Baking.

get ready for baking and crafty posts galore.

it is not my fault.

it is pinterest. 

that site is so dangerous. 

i get sucked in looking at stuff and then have to fight the urge to rummage through my craft supplies or make a run to hobby lobby.

hence the lack of blogging. 

i have been busy.

the first thing i did off of that site, were these.

they are blue berry muffins.

they are WONDERFUL!

my taste tester agrees. 

they make huge muffins and are definitely not as easy as the box mixes, but they are worth it. 

and they only make 12. 

which is good. 

eating to many could be a serious problem.

near miss

this was us, this year, March 2010.

we were in Tennessee, looking at Grad schools and having a great time. This was our last stop on our trip and so we were enjoying our stay and checking out the scenery.

I had just found out I was expecting Ayla right before we left for the trip so I was in that wonderful phase of being super tired and nausea.

It was a long drive home when we finally left Tennessee and by the time we got home, we were all exhausted. It was freezing in Iowa and so we were missing the comfortable weather that we had had in Tennessee. We did not even unpack our suitcases when we got home. We set them by the door, relaxed for a little while, put the kids to bed and then went to bed ourselves.

Around 1:00 am we heard a beeping noise. We had heard this before. It was an alarm that we had that often went through the battery to quickly and would beep until we replaced it. Seeing as we were both exhausted, Garran and I laid there discussing whether or not to get up and make sure it was the battery or wait till morning to change it. We both were so tired, that we figured we would just sleep through the annoying beep. After a few minutes of discussing it, Garran said that he was going to get up to check the alarm just to make sure it was the battery. He came back a minute later and told me that it said that we had carbon monoxide in our apartment. We both were not exactly sure what to do next, but Garran said that he was going to call 911 and try and talk to someone at the fire department.

A few minutes later the fire department arrived. We could hear this weird beeping noise as they were coming in the building and getting closer to our door. Finally we heard a knock and opened it. (I should mention that as soon as we got up and saw the alarm we turned the furnace off. It was 5-10 minutes after that, that the fire department showed up). They said that the beeping noise that we heard as they were entering was a detector they used for Carbon Monoxide. It was clear out in our hallway. All of a sudden I felt panicked. If they could detect it out in the hallway, how much was in our apartment?

when they did the initial readings, after the furnace had been off for 10-15 minutes, the fireman said that the levels at that moment were borderline of us needing to go to the hospital. my heart sank. i instantly thought of the boys. they had a bunk bed. that night they had both wanted to sleep on top, not 2 feet from their little heads was a vent just pumping out this gas. i had already checked on them when I first got up, but i went and checked again while the firemen were running more test. at this point they asked us to turn the furnace back on. when we did, their detector went nuts instantly. i could not believe it. there was no sign of any gas. no smell, no cloud or fog, nothing! their reading said that the level was well over 100 ppm. The paper they gave us had this description next to the column that said...

"over 100 ppm" - "We have detected a lethal level of CO in the building. Leave the building immediately! It is not safe to return until the source is found, repairs are made, and the building ventilated. Have all possible sources of CO examined and repaired if necessary by a qualified technician. Replace or reset your CO detector according to manufacturer's specification."

the fireman then told garran and i that we were very lucky to have had that carbon monoxide detector. it was one that we had purchased on our own. our actual apartment did not have one. he said that had we not got up to check the alarm or had we slept through it, the levels in our apartment would have been lethal within 1-2 hours. My heart sank again. Not only could I not imagine losing one of my children, but I felt sick at the thought off all of us passing away. I have to admit that both Garran and I got emotional. The fireman said that we should get the boys out first, due to their proximity to the vent. We quickly wrapped them up in coats and blankets and put them in the van. B was next. They told us that we could not stay there that night. Especially me being pregnant. So even though we were absolutely exhausted, we called Garran's parents, let them know we were on our way, and made the 30 minute drive to their house to stay the night.

The reason this came back into my mind and I decided to post is because now that it is getting colder outside we have our furnace on. Every time it kicks on, I have to admit that that night pops in my mind. Now I am super cautious. We have a Carbon monoxide detector upstairs and down. I will NEVER take that chance again. Things could have ended up so differently that night. I am thankful every day for my friend that encouraged me to buy that detector and that I was diligent about replacing those dumb batteries, even though it seemed so annoying.

Garran and I were both talking the other night about this and we both agreed that when we had told people about our experience, that a lot of people brushed it off like it was not that serious or that it was not big deal. it was!! carbon monoxide is nothing to play with. if you do not have a detector you should get one. it will be well worth the 25-30 dollars you will spend on it.

i am grateful that we were all ok. that we got up when we did and that everyone walked away without any serious injury.

my new hero!

ok so that might be an exageration or maybe not. my sis  in law introducded me to this website and it is AMAZING!! I am so excited to start some of her projects. you should check it out and let me know what you think!!

www.preparednotscared.blogspot.com

im a believer~

does anyone know what this is?

nope its not a tea pot, its a neti pot.

im sure some of you out there may have already heard of it. it is wonderful. my mother in law has been trying to get garran and i to try it every time we get sick or are struggling with allergies. we always smiled and were kind of like "no thanks". well recently garran was not feeling well and got desperate. he tried it. he went on and on about how great it was and how he could tell a difference. well low and behold this week i got sick. now let me say i suffer with sinus stuff constantly. if its not a cold i totally suffer from allergies. so anyways garran kept telling me i should try it. so finally a few nights ago i did.

~this is what it looks like when you do it~

( i know not the coolest or prettiest. garran gladly took a picture of me doing it, but i opted to use this lady that was on oprah. )

oh my goodness, what a difference. i am a believer in the neti pot. its a little awkward but with this cold i have hardly had any sinus issues which i did when it started. this little pot cleans it all out and relieves the pressure. it takes a little while to get used to and never use really cold water. garran learned that the hard way. it really burns. you have to use like luke warm water. anyways i thought this might be helpful during this season of what seems to be constant sickness!

little peace of mind~

my friend CJ and i, it seems are always talking about safety stuff for our kids.

she has a real talent for finding great ways to keep our kids safe.

she is very on top of things like that.

so she forwarded me this link.

i had one of these when cullan was an infant but have not kept it updated or got one for kael.

i think it is a really smart idea. you never know when you might be put in this situation.

although i hope we can all avoid it.

its super easy, just call the number.

they send you all you will need on a cd and you are ready to go!

hope this was helpful to some other folks out there!

ps. here is an additonal site that has the same things but with a small cost. only difference is that this kit is complete, you dont have to print anything out!

suggestions welcome~

so here is my problem. well not so much of a problem as a project. this rocking chair has been in my family for some time. i know it was my moms and i think her moms as well. when i was little my mom had it in my room. it used to be shiny and had a girl on the back with little lambs i think. anyways in one of the moves it got damaged and my step dad had to repair it. when he did that he decided to sand it down.

last time we were at my moms she gave it to me for my kids. (which i am so thankful for, i love family heirlooms) anyways she had mentioned that between garran and i, she was sure we could come up with a new way to paint it. garran and i have been talking about it for some time. i was thinking it would be cool to some how incorporate my mom and grandmother into the chair. we have talked about painting some kind of tree on the seat with family names or doing something more modern like painting it a solid color and doing circles on it with names in the circles. i have been going to all kinds of websites for ideas. i just have not seen anything that has really inspired me. so i know there are some crafty people out there that read this blog. so i am asking for your help. if you have any ideas or know of any good websites, i would love to know about them.

this picture really has nothing to do with my project. kael just really loves being in pictures...ie center of attention. so i snapped this of him drinking his juice. he is such a ham!!

a breath of fresh air~

recently i have been giving a lot of thought to what kind of parent i am and the effects that society has on my husband and kids. anyways today i was watching oprah, and saw this man, rabbi shmuley. what a breath of fresh air this guy was. i was listening to him and just felt like, he probably was not saying anything new just stuff that everyone these days needs to hear. one of my favorite quotes was from the first family they interviewed. this family had four children that thought their mother nagged to much and that the dad was there but basically checked out of their lives. this was rabbi shmuley's advice to them:

Rabbi Shmuley says the Hurons are making a common mistake by parenting out of fear and trying to be their children's friend. "We believe that by coming off the pedestal and not asserting authority, they will embrace us much more warmly—it is simply not true," he says. "They will have many friends in life—they will have one father, they will have one mother."Rabbi Shmuley says Greg is allowing his success outside the home to determine his success inside the home—when he feels he falls short, the whole family suffers. "It comes down to money and fame," Rabbi Shmuley says. "So the average guy who just does the right thing but is unknown for it feels like he's a zero."In order to be a successful family unit, Rabbi Shmuley says Ruth and Greg need to redefine success in their lives. "The man who sits and does homework with his children when nobody is watching…The man who conquers his passions and focuses his lust on one woman—his wife—when no one's watching…To do right because it's right—that is heroic," Rabbi Shmuley says.

the whole show was awesome, they touched on this family, then a family whose kids were spoiled, one that had suffered a great loss in their lives. it was just great. if you have a second you should really go and watch it or at least read the transcript of it. it really was an awesome show. if you would like to read it or watch it you can click here!

if you know someone..

my friends are trying to sell there house. they would like to have people look at it as soon as possible. if you know anyone that may be interested, please refer them to this site. it is in a great neighborhood and they are asking a very reasonable price. the more this gets around the better!

1033 kingsley

thanks cg

bullies & how to deal!

so i was reading on of my parenting magazines today and came across and article on bullying. it gave you strategies to help your kids fight off or better deal with i guess i should say bullies when kids are struggling. now granted my kids are not in school yet so this has not really been to big of an issue for us but it did make me think of my sister in law. she is very funny and taught her girls a great way to deal with a bully on there school bus! here it goes.

she has three girls that are in school and all ride the bus. there was some kid that was always picking on one of them saying they were "odd-strange-weird" you get the picture. so "J" my SIL thought up a great way to take care of the kid and do it in a funny manner. when the bully would start to call one of her girls weird for example that girl would say "nope im not weird, she is weird im odd" talking about one of her sisters. then the other sister would say "well i might be odd but she is strange" totally stealing the bullies thunder and joking about it themselves. i thought it was so creative and it totally diffused the situation.

if you are interested in checking out the article it is in the september issue of Wonder Time Magazine!

helpful info

my friend naomi sent me this link in an email. it is great. it is wonderful if you have children and you want to know who is living near you that may be a risk. i know people have mixed emotions about this sort of thing, but i would rather be safe than sorry. anyways if you would like to check your neighborhood or area.. this website is great!

felon spy

thanks naomi for this helpful site.

my latest favorite

so i saw this blog on a friends blog and clicked on it just to see what it was all about. i have not stopped checking it since. she has fun simple ideas of great things to do with your kids that are just great. anyways if you are interested here is the link... i love the name to.

flipflops and applesauce

if you have not seen it before you will have to let me know what you think of it..

Maybe this will help~

my friend told me about this because she knows i am a dedicated blogger. anyways some of you may already know and some may not. so hopefully this will save you some time. ok i know when i log on i go through and click on every ones blog to see who has updated their and who has not. now all i have to do is go to my favorites and click on one link and see who has updated and who has not.. very helpful (side note:this only works for those you have public blogs. if your friends blogs are set to private you will still have to click on theirs from your page) anyways here are the steps.

1. go to google reader.. if you can't find it just google .. google reader
2. click on add subscription
3. add your friends blog address

Then when they post a new blog you will be able to see. It saves me a lot of time. I occasionally still go to the blogs to see if they have changed templates or added and baby counters or new pictures on the side, but just for quick checks this is really helpful.