Pallet Vday Craft

A short while ago I was invited to a fun girls crafty evening.  In much need of being around other people like me (aka, post-children women, NOT U12 offspring of mine), I jumped right in on this invite!  I am SO glad I did!  I didn't take a ton of "during-the-process" pictures because, well, I was too busy having way too much fun.  But I did manage to get a lot of pictures of most of what was created throughout the night. 

I got a text with this picture, "We are making this - you should come!" 

(Sorry, I have no idea who the original source is.)

So let me explain this real quick.  These were pre-made pallet hearts, squares, and stars from JoAnn's, purchased with a coupon.  (Seriously, if you're not getting stuff from JoAnn's with coupons, you're not trying hard enough.)  They even come with a cute piece of twine in the back to hang them with. 

The supplies for the decorating came from various craft stores (on sale and with coupons, again!), left-over tissue paper from gift bags, scrapbooking paper, or whatever you find in your junk/craft drawer.  (Some of us may have raided our barns for fun too....)  Just don't forget the acrylic paint and Mod Podge, with some sort of applicator brush (foam brush, paint brush, fingers, whatever.)

Then you just PUT IT ON!  I laugh because it took me 15 minutes to finally start, and I was done pretty soon thereafter.  I have found that when I keep picking at my craft, I end up hating it.  So I have to do some and walk away, then do some more, then walk away, and STOP when I like it.  Seriously - leaving it ALONE is the hardest part!  Am I right?!  But I am SO GLAD that I stopped when I did.  I absolutely love it!!!  All I did was add some light paint, a crafty flower, and some twine.  That's it, and I love it.  I'm debating adding a cute little clothespin to hang a small family picture in the middle, but I'm still leaving it alone....for now.

One of the best parts was that every single creation turned out SO differently! And they were ALL adorable.  Yep, I'm going to share them (or at least the ones I stole pictures of!) so you can get some great inspiration for your own!  (Because you know this makes you want to do one, or two, or three, yourself, right?!)  So here's some more hearts. 

Didn't the tissue paper turn out fantastic?!  I love the combinations of paint, tissue paper, twine, etc.  I am just not that gusty yet.  I applaud those that are because they turned out SO CUTE!  But wait!  There's more!  There weren't only pallet hearts, there were also squares and stars!  I am totally doing a square next!  I love them!

Dying from the "fun" overload, right?  I know you are.  The best part was getting to be super crafty again.  I forgot how good that felt!  And to be crafty with other moms who just wanted to hang and have a great girls night.  This is something that I will hang in my house every year (maybe all year-round?  Yes, that is a definite possibility....)  It feels good to be crafty - especially when it's easy and you love what you made.  (I've done too many paintings that get hidden in the corner....or in another room....or in someone else's house....lol.)  I can't wait until next time! 

I can't wait to see what kind of fun craft you come up with.  Please share it with me! 

The Mama Bear

Inspiration Sunday

We have a responsibility to look out for one another, to help each other, to lift each others burdens.  We are not here to judge one another, but to love our neighbors.  That doesn't mean just the ones who literally live next door!  Our neighbor is all those around us. 

"When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17)  Let us each step up and serve one another.  Besides, serving someone else helps us look beyond ourselves - it just plain feels good! 

What can you do to serve someone this week?  What can you do as a family?  Cookies on a doorstep?  Shoveling a walkway?  Reading a book together?  Taking a walk, or just chatting over the fence?  How about some homemade bread?  That one seems to be my cup of tea lately!  Share some of your ideas that you can do as an individual or a family to serve and lift someone else up.  I'd love to hear and get some more ideas!

To read the February Visiting Teaching Message from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, click the following link: February Visiting Teaching Message


The Mama Bear

Inspirational Sunday

I like the feeling of being inspired, and Sunday seems like a good day for inspiration.  So from here on out, I will be sharing some of my favorite inspirational quotes on our Inspirational Sunday.  We are all striving to become better every day.  I like the upwards direction that a simple weekly quote can give me.  So this is me, sharing a little light, every week.

The Mama Bear

Bling the Ring Clean

I don't wear a lot of jewelry, and I almost always only wear one ring - my wedding ring.  It has been put through the ringer *haha*!  Originally I had a diamond on top held on by traditional prongs.  Then my horse decided that was a bad idea and sent the diamond flying through the air within the first year of our marriage.  Now it's wrapped up nice and solid - very ranch worthy.

This wedding ring rarely comes off.  Mostly because my knuckles are like a gorilla and my ring has formed to my finger over the past many years.  So you can imagine that with all the horses, kids, cooking, other ranch work, and general daily living, my ring has come to dull in it's luster. 

I went in for an MRI last week.  This is basically a gigantic super magnet which requires there to be NO metal ANYWHERE on your entire body.  I guess my wedding ring was included in this description, so after much soap and struggle, my ring came off.  Ouch.  And boy was it dirty!!

FINALLY TIME TO GET IT CLEAN!!!!

Now, I am NOT going to go out and buy a jewelry cleaner for one little ring that comes off once every.....well, very rarely.  So here's my DIY Ring Cleaner!

Ingredients:

1/2 Tablespoon Baking Soda

1/2 Tablespoon Salt

1/2 Tablespoon Dish Soap

1/2 Cup Hot Water

Directions:

Combine first 3 ingredients.  Then add hot water and stir.  (HOT water.  I used my kettle.  A microwave would work just fine also.)  Place jewelry (rings) in the bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes. 

Rinse ring (or other jewelry) with cold water and towel dry.  I like to use a toothbrush (or the like) during the rinse-off to make sure I get into all the tiny holes and grooves in my ring.  Probably not necessary, but I'm an over-achiever. 

Before....

....After

Whoa.  Let's do that again.

Before....

....After

Seriously?!  Same camera, people!  Okay, one more.

Before....

....After

Aren't my hands just beautiful?  I should be a hand model.  For Tractor Supply. 

BUT THAT RING!  IT'S SO SHINY!!!!!

This is a good ring.  Most of it has been with me for almost 15 years (one piece a year longer, one piece came at our 10 year anniversary).  I take it for granted because it is always there.  But when it's all sparkly and shiny like this, I can't stop moving it around under the lights - and in the SUN!  *sigh*  I'm so happy!  :-)

Let me know if this ring cleaner works for you!  I'm excited to go pull out all my old rings (that I don't wear.....) and see how sparkly I can get those too!  Go DIY!!

The Mama Bear

Rock Star Mom with 2 Ingredients!!

Have you ever had those days where you look around at all your children, and realize that there are more than twice as many children as you normally have - and they don't belong to YOU!   Holy playday!  They don't want much; they just want to run and scream and play like crazy monsters.  How do you appeal to all these wild heathens?  I'm going to share with you a secret.  Children like food.  Boys especially like food.  Food is the way to a man's heart - no matter their age.  (There were 2 girls here too, but I'm pretty sure girls eat food too....) 

Out comes the failsafe snack.  (This is how I became the Rock Star Mom with just 2 ingredients!)  I wish I could tell you that I spend hours and slave away in the kitchen for the sake of my family....but that just isn't true.  I like it easy, delicious, and healthier-than-not. 

Can we give a big welcome to.....Drum roll please......Pumpkin Muffins!

Now watch closely.  I'm going to break this down for you (and your 3-year old, because they can make these too.  Seriously.  Great place to start simple-baking in the kitchen with the littles!).

Ingredients: 
Spice cake mix  (whatever brand is on sale)
Pumpkin puree  (small can for one box, big can for 2 boxes)

That's it.  Dead serious.  (I've also made it with vanilla, white or yellow cake mixes also.  It's okay, but this is the best.  And when you're only using 2 ingredients, you may as well go all out.)

Put dry cake mix and pumpkin puree in bowl. 

  Mix together using whatever is easiest.  I prefer a hand mixer.

Scoop by the spoonful into mini muffin tins. 

There is minimal rise. 

Mini muffins tins really are the best.  I've done the bigger ones and they just don't come out the same.  Harder on the outside, gooey on the inside.  These minis are perfect - and they are just the right size to pop directly into your mouth.  Yum.

SPRAY PAN with cooking spray.  (Unless you like peeling away baked-on-stickiness.  Ugh.) 

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes.  Let sit for a couple minutes before you drop them out onto a cooling rack (if they make it that far.  My kids steal them directly out of the pan!).

  Just out of the oven - see?  Very minimal rise.

  As you can see, small humans have already stolen half my rack of muffins.  I made a double batch, which produced 96 mini muffins.  (All gone within an hour, btw!)

Caught red-handed!

That's it!  I feel good about this crazy-fast and easy snack because of the pure pumpkin puree.  Pumpkin is a superfood that is ridiculously beneficial for little people (well, all people, but I try to hide as much good foods in my kids' diets as possible!).

So there you go.  Go and bake.  Enjoy.  Gather your little ones to help you make this super complex snack - and then they get to feel great about what they baked!  Because it will taste amazing!  Let me know how it went!

The Mama Bear

We're Normal....Whatever THAT Is!

Sometimes I hear myself say, "We're just a normal family."  Then I laugh so hard that I get a cramp in my side.  Oh my.  But serious, what is normal?  I believe that "normal" doesn't exist.  Every family is made up of exactly what it's supposed to, and every family is completely different.  So let me introduce you to mine. 

This is the love of my life.  (Can you see the Disneyland Fire Dept in the background?  He applied, they denied.  Haha!)  I have been married to this man for almost 15 years.  Holy garbage, I just choked.  That's a really long time.  Wait, I mean....it's totally flown by!  Seriously, it has been quite the whirlwind of years, and I am so excited to spend the rest of forever and all eternity with him!  ("He" does have a name.  It's Mike.  Now you know.)

These are my little people.  I have 4 boys, all within 3 years of each other.  My oldest, J, is almost 11.  I wish he would stop growing.  Or eating.  He's like a walking bottomless pit - and he hasn't even reached the teens yet!  Next is A, who is 10. Sassy, smart, sporty.  Yep, that's A in a nutshell.  Next we have B, who is 9.  He is the main component of Beetle's Bakery, which he just named and started last December (yes, last month).  We haven't decided yet if that title is cute or gross.  Jury is still out.... what do you think?  B's current goal is to be on Kids Baking Championship, and by golly, he might just do it!  My last small human is D.  D is my almost-8 year old resident Dragon Trainer.  Need to know something about dragons, he's your guy!

So in the land of the Junior Bear Family, the closest we come to "normal" is that we all love each other unconditionally.  Most times.  Sometimes I may love some more than others, but I'll never tell....

Here's the truth about this blog.  It's going to be a mess.  Because family life is messy.  Our world here at Junior Bear Ranch is a hot mess.  So I'm going to tell you the truth.  Not all days are peachy-king.  We have to live for the moments, because that's what life is made up of.  I am a mother that loves a lot and is a "Jack of all trades, Master of none," because I want to experience EVERYTHING.  So welcome to our world and enjoy the ride!

(Replaced the youngest with a comparable fellow....)