Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

I'm in search of an amazing homemade cinnamon rolls recipe. This will be my first attempt, so I don't know what recipe to use. Any suggestions? If you have one, would you be so kind to send me a link or email me the recipe? Thanks so much! (whitneyhale@gmail.com)

Another lame giveaway

I have a brand new Michael Bolton CD that has your name on it!! It's his comeback CD (I suppose), called "One World One Love" and I got it when I went to the Ellen Show for Mother's Day. Aren't I so nice to share my Ellen prizes with my friends?! :) You know the drill, leave me a comment if you want it for yourself or a loved one.

Ashley, you are NOT eligible to win this, even if you really really want it. :)

It's a ...

It's a BOY!!! We are SO excited! And Rachel is thrilled that she is going to have a baby brother. We're almost 20 weeks - half way mark!

Been meaning to do this for awhile...

I created a public blog, so that those of you who use google reader can put the public blog site in your reader and then when I post a new entry on our private blog, you'll get a link in your reader that will take you to the private blog. Easy-peasy. Hope it helps!

Here's the public link for those of you who want to use it in your google reader:

http://beetleandwhale.blogspot.com/

The Zoo

On Friday, we went to the zoo with some friends in the ward. 3 moms and 3 kids (all about the same age). The kids played so well together and no one had any major melt downs. Impressive! They even posed for pictures (Ryder, Rach, Elise):

His name is Ryder... need I say more about this picture? It's not really how she feels (I don't think) but it sure looks like he's something special to her in the pictures. Too funny.

It was so fun to go to the zoo at this age - she absolutely LOVED it and every animal she exclaimed, "So excited, mom!" Her favorites were the monkeys, meerkats, lion, practically all of them actually ... and I was impressed she could even say rhinoceros (I can thank "Barney goes to the zoo" for that one). It was nice to also go before it gets too hot. It was still warm enough to get soaked at the splash pad and she didn't mind that I forgot her swimsuit. It was such a fun day!!

Mom, here's the picture of our 2 baby birds in our backyard. They're not so little anymore, they're huge! I imagine they'll figure out flying pretty quick.

Spur of the Moment Decision - No More Binky

Brandon and I were talking yesterday morning about when to get rid of Rachel's beloved binkies. Brandon is much more "spur of the moment" than I am and thought that we should just do it - so yesterday was Rachel's big day to give up her binkies. Yikes - I didn't know if I was ready.

Rachel doesn't just like her binkies, she LOVES them. For example, she loves to talk about the picture of mommy & daddy by the temple when they got married. When I ask her who she wants to marry, her response is always "binkies". I have tried to limit binkies to only the crib, car and church and she'll usually get them more often if she's sick. But it's hard to stay consistent and if she finds one, she usually wins and gets it until I sneak it away from her. It was getting a bit ridiculous and I hated how we were always looking for binkies and that I always needed to take one with me.

After Brandon and I did some strategizing, we thought we came up with a pretty good plan for Rachel - one that would help her (and mom) cope and we'd do it in a way that she would understand. We headed to Toys R' Us and on the way, we explained to her that she was a big girl now and that there were little babies who needed binkies more than she did. She would get to pick out a toy and then she'd have to give her binky up and give it to a baby who really needed it. She picked out a stuffed Barney toy (to sleep with) and we also got her a fun pooh bear treehouse to play with. Then Rachel and I went and found a baby in the store who we could give the binky to. I stopped a nice mom shopping who had a new baby and also had a toddler and I was hoping she'd understand as I explained the situation. She was so sweet and watched as I explained to Rachel that it was time to give up her binky and she said her goodbyes and gave her binky a kiss and then handed it to the new baby, who's name was Olivia. It really was a sweet moment and I looked at the mom to thank her and tears were in her eyes - she must have understood - and then that made me cry (I tried to hide my tears from Rachel, who I must add was NOT crying). I think it made me cry because my little baby is growing up and also because it has been her one comfort item that has been consistent her whole life, but I know that she's big enough to understand and that it's better that we get rid of it now.

Aftermath: So far, we've done 2 naps and one night-time sleep without any binkies and she has done SO well. She's asked for them a couple times, but then we just have to remind her that the babies needed the binkies and she agrees, "babies need binkies" and "gave to baby 'livia". And then we remind her that she got to trade for her Barney. She hasn't even thrown any tantrums or unnecessary crying fits over her binkies - she really gets that she gave them up to the babies who needed them and I am so proud of her! This may be silly to those of you who haven't had kids or haven't had kids with binkies, but this was a big deal to me (apparently more to me than to Rachel). Bye-bye binky!

Library & Favorite Children's Books

I love the library (especially while on a little spending fast) since it's oh-so-free and I love that Rachel gets excited to go to the library. And this week we even found a museum pass to the zoo (small blessing) which is AMAZING because it is almost impossible to get them here - seriously - Chicago was a piece of cake compared to here and the Mesa museum pass only gets in 2 people.

Anyway, I wanted to list my favorite Children's books - both mine and Rachel's top 10 list (in no particular order). I just love it when Rachel gets excited about books and when her face lights up when she finds a familiar book in the library! (Keep in mind that my list only includes books for kids under 2 years old since that's all I know.)

1. "That not my ..." series (princess, puppy, etc.) by F. Watt/R. Wells (board book) - all the Usborne books are very high quality

2. Priddy books by Roger Priddy (board book) are bright colored and real pictures - good for colors, animals, first words, etc.

3. Sandra Boynton series (board book) are great for the infant stage and have clever rhymes

4. "Global Babies" by the Global Fund for Children (board book) - reminds me of the Chicago libraries

5. "Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell (board book)

6. "From Head to Toe" (board book) &/or "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" (picture book) by Eric Carle

7. Gossie series by Olivier Dunrea (board book or picture book) - likes them more as a toddler than she did as an infant

8. "There's An Alligator Under My Bed" by Mercer Mayer (picture book)

9. "Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman (picture book)

10. "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub" by Audrey Wood (picture book)

Rachel enjoyed the board books until just a couple months ago and now she really likes the paper books, but I'm always reminding her to be careful with the library books and not to rip them. Once I left her unattended with the library's copy of "King Bidgood" (this book was at the end of it's life I must add) and she ripped multiple pages. She got in trouble at home and then she had to go apologize to the librarian and said, "A sorry a lib-ary book ... rip pages .. not do again. Sorry lib-ary book." It was her first official public apology and the librarian thought she was the cutest little thing ever. However, that did not get us out of buying the book from the library (fyi moms - they were overcharging us for the book, so I asked for another option - they said I could buy a used one online and give it to them as a replacement - much cheaper option many times).

Recently, I have been looking for picture books in certain topics (hospital & doctors, being a big sister, etc.) and have found this SO helpful at home to help teach her things.

Feel free to leave a comment with one or a few of your favorite children's books - I'd love to hear what your family loves to read!! Happy reading!

p.s. The spending fast is going fine - almost done with week 2. I've spent less than $50/week on groceries, but have also been using some pantry/freezer items, so I think the last couple weeks will be more "telling" as to how I'm really doing. I like it - it's a good budget-cleansing process / reality-check-point to go through and also helps test my self-control. After this, I'm hoping to bring down my monthly grocery budget a little bit and come up with a realistic number that I can stick with.

ellen show

This week I went to LA for the Ellen Show!! It was her "Mother's Day" show where everyone in the audience is pregnant (oh yeah, did I mention I'm pregnant?! 17 weeks!).

My friend, Danielle, got a ticket to the show and had an extra one - so she posted on her blog "need a pregnant friend to go to the ellen show with me". I was pregnant, but had only told a few people, and desperately wanted to go. I called Brandon and he said, "hurry, call her NOW!" (we watched the show last year), so I called Danielle and secured the spot. Thankfully, she kept it secret that I was going (since we have lots of mutual friends) and I wanted to make sure family found out about the pregnancy first. Rachel announced she was going to be a "big sister" and that "mommy had a baby in her tummy" to family and friends on their visit to Utah this last weekend.

Back to the ellen show ... I drove to LA Thursday morning (6.5 hr drive) and the show was taped that afternoon. It was such a blast and a chance of a lifetime! If you're not familiar with the show, she basically throws a baby shower for all the pregnant women in the audience and gives a ton of baby gifts to everyone. The show aired today (Friday). I am in awe of the generosity - they gave to each audience member nearly $3000 worth of expensive baby items and also paid the taxes on it. Thank you, Ellen!

For a detailed list of the prizes, there's a link here or here's the brief list:

- Age brand Hi-Lo high chair

- Timi & Leslie Diaper Bag

- Puj bathing tub

- MD Moms Silk-line baby gift box (lotion, wipes, etc.)

- Dr. Weil eco-friendly baby bottles / pacifiers

- Aden & Anais swaddle blankets, burp cloths, sleeper, etc.

- Baby Bjorn baby carrier

- Angora booties/slippers

- "I heart ellen" onesie

- 6 month supply of Huggies diapers

- Video baby monitor

- Posh mommy necklace

- Shrinkxhips belt (post natal belt)

- Teutonia stroller

AMAZING RIGHT?!! She's also giving away the prizes to viewers at home on her website this weekend - for a chance to win, click the link here. As we left, they filled our cars with the smaller gifts, and the larger gifts, we'll order online and they'll be shipped to our homes.

It was such an incredible feeling to get completely spoiled with no strings attached! I was so lucky to get a ticket. All thanks to Danielle! Thanks so much, girl!! And I also owe a thanks to Brandon and Kasey for taking care of the munchkin while I was away for a day and a half.

p.s. Don't be fooled that the excitement of the ellen show is more exciting than the fact that we are expecting our second child October 13th - we are absolutely thrilled to have another addition to our little family! We find out the gender in just a few weeks, so I'll keep you posted. And no, we honestly don't have a preference or a feeling one way or the other if it's a boy or girl. And the pregnancy has gone great so far - no complaints. However, I will complain when I have to go to girl's camp during the first week in August ... and yes, I explained that I was pregnant when I was called to be one of the stake leaders, but they don't have any rules against pregnant women going to camp ... blast! :)

Weekend to Myself

This weekend was amazing! I mean, of course I missed them like crazy, but it was a much needed break from everything! The best part was that I didn't spend much time cleaning the house or working on church stuff ... it was just about doing things that sounded fun and catching up on some projects. Here's some of the things that I did this weekend:

- Danced around the house (you're lying if you say you've never done this!) :)

- Trips to both Michaels & JoAnn's

- Garage Sales - bought a jogging stroller for $30

- Ate leftovers

- Enjoyed quiet times

- Blasted music other times

- Sorted through all my photos and printed all the ones that I wanted in my photo albums (at Costco - 9 cents on sale thru May 9 w/coupon) ... I printed 817 photos from the last 2 years! Geez, I'm crazy! But now I'm caught up, so I can do it little by little.

- Caught the end of "You've Got Mail" on TV

- Lunch with two of my college roommates to Paradise Bakery

- Uninterrupted conversation with Mona, who is the elderly lady who lives next door (usually, I'm in a hurry or have Rachel with me)

- Posted on a cooking blog

- Made 3 felt flower clippies for Rachel (see picture)

- Caught up on some TV shows online

- Made a flower clip holder for all of Rachel's bows (see picture - I had an empty frame, so I used cardboard, fabric and ribbon)

- Trip to Kohl's to use my $10 off coupon on $20 purchase (although I really am not a big fan of Kohl's, it's official)

- Visiting teacher came over (told her she better make it quick - I had a lot of plans .. ha ha)

- Yardwork

- Went jogging and woke up sore the next morning (it's been awhile)

- Straightened my hair (see picture - I haven't done this for at least 8 months, and I was reminded why - it takes me FOREVER)

(Black ribbon is not the best choice for this, but it's all I had - I'll replace it with blue or white after my spending fast is over)

Spending Fast begins TOMORROW ... wish me luck!

New recipes?

I follow a cooking blog with some friends from Chicago, but now we're all over the country! We also have a few new friends who we've never met who have joined our "club" - anyone can join! I don't get to participate/post as often as I'd like, but no one minds - you don't have to be hard core. I just like to get ideas for new recipes and we also post a dessert recipe every other week from a book called, "Baked". Yummy to read if nothing else!

It was my turn to post a new recipe this week, so if you're interested, check out the link -> Delish