guess the celebrity. She can say anything EXCEPT for the name on the strip. Her turn lasts for one minute (use your iphone timer). She has ONE pass* (this is important). After her minute is up, count how many strips she and her team guessed correctly and score it on a piece of paper. (Don't put the strips back in the bowl.) Take turns between teams (rotate through the person giving the clues), guessing the names in one minute intervals until all of the strips have been used.
4. Put all of the strips back in the bowl.​
5. Round two. This works exactly like round one: take turns between teams, each team gets one minute per turn, guess as many names as you can, score each turn, EXCEPT this round you can't use any words, ONLY actions.​ Like charades. 
6. Once you've been through all the strips a second time, put them back in the bowl.​
7. Round three. This final round works like round one (as you might have guessed), EXCEPT the player up to bat can only say ONE WORD. That's it. They get one word, and the team has to guess ​the celebrity from ONE WORD ONLY. (We've had near family feuds when certain persons used terms like 'french fry' as one word -- when that is clearly TWO WORDS!!!!!!)

And that's it. The team with the most points/correct guesses at the end of three rounds is the winner. You'll learn a lot about what authors/singers/tv characters/world leaders your kids are thinking about. Plus, acting out Danny Tanner is just good fun no matter the age.​

* A word on the "pass." Especially in the first round you might not recognize all of the "celebrities," particularly if someone is uncooperative and puts "ketchup" on one of their strips (ahem, Sterling).​ You get one pass. After that you might need to be creative. Resort to a "sounds like" or "looks like." And when someone tries to pass two in one turn . . . get really hysterical and start yelling about how the world is vastly unfair. That's totally allowed.

Any other fun games out there?​