Simply Hair: Winter Snowflake Styles

We have been having lots of fun with crocheted snowflakes in my daughter's hairstyles. They are easy to add: simply use some bobby pins to secure them into the hair.

2009 First Presidency Christmas Devotional

One of my favorite ideas from the First Presidency Christmas Devotional this year was from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He encouraged me to unclutter my life a little more so I have room to "see with [my] heart". I loved that simple encouragement to help me as I make decisions for the holidays.

Fun Christmas Nativity Craft

My daughter planned a very fun Family Home Evening Activity. She got the idea from the December 2008 Friend. Such a cute mini nativity scene made from a laundry detergent scoop.

Simply Hair: Mom Style: Fancy Braided Updo with optional Headband

I believe it is really important to use a little time to take care of yourself, preferably before taking care of all those you take care of every day. This looks so fancy but only added about10 minutes to my normal 15 minute hair and make-up personal pamper time.

This is a mid-back length or longer hairstyle. Here is how I did it:

1) (you can leave this part out if you are not doing the front part of the style with the head band or ribbon) separate out the front part of your hair (I use my long bangs) and put it into a clip or rubber band.

2) A) Starting FROM THE BOTTOM (If you start from the top, you will see the part lines all over your head) separate the rest of your hair into three ponytails right on top of each other. To do this, first separate out a lower section and put the rest of the hair (besided the front part already separated out in step 1) up in a clip or rubber band. B)Then use a small rubber band ( the goody black or clear ones work best) and put it into a ponytail at the nape of your neck. C) Then separate about half of the "clipped up hair" from underneath and make it into a ponytail just above the first one--about halfway up the back of your head. D) Finally put the rest into a ponytail at the highest point where you would like your fancy braid updo to begin on your head.

3) A) Separate the top ponytail into two sections (or more if you like especially if you have thick hair) and braid one of the sections all the way down. Then coil it around the rubber band like a bun--or however you would like to coil it--around the top section of your head and secure with several bobby pins. then do the same with the second section of the top ponytail. B) I usually just do one braid with the second ponytail and coil it around and secure it with bobby pins. C) with the last ponytail, I like to remove the rubber band first, then braid it tightly and coil it up and around and secure it with bobby pins. D) Check the style and adjust where you want to and add more bobby pins until it feels secure on your head.

4) (skip this part if you are not doing the headband and braids in the front) A) Tie a ribbon around your head above the ponytails and tie underneath the lowest ponytail at the nape of your neck. (Or you can use a head band). B) Separate the front section of hair (step 1) into three sections and braid the right section (If you braid toward the front it will probably bunch up so braid it in the direction you are going--toward the back over the headband). pull it flat over the headband and secure it underneath the ribbon or headband with a bobby pin. C) do the same with the middle section and then the left section. D) then take each of those three braids and coil them in with the braids already coiled up on the back of your head. E) check that the style still looks good and is all secure with the bobby pins.

5) You can finish off with hair spray or little dabs of mousse where needed.

I got this idea by combining things I had seen online. The hair wrap over the headband is an idea I got from Babes in Hairland, Dressed up Headband Day 1 and the three ponytail updo was another idea she had which she found from this video I combined these ideas and used braids.

Great Kids Book: Alice in Bible land Series.

I love the "Alice in Bibleland Series" by Alice Joyce Davidson. My Mom got these books for our family growing up and I loved them so much that I got them for my family too. My daughter LOVES them! They have been a great way to introduce scripture stories. They are about a "little girl named Alice" who goes through a "magic Screen" and sees the Bible stories come to life. The stories are told in poetry form, easy to memorize, and have lots of beautiful pictures. One of our favorites is "The Story Of Baby Jesus"

"Pink Glove Dance"

I have so many fun things I want to post about! Time is getting away from me! But part of being a Super Mom is knowing what things NOT to do. I am glad to have some time to post this one:
I Loved this video! It was so fun to see the employees all dancing together and having such a good time. That would have been such a fun day at work. Check it out and help a good cause.

A friend sent me this and says...
"Our daughter-in-law, Emily (MacInnes) Somers, created, directed and
choreographed this in Portland last week for her Medline glove division
as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. This was all her idea to
help promote their new pink gloves. I don't know how she got so many
employees, doctors and patients to participate, but it started to really
catch on and they all had a lot of fun doing it.

When the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be making a huge
contribution to the hospital, as well as offering free mammograms for
the community. Please check it out. It's an easy and great way to
donate to a wonderful cause, and who hasn't been touched by breast
cancer?"

Check it out Here and help the cause.

Sale on Book of Mormon Little Books

I previously posted about this wonderful set of early reader Book of Mormon books on my blog. So for the full description of why I love these books, click here. to summarize, I loved them because my daughter was able to use them to learn to read in the correct sequence very easily simply by reading these leveled scripture story books in order.

There is a great sale on these books that I just found out about and wanted to share. I received notice that the author is discounting the series as well as some of her other items if you order before December 31st, 2009. She is also offering free shipping. These are wonderful for a family and great gifts for pre-k to first grade age children. For more information or to order these books go here.

My Daughter's Thanksgiving Decorations

I loved it when I saw how my daughter had used my favorite pilgrim decorations in a fun new way. She separated them by what they were holding in their arms and then put that item around it--like the girls were holding apples so she put a real apple by them, pumpkins by the boy holding a pumpkin and dried corn we picked up at the corn maze by the indian holding corn. I usually just lined them all up. It is so fun to walk into my living room and see her creation! I cheers me up and makes me smile:)

Saving money by altering my daughter's dance uniforms

When I found out that my daughter's school was going to offer free dance lessons I was so excited! The dance uniforms required are two piece black shorts and top that cost about $16 each piece if I got them through the on site vender. I did a little research and from Walmart was able to get a black leotard for $7 and black leggings for $5. I simply cut off the bottom of the leotard and then hemmed it. Next I altered the sleeves to make them the required cap sleeves instead of a little longer short sleeves. Finally, I cut off the leggings to the correct length and simply hemmed them up. I saved about $20 and it only took me about a half an hour of my time to alter them. Plus it was a fun sewing project:)

We are the generation to protect the Constitution

Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a devotional on October 13, 2009. He gave us great counsel on how each of us can help to protect our freedom. He gave us suggestions of specific things we must do to protect our freedom:
-Speak with love and show patience, understanding and compassion to those with differing viewpoints.

-Do not be deterred or coerced into silence by intimidation from opponents, insisting that churches and their members be able to speak out on issues without retaliation.

-Insist on the freedom to preach the doctrines of their faith.

-Be wise in political participation, remaining respectful of those who do not share their religious beliefs and contributing to reasonable discussion.

-Be careful to never support or act on the idea that a person must subscribe to a specific set of religious beliefs in order to qualify for public office. For highlights of the talk click here.

I finished the "Miracle of Forgiveness"

I am so happy to have completed my goal to read the "Miracle of Forgiveness" by Spencer W. Kimball. I first started it as a teenager when my seminary teacher Dad suggested it would be a good book to read. I had good intentions :) but never finished it completely--and always felt badly that I hadn't whenever I heard someone mention how good that book is. This year I have been reading it for my scripture study time on Thursdays and it has taken a while to complete but was so worth it. What a great book.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from p. 362 in the last chapter:

There is a glorious miracle awaiting every soul who is
prepared to change. Repentance and forgiveness make a brilliant day of
the darkest night. When souls are reborn, when lives are changed--then
comes the great miracle to beautify and warm and lift. . . And such great miracles will never cease so long as there is one person who applies the redeeming power of the Savior and his own good works to bring about his rebirth.

I am so thankful that I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he came to earth to live as the Great Example to guide the way for all of us to follow and to also suffer for our sins, die and then be resurrected. Because he did those things, we can all find peace and direction in our lives and have the option to change and repent and become better people. We will live again after we die. I know that when he suffered for my sins he also experienced my personal sorrows and challenges and all other emotions and experiences I deal with so that he can always know perfectly how I feel and how to help me. I know he loves me and is always there for me. I love him and am so thankful for him.

See also: Richard G. Scott "To be Free of Heavy Burdens"

and "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball" chapter 4

"Matt and Mandy" helps me teach.

My daughter LOVES to read the "Matt and Mandy" section of the Friend magazine each month. She also loves to watch "Matt and Mandy" episodes online (click on the link above). One day, when she was facing a problem with some friends from school and trying to decide what she should do about it, we decided to create our own "Matt and Mandy" comic page about a similar situation and figure out what she thought Mandy would choose to do. It really helped her in thinking through how she should solve the problem (and helped me refrain from telling her how to solve it so she could learn to do it herself). I am really thankful for the Friend magazine!

Kids General Conference Booklet

I am sooo excited for conference tomorrow! We are finishing up our preparations to have treats and games ready to do while we watch. My daughter usually sets up a tent to stay in while she watches and then she plays conference Bingo or does some other activities related to the conference as she watches.
One of my personal favorites is when we made a "matching game" by having one card be a picture of the Speaker (We just did the First Presidency and Apostles) and the other card be a picture of something He talked about. We got that idea from the Friend magazine and it was really fun to make while listening and then to play later. It helped us remember what each Apostle talked about.
This time I printed out the booklet on the Friend website. Then we can use the information from the activities in that booklet to make our matching game.

Save Money on Groceries with Deals To Meals

My sister let me know about this service. It is a website that searches the adds from several grocery stores near me and color codes the deals for me each month. The red deals are the really good deals. It saves me lots of time and I generally only spend about $150 a month for groceries for a family of three. it is free for a trial period of two weeks and then it is for only a cost of $1.25 per week and is definitely worth the price. The creator of the site also offers a meal plan and shopping list for a full week of menus based on the current red deals and a guide to food storage for your family. check it out at deals to meals.

Fit Day online nutrition and overall health tracker

There is a free online journal which you can enter in specific nutrition and health goals. Than you can enter the foods you eat and the activities you did and find out how your calorie intake vs out take was for each dayand whether or not you met your personal exercise and nutrition goals or not . It even keeps track so you can see statistics over a long period of time (for days you have entered in information of course). It also has a helpful place where you can track your mood each day which is wonderful for those of us who have tendency toward depression or hormone imbalances and need to be able to let our dr. know if there is a pattern in our hard days. Best of all it is a free service (with more options available for purchase if you like).

Cool Whip Fingerpainting!

I just saw this post on my sister's blog. She used a great idea for a craft that is fun and only takes two supplies: construction paper and cool whip. It is fine if they eat the paint too! :)

Daddy Daughter Date: Home Depot Kids Workshop

I think it is very important to have Daddy Dates. They are an important part of a strong and happy family. My favorite Dates with my Dad were one time when he took me to a dance and gave me a corsage and everything. Another favorite was when he took me to an amusement park just the two of us (There were ten kids so it was really special to have my own time like that)

My hubby discovered the free projects they do at Home Depot. (Here they do it the first Saturday of each month). They are great. They give the kids an apron and each time they do a project they earn a new project pin to put on their apron, a certificate and of course they get to take home a fun free project. The best part is the time with Dad.

Fun Paper Doll Craft

My daughter has a fun craft idea. Here is how she explains how to do it:

" I was watching 'Beauty and the Beast' and after it I just thought of this craft idea since I was in such a 'Beauty and the Beast' mood. I made a Belle doll. This is how I made it:

1) Draw a picture of you or of anybody and cut it out.

2) Draw dresses and then cut them out.

Make sure they have little tabs to hold it up.

3) Then put one of your favorite dresses on the paper doll.

( And here's a funny joke about paper dolls: Why are paper dolls so fun? Because they're "funnable!" LOL) Now enjoy your paper dolls! Have fun with them! Go along and play!"

Beautiful Blog Award

Thanks Melissa from Wonder Mom Envy for nominating me for this award! :) I am now pleased to pass on the award to a few fun blogs:

Imagine Cozy

Gracious Rain

Clever Homemaking

Celebrating Today

Be a Homemaker

To choose to accept the award, the instructions I received from Melissa are:

"The rules to receiving this award are to: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to several other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award."

Morning Glory Moment

My daughter came to me soooo excited. "There is a Morning Glory Mom!!" She repeated over and over again. It was so fun to see her so excited. And no wonder . . . she planted the seeds herself a few weeks ago and just two little tiny shoots have come up. She has not given up on her tiny plants, even when we thought they were dead after a family vacation. This may be the only bloom we see from her efforts, but so worth it. I am glad pictures can make moments last forever.

Create a Refined Home #3--Refined Music

What is refined music? I think that will be different for each person. I do NOT believe that means only classical or church music although those are definitely included. The results of my own home tour of our music is that each family member is different and there are a few things the others listen to that do not seem refined or uplifting to ME but I need to respect their idea of good music (as long as it is not a bad influence that we have agreed as a family we will not have, of course). So my gauge of how we are doing is to make sure that there is plenty of good music available in my home. We do really well at that! We are a really music loving family and there is great variety and a lot available here.

Goal: Remember to turn some good music on every day

Favorite online music links:
WCPE Classical Station
Pandora
LDS Music Website