Attempting To Get Out Of The House: Wal-Mart Addition

How many of you LOOOOVE to run errands with your kids? If any of you are excitingly raising your hands screaming "I DO, I DO!!", you are liars. While off on one of my many adventures to Wal-Mart with the boys we were in stealth mode trying to get in and out as quickly as possible and hopefully without anyone noticing us. I MAY or MAY NOT have been ready that day. While dodging all the dumb people that do not understand that while walking the isles you treat it as if it were a road,
one direction to the right, the other to the left. It's common sense really.

otherwise you get this:

Which leads to this:

and then this:

Unfortunately the shopping cart matter is not the only gateway to a woman about to explode. Like for instant the mother in isle 14.

The boys and I turned down isle 14 to get some baking goods and it was one big ol' traffic jam mess. Clearly the fine people of Wal-Mart did not get my memo.

There was a young woman with her husband and  another young woman all shopping together. With about 7 kids between the two of them. While coding what ALL kids do in stores one child accidentally knocked over a muffin display. While trying to help clean the poor worker that had just stacked them a very wise woman walked by and said, and I quote:

"Why don't you have some more kids?"

That. Just. Happened. .............Speechless.  

Obviously the mom was so utterly shocked that her words escaped her and didn't return until the lady was out of hearing distance. My kids and I weren't unfortunately. But I felt for her so I just walked by and said "Don't worry about it, some women must forget what it was like, or they've never had kids." She mustered a frustrated "I guess" and I went on my marry way yelling at my own kids to sit down before their heads and the floor got a chance to meet. 

Happy Shopping Everyone :)

Coconuts In Your Mouth Cake

I was trying to figure out what to call this cake so I called my bestie Jill and we came up with this and laughed...inappropriate? Probably..but funny nonetheless. We figured since we have a cake called "Better Than Sex", that the world would be fine with a "Coconuts in Your Mouth" cake. Right? Get your minds out of the gutter. It's called that because its CRAZY good (crazy=nuts) and made with lots of coconut so it really is Coconuts in your mouth! Inappropriate?
I have been craving coconut flavored stuff all summer so I thought I would make a dessert centered around the whole fruit. Coconut is a fruit right?  ha...who cares. Anyway, I threw a bunch of stuff together and it turned out AMAZING! So being the kind person that I am, I decided to share this crazy party in your mouth recipe with you all lovely people :)

Coconuts In Your Mouth Cake

1 box of your favorite yellow cake mix + whatever ingredients the cake mix calls for ( I used butter recipe yellow )

1 3oz. box of Coconut Cream Jello Cook and Serve 

1 bottle of Coco Real Cream of Coconut *found in your mixed drinks isle*

1 refridgerated can of Thai Kitchen coconut milk *it MUST be Thai Kitchen* GO HERE to see how to prepare 

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

2 c. cool whip (not pictured)

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes *toasted*

Prepare your cake batter according to the directions on the box and then add the coconut cream Jello to the batter. Mix well. Bake according to the box. I baked mine @350 for about 32 minutes.

Nice and golden brown :)

Then using the WRONG side of a wooden spoon poke wholes all over your cake. Don't try to be all neat and tidy like I did in the picture. I should have poked more holes! Let cool about 10-15 minutes.

Pour the ENTIRE bottle of Cream of Coconut all over the cake and then place the cake in the fridge. 

Now would be a good time to toast your coconut flakes because your oven is hot and ready to go.

Like a cookie sheet with foil and spread out the coconut flakes on it.

Bake @350 for about 7 minutes

You are going to want to watch it closely and stir about every 2 minutes. I really just kind of watched it the whole time so I could stir before it had a chance to burn because it can burn quickly.

Dude. DUUUUUUUUUUDE! Look how pretty it is! I wanted to start snacking right then!

Now you are going to want to start making your coconut whip cream. 

GO HERE to prepare it.

Once you have your coconut whip cream prepared fold in your 2 cups of whipped cream.

Take the cake out of the fridge and spread the coconut whip cream on top.

*your could greatly reduce the calories if you make more than one can of the coconut whipped cream and completely cut out the cool whip*

Finish by sprinkling on your toasted coconut flakes and you have yourself one coconutty cake!

Isn't she pretty? 

Let me know if you guys make it! I would love to hear your reviews! 

Peace out homes-

Coconuts In Your Mouth Cake

1 box of your favorite yellow cake mix + whatever ingredients the cake mix calls for ( I used butter recipe yellow )

1 3oz. box of Coconut Cream Jello Cook and Serve 

1 bottle of Coco Real Cream of Coconut *found in your mixed drinks isle*

1 refridgerated can of Thai Kitchen coconut milk *it MUST be Thai Kitchen* GO HERE to see how to prepare 

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon 

2 c. cool whip (not pictured)

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes *toasted*

Prepare your cake batter according to the directions on the box and then add the coconut cream Jello to the batter. Mix well. Bake according to the box. I baked mine @350 for about 32 minutes.

Then using the WRONG side of a wooden spoon poke wholes all over your cake. Don't try to be all neat and tidy like I did in the picture. I should have poked more holes! Let cool about 10-15 minutes.

Pour the ENTIRE bottle of Cream of Coconut all over the cake and then place the cake in the fridge. 

Now would be a good time to toast your coconut flakes because your oven is hot and ready to go.

Like a cookie sheet with foil and spread out the coconut flakes on it.

Bake @350 for about 7 minutes

You are going to want to watch it closely and stir about every 2 minutes. I really just kind of watched it the whole time so I could stir before it had a chance to burn because it can burn quickly.

Now you are going to want to start making your coconut whip cream. 

GO HERE to prepare it.

Once you have your coconut whip cream prepared fold in your 2 cups of whipped cream.

Take the cake out of the fridge and spread the coconut whip cream on top.

Finish by sprinkling on your toasted coconut flakes and you have yourself one coconutty cake!

Random Thoughts- By Trinity

Hey Ya'll! I just wanted to introduce you to someone I adore. Trinity is my SIL that has an eloquent way with words. Her posts are candid, humorous, helpful, and a great read! I'm going to allow her to take the reins over here every once in a while but you can check out her blog and almost daily posts over at Random Thoughts whenever you like! 

So without further a due, here is Trinity-

Hello!  I am Trinity and this is my husband Andrew.  We have been married for eight years next month.  We have two very handsome boys whom we adore.  Our family is complete and ending at four.  After multiple questions and or comments from curious neighbors and friends.  I have decided to tell our story.  How we became 'us' and how we stay 'us'.  My blog is not destined for marital advice (although there may be some) however, it is a place for me to put down the randomness of my thoughts in words and life in between.  I am a writer at heart.  When my boys venture off to school I hope to do the same.  I am leaning towards a degree in journalism (I have much too learn so don't judge too harshly) or criminal justice.  Complete opposites, but that is what sparks my interest.  Maybe I could just combine the two and journal for crime scenes or law enforcement or be a reporter? 

 You see, all the comments/questions about my marriage stem from the same place; I am an active member of the LDS church and Andrew well, he is more of a spiritual soul whom does not want to belong to any sort of organized church.  He lives by his own standards and beliefs.  Some just don't see how that can work.

There is common ground that our relationship is built upon and that is mutual respect and love.  Why am I going in to such detail?  This is my latest post... Enjoy.

13 years ago, I was the new girl.  The first time I walked the halls of Bonneville High School were on the very first day of school.  I was destined to be a Northridge Knight, but my parents were adamant that their children be taught in Weber county.  We had a few issues with Davis county where my little brother and I attended Sunset Jr. and my older brother attended Northridge High.  Therefore, my parents put our house up for sale and began driving us to school since we lived in South Weber at the beginning of the school year.

I was a little nervous to start high school, I didn't know where my classes were, I didn't know anyone for that matter, but I was outgoing and good at making friends.  My first friend was Anna.  We lockered right by one another and began chatting immediately.  Anna was also new and this too was her very first day at Bonneville.  We supported one another through the first day. 

I was eager to arrive to each one of my classes as one of the first students so I could be sure to find a seat and be on time.  Mrs. Whitby's computer class is where I saw THE cutest boy ever.  He walked in and my heart skipped a beat or two.  He wandered over and sat down right next to me and I immediately focused my gaze straight ahead.   Too scared to look directly at him and too scared to breathe, I barely moved an inch.  Class ended and my heart proceeded to it's normal rhythm.  I walked to my next class with a little more bounce in my step.  As fate would have it that dreamy boy walked in to my very next class also which was History with Mr. Borup.  I later found out that his name was Andrew Powell and he was single; much to my surprise and a sophomore just like me.

School came to an end and my mom was out in the parking lot eagerly awaiting and fearing possible tears from the first day of high school.  Instead, I came out with an enormous smile.  I had to avoid running to the car to spill about my day and the cute boy whom sat next to me; me of all people.

To Be Continued...

Mommyhood-the woes

Totally different from PARENThood. I know we all say it, but man... NOTHING prepares you for being a mom. When you grow up you think of all the good times you WILL have with your kids. You think of how you will marry your prince and have babies and life will be la-ti-da. For the most part it is true. However, there are some things that are not normally a topic of conversation in fairytales-

1. Having Children-

I remember when I was engaged to get married all I could think about was our future. I had it all mapped out. I knew when we would DECIDE to start, what age we would have each kid, what month I wanted them born in and their sex. HA! No one really tells you that it is possible that you may never have children, that they come when THEY want, that you may actually lose them, and that getting pregnant isn't always as easy as an "oops".

2. Planning how your kids will be and how you will handle them

No one told you that you shouldn't knock other peoples forms of parenting and say things like "I will NEVER do that with my child". Nine times out of ten you will be eating your own words. Promise.

3. The Worry

Ahh worry...you know, that thing that starts as soon as you see the positive sign on your pregnancy test. I've come to realize that the feeling of concern for your child will never end. Until you die, and probably long after that! No one tells you that the first time your child tooth punctures his lip and it starts bleeding like he cut his tongue off that mouth injuries bleed a LOT and that He'll be fine. So the 911 call is totally unnecessary.

That was the first of many incidents I would go through. If I only knew! Is this just a boy thing? Are girls death defying? ha ha!

1. The Bloody Nose Massacre 

Kamden would get horrid bloody noses all the time. I swear that if the police came in with a black light and luminal spray, they would accuse us of murder. He later ended up needing surgery to get it cauterized but that is a whole other story.

2. 4 Weeks Early

Our little Hud Bug came 4 weeks early and could not breath on his own. He ended up in the NICU for the first 7 days of his life and came home on oxygen and O2 monitors. A month later we were good to go.

3. Kamden Falls 20+ Feet Out of His Bedroom Window.

Here is The KSL News Story

  

4. Hudson's Allergies

Call it mother's intuition. Hudson kept getting this dry rash on his cheeks so I took him to the Allergist. After lots of poking...

We found out he is deathly allergic to eggs and dogs. Did you know that eggs are in almost EVERYTHING? I do now.. and the doggy part makes it especially sad for this little guy :(

We now have to carry around an EPI pen wherever we go. But more on THAT in a minute.

5. Blue to the Sky, Orange to the Thigh 

While I had Hudson at the allergist I had to take Kamden as well. The Dr. did a great job explaining to us how to use our new friend Epi. 

as you can see there is blue on top and orange on bottom. The Dr. explained that when administering it that if you remember "BLUE TO THE SKY, ORANGE TO THE THIGH" you will know exactly how to hold it and where to put it. 

A few weeks later I was in SLC for a girls night and I get a frantic call from my husband explaining this:

Kyle: What does the practice Epipen look like? 

Me: (suddenly panicked) WHY?!

Kyle: I think Kamden just shot himself with it.

Me: WHAT?!! What do you mean?

Kyle: He was sitting next to me on the couch and then disappeared into the kitchen. All of a sudden I heard him say "Blue to the sky, orange to the thigh"! I ran in there and saw him holding the pen and asked him what he did. He replied "nothing", and then pulled up his shorts to reveal a picture wound!

Me: Call the Dr.

Kyle: Whats the number? What one?!!

Me: The ER

He then called the ER that got him nowhere and I called his Dr. They directed me to call poison control. 

*I can't lie, being a SAHM I am pretty much 100% of the time the one that is around for crappy Dr. visits and all the bumps, bruises, and accidents. So having something happen on the Mr's watch was kind of nice. Even though I would rather nothing "happen" at all! But you know what I mean!*

Luckily he did not hold it down long enough to get a full dose so they just told us to watch for a change in behavior. I just laughed....nothing is unexpected or unusual for this kid.

Except being lethargic.

6. High Fevers = Brain Delirium and one big fat ?

A couple of weeks ago Kamden went in to have his nose cauterized. Because of his age they had to put him under. 

 Everything went great! When I was little, everything I got really sick or had to be in the hospital my mom always bought me a special toy. In his case he got the Hulk and they gave him a green popsicle to match!

That day he was already back to bouncing on our couches and running around like a mad man despite out efforts to make him rest. The next day I went to the movies with my SIL and came home to an unusually quiet home with Kamden laying on the couch watching TV. I immediately knew something was off. He seemed like he wasn't feeling well so I had him go take a nap. When he woke up he was running a fever. An hour later he got an upset stomach and, well.....you know. By the time he went to bed he was 104 and could barely walk. I decided to sleep in his room to make sure he was ok during the night. 

The next morning he woke up still on fire. I called his Dr. and decided to take him to the ER. I knew he was dehydrated by this point and hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. 

We brought him in and after extensive blood work, urine analysis, and a spinal tap, they decided to admit him. He was COMPLETELY lethargic. 

They couldn't give us a for sure diagnosis. After a very scary morning filled with unexplainable rises in numbers in some of his blood work and some terrifying words being thrown around, ( the Residential Dr. told me that I had every reason to be worried, because he was worried too) they were thinking he has a kidney infection, UTI, and staph. His CRP levels were abnormally high as well as his white blood cell band percentage. His urine culture showed he had a UTI and it was caused by staph but they didn't know what kind yet. He was still fevering and the next step would be an ultrasound of his kidneys. What was baffling was that he had no systems of a UTI or kidney infection, fevers aside.

Because they knew it was staph and didn't want to wait for the results as to what kind they decided to start pumping him full of antibiotics. 

I could handle the fevers, I could handle him being poked and prodded, but I could not handle feeling like I was watching my little boy slowly deteriorate. His fevers were getting as high as 104.9 and once they hit around 102ish his brain would go into a state of delirium. The best way I can explain this is that it was like talking to someone that has alzheimers. He would say things that didn't make sense and have conversations with people that were not there. It was terrifying. This was even worse than when he fell out of the window because I had no explanation. 

The next morning (day 3 in hospital) the Doctor cam and told us that Kamden DID NOT have a staph infection, kidney infection, or UTI. His urine sample has been contaminated with epidermidis staph. This means we were back at square one and had no idea what was making him that sick. On the plus side his fevers were getting farther apart and the distance between him needing Motrin was greater. 

By day four he had gone 24 hours without a fever and was back to his usual self. After the Dr. came in to see him and found him jumping and rolling around the bed, with a concerned look on his face he asked, "If this how he normally is?" I just laughed and explained that the boy he had known the last four days was not my child sand introduced him to the REAL Kamden. Aside from a few headaches we were able to lave back to normal with absolutely NO idea what took over my son.

 While laying in the hospital with him, not knowing what was happening to my child, I began to think of those mothers (or fathers) sitting day in and day out at the hospital with their child for months, years even. The fact that while you are so worried about one child, chances are you have other children that you are having to find someone to take care of. I felt completely helpless. At one point they had to drag me out of the room out of Kamden's sight because I just lost it. I didn't have the strength anymore. That was only 4 days. But at least we got to come home. It scares me because i feel like we are living on a "nine lives" system over here.

 Those mother's deserve lifetime of free spa visits. Or at least free counseling and/or lifetime supply of zanex.  

Being a mother is so much more than I ever thought it would be. Good, bad, fun, hard, gratifying, terrifying....I could go on all day. There is just no way to prepare for what may be in store. 

As challenging as those little blessings are I know more than ever that each day with them is a gift. Nothing is worse than seeing your child go through something tramatic and having to just watch. I can imagine how our Heavenly Father feels everyday.

So love those little stinkers with all of your being and thank God for every moment spent. 

Personal Righteousness

A little while ago I was asked to speak in church on personal righteousness. As excited as I was to speak, (I know I know, I'm one of the few, I always am ha ha) it was a hard topic for me to grasp. I thought I would share my thoughts on personal righteousness for those of you contemplating the topic yourselves or for maybe those of you who never have. No matter your religion, everyone has their own personal righteousness :)

PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS

By Sheena LaRose

While searching for personal righteousness online I couldn't find much. Possibly because it took me at least a good half an hour of searching before I figured out how to spell righteousness.

With not much  luck in my search, I asked Kyle what he thought the definition of personal righteousness was. He replied with, "it's p e r s o n a l righteousness sheena , it's what You think it is". Not quite the reply I was hoping for, but true nonetheless. It wouldn't be very personal if someone told me what my personal righteousness was.

 As beautiful as the words and the meaning behind it,  (personal meaning: belonging to a particular person rather than to anyone else. And Righteousness: adhering to moral principles

However, when I hear it I cant help but think of the context i most often hear it used in such as,  "that person is so self righteous!" This was somewhat of a struggle  for me because I had to get passed the negativity that I always hear going along with it.

Personal  means that what may be your morals, might not be another's. That doesn't make you wrong, you have just been given a different plan. My sweet neighbor Carrie Peterson described it somewhat like a rubber band. Most rubber bands look the same but each individual are going to stretch and manipulate them differently. While you might have a certain stance on a matter, another might not have the same testimony of it. We progress at different speeds and while we most definitely cross paths, we don't always come across the same stumbling blocks.

For example, one might personally feel it okay to exercise without garments, while the other might feel that we need to only look for excuses TO wear them, rather than not to. At then end of the day as long as you are obeying the covenants and you personally feel good about the choices you've made, that is what matters. As long as you are making sure to be still and hear the confirmations of the holy spirt that you are indeed choosing the right.

It is never our place to make judgement on anothers personal righteousness. Because it is just that, Personal.

For all those Ensign horders out there, ' (Ensign, Jan. 1979, p. 61.)"

 "The gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred on both men and women. So are spiritual gifts. As Elder Bruce R. McConkie declared in Nauvoo at the dedication of the Monument to Women: 'Where spiritual things are concerned, as pertaining to all of the gifts of the Spirit, with reference to the receipt of revelation, the gaining of testimonies, and the seeing of visions, in all matters that pertain to godliness and holiness and which are brought to pass as a result of personal righteousness -- in all these things men and women stand in a position of absolute equality before the Lord. He is no respector of persons nor of sexes, and he blesses those men and those women who seek him and serve him and keep his commandments.

Let us not focus on the personal  choice of morals of others. Rather let us work diligently on our own. What type of person do you want to be? What are your morals? Ultimately we all have he same goal of  being righteous just like our heavenly father.  There are many people striving for this. All at different paces and different paths. But ultimately our destination is the same. The commandments are the same. Let us support one another in that goal and instead of looking down on those who's decisions we can't quite understand, but to look up. Look to our heavenly father for understanding and knowledge to either being open and considerate to others views, educate, or simply be an example. Not only did I have to research what personal righteousness meant, I needed to search within myself to find what exactly my own personal righteousness meant.

I know that for me my path to find personal righteousness Started somewhat later in life. As a young woman who craved a relationship with God I found myself desperate. I had no religious upbringing, just a somewhat spiritual one. It wasn't until I was 20 that I finally accepted the first piece of moral compass from my Heavenly Father. It was in the form of someone you might know, my husband Kyle. Living in the state of Utah you might find this hard to believe but he was the first person to ever offer me missionary discussions. From that point on I finally knew what direction to turn. All of a sudden I had a multitude of pieces  of that compass flying at me in all directions in forms of a new found gospel, a modern day prophet, a blanket for comfort, a  patriarchal blessing, just to name a few. I finally had all of the tools I needed to develop personal righteousness.  At this point I can't help but reflect on the long lonely path behind me and smile at the distance. I'm sure some of you can relate when I say it's been a long road.

In 3 Nephi chapter 22 verse 14 it says:

"In righteousness shalt thou be established."

Straight to the point right?

In ELDER ROBERT D. HALES talk he gave at conference this last April titled Coming To Ourselves he said:

Beloved brothers and sisters, the young man spoken about by the Savior, the one we refer to as the prodigal son, did come home. His father had not forgotten him; his father was waiting. And “when [the son] was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and … kissed him.” In honor of his son’s return, he called for a robe, a ring, and a celebration with a fatted calf. These are reminders that no blessings will be withheld if we faithfully endure in walking the path back to our Heavenly Father.

We become converted and spiritually self-reliant as we prayerfully live our covenants.

A few ways we can work on our personal righteousness are

1. Reading our scriptures, seeking counsel of our prophet, and listening to the spirit to find out how we truly feel on a matter

Bishop Smith once counseled me on a different meaning for the acronym  GPS- instead of using it as global positioning system, think of it standing for Gospel>Prophet>Spirit

Whatever the matter, Search the scriptures, what does the prophet say about this?, and how does it make you feel? Those three things will always reaffirm each other and you will know exactly where you stand.

2. Partaking of the Sacrament, to remember the covenants we we have made and to be forgiven of our sins to start with a clean slate. Try preparing yourself just as you would for the temple. Ridding yourself of worldly things to make room for the Holy Ghost.

3. Attending the Temple

In Psalms 24:3-4 it says

"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?

He that hath clean hands and a pure heart"

The temple is a wonderful place to strengthen your personal righteousness. What better a feeling to be able to walk in the house of the lord and know you are worthy.

4. Personal Revelations- sometimes it takes a smack upside the head to really make something stick. When times are tough, it's a remarkable relief to have confirmation from your Heavenly Father letting you know that it's ok, you are doing great, you are on the right path. Sometimes I find myself relying too heavily on personal revelations to keep me going. It is those times I need to blow the dust off my compass.

Your personal righteousness is ever changing as you grow and gain a greater testimony. Our Heavenly Father is more merciful and patient than we can understand. So brothers and Sisters please grant yourself the same kindness. It is a long road to Zion but with faith in our Father in Heaven it is very much obtainable. imagine how much easier it might be if we have that same kind of compassion faith in each other.

I have a testimony of my Heavenly Father that he has been there to guide me along my path  of righteousness with the help of my lord and savior Jesus Christ and The Holy Ghost. The most difficult part was allowing them to. I testify that we have an amazing ward. Full of potential at its highest. Full of a love for thy neighbor and service that inspires me each day. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, Aren't we all still children of our Heavenly Father.

I testify that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and he restored the Gospel. I have such a love for him and his knowledge to simply ask and then receive.

I am grateful for personal revelations and our leaders that acton them.

I am grateful for my family and their never ending  support. My children and their sweet spirits and my husband that has held my hand on this path every step of the way.

Last but not least, I am thankful for my Heavenly Father who gave me this plan and who loved me so much he gave me the tools to return home to his loving arms.

I say these things in the name of thy son, Jesus Christ, Amen.