Utah County Mom

On a personal note...

2012-09-24T14:28:00.000-06:00

Some of my readers may have noticed I have rarely been posting anything lately. Unfortunately this has been a result of lack of time, not lack of ideas. Let me give you a glimpse into what I have been up to lately.

Let me start at the beginning. 2 years ago my husband got a new job. I decided to quit my job at a local software company and leave my steady income and great health insurance to stay home with my little girl. Best decision ever - but also a decision that made things very hard. We went from 2 pretty stable incomes to 1 income (the type of income people start out in hopes of getting something better, not the type of income you use to support a family of 3, a cat, and a mortgage.)

I was torn. I wanted to help support my family in a way that made a difference, but it was very important to me to be able to stay home with Lily.

I looked into a few options, including making crafts and selling them, which I ultimately decided would be too time consuming with not enough payoff. I wasn't willing to do anything to make money that involved selling things to my friends or family, or "take a gamble" on a paycheck each month based off of how much of something I had sold.

As I was thinking about this one day I remembered someone I used to know who supported her family doing Medical Transcripting from home. I won't go into the details of how it all happened, but I will tell you I was definitely prompted and guided to eventually choose to go back to school to become a medical transcriptionist.

I chose Career Step because I had heard that they were one of the best schools out there, so often times a company that needed to hire would go directly to Career Step and ask for recommendations from their recent graduates, making it much easier to find a job after graduation. It felt right, so I went for it. I am so glad I did.

School was completely self-paced and online, so I ended up putting it off for a while due to some other priorities in my life and picked up again seriously just this summer when I finally finished.

I found out I had graduated with honors, and then just 10 days later I had an offer for a job. I had applied and tested for a lot of companies on my own, but Career Step was actually the one who found me the job I took doing just what I had heard about, recommending me to a company who had come straight to Career Step looking to hire.

I got my dream job - the one I worked so hard through school to get. The job I got lets me choose my own hours - and even how many hours I want to work which can vary week to week. They just pay me for what I do. It is the perfect home-based job for a stay-at-home mom looking to earn some extra money.

So that is why I haven't been on much lately. I really do have intentions of posting how-to's for the list of projects I still have to post about . I am still planning on making that happen. Posts just may be inconsistent.

**After graduating and getting a job I have had many friends ask me how to get into this. I really do totally recommend it. Please email me at jessica@utahcountymom.com for more details - I have a lot of useful information to share if you are interested!! I know it may sound "too good to be true" but I promise you it is not.**

Live Butterfly Kits

2012-09-13T09:00:00.000-06:00

This summer was a busy one, but one of our favorite things we did was getting a Live Butterfly Kit in the mail.

Our butterfly kit came with a habitat, food, and live caterpillars.

The kids loved holding the caterpillers and watching them eat and grow.

I couldn't believe how big these things got so quickly!

Eventually they crawled to the top of their container and hung upside down to form chrysalides. Once they start hanging you aren't supposed to touch the container for 24-48 hours while they change.

Once hardened you take off the lid and put it in the butterfly habitat to wait for them to emerge.

Just a few weeks after they arrived they were already butterflies! The kids loved watching them change and learned a lot. They would sit and watch them every day and talk about it all of the time.

Once we had them for a day or two as butterflies we decided to let them go. They were very friendly and sat with us a while before flying off.

For the next few weeks we would see them around our yard from time to time. This was a great educational activity for kids (and adults) of all ages, and took very little effort on my part to make it happen. I definitely recommend getting your own butterfly kit to try.

Butterfly kits are sold many places, but I got mine here.

BYU Game Day Outfit

2012-09-12T14:27:00.000-06:00

Are you ready for the big BYU game this weekend? Lily is!

It's not too late to make an outfit for your little one. Remember this outfit I made last year?

The shirt honestly only took me 5 minutes so you still have plenty of time if you have the supplies.

For a complete how-to on how to make this outfit as well as a link to the Fresh Living TV show on it, see my post from last year here.

Fall Bucket List

2012-09-12T13:14:00.000-06:00

I saw this cute bucket list and decided to create a similar one for us. I do well with lists, and am excited to enjoy my favorite season with my favorite tiny girl.

Feel free to use my FREE Microsoft Publisher Template to personalize a list for yourself!

I will try to be more diligent at blogging as we do these fun activities!

Provo Library Summer Reading Program

2012-06-12T09:24:00.000-06:00

We signed up for the Provo Library Summer Reading Program! Did you?

Rules (Borrowed from their website)

Each child will be given one Summer Reading Log. If you lose your log, you must start over. Please don't lose your log!

Make your own goal of how many minutes you will read each session and write the goal on the reading chart.

Read books checked out from the Provo City Library. The number of books checked out helps us to monitor the success of our Summer Reading Program.

Read six days a week. You may read ahead or catch up if you get behind. You may read more than your reading goal, but you can only collect one set of prizes.

Bring your half-completed Reading Log (up to the blue star) to the library the week of June 25 - June 30 to receive a halfway prize.

Bring your completed Reading Log to the library July 23 - July 26 to pick up your prizes! The library will be closed on July 24, 2012.

Collect a Dream Passport from the Children's Desk. Attend a Canopy Capers, Toddler Time, Spanish Story Time, or a Make and Take Crafts program and receive a sticker on your passport per session attended. Collect at least eight stickers. From July 23 - 26, turn in your sticker-filled passport to receive a ticket to the Trick or Treat in July Party on July 28, any time between 10 am and 12 noon in the Provo City Library Ballroom. Children are invited to wear Halloween costumes!

Prizes:
Prizes for Summer Reading 2012 are a free book and a ticket to the End of Summer Reading Party!

End of Summer Reading Party:

Thursday, July 26, 8:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Exclusive pool party and treats at the Veterens Memorial Pool, 450 West 500 North, Provo, for children who complete the Summer Reading Program.

Provo City Library stresses the importance of a relaxed but consistent daily reading. The goal is to establish a regular daily habit of reading. There are no rules as to number of pages, numbers of books, or specific genres of books. Simply read each day, six days a week at your own speed. Parents and older siblings can read to children as well.

Baseball Game

2012-06-11T22:15:00.001-06:00

Going to a baseball game was on our summer bucket list, so the first Saturday of summer we took the kids to a BYU baseball game. It was the last game of the season, but if you are interested in going to a summer game the Orem Owlz are about to start their season.

I don't especially love baseball - in fact I can't make myself pay attention long enough to even see more than one play. Still there is something exciting about sitting at the field with family or friends so I try to go once a year.

The day we went it was raining really hard.

Tips for outdoor activities with kids when it's raining:

Bring ponchos. They sell crap ones that are good enough to use once at Walmart for 88 cents.

Bring hand warmers. You should be able to find hand warmers for around $1. Totally worth it. Keeps those little hands warm and out of trouble.

Dress warm. Cold kids are not happy kids.

We brought blankets too (that we didn't care about getting dirty or wet) for extra warmth. Smart move on my part. I'm a firm believer that there is no such thing as being over prepared.

Even though it wasn't ideal weather we still had a great time. What's on your summer bucket list?

Nickel City - Orem

2012-06-11T22:06:00.002-06:00

On day 4 of having my two nephews live with me everyone was especially well behaved, so I let them choose the activity for the day. They chose Nickel City in Orem!

I had never been there, but it was a great place to take kids and wasn't very expensive. They had games for people of all ages, so the 2 year old, 6 year old, and 10 year old all had enough to keep them busy for a long time.

Lily's favorite were the little rides.

If you haven't been to Nickel City - You just pay $2.25 per person to get in, and then everything costs a nickel to play. Before we went I stopped at the bank and got everyone a roll of nickels ($2 for 40 nickels.) Each kid had enough nickels to last them about an hour and a half.

They kids earned tickets to win prizes. Both boys spent all of their tickets on candy, but Lily opted for a pink sparkly bracelet instead.

I definitely recommend trying out this place if you are looking for games like at Chuck E Cheese's or Provo Beach Resort for a much lower price.

Nickel City

http://nickelcityorem.com/

1515 S. State Street

Orem, UT 84097

801-802-8555

Monday-Thursday - 11 AM - 11 PM

Friday/Saturday - 11 AM - Midnight

Sunday - Closed

One-on-one time

2012-05-29T23:07:00.002-06:00

Every kid needs a little bit of one-on-one time once in a while. After a particularly emotional day with the kids, I decided to get a sitter and take each kid on a 30 minute date to get a treat and talk about whatever they wanted.

I left 2 of the kids with the sitter and took the other one to get a treat of their choice, and then after 30 minutes switched. It worked great. It was just what these kids needed.

This cute 6 year old wanted a donut, so I took him to Krispy Kreme. He loved it.

Jamba Juice was the treat of choice for my favorite 10 year old.

My sweet Lily wanted a "pink shake" so I took her over to McDonalds for her treat.

I am so glad I did this I may make it a weekly event. It's amazing what a little one-on-one time does for a kid.

Homemade butter and muffins

2012-05-24T11:02:00.000-06:00

For our fun activity on this day we made homemade butter and muffins together.

I let them choose the muffin mix when we went grocery shopping together at the beginning of the week. (They chose Lemon Poppyseed. These muffins were incredibly delicious.) Then I let them each do 1 ingredient, and each take turns stirring. They loved putting the muffin liners in.

Once the muffins were in the oven, we started on the butter. I couldn't find lids for any of my tiny mason jars (which I highly recommend using) so we used Tupperware containers. It worked, but leaked just a few drips one time. I simply poured some heavy whipping cream in and told them to shake shake shake.

I let them watch a show while they shook (with a blanket under in case it leaked). It takes 10 good minutes of shaking, but since they took breaks as they got tired, after the show the butter was ready to go.

It worked! They used the butter they had just made to spread on their muffins.

Giant "water bed" outside sensory bag

2012-05-23T22:08:00.000-06:00

I saw this idea here and decided to try it out. I bought the plastic drop cloth and duck tape at Walmart for under $10 for both. I bought the drop cloth that is in a 10' roll that rips off into ten 10' squares. I bought the teal duck tape because I thought it was cute.

Originally I was going to use food coloring like the blog said, but after I thought about how it was likely this thing would leak and I didn't want to ruin 3 kids' clothes by them splashing in food coloring water, I decided to leave the food coloring out of it. (Good call on my part.)

Despite that my husband didn't think this would work very well, it was a HUGE success! Everyone loved it, and what I planned on being an hour or two activity literally turned into an all day thing because it was such a big hit.

I started out by unrolling the tarp I bought and taping the perforated edges to prevent water from leaking at them. I made two 40' x 10' tarps, and folded them each in half to make two 20' by 10' double layered tarps. I double layered it because my tarps were about the thickness of garbage bags and I was a little skeptical they would hold up with 3 kids running and jumping on them. (Again, good call on my part.)

I put the 20' x 10' double-layered-tarps on top of each other, and rolled the edges and duck taped in place. I left a hole at one corner for the hose. This whole process took about 40 minutes.

Once taped I stuck the hose inside so there were 2 layers on bottom and 2 layers on top, and started to fill it up. I had the kids show me where the initial leaks were. We patched them up (there were only 1 or 2) and filled the whole thing up.

Things I learned while filling this up:

1. This thing works best on flat ground. If you start out on a hill, even a little one, one side will be far more full than the other.

2. Once this starts filling up you really can't move it without it tearing.

3. Once it's filled it's pretty sturdy. The kids can run, jump, roll, and slide on it and it holds up for a long while (a couple of hours) before it starts leaking enough they are really getting wet.

4. Before it's filled it isn't too sturdy. Their feet tended to get caught on the plastic and drag and stretch and tear it. I discovered this quickly and made them wait until it was filled to play on it.

5. You really don't need food coloring, in fact I wouldn't recommend it.

This could be the best outside toy I have discovered so far. They LOVED it. At first they didn't get wet at all, but the cold water kept them cool in the hot sun. I told them to go for it and play as rough as they wanted because it was there to have fun, and if it popped we could always turn it into a large slip-n-slide.

They would run across the yard and slide on it. They would roll and watch the ripples go all the way across what they called the "water bed".

After a couple of hours we started getting a few leaks. I didn't bother taping them up because they weren't too bad. The bag stayed full enough to be squishy and fun to run across the yard and jump on all day but after a few hours there was just enough water on top to make it splash as you ran or rolled across.

This picture (above) was taken after 6 or 7 hours of rough play on it. You can see where it is leaking and wet, but it still squishy and fun. Everybody loved it.

We paired this activity with lawn chairs, a couple of rounds of popsicles, a kiddie pool, and a water gun fight.

I heard the boys say multiple times that this was the best day ever, and one of the funnest things they have ever done.

Adventure Time Boys Room Reveal

2012-05-23T21:32:00.000-06:00

When I found out my nephews were going to move in temporarily, I knew I wanted to give them an awesome room to call their own. The boys love the show Adventure Time, so I decided to give them an "Adventure Time" themed room to make the transition a little easier for them. Here is the "before" shot of our guest room...

...and the after. We switched the queen bed for bunk beds to give them each their own space. I put tons of pictures of them with their family above each of their beds.

The bunk beds have comforters I made to resemble Adventure Time characters Finn and Jake. They are each reversible so both boys have each character, one on each side. I embroidered their names on the edge toward the bottom so they know whose is whose.

Here is the Finn side of the comforter (above.) See the resemblance?

Here is the Jake side of the comforter (above). Detailed instructions on both of these to come soon.

I brought in some cheap plastic drawers for their clothes, and added an Adventure Time poster I found at Walmart.

On top of the drawers I put pictures of our family and an alarm clock.

I put bins on these shelves holding the "boys toys" we have. I love bins for toy storage because it makes for such easy clean up.

Adding pictures of their family really made the whole room come together. Pictures really do so much in making a room feel inviting and warm.

I also made this "Gunter" trash can using duct tape paper I got at Hobby Lobby to resemble the character from the show.

The boys love their Adventure Time room!

I'm back...

2012-05-23T21:10:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged in quite a while. I have several good reasons, the details of which I will save for my personal blog.

Meet my 2 cute nephews. They will be staying with me for a bit while their parents are at the hospital while their dad fights leukemia.

It's going to be a fun-filled summer.

Stay tuned as I post fun ideas of things to do with your kids this summer.

28 minutes of fame - Cricut Mini

2012-04-02T10:28:00.001-06:00

Has anyone seen the Cricut Mini infomercial that has been airing for a few months? Catch a glimpse of me and my fire station card table tent?

Here it is in all its glory. A little cheesy, yes...but it was a lot of fun to be a part of. I could get used to someone following me around all day fixing my hair and touching up my makeup for me, but that is a story for another day.

Next time you are up late channel surfing, watch for me and the Cricut Mini.

Missionary Greenie Package

2012-04-01T09:11:00.001-06:00

My sister-in-law recently went to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo to prepare for her mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her first week in I sent her a "greenie" package. It was a great MTC gift, and didn't cost much.

Oftentimes, new missionaries are referred to as "greenies." I packed a box full of green-themed gifts to brighten her day.

I found Mike & Ikes, wintergreen life savers, mint oreos, and mint kisses to snack on. I also included a green canister of nuts in case she was in the mood for a healthy snack. Finally, I found green printed notepads, and cards with a green pen. Missionaries are always in need of tiny note pads to jot down appointments or notes, and cards to send notes to their friends and family.

This package was a huge success - she loved it!

"Deepest Thanks" thank you card

2012-03-31T22:03:00.001-06:00

I saw this thank you card, and decided to recreate it for my card swap night this week.

I used the "Life's a Beach" Cricut cartridge to cut the yellow submarine, and taped an orange straw to the back to look like the periscope. I used foam squares to secure the submarine onto the card.

It was super easy and only took a few minutes to assemble each card. They were a big hit!

Missionary Cookies

2012-02-15T14:39:00.002-07:00

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My sister-in-law was recently called as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I made a batch of these fun missionary cookies for her farewell!

I have made these for my brothers in the MTC and my siblings in seminary before as well, and they are always a huge hit. Although very time intensive, they aren't very difficult when you break it down step by step.

First I made my favorite sugar cookie recipe, and cut the cookies out using boy and girl cookie cutters I purchased at Walmart. I mixed up the icing (I was lazy this time and just used frosting from the can.) I mixed brown for the hair, blue for the boys' ties and a few girls' dresses, pink for the girls' dresses, dark grey for the pants, and I used off-white food coloring (just kept adding until it was the right color) to make the flesh color. I left some of the frosting white.

First I decorated the boys. I always decorate 1 cookie to figure out what I am doing and then do all of the rest one step at a time. (I'll do all the shirts, then all of the pants, etc.)

1. Spread white frosting along the chest area for the shirt. You can spread a little below where the pants will go, but I stop at the neck and leave a small area for the hands. It's not going to look good at this point but don't worry about it.

2. I used the grey in a piping bag to pipe the pants on. I first outlined the shape of the pants so there is a straight line along the belt area, and there is definitely 2 legs instead of them blending together. After I did the outline, I filled the rest in roughly, and while the frosting was still moist used a small knife or wet clean finger to spread the filled in part so it was smooth.

3. Next I used the flesh color to do a circle for the face, and 2 hands on each Elder.

4. I put the blue frosting in a piping bag and piped ties on each Elder.

5. I used a knife to spread the brown frosting for hair. I did one side at a time so I could get it to look like they each had a part.

6. After I had made sure ALL of the pants were completed, I added more black food coloring to make the grey frosting black. I then piped the black frosting to make shoes, a name tag, and the face.

Once the cookies are decorated, make sure to lay flat and not stack the frosting has completely set to prevent smearing. I placed the cookies side by side in a cookie sheet, and covered it with plastic wrap to keep the cookies moist. The sides of the cookie sheet kept the plastic wrap off of the frosting while it was setting up.

Now for the girls...

1. I used a knife to do a circle for the face, 2 hands, and the legs of each Sister missionary.

2. I put pink frosting (and eventually blue) into a piping bag and piped the shape of each dress, then filled it in using the piping bag. Then I used a knife or wet clean finger to smooth out the filled in dress.

3. I used the brown frosting and a knife to do the hair on each cookie.

4. Finally I used the black piping bag to add shoes, a face, and tags.

In the past, I have done several colors of clothes, and a mixture of blond, brown, and black hair. I have done light and darker skin as well. For this farewell I just kept it simple and did all the same colors.

I also did a few name tags with her name on them. I just cut out rectangles using a pizza cutter and a ruler, and used the leftover black frosting and piped on white words.

They were a huge hit at her farewell. However, these are very time intensive. It took me 4 hours just for the decorating to make 40 missionary cookies and 10 tags.

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Today's Creative Blog Blackberry Vine Tip Junkie Not Just a Housewife Hope Studios The Thrifty Home Savvy Southern Style Blue Cricket Design Tea Rose Home The Thrifty Home Women Who Do It All The Shabby Chic Cottage Beyond the Picket Fence Fireflies and Jellybeans House of Hepworths A Glimpse Inside The Brambleberry Cottage Thrifty 101 Elements-interiors Sweet Peas and Bumblebees Shabby Nest 30 Handmade Days Tatertots and Jello By Stephanie Lynn Cherished Treasures Be Colorful Between Naps on the Porch Craft-o-maniac GingerSnapCrafts The Idea Room Nothing but Country Will See It Wednesday The CSI Project

Chris Manning Digital Photography - Review and Giveaway (Ends Jan 25)

2012-01-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

Growing up my family all took family pictures every fall. I love this tradition. My husband's family does family pictures every 3 or 4 years, but I love having a recent picture all of the time.

We hadn't had any professional family pictures done since Lily had been born! That is one reason I was so excited to discover Chris Manning Digital Photography, and was thrilled when he agreed to photograph us!

Lily was tired. It was cold, and she did not want to cooperate. However, somehow Chris still managed to capture shots without her crying and some where she actually looks pleasant.

Chris was great with kids. He was patient and knew of some great locations for us to try. He asked exactly what we were looking for so he could tailor the picture to our likes, which I loved.

If you're looking for family pictures in Utah County, I highly recommend Chris.

So...do you want to win a photography package of your very own?! Who wouldn't, right?

1 lucky winner will receive a 2 hour family session with a $25 print credit, and a free 16x20 print!

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check. (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)

TO ENTER: Like Chris Manning Digital on Facebook here. Then go to the site here and send Chris a message saying you want to enter. In your message, mention you are entering the giveaway from Utah County Mom, and tell him your facebook name so he can confirm you 'liked' his page.

EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:

-Follow Chris Manning Digital on Twitter

-Like Utah County Mom on Facebook

-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter

-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest

-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)

-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)

THIS GIVEAWAY IS UNIQUE IN THAT CHRIS IS CHOOSING THE WINNER. MAKE SURE TO SUBMIT ALL ENTRIES THROUGH THE FORM IN THE LINK ABOVE. A SAMPLE MESSAGE TO CHRIS TO ENTER WOULD SAY "I WANT TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY FROM UTAH COUNTY MOM! I LIKED YOU ON FACEBOOK UNDER THE NAME (YOUR NAME HERE). I FOLLOW YOU ON TWITTER (@UTAHCOUNTYMOMMY). I SHARED THIS GIVEAWAY ON FACEBOOK. I LIKE UTAH COUNTY MOM ON PINTEREST. THANKS, JESSICA"

This giveaway is for Utah locals only - within a reasonable distance from Utah County. Each prize package is for a photo shoot in Utah County. Winner must be willing to drive to Utah County for their shoot to claim the prize.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on January 25, 2012.

Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for people willing to drive to Utah County only.

Cholula Cap Decorating Contest - Winner!

2012-01-04T22:25:00.000-07:00

I took 2 weeks off from blogging. Did you notice? It may be crazy for a couple of days while I catch up, but for now here is the winner for the cap decorating contest!

We had 2 entries.

Jacob did a swirl design.

Carl did a Santa and a New Years guy (complete with 2012 glasses!)

The winner for this contest was Carl! Congrats Carl. Your Cholula 4 pack should be arriving soon.

Cholula Cap Decorating Contest (and giveaway!) - (Ends Dec 23)

2011-12-14T20:31:00.001-07:00

Ever tried Cholula? I hadn't until Cholula sent me 4 of their flavors to try in the mail. I was impressed. Not only is it good on eggs, which I had heard of, but it's also good in soup and on popcorn.

Cholula is having a cap decorating contest and offered to sponsor a contest on my blog! I chose to decorate my Cholula caps as ornaments.

For the gold ornament, I painted it gold and then used super glue to make the swirls (because it has a fine tip and dries quickly.) I poured on the glitter and was done! For the white one, I painted it white and then put stick-on jewels all over. I added an ornament top and I was done!

Do you want to win your own 4-pack of Cholula so you can try all of the flavors?

It's easy! Just decorate at least 1 Cholula cap and send me a picture (jessica@utahcountymom.com). I will post the pictures here as they come in. This is a holiday-themed decorating contest, so try to encorporate something from the season. The winner will get a 4-pack of Cholula!

Not only that, but once you decorate your caps, you can also enter them into the contest at Girlichef here. You just need to post a picture to twitter when you are finished or email it to her directly, and you could win a Sur La Table Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Cookware set valued at $279.96 or one of 12 Sur La Table $25 gift cards.

Entries must be received by December 23 at 11:59 PM Mountain time to be considered.

Nacho Mama Tees - Review and Giveaway (Ends Dec 28)

2011-12-14T11:02:00.001-07:00

I love Nacho Mama Tees because it has so many creative and funny t-shirts to choose from! Check out these that I found on their site. HILARIOUS!

Out of all of the shirts I have received for reviews, the one I got from Nacho Mama Tees is the most comfortable. Anyone looking for a hilarious, comfortable, and flattering shirt? Check them out!

Do you want to win a shirt of your own? 1 lucky reader will WIN a $15 gift card to Crazy Dog T-shirts. (I realize this says Crazy Dog Tshirts and the post is on Nacho Mama Tees, but it's supposed to)

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check!!! (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)

TO ENTER: Check out Nacho Mama Tees and let me know which shirt you like.

EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:

-Like Utah County Mom on facebook
- Like Crazy Dog T-shirts on facebook

-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter
-Follow Crazy Dog T-shirts on twitter

-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest

-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)

-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)

Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 26, 2011.

Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for US entries only.
Winners cannot have received a promotional product from Crazy Dog Tshirts or Nacho Mama Tees within the past 90 days, or have a review/giveaway blog of their own.

CONGRATS TO AUSTIN WHO WON THIS GIVEAWAY!

Homemade Caramels

2011-12-14T10:43:00.001-07:00

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Out of all of my Christmas recipes, this is the one people rave about the most. Every time I make these people take them by the handfuls until they are gone. They are delicious.

Homemade Caramels

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 c sugar

1 c butter

1/4 t salt

1 1/2 c light karo syrup

Mix in heavy sauce pan, stirring constantly. Heat to 224 degrees or soft ball stage using a candy thermometer. Pour into well bettered 9x13 pan. Cool. Cut into pieces, and roll in waxed paper or cellophane.

For this recipe, you really need to stir quickly the whole time. Turn down the heat if it starts burning at the bottom.

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El Pollo Loco in Lehi: Review and Giveaway (Ends Dec 21)

2011-12-14T10:12:00.002-07:00

Recently, my family tried out El Pollo Loco in Lehi. I was really impressed!

It had a fast-food atmosphere, but the food was definitely higher quality than other fast food mexican restaurants I have tried. It was easy to bring the whole family with plenty of seating and high chairs for our little one.

You can see the people who work there cooking the chicken right behind the counter!

We tried the Poblano burrito, and the chicken carnitas bowl. I loved the bowl, and my husband loved the burrito. We also got a side of sweet potato fries to share. They also had a salsa bar which was really fun.

They did have kids meals available, but we decided to get Lily a side of macaroni and cheese instead. She loved it.

We should have gone on a Tuesday because kids eat free!!!

We loved El Pollo Loco in Lehi and will definitely go back soon!

Do you want to win a complimentary burrito and chicken carnitas just like we tried? El Pollo Loco has offered to sponsor a giveaway for 5 lucky readers!

Each winner will receive a coupon for a complimentary brand nuevo burrito (choose from the Califresco, el tradicional, the spicy chipotle, or the poblano) and a coupon for a complimentary chicken carnitas meal (choose from a chicken carnitas taco, chicken carnitas bowl, chicken carnitas burrito, or chicken carnitas meal.)

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check. (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)

TO ENTER: Leave a comment letting me know which brand nueve burrito looks good to you! (Calfresco, el tradicional, spicy chipotle, or pablano)

EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:

-Like Utah County Mom on Facebook

-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter

-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest

-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)

-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)

Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway is for locals only - within a reasonable distance from this restaurant in Lehi. Each prize package is for use only at the Lehi location.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 21, 2011.

Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for people willing to drive to Lehi only

CONGRATS TO EMILY, CHARITY, ALLISON, SHANNA, and ROSE WHO WON THIS GIVEAWAY!

Red Pepper Jelly - With neighbor gift printables

2011-12-13T15:53:00.001-07:00

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Red pepper jelly is really good along with crackers and cream cheese. I like to make it around Christmas time because sometimes I am overwhelmed by all of the sweets and need something savory for a snack.

Red Pepper Jelly

About 7 red peppers

2 c apple cider vinegar

2 t salt

2 t chili powder

10 c sugar

2/3 c lemon juice

1 6-oz pkg liquid pectin

Cut peppers into chunks and chop in blender or food processor until pureed to make 4 cups. Mix peppers, vinegar, salt, and chili powder in a large pan. Boil 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar & lemon juice and bring back to a boil. Add pectin and boil 2 more minutes. Skim foam if needed. Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Tips:

Red peppers are cheapest at Costco.

Canning supplies and pectin are cheapest (by far) at Walmart.

1 batch filled about 20 small jelly jars.

For the printables for the jars and tag, save the following .jpg files by right clicking over the picture and choosing "save picture as". You should be able to print 6 per page.

You can add your own message/name using any photo editor.

These files can also be found here and here.

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The Leonardo in SLC - Review and Giveaway - 2 WINNERS (ENDED)

2011-12-12T20:32:00.002-07:00

I have heard about the new museum in SLC called The Leonardo, but had no idea what to expect what I went. I had heard it was unlike any other museum, but I didn't know how. If you're like me and want to know what you're getting into before you commit to an activity with kids, hopefully this post sheds some light on what to expect and how incredible this museum really is.

When you walk into the museum, there are all of these feathery looking things hanging from the ceiling all over the lobby. It was beautiful, and I initially assumed it was just art. You should have seen my face when it moved. These are motion sensitive, so it looks like the whole thing is alive. You can move your hand up toward it from under it and it will move away from you. It's an incredible exhibit that combines art and science, and you don't even have to pay to see it since it's before the ticket counter.

Another thing that impressed me in the lobby was this wall of lights. Again, at first I just assumed it was art, but one of the people who work at the museum explained it represents the world. This picture (above) doesn't show the whole thing, but once he pointed it out I could clearly see where each continent was supposed to be. The lights chart a bunch of different things like weather patterns or seismic activity. The whole thing is hooked up to a twitter account, so he pulled out his smart phone and used twitter to make it show seismic activity. I was fascinated. I loved being able to interact with the exhibit in the sense that we were controlling it from our phones via twitter.

On the main floor, they have a bunch of exhibits that have to do with places. The picture above is one of 3 screens you can control to learn more about places. My nephew in the picture is looking at Utah, and demographic facts would pop up on the screen explaining about the place we were viewing. There was also a coloring center near by where people could see how many states they could draw/name from memory, and a place where you could design your own place, adding rivers, bridges, trees, boundaries, etc.

One of the people who worked at the museum explained they have exhibits that are a work in progress. The exhibit above represents algae growing, and over the next several months will grow and change.

Lily loved that there was always something new, exciting, and different to look at.

At The Leonardo, you have the option of participating in a study on genes. They can swab the inside of your cheek, and run tests on your DNA. Then after 40 minutes (in which time you can look at more of the museum) they tell you what some of the traits you are likely to have due to your DNA. It sounded fascinating but we didn't have time to participate during this visit.

The kids loved playing with the green screen technology. They could see the same screen we could, so they had fun holding up green things to make part of their bodies disappear on screen.

This area was devoted to stop motion. Not only could you learn about stop motion and how it was made, but you could use the props and materials they had available to make your own stop motion movie. If you had your own flash drive you could even save the movie to take home with you. There were several of these stations, so kids could work for a while on their movie without holding up the rest of the people who wanted to participate. (Stop motion is the technology that made movies like Chicken Run and Wallace & Grommit)

The day we were there they had the US Adaptive Bobsled Team there to meet with everyone. Not only were there props the kids could try on (helmets, etc.) but the team did a really good job of getting the kids involved.

Above one of the members of the US Adaptive Bobsled Team helps my nephew try out something they use to practice their balance. I was in awe looking at the metals around their necks realizing these guys are the real thing!

They had a whole section devoted to learning about prosthetics. We learned about what prosthetics used to be like, what they are like now, and where they are going. In the picture above, one of the people who work at the museum shows us how to hook a sensor up to our arm to make the prosthetic hand turn on/off a light switch.

Lily liked using the headphones to watch the various videos which were set up to teach us things.

They let us try on a few prosthetics.

I was really impressed with how many people who worked at the museum were around to help. They helped us a lot - which was really nice to have the one-on-one interaction to help us learn.

Once we had put on our prosthetics, there were ramps and stairs we could practice walking on, with railings all around to help us keep our balance.

The exhibit above was cool because 4 people could interact at the same time. You would touch the screen and it would create images on the screen on the wall that went to the music. All 4 touch screens produced different images, so it was fun to play around with each one or use all of them together.

This was probably the favorite thing of all of the kids I saw. It was kind of like Kinect for the XBOX in that when you moved then it sensed your movement and made your character on the screen move, but it was a lot more sensitive to movement. My nephew is moving, and it is making his character (dressed up as a knight) move with him. The kids had a ton of fun dancing and twirling and jumping to make the character move.

The kids also loved the part of the museum that had a huge Google Earth projected on the floor that you could control by jumping on the control pad. The kids would crawl around their neighborhood, pointing to parks and houses they recognized.

They have an art studio in this museum where real artists come and work for a few weeks. You can see what a real artist would look like while they work, and ask them questions if you want. The people who worked there said the artists who come do all different types of art. Some are very clean and keep to themselves, and some spread out and use the whole room as their space.

In the same area as the artists, they have numerous art projects the kids can participate in. They have people who work there assigned to teach you how to do things. I think I could have spent 4 hours just in this part learning how to do art and practicing my techniques!

Believe it or not, I didn't cover a lot of what we got to see there. It's not a museum you will get bored in. You'll want to go back again and again to really get into everything they have available. It would be a great museum for a big group with various ages, because they have so much to do and have so much variety there would be many things that would interest everyone.

The Leonardo

209 E 500 S in Salt Lake City

801-531-9800

http://www.theleonardo.org/visit/

info@theleonardo.org

801-531-9800

So...do you want to win tickets to go check out The Leonardo for yourself?!? 2 winners will receive a family pack of tickets including tickets for 2 adults and 3 children!

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check. (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)

TO ENTER: Tell me what exhibit you think looks fun.

EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:

-Like The Leonardo on Facebook

-Like Utah County Mom on Facebook

-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter
-Follow The Leonardo on twitter

-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest

-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)

-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)

Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway is for locals only - within a reasonable distance from this museum in SLC. Each prize package is for pick-up only at the museum.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 26, 2011.

Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for people willing to drive to SLC only.

CONGRATS TO SHANNA AND ASHLEIGH WHO WON THIS GIVEAWAY!

Lavish Giveaway (Take 2) - 7 WINNERS! - (ENDED)

2011-12-12T17:23:00.003-07:00

Remember how much fun I had going to the new Lavish store in Lehi? Did you miss out on the giveaway here? It's not too late! Lavish is sponsoring ANOTHER giveaway for 7 more winners!

Since my last Lavish post, I had to take all of my husband's sisters to Lavish and we spent 2 hours there! After we basically tried on everything in the store, I couldn't leave without getting this lovely jacket.

Ok...now for the GIVEAWAY details!

Lavish has offered to sponsor a giveaway for 7 of my readers! That's right...7!

2 winners will receive a camisole of their choice

5 winners will receive a $5 piece of jewelry of their choice

TO BE ELIGIBLE: You must be a public follower of this blog. I will check. (To follow me, just click "Join this site with Google Friend Connect" on the left column of my blog.)

TO ENTER: Take a look at this post or my Lavish board on Pinterest and tell me something you think is cute.

EXTRA ENTRIES: You can get 1 extra entry for each of the following:

-Like Lavish on Facebook

-Like Utah County Mom on Facebook

-Follow Utah County Mom on twitter

-Follow Utah County Mom on Pinterest

-Pin anything from this board on Pinterest (1 entry only available for this, no matter how many you pin)

-Share this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook with a link to this post (1 entry each)

-Subscribe to Utah County Mom via email (enter your address on the left sidebar)

Leave a separate comment for each entry for this giveaway.

This giveaway is for Utah locals only - within a reasonable distance from the Lehi location. Each prize package is for pick-up only at the Lehi location. Winners of my previous Lavish giveaway are also not eligible.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 PM (Mountain Daylight Time) on December 26, 2011.

Fine print: Although I received a free product for reviewing this product, the opinions on this post are 100% mine. The giveaway is for people willing to drive to Lehi only.

CONGRATS TO THE FOLLOWING WINNERS:
CAMI: ARTSY CHAOS, DIANE W
JEWELRY: KIA89, NICOLE, CAMBRIC, LISA, BBRITTBRAT1398