Ace of Cakes

Ginny has been in a creative mood lately. She had been making cakes in many different forms and with different ingredients. She usually makes them when I'm busy doing something else, though. I try to look past the mess and focus on the relationship. That means not sending her to time out like I want to. Instead, I check out her creation and her excitement, then help her clean up the mess. Children, clothes, and kitchens can be cleaned. and cleaned, and cleaned. : >




I came upstairs to find she had gotten into the flour. She had flour, water and an egg in here, all stirred up. I wish I were a good enough cook to take what she had and make a real cake. But we just got out a cake mix and made a chocolate cake to eat.














Her sweeping skills are really improving. : >

















This week she has been into making mud cakes. Here is one of her masterpieces in her toy wheelbarrow. At least she ses the finest ingredients. The dirt is prime "Black Gold" soil from our city compost which we spread all over our flower beds and garden.
Any tips on getting mud out of clothes?


Nothing like a bubble bath to get all cleaned up. Especially after eating a chocolate ice cream cone.

Som Tum

Not sure if that's how you spell it, but we made it. This is my husband's favorite Thai dish and he decided to make it. He bought all the ingredients and special tools. It is a spicy shredded papaya salad. He made it with only 5 peppers instead of the 8 it called for. He claims it was too mild, but I thought it was plenty hot. Had to capture my hubby and daughter in the kitchen, cooking together. Here are some pictures.

Matt checks out the papaya to make sure it is good. We discovered we need the green unripe papayas instead of the huge pink ones.














Ginny took this picture of the garlic and peppers being smashed together. I wish you could smell it. Yum!


















Ginny helps shred the papaya.






M and G add the finishing touches to the salad.

I was on the news!!

I got a call from my brother-in-law Aaron on Sunday night. He said he got a call from a local news channel wanting to interview me as Utah Young Mother of the Year. I contacted Channel 4 news, and they sent a reporter and camera man to Provo. Luckily I was at my sister-in-law, Keli's, house, so they filmed me and Ginny and a niece and nephew in her beautiful backyard. I was impressed that they finished interviewing me at about 8:30, then turned around and had a piece ready for the 10:00 news that night. I'm excited that they focused on the adoption angle. Maybe this will help us find our next child!

Newspaper Article

There was an article in the Daily Herald newspaper about me and my family on Mother's Day. Here's a copy of the text. They sent a photographer over who took lots of pictures. I am trying to get my scanner to work so I can post the pictures that were in the paper. This article is about Karmel Larsen, the President of our American Mothers Chapter, who was just crowned Mrs. Utah and Dixie Clifford, the Utah Mother of the Year. Here's the part about me:

¬

Danielle Kennington -- Utah Young Mother of the Year

Age: 37

Lives in: Provo

Married to: Matthew

Hobbies: Singing, reading, teaching, volunteer storyteller at Orem Public Library

Recently read: "My Antonia" by Willa Cather

Don't get your mother a box of chocolates or an heirloom sewing table for Mother's Day. Not that those are bad gifts. Danielle Kennington, a mother of one child (4-year-old Ginny), just thinks that there are more meaningful ways to let Mom know that you care about her. "I don't think you need to buy fancy presents," she said. "Mothers just want you to spend time with them."

Kennington, who has degrees from Brigham Young University (in education) and Utah State University (special needs education), suggested a letter or phone call if your mother lives too far away to be visited. And you should feel free to share the love.

Kennington, who was born in Massachusetts, said that you can also use Mother's Day to recognize women who have had a "good mothering influence on you" -- on a recent Mother's Day, she did that herself, writing letters to two of the mother figures in her life.

Kennington's parents divorced when she was young, and she said that she mostly learned about mothering from the example of her stepmother. "I think she taught me that being a mother is enjoyable," Kennington said. "To enjoy the little moments and different stages of your child's life."

Since becoming a mother herself through adoption, Kennington said, the hardest thing about motherhood has been learning how to manage her time. "You have to give up your time and give up some of the things that you want to do right now to take care of your children," she said. "I love to read to my daughter, but sometimes I just want to read my novels. I've had to learn that during the day is her reading time."

Kennington said she thinks a mother's most important role is to teach her children, including being aware of what your children are picking up from your example. "It's just amazing to me," she said, "how much my daughter is always asking questions and remembering what I say."

One of her favorite Mother's Day experiences is something she wishes she could share with other young mothers. Being the Utah Young Mother of the Year, she said, has made her whole life feel like Mother's Day for a couple of months now. "I wish every mother could have that kind of affirmation," she said.