Bran Muffins

So I am going to be completely honest...I did not think that these muffins sounded very good when my friend Emily emailed the recipe to me. They sounded really fibery and super dry. I was so glad to see that I was proven WRONG! These are amazing and they are so incredibly healthy. (Now I'm not going to lie to you...I may have doused it in butter...but I do that regardless of what kind of muffin it is! It is good with or without butter.) My kids loved them and you get full after eating just one. It was by no means dry...surprisingly very moist. For those of you who know my dad...he even liked them and that is saying something!! (Love you Dad!) If you don't know where to get the ingredients...Kroger, HEB etc...in the healthy isle.
Bran Muffins

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. raw wheat germ (not the toasted kind in the bottle)
2-3/4 c. wheat bran
2/3 c. oat bran or 3/4 c. rolled oats (I used the oats)
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ginger or cinnamon (I used cinnamon and added a bit more)

3 TBS oil
2/3 c. honey
2-1/4 c. milk or vanilla/plain yogurt (I did 1 c. milk 1-1/4 c. vanilla yogurt)
2 eggs
1/2 c. raisins or chocolate chips (opt.) (I did half with raisins half plain...I liked the plain)

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix them well. In another bowl beat the eggs and then add the rest of the wet ingredients with the optional raisins coming last, and mix well as each new ingredient is added. Fold the wet into the dry, mixing only enough to moisten the dry ingredients thoroughly. (Best if you mix by hand, otherwise you will overmix).
Put the mixture into a greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Happy Birthday To Me!!

My birthday was on May 3, a little late on the post. But I still had to post about the most wonderful day the world ever saw...I was born!!! My DH had to leave on a business trip on May 2 and comes back on May 10. So, he is missing my b-day as well as our 8 year Anniversary
(Happy Anniversary! I love you babe!)...so instead of feeling sorry for myself and being alone, I decided to do the next best thing. Head on over to Houston and be with my parents! What a great idea it was!

My wonderful day (a brief background on my b-day... Apparently when I was younger I used the "birthday card" for like a month or so...So "they" say. I may have said, "I get the front seat, it's my birthday, or I get this...b/c it's my birthday...you get the idea. So now my family makes fun of me all the time. I will have you know that I no longer do that. I have one day and one day only...I may use it for all it's worth though!!) Anyway...my day started with my mom, dad, Noah and Caden coming into my room singing Happy Birthday and brought me a plate of donuts with a candle. (side note...I have donuts for every birthday...tradition). Then we went out on the jet ski. This was Caden's first time going...he loved it! He kept telling me to go faster and to do more tricks. I only know how to do donuts, but he was still impressed!
Me and Caden on the jet ski.
Mimi and Noah.
Me and my boys...aren't they sweet???
The boys had fun playing in the nasty lake water. They were throwing "sand" at each other, when we got home there was sand in all sorts of places...
My cutie pie CadenAfter we went jet skiing me and my mom went to eat at Chelsie's (another tradition...have to get my chicken salad sandwich. I know all my brothers are totally rolling their eyes right now. But they know whats up:) while my awesome dad watched the boys. We went shopping and then went home and swam in their pool.Next on the list...my birthday cake. It was so yummy! Thanks mom! Of course the boys helped me blow out the candles...there are just getting to be tooooo many! Dad and Mom...thanks for giving us a great time! We didn't want to leave! Love you tons!

Birthday Cake

Fudge Ribbon Cake

For my birthday my mom made me this yummy cake. I used to eat this all the time and had totally forgotten it! It is a recipe from my Dad's mom. She is an amazing baker/chef. So, this brought back a lot of memories! Thought I would share the recipe! Look how pretty it looks! I love the cream cheese swirl.

This is a picture of Nestle Choco Bake. I would never had known what it was without seeing it!

Fudge Ribbon Cake

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
2 TBS margarine
2 1/4 c. sugar
1 TBS corn starch
2 eggs
4 Envelopes Nestles Choco Bake
1/2 tsp. soda
2 TBS plus 1 1/3 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. margarine
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x13 pan.Cream 2 TBS margarine with cream cheese, 1/4 c. sugar, corn starch, add 1 egg, 2 TBS milk, 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Beat at high speed until creamy. Set aside. Combine flour with 2 c. sugar, baking powder, salt and soda in large bowl. Add 1/2 c. margarine, 1 c. milk and beat for one minute. Add 1/3 c. milk, 2 eggs, choco bake and 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat. Spread 1/2 mixture over batter and spread carefully. Top with remaining batter and spread to cover cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Cool and top with Fudge Frosting.

Fudge Frosting:

1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. margarine
6 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar

Combine margarine and milk in sauce pan. Bring to boil. Remove from heat, add remaining ingredients, stir to spreading consistency. Spread on top of cake. Put in fridge until set, then take out to room temperature.

Hope you enjoy!

Soccer Par-tay!

Yesterday was Caden's Soccer Party! Everyone had such a good time! We started off by getting their Soccer pictures. Lucky for us, one of the mom's is an amazing photographer (thanks Natasha!) These are not her pictures, (hers will look sooo much better) I was just behind her taking a few for the blog! After pictures they had a short practice and then we had the ceremony for trophy's and then a BBQ. I don't think the kids ate too much...they were way too excited! Sorry for all the pictures...The Thunder Dragons: (top) Coach Mike; (bottom) Aiden, Caden, Evan, Caden and Kason
Thunder Dragons running down the hill.
Cute team picture.
Go Thunder Dragons!!
Evan, Kason and Caden...good buds
Caden trying to smile even though the sun is in his eyes...he wanted to put his hand up and shade his eyes sooooo bad!
What a stud!
Getting the trophy. The boys could not wait to get a trophy! We didn't know if the league was going to give us any, thank goodness they did! Otherwise, we would have to go and track some down! They have been talking about it from the very beginning of the season!

Right before we ate, we found a cute little frog. Madison was brave enough to pick it up! Later that night Madison and Caden were chasing each other and Madison gave Caden his first kiss...it has already begun! I'm thinking they have a crush on each other!
Way to go Caden! We are so proud of you! You did such a great job playing! He scored at least two goals every game (except the last, he was about to get strep and wasn't feeling so good. At the end of the game he started crying because he couldn't figure out why he didn't score! Funny kid!) Good job Caden!

It's Wii Time!

Ben surprised everyone yesterday by finding a Wii. He told me to plan a FHE that had to do with kindness/sharing
(This FHE came from Deseret). So we had FHE and really emphasized sharing with your brother...hopefully it will work:) Then Ben brought out the wii and they were just so excited, it was like Christmas all over again! They played for a bit and then we ate some banana pudding...YUM-O!
Caden is boxing right here...I think he was enjoying that way to much!
Can you guess what he is doing now??? Baseball
Noah is boxing as well...


This is the Banana Pudding. It is my favorite...I hope you will enjoy it as well! (If anyone has any tips on lighting for when I take food pictures...I would love some tips because I am completely clueless!) Thanks!

Banana Pudding

1 box Vanilla wafers
2 small boxes vanilla instant pudding
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 c. milk
1 (8 oz.) tub cool whip
6 bananas

Line a large bowl with wafers, also up the side. Take a handful and crush for the top. MIx all ingredients listed above, except for the wafers and bananas.
Layer: pudding, banana slices, wafers. End with crushed wafers.

Walk Around the Block

The weather has been beautiful lately, so we went on a walk around the block with Caden's new bike he got for his birthday (thanks Mimi and Popi)! Whenever we go on walks, the boys stop to look at everything that catches their eye...I mean EvERyTHinG!! So, I got a few pictures of them playing with flowers and riding bikes. The boys are also so sweet and pick me every flower they come across...thank you boys!


Caden's awesome new bike! (As you can see he is totally checking it out!) He asks to ride it everyday! Good thing we have some nice weather!
It seems like every picture I take of Noah he either wearing some sort of hat or he is picking his nose...I don't know what to say about that...

All the beautiful flowers the boys picked for me! Aren't they beautiful??

Doctors and Hospitals and Beads...OH MY!

I just wanted to share the week we have had, so just bare with me or stop reading...but I promise it is a good story!

Tuesday: Noah gets a really bad tummy ache and diarrhea (gross, I know). We went to McDonalds with some friends and basically we spent the whole time in the restroom. Not to mention his nasty accident he had that required us to go home. When we got home he was just begging for some medicine. So we go to CVS and ask the pharmacist what would be good for the little guy to help him feel better. She gave me some stuff and we were on our merry little way . He was feeling better, so thats good.

Wednesday: Noah woke up with a mild temperature, but was acting fine. I put him down for a nap, he woke up and he was on fire. His temperature was 103.5. So I called the Dr. and the nurse told me 1. the medicine that CVS told me to get was a horrible choice and 2. to get him to them ASAP. We pull up to the offices and he starts throwing up and grab him and he finishes in the parking lot. The Dr. checks him out and tells me he has pink eye and strep throat. (We assumed the tears and gunk were allergies...we do live in TX after all). That night we got no sleep. There were some serious thunderstorms and loud thunder and bright lightning. Ben had to work late and Noah's temperature was rising and rising. (It got to 104.5) . I was panicking. Ben didn't get home until 11 pm to find Caden still up (b/c of the thunderstorms), I was freaking out and Noah was just dazed and confused. By then the temperature had gone down significantly (101.5), thank goodness.

Thursday: This one is my favorite. It is book club night! Yeah! I have very much been looking forward to book club. So I bring my yummy dessert (look for the recipe in the following post) and start enjoying myself. Not 10 minutes later I get the phone call..."Summer, I need you to get home right now...Noah stuck a bead up his nose." Great...my night is ruined. I get home and see Ben trying everything to get the thing out. We tried teaching him how to blow his nose, we tried getting him to sneeze by sniffing pepper (that just doesn't work), and whatever else the internet said to try. Nothing was working. So we called Care Now (I think they know us on a first name basis now) and they said I just need to take him to CookChildrens Hospital. So I (yes I, Summer) , had to take him to the ER. We get there, and the place is filled with people. There is a 3 hour wait. I asked if I could just take him to the urgent care and they said that would probably work, they have to first check him out and register him first. So that went well...we no longer have to wait 3 hours or pay for an ER visit. When they started checking him out, he was asleep, well, they were poking and prodding and weighing him, so of course he woke up. Then the chatting began. He would not stop talking. "Hi, what's your name?" "I stuck a bead up my nose," "My name is baby Noah, I'm 2," "I'm potty trained," "Whats that?" "Who is that?" "What's wrong with that baby?" the list goes on....

We go to the urgent care which is across the street...we had to walk...it was 10pm...in downtown Fort Worth...we will leave it at that. (Just a little spooky b/c anyone could just pop out at you. Plus I had no idea where I was going). We go there, we are the only people in the waiting room and were able to see the Dr. right away, thank goodness! She walked in and Noah started the questions and statements all over again. (Did I mention that everyone just laughs and laughs, which is just egging him on...especially when they find out what he did?) So, between me, another nurse and the Dr. holding him down, the bead came out in under one minute. (She used special scissor things with a blunt end to get it out, luckily the bead had a hole at the end). He was so happy and proud of his bead and that it was out. Hallelujah! We were in and out in about 2 hours.This is Noah, with a bead up his nose (He is holding the look alike so the Dr. knew what she was dealing with). Yes, he was enjoying the experience way too much.
This is what Noah was doing the second the bead was out. So relieved he could pick his nose again, b/c for about 3 hours, that couldn't happen.
This is an M&M and THE bead, so you can see how big that thing was! (At least for a 2 year old!). The bead came off of an art project Caden did at school that day. Remind me to thank his teacher on Monday for the costly bead!

Caramel Crunch Bars

I subscribe to this fun magazine called All You. I love it! They had a picture of these yummy bars, and I had to make them. I wanted to share at my monthly book club. I was so excited to go and let everyone tell me how amazing they are etc...Too bad I only got to stay at my book club for about 10 minutes before I get a phone call telling me that Noah stuck a bead up his nose. So I have no idea what people thought of these, all I know is that I think they are yummy! Hope you like them! It is by Kraft Foods.
Caramel Crunch Bars

4 1/2 HONEY MAID Honey Grahams
1 bag (11 oz.) Kraft Caramel Bits
2 TBS milk
1/2 c. Planters Cocktail Peanuts
1/2 c. miniature marshmallows
1/2 coarsely crushed pretzels
4 squares Baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted (or chocolate chips)

Line 8" pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil generously with shortening. Place grahams on bottom of pan, cutting t fit if necessary.

Microwave caramel bits and milk in microwaveable bowl on high 2 minutes or until caramel bits are completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring every 30 seconds. Pour over grahams; top with peanuts, marshmallows and pretzels. Drizzle with chocolate.

Refrigerate 1 hour. Use foil handles to remove dessert from pan before cutting into bars to serve. Makes 1 doz. bars.
ENJOY!

Celebrating Earth Day

Today we celebrated Earth Day (a day late) during FHE. Ben taught the lesson and shared the story of the Creation. Part 2 will be tomorrow night where we will take the boys to the park and will pick up trash and take a little nature walk and show them all the things we need to be grateful for.For dessert we had an Earth Day cake. So good...cream cheese frosting, raspberry filling, YUM-O!
Ben had each of us draw pictures of what we are thankful for, this one happens to be Ben's picture...what an artist!
This is Caden's picture. Ben was teaching him how to draw...not bad for a little 5 year old!
Yes, this is Noah's picture. I'm not quite sure the angle he was going for. Ben seems to think it is California during the summertime...lots of fires.
This one is mine...I know, it is truly amazing. It is for sale to the highest bidder.

Ben and I watched Oprah last year on Earth Day and we had an epiphany about how we need to change and make several simple changes to our lifestyle. Here are some of the things we have done this last year:

* Decreased our garbage by about 50% and increased our recycling amount by 50%
* Switched out 95% of our incandescent lightbulbs and replaced them with compact florescent lightbulbs.
* Switched electric companies from Reliant to Green Mountain (we now purchase 100% of our energy from renewable sources).
* We quit bagging our lawn clippings.
* Ben installed a low flow shower head (he put it in our bathroom, but it felt like pin needles gouging my back, so it is in the guest bathroom and Ben showers there every day! Sorry to all our guests, we will change it when you come!)
* Purchased a programmable thermostat.
* Started using all organic/natural cleaning products (let me tell you how much it has helped with my allergies and hives...major difference!)
* Use environmentally friendly laundry detergent (Winfree from Costco).
* Use organic fertilizer in the yard.
* Requested the blocking of large percentage of our junk mail.
* Got a smart power strip for the computer.
* More conscientious about unplugging electronics not in use.

We continue to look for more opportunities to be good stewards of what Heavenly Father has given us. However, I put my foot down on starting our own compost. No thank you!

I'd be interested to know what things your family does to be green. Please leave a comment with your ideas. Thanks.

Time Out For Women

This weekend my sweet husband let me go to Time Out for Women (TOFW). It was in Oklahoma City, OK. Just a short 3 hour drive away. Me and my good friend Sharla P. Wilde went together. We left on Friday, April 18 and came back on that Saturday. We had so much fun! On Friday it started at 6:30 pm and some really cute girls, Mercy River, sang. If you haven't heard of them, thats because they are new, but when you hear them you will love their songs. Just to prove how cool I am, they signed my CD. Then Kim Nelson spoke to us, he was hilarious! Then Michael McLean performed. First time to see him. I'm not gonna lie to you...he doesn't have the greatest voice and he forgot most of the lines and had to read them off a paper. I'll leave it at that. But he was very funny.

On Saturday there were tons of speakers and lots of singing. Mercy River sang again, then Hilary Weeks (you may not know her name, but trust me you know all her songs), Dean Hughes spoke (author of Children of the Promise), Camille Fronk Olsen spoke, then Merrilee Boyack, Jason Wright (he is on the NY Bestsellers list) and Carolyn Rasmus. It was a great conference, I may have to go back every year! It makes you miss and appreciate your family and want to try to be a better more understanding mother and wife. I also realized that I'm not the only mom who is trying to balance: being a good mom, being a good wife, be good at your calling, and in the mean time: cook meals, clean the house and play with the kids. Apparently, most people feel the same way...imagine that:-) So I was greatful to get a little spiritual boost and get recharged.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the fun event! Hope you enjoy!
Mercy River performing.

To prove my coolness, here is the CD they signed for me. Look how cute their hair is, Sharla and I want to cut our hair now. Especially Sharla.This is Jason Wright and Robyn. Apparently, "his peeps" are trying to get him on Oprah. I knew I should have gotten in the picture also! Oh well, I have an autograph to prove it:
The autograph.
Some ladies from our ward who went to TOFW. Alicia, Kathy, Lynette, Sharla, Summer, Robyn.
Myself and Sharla P. Wilde. (I'm not sure why, but that is what I have to call her. Her real middle name is nowhere near P. It actually starts with an S. She's a good sport.) We rode up together and shared a hotel room together. I'm not sure I will ever share with her again. She woke me up at 12:30 am to tell me that she forgot to take down the GPS (which is mine) and she was worried that it would get stolen. She was actually on her way out the door. I had to yell, "Sharla P. Wilde, get back in bed!" I had to beg her to go back to sleep. At least thats what she told me what happened. I thought it was all a dream, in fact I was telling her about my "dream" and she was like, Summer, that really did happen....I guess I'm the freak? Anyway, it didn't get stolen, which is good news.

If anyone is interested in coming to the next one...let me know! The more the merrier!