Best rolls ever!!

Knot Rolls

1-1/2 T yeast or 1 T saf-instant yeast
3 cups milk
1 cube butter and 1/4 cup shortening ( you may use any combination of butter/shortening, etc) I use what they recommend.
1 cup instant potato flakes
3/4 cup sugar
1 T salt
4 eggs
approx. 7 to 8 cups flour, half all purpose and half bread flour

step 1: Heat milk and add the butter and shortening . Add the potato flakes, sugar and salt and let sit.

Step 2: Beat eggs and add the above milk mixture. Make sure the milk is not too hot. You may add 2 C of the flour and mix to cool it down. Add the yeast. If you use saf –instant yeast just put it in, otherwise, you will need to prepare the yeast ahead of time as you normally would with any bread recipe by adding 1/4 C warm water and 1/2 tsp. Sugar to the yeast in a separate bowl. Mix the eggs and milk on low speed and slowly add the flour. (Suggestion: keep one cup out and let the mixer run for about 5-8 min. and then add the last cup very slowly until the sides of the mixer are clean. Sometimes it takes all eight cups, sometimes less.)

Step 3: Let rise for 1 hour. Divide dough in half and roll into a large circle. Take soft butter sp[read all over the circle. Take the top of the circle and fold to the middle, then take the bottom of the circle and fold on top so that you have a long rectangle. Cut the dough into 1 inch strips and tie in a knot. Place on greased pan or line with parchment paper. They make beautiful rolls. This recipe is very easy. Let the rolls rise for 2 to 3 hours. Depending on the temp of the house and bake at 375 for about 11 to 12 min.

Honey butter: equal parts butter, honey, and powdered sugar.

Lani's Skinned Knee

Poor Lani skinned her knee. And at the time she did, she was too happy to notice!

-Lauren

Shameless Plug!

I would like to take a moment to shamelessly plug our latest venture. I am genuinely excited about the fact that we are finally opening the highly anticipated (especially by me) spa. I toured around one of the locations the other day and it is so huge and so impressive I can hardly believe we are associated with it:) The best part is, is if you sign up 4 friends you get a free membership! I know, Christopher has only been to a spa once in his life. He is all too aware of his weaknesses and has hired some very capable experts to actually carry his idea out!
We are trying to get the word out so anyone that wants to throw a "Spa party" (a great way to get your free membership) would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for all your support over the years patiently waiting for this to actually happen. No pressure, we can live on our food storage for a couple more weeks!

Frespa Link: http://www.freespa.net/

Sweet Mercy!

I have officially survived my 38th summer in Arizona. It is finally only in the 90's for a high now and I couldn't be more grateful! I had become so acustomed to not being able to let the kids go outside, confined only to the four walls of our home, that I almost forgot summer was over. You should have seen the look on little Lani's face when I opened the door and let her walk outside for the first time. She wasn't even sure what to do with herself....so of course she took off running (just in case I changed my mind.) Anyone with a toddler knows what happend next...her first skinned knees, but atleast she had her freedom. Thank goodness for the ever so slight changes in weather we enjoy here in the desert. If I could afford the gas to fill a moving truck to Utah, this may have been my last summer here, but alas! Hopefully those of us having had to endure a lifetime of Arizona summers will be spared from the depths of hell, purely out of mercy!

Lani's Busy Day

Lani vs. Mom

Cheryl's To Do List For Wed. Aug. 27th:

-Wake up
-Get the kids up
-Make breakfast
-Clean up breakfast
-Shower
-Get dressed
-Pack lunches
-Remind kids how to get ready for school
-Put in a load of wash (so I can be caught up..ha ha)
-Wash all sheets
-Make sure house is ready to be shown to perspective buyers at a moment's notice
-Take middle kids to school
-Run Lauren to the bus
-Pack up Lani for the day
-Go with Christopher to sign papers for a deal that's closing
-Meet Kristen to watch her kids while she goes to the doctor
-Rush back and meet Christy to watch her kids while she goes to the doctor
-Pick up middle kids at the bus stop
-Beg them to please do their homework
-Take all the 8 and 9 year old boy scouts on a field trip to Ace Hardware
-Make dinner
-Clean up dinner
-Take Lauren to Young Womens
-Pick Lauren up from Young Womens
-Bathe all kids
-Collapse on my bed and watch reality shows with Christopher and watch him do skits about them.
-Try to get to bed before 11:00 so I can wake up at 4:30 the next day to run with my superhuman friend Angela!

Little did I know that Lani had her own agenda!

Lani's To do list for Wed. Aug. 27th:

-Take off diaper in the middle of the night and pee through 5 blankets
-Make Mom bathe me BEFORE I even eat breakfast
-Don't tell Mom I don't feel good and eat a big breakfast
-Puke in the car on the way to Mom and Dad's meeting
-While Mom is outside trying to clean my huge breakfast out of every nook and cranny of my carseat and car, take off my poopy diaper and paint my body with it!
-Take my second bath before 11:00.
-While Mom is cleaning up my poop, pull everything out of the kitchen cabinet and eat her hidden chocolate stash, foil and all (I wonder why my stomach hurts.)

Remember...life is what happens when you are making other plans! I'm sure I'll get a good laugh about this someday as soon as I finish crying :)

An Explaination

Hi there,

In case you are wondering why my hair is BLACK...I have the blog entry:

http://theworldisawesome.blogspot.com/2008/08/breaking-dawn-party-and-black-hair-dye.html

-Lauren

Banners

Hi Everyone,

I made some banners with current pictures of all us Haws kids, if you want to see. Go to the bottom of the page, under the playlist.

Xoxo,
Lauren

And then there was one....

I can't lie and tell you summer flew by this year. With no money and a short vacation, it crawled along a bit! I kissed the crew good-bye, ran home and plopped the remaining kiddo in front of Elmo (bless you Elmo!) I cleaned this nearly condemed house like this was my last day on earth and everyone in Relief Society was going to see it. I had dinner sitting on the table by 5 and finished every bit of wash in the house. It was as if I had been locked up in jail all summer. I didn't do it alone though. I must take a moment to thank Energy Vitamin water. When the "high" finally wore off, I felt like I had been hit by a train. Christopher just couldn't figure out what was wrong with me when I didn't want to watch the Olympics (on the highest volume,) until midnight.
I took a chill pill this morning, finally convincing myself that there are plenty more school days ahead. Lani and I hit the running store and I rewarded myself with a long overdue pair of shoes. I earned these shoes by sitting through 2 hours of traffic court for Christopher instead of "just paying it!" He thinks I'm a saint and I have the shoes I want! We both win!
Here's to those brave souls that teach our kids every day!

Girls Camp and Swimming

(I get back from girl's camp...here I am in front of the buses)

(Great Grandma goes swimming)

Milan's Baptism

My baby boy is 8! It is always a little scary when your son becomes "accountable!" It isn't easy being a boy in this crazy world. Our little Milan took a big step and became an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints. He made the most of the day and argued with his sisters and family all the way to the church. His grandparents gave him his very own scriptures and journal. He made a point to carry them everywhere he went for the rest of the day...even the restaurant (yes, after a few baptisms, I got smart and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning. Thank you Fuddruckers!)
We had a great turn out and are so lucky to have amazing family and friends!
Congratulations little buddy. We are so proud of you and so lucky to have you in our family! Love you!

More Baptism Pictures

Observe as Lani eats a milkshake with a spoon.

Grandpa, Lani, Grandma, and Mom talk.

Milan, Jake, Darius, and DB pose for the camera.

Milan looking snazzy in his shirt and tie.

-Lauren

Milan's Baptism

Haircuts By Dad

Hey People,

DB and Jake came over to swim, and they got haircuts, too. From my Dad.

(Notice DB sitting in the tub. That was what we called the "Waiting Tub".)

(DB's Turn (Notice the fancy haircutter scissors)in the chair)
(Milan's turn (This is always the funniest one because he hates haircuts) in the chair)


(Milan being very angry about his hair...)

Have an awesome day!

-Lauren

Popcorn

Sometimes little things like popcorn all over your lap can make you happy. :)

-Lauren

So Cute!

This is a must see for all of us sleep-deprived parents! Thanks for sharing Steph!
http://erickerickson.org/blog/?p=4726

There have to be worse things than turning 38 years old...like having the stomach flu the day you turn 38 years old! I have to say there have been worse birthdays. There was the food poisoning birthday when I was 16, the nine months pregnant and turning 30 birthday, the surprise party when I was 13 (I only discovered the surprise party after crying all day about not getting a party!) I really can't complain. It has been kind of a challenging year for our little family but I have so much to be grateful for!
1. I'm 38 years old and can run 5 miles while carrying on a conversation without stopping! (I couldn't do that at 18)
2. I survived 4 pregnancies and have the greatest kids a mom could ever wish for including the cutest 1 year old on the planet!
3. Christopher and I are still married and best of friends after 14 years.
4. I have a huge extended family and I love and feel loved by each and every one of them!
5. I have more friends than I deserve and they all give me far more than I give them.

The list could go on and on, but I am still working on getting over this "birthday flu."
We have had some seemingly insurmountable challenges come up these past two years and I was feeling like there was so little I could do. I have felt pretty overwhelmed but finally got on my knees (what I should have been doing all along.) I found this scripture that has really reminded me that we aren't alone here.
D&C 117:16,17
"You know brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.
Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power, and then we may stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God , and for his arm to be revealed."
I am mostly thankful for a Heavenly Father that loves us and knows each and every one of us personally and can only imagine how much our older brother loves us to have suffered for all the mistakes I make on a daily basis!
I hope this year that I can have a little more faith and be a lot more worthy of the many blessings that await all of us, if we just ask :)
I'm a lucky girl!
Thanks so much to all the well wishers today! I couldn't have felt more loved!

Happy Birthday!

Her tummy says "Happy Birthday, Mom!" Courtesy of Ellyse.

-Lauren

When do I get a vacation?!

Vacations always SEEM like a good idea when you are sitting in your comfy little house, but actually pulling it off is oh so tricky sometimes. Mom, Christy and I spent countless days planning our simple little trip up to utah. We put so much into the details, what could possibly go wrong? We sent the girls off with Mom and Dad on the flight and headed to Utah in our packed tight mini-van. We only had three quick errands to run and we were off....We made it all the way to Phoenix with out any incidents....Our little Jake suddenly came down with the stomach flu, (this is the boy who almost never throws up!) That's the bad news, the good news is that it was only a 12 hour flu and he was actually over it by the time we made the seemingly endless trip. Christy got the short end of the stick by having to sit in the way back and catch the throw up. I felt like the lucky one that only had to drive most of the way!
Once we made it there we were sure it would be smooth sailing. We forgot how great it is to come up with 3 meals and 4 plus snacks every day for 15 people. Atleast the kids got along, if you call getting along trashing everything in their sight, bless you Bruce and Becca!
The trip was cut short for us because Christopher needed his family more than we needed a vacation. It's good to be loved!
We had the time of our lives and can't wait to be rich and build a summer home in Utah!
Love you Hatches! You're the best hosts ever!
xoxo

Milan's Sign

Hey People-

It's Lauren, and this picture is a re-creation of a sign Milan had on his door (since our camera doesn't work).

-Lauren

A little piece of Heaven

A conversation with my oh so adorable nephews on the way home today....

Cheryl: "Hey guys, look at this picture I found of Lauren and Ellyse when they were little. It was 2 years before you were even born!"

Jake: We were still in Heaven?! Cheryl, can we walk on water in Heaven?!

Cheryl: I'm not sure Jake, but sounds reasonable to me.

Dylan: Jesus can walk on water, even without bricks stacked up!

Cheryl: Wow, Jesus can do anything!

Jake: Cheryl, is Heavenly Father your Dad too?

Cheryl: Yes, in fact, everybody in the whole world is Heavenly Father's child!

Jake: Even Shaq (yes, of the NBA)

Cheryl: Even Shaq

I told Christy that I could have gone on talking to them for hours and she reminded me that I will have that chance in a few days when we all pile into the same car (thank you gas prices) and head to Utah. We were trying to figure out how to survive the long trip with the kids, bribes, candy, video games, toys, and then it suddenly dawned on us that all we need is a small 5 dollar bottle of dramamine!
Pray for us :)

Hilarious

The River

Property of Christophe Haws

The sticker says "Property of Christophe Haws". Lani loves her Dad and he would move mountains for her...He has so much tolerance for her "babiness." I get up at 5 am every morning and attempt to run. This leaves Dad to to handle Lani until I get back. It's usually uneventful, but today was a little different. Lani climbed up on the fireplace in our bedroom, stripped off her jamis, ripped off her diaper, danced around a bit and then pooped all over the fireplace. Christopher wasn't sure what to do about her little skit. I asked if she seemed a little embarassed and he assured me that she was not the least bit ashamed of what she had done! We're so proud. It takes some pretty good parenting to raise kids like ours :) It continues to amaze us how much you can love such a naughty little person, but sometimes we feel like our hearts are going to explode when we look at her!

Lani

And the Mother of the Year is........

I have never been nominated for Mother of the Year, but I also have never been turned into CPS...yet. My mothering has been called into question this past week. It all started when I went left my 1 year old in the locked car with her 11 year old sister and my sister parked right behind me. When I came out with my Milan, a woman stood at my car door with the look of the devil in her eyes! She proceded to scream at me. "Did I have any idea how dangerous it is to leave a baby in the car by herself?!" I made the mistake of responding to her question. "Yes, crazy lady, that would be crazy! She isn't in the car by herself. Her sister is in there, the car is locked and she has a cell phone in her hand. Also, my sister is right behind me watching my car!" She heard none of this and told me that what I had done was illegal and that she should call the cops! I offered to call for her, (my bro. in law is a cop) and this did not amuse her at all. I finally ended up getting in my car and shutting the door while she continued to scream at me! I am sure she took my license plate and called the police.
My day just got better from there. I went to the store after dropping off my kids and thought I would pick up a few treats since I have 12-15 kids at my house at any given time. Mind you, I make homemade bread and 3 healthy meals from scratch nearly every day. I really don't feed my kids junk nonstop. Well the lady checking me out decided that I had picked up a little too much junk and says "Wow, my kids wish they lived at your house!" I snapped out of my grocery store trance and said "What was that?...I was so not in the mood!" She says "You know, obesity is at an all time high. I just can't feed my kids stuff like this. It is so bad for them!" Did she not see the bananas, lettuce, strawberries, etc.? Am I on cadid camera or that Boiling Point show.
Thankfully I am confident that I am at the very least a mediocre Mom and that all you can do it try, right?!
Hang in there you Mom's and don't let the crazy ladies get you down!

Be careful what you DON'T wish for!!

If you know me very well, you know how I feel about the Boy Scouts of America. I watched all five of my brothers watch my Mom get an Eagle Scout award for them. I was not impressed. I spent my days mocking my friends in their goofy yellow shirts as each of them became "Den Mothers!"
I'm sure you can guess what happened next...I got the dreaded call. I will be the new Den Mother for my son and all his little friends. Heaven help me. Karma always manages to get you!

Music

Not spontaneous!? I'll show you!

So my fabulous husband who lives for adventure, stumbled upon me 14 years ago. Okay, so he will be the first to admit that the pluses outweigh the negatives in our marriage. Every now and then he just would give up the clean kids, house and nightly meals for me to be a little crazy, just bust out of my routine!
He came home the other day and reminded me that our anniversary landed on Mother's Day and that I deserved a break. I can't argue with him about that! He had arranged babysitting and all I had to do was plan an incredibly cheap/free trip! Somehow we pulled it off and the next day we were off too Vancouver (Our honeymoon spot.) We had to take separate flights and I was so ready to sleep all the way there. Unfortunately, the guy next to me, decked out in leather and covered in tattoos, had other plans. We, or should I say he, felt like I'd be the perfect person to share his life story with. He did promise that the Hell's Angels would have my back from now on! I can't tell you how comforting that is!
The trip was the best thing we've done in a long time! As much as I hate to agree with Hillary Clinton...is does "take a village" sometimes and I thank all my fabulous family for taking such good care of my little crew while I was away! I couldn't be more grateful. Here's to spontanaity (I'm not even sure how to spell it, that's how much I lack that characteristic!)
We are already planning a tour for all of our family and friends to Vancouver. Get on the list...everyone needs to see that town in their lifetime. Pic's are coming tomorrow :)

So I'm finally out of the 90's and can put pictures on my blog! Thanks to my genius little brother Burke. I just couldn't figure the picture thing out and none of my kids would teach me! One day it dawned on me that one of my five brothers travels around the country teaching teachers how to blog! I wonered if he could help!
For those of you kind enough to show an interest in me and my family...pictures make everything better!

Lani goes to Disneyland!!

Lani sees Disneyland for the first time!

Oh yeah, that's why I do this.

It was another crazy weekend filled with sleepovers, Father's and Son's outings, and family parties. Thirteen year old girls up until 2 a.m. and one year old up for the day at 5 a.m. I also spent a couple hours packing my two boys (the one I married and the one I gave birth too,) for their big outing. I crawled into bed around 11p.m. for what I have started calling "naps." It just doesn't last long enough to be called "going to bed." I woke up at around midnight to check on my sleepover girls and to my surprise, my boys are tucked soundly into bed...after all my efforts, they only lasted 6 hours at the campout. That's what happens when the ward chooses a sight 10 min. from here! It is probably all for the best, when I called to check on them around nine, Christopher hadn't seen Milan in quite awhile. When I asked Milan the next day what he had done the whole time, he informed me that he had been watching the mountain lion and her cub! I tried to remain calm and tried to sound excited for him.
Anyway...I had eliminated all the extra kids by this evening and my kids begged me to go to the park. It was almost dark and the kitchen was a mess, but I decided to be spontaneous...for once! We all jumped on the swings and then raced around the entire park. We laughed the whole time. It was one of those moments that I realized why I signed up for this crazy life of mine. I signed up for it because in spite of the constant exhaustion, bad hours and sometimes lack of gratitude, I LOVE it, and wouldn't trade it for the world!

Spring Break!

Spring break was full of me trying to find things that fit the following criteria; It needs to be fun for kids age 1-13, boys and girls, able to work around two naps, a boy that doesn't like to leave the house, oh....and it has to be free! Needless to say, I was not too terribly succesful. Just ask the kids!
The end of our week was about celebrating Great Grandpa Arnett's life. On the way to the funeral, Lauren commented that you can't spell funeral with out "fun." Grandpa would be proud of his family. He taught them to laugh their way through life. Christopher, commented that Grandpa Charles Wallace Arnett truly was about as perfect as a person could be. He did everything he was sent here to do, by the book. It was such a gift to have him in our lives!

Today was Easter. We made it pretty clear to the kids that the Easter Bunny has also been hurt by a week economy and couldn't do a lot this year! I guess I feel like I need to not let my kids get their hopes up on special holidays. It was how I was raised and I don't really know any other way. They are always letting me know, "Ya, we get it Mom, we're broke!"
It was a good Easter in spite of financial difficulties. Lani was just happy to eat foil candies...foil and all and spent the day begging anyone who would listen to open candy for her.
We spent the afternoon at Jimmy and Tiffany's and had an easter egg hunt with the kids. There isn't anything cuter than watching a one year discovering Easter for the first time.

Okay, so there is never a good time for a Mom to start a blog....so here goes. Starting this month, the Haws family will officially have a teenager, two pre-teens, and a baby. We aren't really sure how we are going to pull this off, but I atleast had good teachers. Thanks Mom and Dad. Come to think of it, that is what Mom had when she fell asleep at the wheel and drove into the desert.....they tried :) I am up at 4:45 a.m., attempting to run (my latest hobby.) I usually make it to bed by 11:00 p.m and start over again the next day. It is a little crazy busy around here, but life is good.
Our little Lani turned 1 this last week and we couldn't be more in love with her. She was worth every stretch mark, varicose vein, and even all the throwing up! She makes it nearly impossible to be sad or grouchy. She isn't walking yet but manages to find her way into all of our lives and hearts for that matter. We taught her to say "Jesus" which we were so proud of, but unfortunately she says it inappropriately, like when she drops her toy or hits her head. We will work on that one.
Lauren turns 13 this next week and really, couldn't be a greater kid, okay, she could be cleaner, but she is amazing for the most part! She is so smart and so talented, she doesn't even bother to ask for help from us with homework or life. She has already surpassed me in height and intelligence! Ellyse is still itty bitty with a huge heart. She loves everyone and makes everyone around her happier. She works so hard to do what is right and will do almost anything we ask of her, sometimes, we don't even have to ask! Milan is nearly 8 and holding his own as the only brother around here. He puts up with all of us girls and loves that baby sister as much as if she had been the brother he desperately wanted.
Christopher continues to fight the fight everyday at work! We couldn't ask for a harder working Dad and Husband. He still loves his tv time on the weekends, but finds time to come up with things like "the secret family handshake." If you don't know it, you are not one of us. Ellyse finally agreed to do it. She was the last to agree to be in this slightly crazy group we call the Christopher Haws Family!
On a sad note....we lost our sweet Grandpa and Great Grandpa Arnett this week. We all adored him and will miss him so much. He was one of the last of the great generation that gave us all the freedom we somethimes take for granted today.
We will love you forever Grandpa Arnett and can't wait to see you again!