Archive | 2011

Merry Christmas from the Boams 2011

2011 has been a year full of change, memories and fun for our family. Here are some of the highlights.

Jeffe- This spring Jesse tested to become a professional engineer. He passed his test with flying colors! He is continuing to work for CE&MT/Strata as their lab manager in the West Valley City, Ut office. In the fall, he went bow hunting for the first time and got his first dear with a bow! He continues to love to hunt, shot his guns and fishing.

Awnya- 5 kids sure keep her busy with all their activities, homework, fun, and energy! She still finds time to run her website online, blog, sew, crochet and do all kinds of other crafts! She enjoys learning new thing and even took a few college classes earlier this year.

Superkid- This year was extra special for Superkid. He chose to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He started the 2nd grade this fall and is at the top of his class in reading and math. Just a few days ago, he had to get glasses, so now he looks particularly scholarly. He has his daddy’s engineering mind and loves to build and construct (as well as de-construct) all kinds of things. Superkid also started playing the piano in October and has already passed off his 1st book! He has a sweet heart and a keen mind.

Cookie- our sweet little girl is 6 years old! She started 1st grade this year and started going by her given name instead of her nickname. She loves art and drawing or coloring anything she can. She is learning to read and loves trying to read everything around her. She has learned to ride her 2 wheel bike and loves to jump on the trampoline. She is a great help with her siblings and loves to do what she can to help mom around the house.

Tater- At 4, Tater is a bundle of energy! He loves anything “boy”. Cars, trucks, balls, bats, trains, and Buzz lightyear are among his favorites! He is the big kid around the house while the other kids are at school. He loves to play computer and run and play outdoors. He has a sweet spirit and a cute testimony.

Baby E.- what a bundle of 2 year old energy! We are constantly finding her climbing, jumping and running around. She is moving from the time she is awake until she practically falls over asleep each night. She loves our new kitty and carries him around every chance she gets. She is loving her new baby sister and wishes she could hold and love her all the time. She loves to jabber away and we are understanding more of what she says everyday.

Goofer- This sweet baby girl joined our family on August 19th this year. She is such a calm, sweet, easy-going baby who loves all of her big brothers and sisters. She is rolling over already and almost has her 2 first teeth! She last weighed in at close to 13 lbs and has the cutest chubby cheeks and dimples.

Our family would like to share with you our love for each of you. We love you all and hope this letter finds you well. We know that our Savior loves you each as well and that he is the reason for this blessed holiday season. We pray that as you start this new year that you will be blessed and protected as well as find peace in the love that he offers to each of us.

Happy holidays!

Love, the Boams



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Christmas Crafts- Fruit Loop Trees

This is a yearly tradition at our house- Fruit Loop Trees. Simply draw a Christmas tree shape on a piece of paper and then use frosting to “glue” fruit loops on the tree. It is so fun to see what each kid does and how they decorate! The creativity never ceases to amaze me. Here are a few pictures of our decorating this year—>


 



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Recommendation: Online Social Media Presence

Many of you know that I have an online business and have been working over the years to make it get better rankings in search engines and to help people find it. The person who has made the biggest difference in my online business presences is Karen Clark of MyBusinessPresence.com. Karen has been the most reliable, helpful person ever!
I have been trained by Karen many times both one on one and in a group. I have listened to several telephone classes and even a webinar. All were excellent and highly informative. When I first started my training with Karen, I barely knew how to turn on a computer. She has guided me to have a successful website, 2 blogs, and a following on Twitter and Facebook. I know that without her guidance, I would still be stumbling around without any clear direction.
What impressed me the most is how generous she was with all the information that she shared! Have you ever heard the saying “Give more in value than you ask for in payment”? I felt like I was cheating Karen because of all the value she gave to me! Her wisdom covers any aspect of the internet and of social media.
I have known Karen for about 8 years and have watched her build her own business presence online and then begin teaching others how to do the same. I know that she doesn’t tell you to do anything that she herself would not do or has not tried.
I will also admit that I have tried courses and trainings from other “experts” on social media and have paid more and received SO much less. I will also add that I will never go to another trainer for social media and online presence training because I know that the best value is Karen Clark.

Visit her site My Business Presence.com to sign up for a class or for some of the freebies that she shares.

 



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Helpful Tips

I just found this in my email from like 3 years ago, but some of the tips are just wonderful! Enjoy!
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Helpful hints

Bed Sheets
After drying my sheets, put both sheets and one pillowcase in the other pillow case. Fold neatly in a square. Next time you change sheets, you just take the one pillow case and all the sheets and pillow case are inside. No need to look for matches.

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper Weeds-Away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go, cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic, they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken pieces of glass – the fibers catch ones you can’t see!

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn’t hurt the plant and the squirrels won’t come near it.

Easier thank you’s
When you throw a bridal/baby shower, buy a pack of thank you cards for the guest of honor. During the party, pass out the envelopes and have everyone put their address on one. When the bride/new mother sends the thank you’s, they’re all addressed!

If you purchase a new bike for your child, place their picture inside the handle bar before placing the grips on. If the bike is stolen and later recovered, remove the grip and there is your proof who owns the bike.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and — voila — static is gone.

Measuring Cups Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don’t dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It’s a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It’s also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn’t like when you tried it in your hair…

Good-bye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2″ with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it “home,” & can’t digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don’t have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Take baby powder to the beach
Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When you’re ready to leave the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder and the sand will slide right off your skin.



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Baby is here

August 19th at 2:21 pm Brooklyn Jane Boam joined our little family. She was 19 inches long and 6 lbs and 11 oz. She is a healthy baby with lots of dark hair. She is a sweet baby and doesn’t cry very often. Even when she does it is just for a second and then she grunts and squirms. She already is sleeping and eating really well and is loved by all her siblings. They have been great with the new baby and love to just look at her. We have let them touch her toes a few times but otherwise they are “hands off” for now. I know that as soon as I let them hold her, they will want to do it all the time and Mommy isn’t quite ready for that yet.

I was in labor for 11 hours. That is a story in and of itself, but although the outcome was great, I was really disappointed with my Dr. and the second nurse that I had.

In other news, when all the kids were on their way up to visit the new baby, we decided that we would rather not have anyone hold Brooklyn until she was a little older. We showed her out the nurses window before we took her to the nursery and then I made an appearance outside of the locked-down portion of the Women’s Center. While visiting for a few minutes, I looked at Super kid and noticed small blisters on his hands. Upon further examination, he had a slight fever, canker sores, and small blisters on his feet. Hand Foot and Mouth disease. Poor kid! Needless to say, he wasn’t allowed to see my room or go behind the closed doors. He is better now, but now Baby E and Cookie have it. Just waiting for Tater to come down with it too. The Dr. says that it is not that contagious and that Brooklyn will most likely not get it, but we are still keeping her away from everyone.

My mom is staying with us for the next few days. She has been amazing. Taking care of the meals and the kids as well as keeping me fed, bathed and medicated. It has been wonderful to not have to worry about the normal stuff and just focus on baby and healing myself.

That’s about it for now. I’m on a computer that doesn’t have any of the pics of Brooklyn, so I will have to upload some a little later.

Awnya



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Baby update

Well, baby still doesn’t have a name, but we are getting down to the end. If I have her as early as I’ve had the other 4, then we are looking at somewhere between 11 and 18 days from now (not the 32 that the blog countdown says). At my last checkup, the dr. said I was dilated to a 1 and not effaced at all. My next appointment is Thursday and I will have him check again

).
So for now, we are washing baby clothes, stocking up on diapers (thanks Maryann!) and waiting. I’m sure there will be more to tell soon though!


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NST in the AM

Baby Update:
As of 4:35 today I am dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced. Baby is head down and according to the Dr. has a “bony butt”. (he actually thought her bum was her head it was so hard).

In other news, baby’s heartbeat is at 111-115 beats per minute. Anything below 110 is not good at this point (from what Dr. was saying). So, in the morning we are going in for a NST = Non Stress Test. Basically they are going to hook me up to a monitor or 2 and then I will sit for a while so they can chart baby’s movements and heart rate. Not sure at this point what will happen if it is still low- I will keep you updated as I know!



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Bush pulling

Looked out in the backyard to see all 4 of my kiddos with a grip on the bush just under my window, yanking on it. They have succeeded in pulling it up so it now wants to lay on the ground instead of standing up straight. I think with a little TLC it will be just fine. Not sure whether I should be upset that they were pulling out my bush or pleased that they were working together…..



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