Check Out this Great Article...

on Touch at

www.simplekids.net.

The site is a branch of my favorite site www.simplemom.net.

Love it!

We Are FEELING the Love...

thanks for all the comments everyone! Yippe.

I just have to tell you about last night.

Remember my husband is out of the country...did I mention that? Probably not...just in case some crazy person was following my blog. Anywho...the kids have been as sweet as ever, NOT! You know how it is when the man of the house is gone...they just seem to push things a little more. Or maybe you don't.

So it's been a long 2 weeks for me.

Last night somehow all 5 of them are striving to find a way to sleep in my room. Remember, Wes and I only have a full mattress. {Or did I forget to mention that too?}

So after much discussion {argument} we settled who would sleep where. One of my sons was quite scared after watching ghost whisperer. {I would love to tell you it was my oldest, but that would be just mean, so I won't} After such a long week with him....I just had to tease him about being terrified. Being the oldest of 5...it just comes naturally! {I'm quite talented at it too}

I didn't realize that I had freaked him out pretty bad. Paige then suggested we sing a primary song to help him. Next thing I know we are all singing those comforting phrases that teach and calm us.

Even my 10 year old who doesn't like to sing was chirping along.

It was just one of those GREAT mommy moments.

Shawna's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies...

So tomorrow is our 1 year anniversary of our life here in beautiful, crazy, full of trials and blessings, Costa Rica.

I can't believe it. An entire year? Are you sure?

Then again I think..."It's only been a YEAR?!?!?! Are you sure?!??!"

I would love to post a traditional Costa Rican recipe today. I have 1 that I love made with Chiotte. (I've spelled that all wrong I know) It's made with that funny green squash that looks like a crinkly grandma face. Well I love the dish but my kids do not, so I'm not going to waste your time and post it. Even though it would make for a great post.

In it's place I'm going to post the recipe that made us feel like a family even venturing through this strange land.

It's my FAMOUS {in my own mind} Chocolate Chip Cookies.
This recipe means so much to me. If you can bare with me, I'll explain. If not, just skip down to the end of this post and get the recipe.

My mother, whom I adore, always made the PERFECT Chocolate chip cookies. They were thick and chunky. The kind that you would love to sink your teeth into just out of the oven. The kind that made us pass on cookies that others made because we had already had the best!

They were that good.

My mom used this talent to start a tradition in our family when my oldest was young. On New Years day she would come over and teach her grandchildren to make her cookies. They had so much fun making more of a mess than cookies. It was a moment in time when, as a mother, you watch your mother let your kids get away with things you were never aloud to!! I LOVED it!

Now my mother has returned to her Father in Heaven. She left 3 years ago. I, of course miss her so and even now as I type this the lump in my throat grows and I'm typing through my tears.

ANYWHO!!

I have tried to duplicate her recipe and it's a hit and miss. Mostly miss. Even when I follow her directions EXACTLY!

So I have worked hard to create this recipe that works for me 99.9% of the time. It is a great hit everywhere I take them. One of my traditions with my kids is that if it rains they get homemade chocolate chip cookies. When they are at school and it rains...they love to look forward to coming home to gooey cookies. So fun!

In California it wasn't too difficult to follow through on this...but Costa Rica has dropped more rain from it's sky in one week then we got all year. This tradition of home baked cookies has brought our family closer together. It was one of the few things that we brought with us from the states. Living here has raised my gratitude level for family traditions. You can bring them with you no matter where your family beds down at night.

So here it is.
Enjoy.

Shawna’s Best, Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup white sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
¾ cup butter (NOT softened)
1 egg yolk
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 ¾ cups milk chocolate chips

Directions:
1. preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in dry ingredients until just blended by hand {very important you do this by hand}. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Scoop cookie dough with a large cookie scoop and place 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
5. Enjoy!!!

I scoop these with a large cookie scoop. I also double the recipe. ☺

Another trick I LOVE...
Double or triple your batch, then scoop the cookies and place them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Then when you are in the mood...put out exactly how many you need. Pop them into the oven and presto...you are the homemaking QUEEN!

You can also FREEZE the cookie. Then set it out on the counter for a few minutes to thaw just a tad. It's like eating cookie dough and a cookie. The best of both worlds.

You aren't left with tons of dough/cookies to temp you!! And your kids and SWEETHEART want to kiss the ground you walk on. Win win situation.
I have to give mi amiga Christine B. credit for this. Good job Christine! High five!

{Dang-it, now that High-Five kid's show is stuck in my head!! Oh well, better just go with it.}

Contest tomorrow!! See you then!

Is There Anything Better...

than sitting down after a long day of cooking, cleaning and refereeing and realizing your little ones have come to snuggle?I wonder how long they have been waiting to hang out with mommy today?

Life is so good...

and I refuse to let it pass me by without noticing.


This is my daughter. My one and only daughter. She is the most interesting and entertaining child I have ever met or heard of.

I was working on the computer one night and she too just wanted to be by mommy I guess. I didn't notice she had escaped her room but when I finished up my work, there she was, sleeping on the hard tile. I believe she decided to use my waterproof mascara to become a fair Indian maiden.

Or was that permanent marker?

Anyway, she is amazing.

Have You Ever...

Have You Ever…

put your ear to your child’s chest just to appreciate that their heart is beating?


closed your eyes as you were holding your little one's hand so you can better remember how their small, chubby hand fit in yours?

stopped doing your “chores”, dropped on the floor and wrestled with your kids?


opened your eyes to watch your three year old pray to his Heavenly Father with eyes scrunched so tight and had to hold yourself back from interrupting with a huge snuggle?


changed your attitude about having a screaming child awake at 3 am and spent the next few hours cuddling and enjoying the moment much more than you would sleep?

been so mad at your pre-teen and in the middle of ranting about the error if their ways, you notice him trying his best not to laugh. You suddenly remember when your mother was doing the same to you and find it extremely funny and burst out laughing yourself?

been in an argument with your child about who loves who more that went on for over 30 minutes?

thanked Heavenly Father for each healthy child and knew what a blessing it was that their body worked?


sobbed and sobbed for another family as illness took their little one back to heaven?

had such a precious moment with your child you knew you should grab your camera to capture it, but were too selfish to leave the moment?

realized that you do have everything?

This is Why my Life is so Great!!!

I hope I don't have to start every post with an apology for the lapse in attending to my blog. I am at an internet cafe just to post this. You can be assured my hands are getting a fresh coat of hand sanitizer as soon as they leave this yucky keyboard. :) Don't worry about that MaryAnn.
So I guess I've pulled you into my world if only a little bit, waiting through some inconviences that this beautiful country provides. Thanks for hanging in with me.
Until I get the web directly to my (shack) home, I will post Mondays, Wednesdays and Thurdays. We now return to our regularly published post.

This is why my life is so GREAT!!!!



When the kids aren’t feeling so good and take a mid-day nap, I get to stand and look at this…







Being here has helped my kids create their own play spaces.


Paige dressing Aiden as her knight.


Every mom needs super heroes!

Reverence Begins with Me...

Last Sunday as I was sitting listening to the sacrament speaker and not understanding a word I started to daydream. {Don't tell my little ones} As I was staring up into space I saw the weirdest thing, BRIGHT red, blue and green feathers were floating high in the air. Instantly I recognized them, I brought them to entertain my daughter. They are her fairies. I look over with horror on my face to see Dallin picking the feathers apart and blowing them up to catch the current of the "6" fans circulating the air. {Remember we don't have air conditioning} My jaw dropped! Paige, yes I could see her doing this. Troy, maybe, but Dallin? What is going on here!?!?!? I prayed that the distracting feathers would descend quickly. But no, as soon as they got to head height, the fans would pull them up again. I'm sitting there asking myself, "Why did I insist that we sit in front?" and "Please don't let anyone else notice the plethora of feathers making the rounds!" Oh the joys of motherhood. Let's just say I didn't daydream the rest of the meeting.

Today Has Been one of Those Days...

The hymn "there is beauty all around, when there's love at home..." does NOT apply here today. Or maybe today is an affirmation that the song is true, for when there isn't love at home, there isn't beauty all around! This little place has been riddled with tantrums, most from the "sick"kids, then a few from me. The bit of cleaning I've been able to manage to do has been trampled by the two youngest as they are determined to stomp on my progress today. Therefore we are void of love and beauty.

And all this after I read a beautiful blog this morning about a family that was able to spend a few moments with their baby before she left to be in God's hands. My early morning was filled with tears of gratitude and appreciation for these little ones that have made things so difficult now. You can read the story here) What an incredible daughter of our Heavenly Father this women is.

So how does that happen? How can I be so quick to forget my blessings? It's noon now, still not to late to repent and rescue my day. The youngest is soundly sleeping thanks to a cough and cold medicine. Aiden will be down soon. As I type he is translating a letter he wrote to me. It about sums things up. He says, "Mom, you aren't the best, BUT YOU ARE THE BEST!" Sometimes I'm not the best but most of the times I am! Here's to a better afternoon.

A Funny Conversation II...

O.K. so you want to know how I got out of my bathroom predicament? {you can read about the situationhere)

It' wasn't as funny as being in the predicament but here goes...
I screamed loud enough to get my daughter off the computer and to the bathroom door. I asked her to take the knob outside and see if she could hand it up to my hand reaching out from the screen. {Screens are a luxury here in Costa Rica} This would have all worked smoothly except {for those meddling kids!}

1. Aiden was refusing to hand Paige the knob, "I can help you mom! I can do it!" Love those helpful 3 year olds.
2. Paige couldn't reach my hand.

How I fixed this situation
1. Bribed Aiden with a cookie. {or two}
2. Had Paige climb on top of a table to hand me the knob.

Ta Dah! I'm out!

Road Trip...

We live just under a mile from the beach, straight down our street. We could walk there but the sidewalk is hit and miss. Sometimes the cars miss it and sometimes they don’t. So we used the “little blue freedom”.
I might mention things that we have given up to be here. But don’t you think the trade in was worth it?

This is the view to the left.


Straight ahead.



And what we see when we look right.
I have circled the huge condo we stayed in the last time we ventured into this gorgeous country. It was a delicious treat, but really, you’re not in Costa Rica when you are there. You are in a gorgeous condo. I like being in Costa Rica.

Aiden studying the rainforest around us.


This is what we bring to the beach now. "Pure Life". No more hauling tons of toys and junk to the ocean. We brought these, 2 cups and 2 spoons. It's been a benefit to see the kid's imaginations grow more when they have less. Interesting how that works.

A Funny Conversation...

My Little Guy: {on the bedroom side of the door} “Mom, when are you coming out?”
Me: {on the shower side of the door} In a few minutes, I’m almost done.”
My Little Guy: “Mom, can I come in?”
Me: “O.K., I’m coming out. {wrapped in a towel} Oh, the door knob is off. Let me get it and I’ll be out.”
My Little Guy: I’ll get the handle for you mom. Here it is!”
Me: “You have the handle?”
My Little Guy: “Yep, [enthusiastically} I got it for you mom!
Me: thinking, “dang it!” Or did I say that out loud? I’m not sure. “Thanks sweetheart!”
I look out the small window, I could probably climb out that but I only have a towel. Oh and there is the gardener, he wouldn’t appreciate the view! Let’s see how do you say, “I’m naked, locked in the bathroom and my 3 year old has the doorknob, can you help me?” I haven’t learned this one yet. Why don’t they have Spanish for stay at home moms?

A Few Things I've Learned Today...

1. Uncooked noodles are a fascinating toy for kids
2. It’s probably a better toy for my girlsfriend’s cute blonde little angel then for my 2 little boys.
3. Don’t leave 2 little boys alone with uncooked noodles to go in the next room and put something away.
4. When sweeping noodles off of tile floor they make a beautiful bell sound.
5. Milk mixed with uncooked noodles isn't as easy to clean-up.
6. Having a blog makes cleaning up easier because I think “this is going to sound so funny on the blog.”

Oh, and another thing I've learned...

7. If you forget to put away the main bag of noodles and sit down to type this funny blog entry, you will be sweeping up
noodles again!

{The reason there are deep shadows behind the boys is because our electricity is off, again. :) }

Parent Tip #1

How to Make Sure Your Kids Behave in School




Tell them that if you get a negative call from the school you will come down during P.E., take a picture of them in their gym shorts and post it on the blog!

Works everytime!

{I have to tell you that the above picture is NOT one of my kids. }

Just When I think I've done well as a mom...

I see this! When we were in the mountains Aiden didn't tell us he had to use the facilities. I just turned around and saw this. Wonderful!!! :) Boys do have it easier though.