The Life for Me

When I was small, I wanted a dog,
I wished I was Irish and loved to play pogs,
I dressed up like a teacher, an astronaut, too.
The world was wide open with so much to do!
I dreamed of my future and what it would hold,
When people asked what I wanted to be, they'd be told
A teacher, an Indian and maybe a chef,
Perhaps a house builder but for sure not a ref.
Being a professional athlete would be so fun,
or maybe an archeologist working out in the sun.

All of these things would be great, that's for sure,
But number one on my list I want even more,
A Mommy! I'd say, is what I want to be,
The life of a Mom is the life for me!

Now as I look into the eyes of my son,
I know that I am the lucky one.
Each day bring challenges, laughs and tears,
And I look forward to the minutes, the weeks and the years.

Motherhood is amazing, I can't even explain,
It's an exciting adventure on brand new terrain.
Handprints on windows, sticky food on the floor,
slobbery kisses and the first time he signed "more,"
Tiring nights, temper tantrums and falls,
Playing with cars and loving to throw balls,
Tickles and tackles, high fives and hugs,
Head bonks, colds and trying to eat bugs,
Giggles and smiles that melt my heart,
Trying so hard to climb out of the grocery cart,
 First words and first foods, nothing compares,
To a hug and a kiss that shows you he cares.

His tiny hand in ours and ours in the Lord's,
Each day is a blessing , and we're never bored,
Being a Mom is my dream come true,
There's nothing else I'd rather do.

My Mother

It took my mom a long time to get me from Heaven. My guess is that I was too scared  to go or else I got distracted by something shiny while standing on the Saturdays Warrior style launchpad. Either way, I am grateful my mother wanted me badly enough to not give up.

I was supposed to be named Kalonni. Then I came out looking like a pale, hairless rat. You can't give a translucent baby a Hawaiian name. So instead, my mom named me Erin; one half of her most favorite "twin names". I am grateful my mother named me a four-letter word so I could learn to laugh at myself, rather than commiserate on what could have been.

As a toddler, I was a daddy's girl. I am a legend in Iron County for interrupting the fair parade with terrified screams of hatred and resentment towards the evil float that took my daddy away and locked him up in a paper mache jail house. I am grateful my mom encouraged me to love my dad as much as she did so that I could understand that a real man is much more than rippling muscles and loads of cash. {Not that my dad doesn't have rippling muscles!}

During my first dance review I rubbed all of the makeup off my face because it was so itchy, I have  a serious aversion to lace, and I will always pick tennis shoes over high heels. I am grateful my mom taught me that being a lady is more about how I act than what I wear.

Most Saturday evenings I would catch my mom curled up with a good book. I would join her and then my brothers would join us, and we would sit, contentedly, reading the night away.  I am grateful my mother taught me the importance of reading and learning and exploring the world.

When I was twelve, I was assigned to give a short talk in our ward. I was terrified. I cried on the way to church, I cried as I sat through the opening exercises, and I cried through my entire 30 second talk; but I gave the talk. I am grateful my mom pushed me to exceed my own expectations, and I am glad she cried right along with me from the audience.

My high school friends would always beg to come over to my house because they thought I had the cool parents. I was always under the impression that "cool" parents didn't do hand-checks during movies; apparently I was wrong. I am grateful my mom taught me to always remember who I am and whose I am, especially when it's not cool.

During my Sophomore year of college, a paper I wrote for my English class was selected to be published in a campus journal. I was also asked to recite a small section of my paper at a reading. I am grateful my mother supported me enough to drop everything and drive two hours just to hear my two minute reading.

The weekend of my wedding, my mom helped me pack up my room. We tossed stuffed animals, trophies, thank you notes, and pictures into boxes, talking and reminiscing about my childhood. Then we both cried. I am grateful my mom was my best friend and chose to lovingly bestow that title upon my husband.

Now I call my mom nearly everyday. Mostly I ask her how many teaspoons a recipe calls for or how to remove pudding stains from a blouse, or I just whine about something inconsequential. And, I am grateful my mom always listens and agrees with me and then tells me how life really is.

I am me because of my mom and the lessons she taught me. I understand that sometimes blessings take awhile and that it is much better to laugh at yourself - even when you look like a rat - than to think about what might have been. Most of the time, I can act like a lady. {I'm even wearing mascara AND  lace right now} I value my education and know that everyday holds a new lesson. Public speaking isn't scary anymore, in fact, it's kind of what I do, but I know that when I do face something scary, my mom will be right there, crying along with me. I recognize that loving and supporting my family should always be most important. I have my faith, my wonderful husband, my morals, and my drive because of my mom.

Because that is what moms do. Moms embarrass us and make us do the things we hate. They support us even when we are being difficult. They pray for our success and they wipe all our tears and they fight away the monsters under our beds.They love us unconditionally, everyday and just hope, with fingers crossed, that we are learning the lessons they are trying to teach.

When I was little, I wanted to grow up and be a school teacher. Now I want to grow up to be just like my mom.

Happy Mother Day!

          Hugs, 

                  Erin

Monday Smile Challenge

Monday is almost over, but have no fear...Smile Challenge is here!:) 

We recently found out some great news at our house.  Little Man is going to be a big brother!  We are very excited, {and taking all the lovely sick and tiredness that comes with pregnancy with a smile}because we are thrilled! 

Motherhood is the best:)

Speaking of mothers...this coming Sunday is Mother's Day!  This week here at Happiness is Homemade, we will be doing a special "mom"-related post each day.  Let's start out with our Smile Challenge:

{Your challenge should you choose to accept it:}
Tell your mom or any mother figure in your life that you love her.  

Simple.  Profound.  Go for it.

See you tomorrow for day #2 of Mother's Day week!

One Saturday Morning

This weekend I finally had a Saturday to spend at home, no interruptions, doing whatever my little heart desired, and my heart desired some creativity! So, I broke out my not-so-super-secret-stash of craft projects and spent 6 beautiful hours creating flower arrangements, subway art signs, and a storage bin. It was heavenly! I plan to eventually showcase all of my little projects but I am most excited about my storage bin so today's tutorial focuses on creating quite possibly the cheapest storage bin of all time out of fabric, ribbon, an old cardboard box, and hot glue.

CAUTION: If your name is Heidi Stephenson or Martha Stewart you should probably stop reading now because the closest I came to sewing my fabric box was cutting the fabric. HOT GLUE FOREVER!

 The basic idea for this little project came from Pinterest (wasting my time since 2011) but alas, I forgot to pin the original tutorial so I made it up as I went along :)

Smooth your fabric on a large surface to measure and cut. By measure I mean eyeball it because that is how I roll. I did a practice run by stuffing the fabric into the box, making sure it was touching all four corners, and then flattening it out on each outside panel so there was about 2 inches of fabric on the bottom of the box.This helped me ensure I had enough width and length before I cut; then I cut.

After cutting I did another dress rehearsal (stuff fabric into box smoothing it out to touch all four corners, and holding it flat against each edge) then I started gluing. At first I thought I would glue along each inside/bottom edge and secure the fabric from the outside in but that was a major failure so I started along one long side, gluing about two inches of the fabric to the bottom of the box. I wanted my fabric to be ruched, so I folded it over in a few places and kind of sheered it on. I then stuffed the fabric in the box, flipped it to the other long side and glued that side down.

(I hope this is making sense)

After both long sides of the box were glued in place, I turned to the short sides. Because my fabric was a little too narrow to fully cover each short side, I folded it into an envelope shape (there has got to be a more official word for that) - kind of like the short side of a wrapped gift. I first glued down the top flap, ruching it a little bit as I went. Then I folded one corner piece over, so it was overlapping the top flap, and glued. Then I folded the other corner over and secured it. See, gift/envelope style. I repeated this on the other side taking care to make sure the fabric was secured on the bottom of the box and was as smooth as possible so my box sat flat. 

TA DA!

Since plain white boxes are boring, I added a length of ribbon about 1/4 of the way down the box for a little flair. Instead of gluing the ribbon in place, since you never know when I'll want to change colors, I used a short straight pin to secure it to the fabric, making sure not to go all the way through the box. A little bling on the end (diamond, flower, bow) would be fabulous is you are displaying your box the long way.

I think my little DIY bin turned out perfectly. It may not be Pottery Barn but it was so SO cheap, easy to make and I won't feel the least bit of remorse when I decide to redecorate. (Not to mention it's infinite potential to keep Hubster's school stuff off the coffee table and living room floor) I like it so much, I might be making a smaller version for our remotes; maybe next Saturday :)
 

Hugs, 

   Erin

Speaking of Pinterest (wasting my time since 2011), Pin this is you like it!

And, make sure you are following us here on the blog and on Facebook. 

And, before you go get distracted by Pinterest, leave a comment. We love comments, emails, Facebook messages, letter by Pigeon. Really, any correspondence just makes out day! 

Linking to FABULOUS parties:

@ A Diamond in the Stuff
@ Not Just a Housewife

Monday Challenge

Here we are at the last day of April!  This year is flying by SO fast.  Sometimes it just feels like life is zooming along and I'm not getting everything done!  Do you ever feel that way?

Little Man loves to go on walks, and when we are walking we listen for all the sounds of the outside.  Cars, dogs, cows, wind, etc...  It's amazing how accustomed we become to the beautiful little sounds around us so that we don't even hear them anymore.  Take birds, for example.   They are almost always singing and chirping, but the majority of the time I don't even hear them.  I unconsciously skip over their beautiful sounds.  So, when Little Man and I are walking, we take some time to be quiet and listen to the birds.  The necessity of simple things.

Life is full of little beauties all around us, but we have to slow down enough to notice and enjoy them.

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary may speak."

-Hans Hofmann

Monday Smile Challenge

{Your challenge should you choose to accept it}:

Step outside.  Notice every little detail.  The sun. Warmth. The smell of spring flowers. The ants. Blossoms. And please, listen to the song of the birds.  Guaranteed to make you smile and think, Life is Good:)

My Top 5 Summer Reads

In my childhood home, Saturday evenings were as predictable as Wal-Mart and One Tree Hill; after spending a solid six hours slaving away at weekend chores, lawn mowing, and weeding, the whole family {minus dad, who never stops working on Saturday} would stake out their perfect spot, mom would pop some popcorn, and we would all turn to the next chapter of our favorite book. The nest six hours would involve the blissful silence of everyone getting lost in fictionary adventure.

My family = reading.

Unfortunately, during the past five years my exposure to literature has consisted of little besides book with titles like Theories of Human Communication, Quantitative Methods, and The Practice of Multimodal Theory. Don't get me wrong, I like a good textbook, but it's hard to escape reality or enlighten the soul with research methods, and fun reading should ALWAYS be about escape or enlightenment.

I successfully read The Hunger Games {A+} and attempted the Twilight Series {Just see the movies} during my exile from real reading, but I have been longing for more time to read all of the good books my mother keeps mentioning and checking off a few novels from my classical literature 'To Read' list.

Since finishing school last December, I have been looking forward to creating a real summer reading list; full of fun, inspirational reads that do not include any references to control groups, critical theory, or sample sizes. Now that warm weather has arrived {for now at least} I am ready to read. So, if you care to join me, and I hope you do, my summer reading list will start with these five delicacies:

#1: Man's Search for Meaning

Author: Viktor Frankl

Synopsis: Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl tells the story of his survival in four different Nazi death camps. He speaks of spiritual survival, coping with inevitable suffering, gaining happiness, and finding the meaning in life's purpose.

Hint: You're going to need tissues, a highlighter, and your journal. This book quite literally changed my perspective on life.

Inspiration: "Don't aim at success -the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself."

#2: The Help

Author: Kathryn Stockett

Synopsis: More than a story about black maids and white socialite's in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, this is a story about culture and humanity. An amazing narration of how three women join together to share their lives in hopes of forever altering the destiny of a small town.

Hint: If you've seen the movie, the book is 10 zillion times better! I cried, laughed, and shouted Halleluiah!

Inspiration: "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." -Aibileen to Mae Mobley

#3: To Kill A Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Synopsis: During the Great Depression in Maycomb, Alabama, one family, Alticus, Jem and Scout Finch, struggle with society's definition of justice, and learn that personal honor and a clear conscious hold more value than social approval.

Hint: Even if you read this in high school, you should read it again with your grown-up-adult perspective.

Inspiration: "Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself, the one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule." - Atticus Finch

#4: Jane Eyre

Author: Emily Bronte

Synopsis: An honestly romantic story about a young orphan girl who struggles, like every other woman, for equality and dignity in a society that wants to deny her that right.

Hint: The old English writing style is a little difficult at first, but perseverance is worth it!

Inspiration: "Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor: stringent are they' inviolate they shall be. If at my individual inconvenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth - so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane - quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot." - Jane Eyre

#5: Tuesdays with Morrie

Author: Mitch Albom

Synopsis: Mitch Albom gets a chance to reconnect with his college mentor, Morrie Schwartz, after 20 years apart. Mitch records his final, bedside "class" with Morrie where they discuss life, love, marriage, happiness, death and how to live life, each Tuesday.

Hint: A quick read that you won't be able to put down. This is a great story that renews your hope, determination, and desire to do and be good.

Inspiration: "Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too - even when you're in the dark. Even you you're falling." - Morrie


Of course I'll add a couple mindless novels, Agatha Christie mysteries, and classic novels to my list, but each of these books is a staple! I have read/listened to each of these books at least once {some twice} and have always turned the last page feeling inspired and with new perspective. If you need a read that will help you ponder on the goodness, kindness, and human-ness of life {and we all do} these are your books. So, pull up a cushion, pop some popcorn, and be inspired! What better way to start a summer!

What books are on your summer reading list? Maybe we should start a book club! Seriously, we should.

Hugs,
Erin

Meatless Meals

I am by no stretch of the imagination a Vegetarian. I love eating a chicken casserole, a homemade burger, or grilled fish, but, I can definitely see the health benefits of eating meat, especially red meat, in moderation. According to WebMD (and a million other online sources) sticking to a Vegetarian diet that consists mostly of fresh fruits, veggies, legumes, and nuts can help lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. It also can improve blood sugar levels and help those with Type 2 Diabetes control insulin levels.

Now, if you were to ask Hubster, I am a health fanatic. Apparently eating the recommended daily intake of fruits and veggies and taking a multivitamin is just WAY over the top ;) Really,
I just focus on the little things (watch my portions, take my vitamins, eat my Spinach, exercise) to improve my health. Believe you me, I can down a package of cookies in one sitting just as well as the next girl!

One way I focus on improving my health is by trying to eat one meatless meal every week. Not only does this help to control how much meat Hubster and I consume but it is good for the wallet. Buying and preparing meat is expensive and time consuming! By cutting meat out of just one meal every week we save a little on groceries and get to try new recipes.

Last night, I whipped up one of our favorite meatless recipes Four Cheese Bow Tie Pasta. Why do I love it? Two words: cheese and tomatoes. Two of favorite ingredients. Now, this dish isn't exactly low calorie but it is delicious and filling; two musts when steak-and-potatoes-need-more-chicken-men are involved with meatless meals.

Why is this font so big? I don't know.

Hubster gave me grief for taking too many pictures of our food so here is the finished product with the recipe and special instructions below.

Four Cheese Bow Tie Pasta
{The original recipe is in black, my additions/change are in red.}

Ingredients:
2 cans (4.5 oz each) diced tomatoes 1 1/2 c. milk
1 pkg bow tie pasta 1 1/2 c. shredded Mozzarella
1/4 c. butter 1 1/3 c. grated Romano
1/4 c. flour 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan
1/4 t. salt 1/4 c. crumbled Blue or Gorgonzola
1/4 t. pepper 1/2 c. fresh parsley
1 1/2 c milk

Instead of combining that whole list of cheeses, I use 2 1/2 c. Italian Blend Cheese. You can find it pre-shredded in the cheese aisle. It usually consists of Mozz, Parm, Romano, and a bunch of other delicious cheeses.

Instead of finding fresh parsley, I usually use 1/2 c. of dried Parsley, Italian Seasoning, and Basil. Using this much dried spice gives the dish a real kick. If you're not a big fan of spices, use less.

The dish is delicious with spinach also! Yummy! I cook my spinach until its barely tender and then add it with the cheese and parsley.

Instructions:
Drain tomatoes, reserving 1 1/4 c. juice; set aside. Cook pasta according to package; drain. In saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually add milk and reserved tomato juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. In large bowl combine pasta, sauce and reserved tomatoes. Stir in cheese and parsley; toss. Place in greased 3 1/2 qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, @ 375 for 30-35 minutes (I usually only cook for 20-25) or until golden and bubbly.

Please excuse my terrible food pictures. Just trust me - it is yummy!

And for your eating pleasure, here are two more of our favorite meatless dinners.

Five-Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients:

2 T. Cornstarch 2 c. broccoli
2 T. Sugar 2 c. cauliflower
1/2 t. ground ginger 4 t. olive oil, divided
1 c. orange juice 1 c. fresh mushrooms
1/4 c. soy sauce (low sodium) 1 c. fresh/frozen snow peas
2 garlic cloves, minced 4 c. cooked white or brown rice
2 large carrots, sliced

Instructions:
Combine cornstarch, sugar and ginger. Stir in orange juice, soy sauce and garlic until blended; set aside. Stir fry carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in 3 t. oil for 4 -5 minutes. Add mushrooms, peas and remaining oil; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Stir orange juice mixture and add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Serve over rice.

Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. cooked elbow macaroni 2 T. flour
1/2 tsp. salt 1 t. chicken bouillon granules
1 c. milk 1/2 t. salt
2 T Margarine 1 c. grated cheddar cheese

Instructions:
In a frying pan melt margarine on medium heat. Add flour to butter and stir. Add milk, salt and bouillon to margarine mix. Stir until thick; when thick like butter, add grated cheese. Stir until melted. Pour over noodles. Stir and serve.

{What are your favorite meatless recipes? I would love for you to share!}


Hugs,
Erin

Questions about the recipes? Leave a comment here or on Facebook.