Introduction

Watch us on YouTube!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlRovkkyCEk

Welcome to our channel! This is just my introduction video to my channel that explains why I chose "The Multi Mom" as my username, and why I switched from my old user name (Another Eclectic Mom) to this one. I hope everyone will enjoy the videos I have to offer! Please subscribe and keep me motivated!

*This video also has captions available.*

Please subscribe, comment, and thumbs up! :-)
http://www.youtube.com/TheMultiMom

Check out our other vlogs here!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC6kl0RsnmZ-fl8NsNUJLNK6-rDepf3in

Thanks for watching! Enjoy! ♥

June 24, 2012

#TheMultiMom #familyvlogs #familyvlog #vlog #vlogs #vlogging #video #videos #familyvideos #familyvideo #home #movie #homemovie #homemovies #movies #Perryville #Missouri #PerryvilleMO #PerryvilleMissouri #AnotherEclecticMom #moms #motherhood #mommy #mom #mothers #eclectic #eclecticmom #eclecticmoms #introduction #introductionvideo

Welcome!

Hey there! Welcome to my "mom" page. There's so many mom pages out there, that I really didn't know what to call mine, except- Ta-da! The Multi Mom, because that's exactly what I am. Moms play every role- Chef, Housekeeper, Nurse, Teacher, and so much more, not to mention my interest in so many things, which adds Writer, Singer, Actress, and all around Artist to the list. But most importantly? I'm the mom! And SO VERY proud of it! This blog is dedicated to my love of it all, and because of that, I'll probably put anything and everything up here!

To start, my name is Candice Craft, and I am married to a wonderful (crabby, but hard-working) man named Adam, and together, we have a fabulous daughter named Tricity. We only have one child... We wanted more, but I've had troubles getting pregnant. I'm overweight, and therefore my hormones are messed up, making me the infertile one... Nevertheless, we have a happy family with just the three of us, but a fourth is never out of the question! I'm currently working part-time, my husband works full time. That way, I can spend more time at home holding down the fort, and taking care of our daughter.

As for the blog, I hope you find some useful stuff here. Any posts made BEFORE this welcome message are actually from my other blogs that I had previous to this one. This is now my official blog, and to keep from losing all of the past memories I have posted on other blogs, I just decided to migrate them, and incorporate them into this one. Feel free to read on, leave comments, share your advice or experience, but most of all - enjoy!

You can also find us on:
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TheMultiMom
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TheMultiMom
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheMultiMom
Blogger: http://themultimom.blogspot.com
Webpage: http://sites.google.com/site/themultimom
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MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/themultimom
Tumblr: http://themultimom.tumblr.com/
LiveJournal: http://themultimom.livejournal.com
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VK: http://www.vk.com/themultimom
StumbleUpon: http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/TheMultiMom
Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/TheMultiMom
Funnel: http://funnel-app.com/themultimom
Socl: http://www.so.cl/#/profile/Candice-Craft
Vine: https://vine.co/u/1043073299401334784
Keek: https://www.keek.com/profile/TheMultiMom
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/themultimom
GamerDNA: http://themultimom.gamerdna.com
DeviantArt: http://x-enigma-x.deviantart.com
KeyIngredient: http://www.keyingredient.com/members/4995618057486336
MakeupBee: https://www.makeupbee.com/user_Candice-C_3850
Skype: candice_craft (TheMultiMom)
Discord: http://discordapp.com/invite/SPspRRf

OR you can reach us at:
The Craft Family
P.O. Box 609
Perryville, MO 63775

Waiting on my Influenster Mom VoxBox & Moving Update

Well this is the second day that I haven't gotten my Mom VoxBox from Influenster. I was really hoping it would be in today, but it's probably a good thing it's not here yet since I still have packing to do. I can't wait though!!! I already saw what kinds of things will be in it, but for now I'll keep it my little secret. Of course you can always go on  youtube and see other reviews for yourself, but I'll be doing my own as soon as it comes in! And yes, I'll get the "unboxing" video up ASAP!

As for moving? Well we're almost packed up. We have until the end of the month, since rent doesn't come due again until the 1st. The kitchen and living room are about done, our room is done. Both of the bathrooms are done. The closets are emptied. Tricity's room is done. All that's left is the hallway and the laundry room! I'm so, so super excited! I just hope my mom and I can get along well during the next couple of months... lol   I know we'll do alright, but I also know how we push each other's buttons, but Tric really really wants this, and I want to get out of that trailer! Adam holds his tongue well... Me? Not so good  :-(

Adam has already taken off all of the boxes that I had done to storage. He takes them just as fast as I can pack them! And it TOTALLY amazes me how STRONG he is! A whole box of records, I kid you not - he lifted them like they were a box of feathers! I wish I had that kind of strength... He took off some of the smaller furniture, too. The big stuff will have to wait until my brother can help us with one of his friends' flatbed trucks. As for the storage unit, the thing is HUGE! We're totally going to be able to fit the swingset AND all of our boxes and furniture in there. It even has electric, lights, and a heater. One could probably live in such a space (but not us! lol).

I sure can't wait until this is all over, and we can start fresh in a new home, and we can finally have a pool and a garden. I just wish we were able to save up enough for a downpayment on BUYING a home, but since the move to my mom's is just temporary, then all we'll have enough for is the deposit and rent on a home... Ah well. I can still dream... Unless anyone would ever be willing to help me out on this? Or if we could ever win the lottery jackpot  ;-)

Until then, ta-ta for now!
*pacing in anticipation for my mom box*

Homemade Dairy Product Ideas

Whew! Sometimes I just have these "knowledge explosions" where I'll learn a bunch of stuff in the span of a few days, and I'm like - OMG! I HAVE TO DO ALL OF THIS! So once I finally get moved over to my mom's house (because right now I've just been soooo busy packing up the whole place, since my husband won't help, as his theory is - I pack, he moves), I'll probably experiment with making some of this stuff. What did I learn to make?

1. Yogurt
2. Cottage Cheese
3. Cream Cheese
4. Sour Cream

I had already learned how to make homemade butter and mozzarella. Of course I failed miserably at the mozzarella, but I think it was an issue of the kind of milk I was using. I don't know... I'll have to try it again some time when I can afford to buy a gallon of milk and waste it... Anyway, my butter was a success, and I didn't know how easy it was to make all of this other stuff, basically doing things all the same way. Cream cheese ties in with yogurt, cottage cheese ties in with mozzarella, and sour cream ties in with the butter. Wouldn't it be so awesome if I could make these successfully??? I'm definitely going to tape my experiments and then post whether they were a fail or a success.

What would be even BETTER is if I could find someplace to get raw milk to make all of this with... but I doubt that's going to happen any time soon, and I also highly doubt I'll ever get to own my own home and have dairy cows to make the milk for me... Things just never go the way I want them too... One can dream, though ;-)

That's pretty much it for this post. I've also learned a quick and easy way to make smoothies, and infused oils, but I'll get around to those when I make videos about them as well. So much I want to do, so little time...

*hugs and love!*

Dreams of a 30 Year Old

Well today is my 30th birthday! I had some dreams last night that I considered to be VERY fitting for my 30th birthday. Just a note first: I can't control my dreams. I think I've only been able to control them once, and it was a struggle to stay in control. My dreams usually just happen, and I watch them and take part of them like a movie.

1st Dream
In the first dream, we had a special guest come knocking on the door. As a birthday present, my family managed to get Michael Crawford to come visit me! He played the Phantom of the Opera in the original cast, for those who don't know. He's 70 now, which puts us at 40 years apart, but I'm still in love with the guy, just as I was when I was 16. Anyway, you can imagine how thrilled I was that he came to visit. He brought with him a special video that we were to watch together.

See - I never got to go see Phantom of the Opera live on stage. I've seen the movie, I know the original cast recording by heart, I've read the novel over and over, I watched pretty much every version of the movie that I can find, and I've basically obsessed over POTO for years and years. Now my daughter has even gotten into it, and she has re-sparked my love for it. I've just never been able to see it in person. I've had a friend buy a ticket for me to go to St. Louis and see it with her (not with Michael Crawford, though, but it was still a chance to see it live!) but I had JUST had my daughter that month, and you know as a new mother, I could NOT leave my baby! So I had to miss out. And then there was the time I could have seen it one year during High School, but I didn't get enough money raised in time for the trip, and had to miss out then, too...

So here he was, the one and only true Phantom (as far as I'm concerned) himself, standing in my home, wanting to watch this video with me. The video, of course, was the original cast recording that one of his family members had recorded back in the day, since it was never officially made into a video for the public. I offered him a seat in the recliner, and he said thank you, but that he would rather sit in the loveseat so that I could sit down next to him and enjoy the movie at his side. Can you say fangirl moment? Just wait, there's more... lol

The movie was going, and it was some part that he wasn't in... so I took the opportunity to tell him that if he wanted to put his legs up, the loveseat was reclineable, and he could just pull the lever. I also told him that if he got cold (because we like to keep the place like an icebox), that he could use the blanket that was hanging over the arm of the loveseat. Then, being very considerate, he asked if I was cold. I said that I was just a little bit, but that if he wanted to use it, he could. Then he suggested that we both used it, which was perfectly fine by me. We both reclined back, covered up, and enjoyed the movie. Best of all? I got to cuddle up to him. I'm such a dork :-D I was totally geeking out! It's funny how you could be turning 30 years old and still feel like an angsty teenager when it comes to stuff like this...

Then the movie was over, and he WAS going to go, but it was late and the weather had turned awful outside, and we didn't want to risk him having an accident, so I was going to call my brother and tell him not to worry about coming to pick him up, that he was going to stay the night, but every time I went to dial my brother's phone, the number was wrong. No matter how carefully I entered it, it kept showing up wrong. Then that was pretty much the end of that dream. (I hate when dreams get stuck like that.)

2nd Dream
My second dream took me back to a house that I always dream about once in a while. Since I can remember, I've ALWAYS dreamed about this house. It's a huge multi-story house, that has all kinds of secret rooms, filled with abandoned boxes full of neat little things that probably no one else would care about, but it's like rooms of treasure to me. And the fact that they are secret rooms with secret entrances? I LOVE it. It's always been what I considered to be MY house in my dreams. Of course as I got older, this house got older, too, and became more dilapidated over the years. So old that the bottom level was only standing up from the beams that supported the structure. Most of the 1st level walls were already crumbled... Sometimes I wondered if this was a mental manifestation of my own mind???

Anyway, as if on queue for my 30th birthday, I got to dream about this house again. However, when I went to the place where the house usually stood, my heart sank... It wasn't there... I asked the neighbors what happened to it, and they told me the house had been torn down. Torn down? OMG how HORRIBLE! That was MY house! How could a house in my own dreams have been torn down on me? What does that even MEAN?! I cried... They said that where the house was, they built a water park instead. It wasn't really a "water park" exactly, but it was a park with a bunch of toys for kids that involved water in one way or another, such as sprinklers, a table that was a sandbox on one side and a tub on the other, a slip-and-slide, and so on and so forth... It really didn't matter to me. I just walked amongst the area, crying my eyes out. I know I should have been happy for all the kids in the park, but I was devastated that my home, the home I've dreamed about since I was a child, the home in my own mind, was no more... After this, I was just so sad that I had to wake myself up...

Conclusions
I have my own ideas about what my dreams meant for my 30th birthday. I'm thinking for one, they are telling me that no matter how old I get, I am still young and full of spirit on the inside... And two, that as much as I hate it, there's some parts of my youth that I'm just going to have to let go of... At least those are the most obvious things I could get out of it. Any ideas on what the deeper meanings may be? Leave a comment! :-D And on a side note, the dreams told me that I'm still hot and bothered for Michael Crawford, no matter how old he gets, or what the age difference is! lol

And today? My husband came home at lunch and gave me a nice surprise. My mom had told him that if he came by this morning with a cake mix and some frosting, that she would make me a birthday cake, and he could just bring it by after work to surprise me with. Instead, he didn't want her to have to do any work, so he went by our local bakery, Hoeckele's Bakery & Deli, and swung by the house to drop off my cake! I was so touched, I had to go on facebook and brag. And then get on here and brag. lol

Here it is... So Happy Birthday to Meeeee!

Tags

Tags

Busy Bee

WOW, I've been so busy non-stop for the past month! I seriously wanted to get more videos up on YouTube, but I haven't had time to edit much of anything. I HAVE plenty that need to be edited and uploaded, but I just haven't had the time to do them... At least I have been able to film things as they happen, though, so when it comes time to edit them, I'll have plenty to share! I figured if I couldn't make a video right now, I could at least make an update here. See? That's why it's important to follow my blog, as well as my YouTube.

Anyway, as with most schools, May was the end of the school year. Being a volunteering mom, I went every day during the last week of school, and we've also had Kindergarten graduation that I was busy helping with, by making 170 props for the children, and our daughter also made it into Pirates to be Proud Of, so there was the ceremony to go to, and she achieved her heart medal for advanced reading, so I was at school to tape that... And there was the field trip to Grant's Farm... and the day at the park... and field day at school... and the 8th grade marble roller coaster thing... and after all that, when school was FINALLY over? I had to bust my butt to get Tricity's birthday stuff done. I had invited all of her classmates and all of our other friends and family, so I assumed we would have, at the most, 30 kids... Therefore, I had to make 30 party favors each, 30 gift bags, etc, etc, etc in 30's... Did that many show? Well that's a story for another time.

We had the birthday party yesterday, which I almost typed today because it's still Saturday for me until I get off of work, go home, and sleep... Now that the party is over? I'll be busy trying to get things cleaned up, packed away, and then we'll be moving. For now, we're going to bum off of some family until we can save up enough money for the deposit and first month's rent on a house... Or if we're lucky- maybe save up enough for a downpayment on buying a house? Oh what a dream come true that would be! I doubt it would happen, but let's see how it goes...

In other news, I shall be getting a JCPenny Beauty Bag, and possibly even a Influenster VoxBox (it SAYS I've qualified for the Mom box!) in the mail soon, so when I do those videos, hopefully I'll be in my new location by then ;-) They'll be my first unboxing videos! And I plan on starting haul videos, too :-D I'm so excited about what I have planned for my channel, if only I can get my butt in gear and get the videos done.

Other than that, that's about all I can think to tell you guys for now. I hope everyone is doing well, and I hope one of these days I'll get some followers and subscribers :-\ I kind of feel like I'm talking to air, even though I like to imagine there's people like me geeking out to my stuff like I do to everyone else I follow on YouTube. At least I know people visit my page... Mostly about Dermographism... Ah well. I'll just keep putting stuff up (slowly but surely), and SOMEone is bound to like it, right? :-)

Easter Basket Cupcakes

This is my video/tutorial on how to make Easter Basket Cupcakes. I merely followed the instructions on the cake mix (I chose a confetti flavor) to bake my cupcakes, hollowed them out, coated them with frosting, added the grass (green colored coconut), added the eggs (jellybeans), and the handle (licorice sticks). Nice and easy! Everything was edible except the cupcake wrappers. I made these for our family's 2012 Easter get-together, and they were a big hit. Enjoy!

 

(THIS VIDEO IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE)

Here are some pictures from the video:

Here's the cake mix I used. You can use absolutely whatever flavor you want, but these ere originally going to be for a bunch of kids, so I used the Party Rainbow Chip flavor for the fun of it. Plus, it had box tops, which I always donate to the school. For me, that's a BIG plus :-D

The instructions were easy. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and like the box says - just add 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, and 3 eggs. Mix it all up, set up your cupcake trays and papers (if you want to use them, which I do because it's less messy and easier to manage the cupcakes since you'll have to cover them in frosting), and then pour.

Usually when I make regular cupcakes, I like like pile on the frosting, so I'll only fill the cups to about 1/2 of the way, or 2/3 if I'm adding chocolate chips (which I do to my chocolate cupcakes). However, since I need these cupcakes to be deep and rounded, I filled them pretty much completely to the top so they'll puff up and have enough space to hollow them out.

Because I added so much batter to the cups, this recipe (1 box) only made 12 cupcakes. The directions say that for 24 cupcakes that are 2/3 full, bake for 15 to 20 minutes. With there being so much batter per cupcake, I baked for the full 20 minutes, and they came out PERFECTLY! They were nicely puffed up, and a beautiful golden color.

Then after they cooled off, I took a knife and cut a circle shape into them, and popped out the centers with a spoon. Try not to cut or dig all the way to the bottom. Leave enough space between the bottom and the sides to make a basket shape. All you need is enough space for the coconut grass and some jelly beans.

 Here's the picture where I showed that I had cupcake papers on mine, so I wouldn't need to frost the bottoms of the cupcakes, making them easier to handle, and less time-consuming to decorate. I'm sure other people will be more crafty, though, and go all out, even as to make it look like basket weaving on the cupcakes. If you do, please feel free to comment and show me! I'd love to see these done better than mine  :-D  Frost the tops and the sides of the cupcake that are exposed. I chose white, since this was just a nice and simple design.

Put some coconut into a bowl and use green food coloring to make it look like grass. I just squirted between 5 to 10 drops (whatever you prefer) and then start mixing until the color blends nicely.

Here's what my grass looked like when I was done mixing. Then I put a spoon of the coconut into the hollows of each cupcake. Try not to cover the basket with grass. A little bit here and there should be okay, but too much would cover up your basket top and make it less realistic.

Then I took some jellybeans and laid them on top of the grass. I chose sweet tarts jelly beans, because I assumed we were going to be giving these to Tricity's classmates, but she was sick that whole week... Try to arrange the eggs (jellybeans) so that there's not two of the same colors touching. You want them to be very colorful.

Take long sticks of licorice (I chose red Twizzlers because hardly anyone I know likes black licorice) and cut them with scissors right down the middle. They should now have the decorated edge on the outside, and a hollow part on the inside. Make sure the decorative edge is facing out, and stick them into the sides of your cupcakes like handles, making sure not to dig into the sides of your cupcake papers, and push them down far enough that they don't pop back out of the cupcake.

When you're done, if you did them my way, they should look like this! Very cute! Please tell me what you think, and if you do them better than I did, please share pictures or a video with me so I can get better ideas on how to do my own  :-)

Thanks for watching and checking out my blog!

You and I by Lady Gaga (Cover)

This really isn't anything to blog about, but seeing how this blog (and my YouTube) are all about my eclectic interests, here is just a karaoke song I did of You and I by Lady Gaga. I know it's not that good of quality, and I'm off on some spots, and the lyrics may not be all that right... but I wanted to give it a shot. (It would probably be better if I had my old software working again, but with new computers and new software, comes the extinction of older software that is no longer compatible.) I don't like to watch myself sing since I'm my own worst critic, so it's just me and the lyrics. Anyway... Enjoy!

(THIS VIDEO IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE)