Addictions

Things I can't live without, or at least don't want to.



pledge wipes, mulit-surface, one pack cleans everywhere. cocker spaniel, tex. anything monogrammed, seriously. anything. hubby. fishy kisses, especially fishy kisses from my little man. music, pandora music. seriously, why did it take so long to invent that? popcorn, light butter popcorn with plain m&ms. anything smocked. instagram. freedom. old american flags. garden and gun magazine. hecho en mexico coke, the real thing. guilty pleasure tv shows. lucky boots, worn so much my daughter asked if I own any other shoes. carmex. lip gloss that makes me look 10 years younger, ok at least 5 years younger. clinique tenderheart, worn since I was 16. pepsi throwback. garlic chicken pizza, lean cuisine. brown cow yogurt. pink peonies. facebook. slatkin & co. candles. front porches. books by phillip gulley. clorox wipes. target. there. every. day. salty air. sand between my toes. food processor. iphone. old maps. charleston. tisdale wine 3 for $10.

yep. that's about it. for now.

oh yea, and blogging. kind of getting addicted to that too.

ok, so what are yours?

Happy 5th To My Little Snow Princess

Last month, we were able to celebrate our "baby" girl turning 5. She requested a "ice princess" party. With her birthday one week before Christmas, I gave myself a break this year and did the whole "book it" thing instead of trying to handle it all myself. We booked the Ice Skating Rink, they gave the kiddos lessons, pizza, drinks, and cake was all provided...along with a helper who even wrote down the "who gave what" list for us. It was awesome. I have to admit I've always been reluctant to book a party like this. I've always felt it's not as personal and have preferred to do all the little details myself. Ehhh, I'm over it. She had a blast and I hardly lifted a finger. Enjoy the pics!

The kids had a 30 minute lesson from the rink staff...which was great since most have never skated before. I kept the party small at 8 kiddos. Big bro was happy to have 30 minutes to himself to practice his speed laps. Both of my kids are wild on ice skates!

At this age, it's all about barbies, squinkies, babies and jewelry for this girly girl!

Happy Birthday big girl....now STOP GROWING UP!!!

The Gift of A Child

Just when I think I'm over the hump and feeling better, excited even, about this upcoming school year, I see this...

Dear God, I thank You for the gift of this child to raise, this life to share, this mind to help mold, this body to nurture, and this spirit to enrich. Let me never betray this child's trust, dampen this child's hope, or discourage this child's dreams. Help me, dear God, to help this precious child become all you mean him to be. Let your grace and love fall on him like gentle breezes and give him inner strength and peace and patience for the journey ahead.
Amen.

This was handed out to parents last night at our back to school meeting. All faculty, staff and parents in attendance read this prayer together before meeting the teachers and visiting the classrooms. I barely made it through it without choking up. Thank goodness my 4 year was misbehaving just enough to keep me a little distracted.

For the second year, we have the honor and privilege of sending our children to a private Catholic school where the staff believes in not only nurturing the mind, but also the soul. I am not saying that we will always be able to do so, or that we necessarily think our children are getting a "better" education. I am not saying Catholic and/or private schools are the only schools that have teachers that wholeheartedly believe the soul is as important as the mind. We've also been a part of wonderful public schools and know better.

But, I am saying that there is something to be said about an entire community believing and stating in unison that their children are important, should feel hope more than discouragement, trust more than despair, and through grace and love should be allowed to flourish into exactly what they are meant to be.

True to my baptist roots, and again I say, AMEN!

As promised...

Celery Art! My daughter and I recently tried some vegetable stamping. I've seen TV shows and craft magazines that show how to make stamp art using potatoes and apples, so I was inspired the other day when I starting cutting celery sticks for lunch. It was a brand new bunch of celery, and as I sliced right through, I noticed how what I was left with looked like a rose....or at least like some kind of flower. Needing something to do to occupy a 4 year old, I decided we would paint after lunch. So we had our healthy lunch, and grabbed a couple of supplies.

Here's what we needed:
construction paper
acrylic paints
paper plates and/or plastic trays
smock
do-a-dot stampers
celery stamp
paper towels

And here's how we did it...After covering up with a smock, we started to get messy. We put a little acrylic paint (2-3 colors) in a plastic tray. Then, we started "stamping" the celery down into the paint, rotating it to get several colors blending together on the bottom. Then, we dabbed it once onto paper towel to remove excess paint. My daughter then used to the do-a-dot stampers to mark the center of the flower. This became her "target" for where to stamp with the celery. Then, we did this over and over and over and over!

She loved it!! And I thought it was pretty fun too. When we had over-used it too much and were getting globby flowers, we just sliced through the celery again for a fresh stamp. I think this would make a great girly wrapping paper, fun greeting cards, or a colorful mat for a photo. When I get around to giving those ideas a try, I'll post.

Until then, enjoy this
(horrible) picture (taken with an iPhone)
of the celery stamping we did.

Back in the Saddle

Finally, I'm back at it. It's embarrassing how long it's been since my last post. My iphone notepad is full of "blog ideas" that I jot down while I'm out and about with my kiddos...literally pages of ideas that I plan to blog about as soon as I get back home and sit down at the computer. Several times, I've even snapped a few pics for the blog as well. Then, they float around out there in digital space...never making it to their final destination. Such is life lately - busy busy busy! Mike's photo business has been picking up, which means every spare moment I've had, I've been editing photos lately. I easily have 3 sessions now I should be working on, not to mention getting his blog site up and running...as well as learning photoshop templates. BUT...the hubby got home early(er) from work today, and the kids were standing by the door... ball, bat, glove and bubbles (daughter) in hand, expecting him to walk them up to the ballpark for a quick game. What a great dad - he walked right in changed his clothes - and took them right up. Of course, we're only closing on our TX house, with 1000's of little "to-do's" going on there...scheduling "research" appointments in SC with Realtors and corporate recruiters (whole other blog story) for the end of the month, as well as trying to find time to go over all of our finances and see where we're at now that the TX house is (almost) sold....and still house-hunting a bit. Like I said, BUSY! But...he walked them right out the door, ditched the homework, and left me standing here wondering what to do?! I knew immediately I SHOULD be working on the photo business, SHOULD be getting things together for my son's 1st Communion this Saturday, SHOULD be finishing the laundry, and I SHOULD be vacuuming, but I DI'N WANNA! So, I grabbed a glass of wine and sat my butt down at the computer to type a spell. And I've given myself the liberty to post about a couple of the fun little projects we've done lately for school....even though we did most of them 2 months ago! Maybe I can get some Easter things posted by Christmas? I have a blast doing these types of things for my kids and their friends at school, but I'm going to have to be careful in the future. I just had a call on the answering machine today that I've been nominated for a PTO position....because, really....I did something else to do to keep me busy! BTW, I declined. Besides, if I take on too many responsibilities, when am I going to have time to sit down with my kids and actually do any of these fun things??

Speaking of my kids......they're BAAAaaaccccckkkkk! And in prime screaming/fighting/kicking/pitching a fit mode. So, I'll put on my referee hat before they hurt each other. Until next time, enjoy trying these fun things with your own kiddos!

Thumbprint Note Cards

This image is from the familyfun.com website, and for once...our project actually came out looking just like this!

These are just so much fun that my kiddos and I are going do more of these. We had purchased the Ed Emberly ginormous idea book of thumbprint art last summer (maybe two summers ago now? Can't remember...time flies by way too fast). Anywho.....we had only done it once or twice, and I already had the supplies, so when I saw it as a teacher gift idea online, I knew this is what we would make for teacher appreciation gifts this year. I had it made because my 4 yr old loved sticking her fingers in the ink (the neat freak in me standing right beside her with wet wipes trying to calm myself when she would double dip into the colors). My 8 yr old was great with the sharpies (he should be, he had lots of practice coloring all over his crib, toy chest and nursery carpet when he was only two)! He filled in all the lines to make the thumbprint animals "come to life". After he'd done 1 or two and got bored with the project, I ended up finishing them later that night in front of the TV - didn't mind...it was kinda' fun. When they're all done, tie 'em up with a pretty (grosgrain) ribbon and stick them in a baggie with an apple and "wha-la" instant gift! We ended up making a few extra sets for Mother's Day gifts and for the kids to have their own personal stationary. A box of 100 cards & envelopes at Target is all we needed...and at only 10 bucks - it definitely suited our budget!

Pot of Gold

Fruit Rainbow

Got kudos from the school nurse for these - these two snacks I provided for the parties were a huge hit because they met all the nutritional requirements that the school recommended. Not only are there huge allergy issues and concerns in my son's class/school (my son included), so much junk food comes into the school almost every single day. Honestly, how many cupcakes, cakes and cookies can anybody eat before getting sick of them? So after seeing these cute ideas in an issue of Family Fun magazine at the Dr.'s office (while at the 4 hour allergy appointment), I googled it when I got home & had a blast making them. This may shock some, but I'm not much on following the recipes, directions, or rules...so I just looked at the pictures and did my own thing. For example... for the fruit, I used canned mandarin oranges (which my kids love) instead of cantaloupe, bananas instead of pineapple, etc. (which can be an allergy link for nut allergy kids? who knew?) For the jello "pot of gold", again...I think the directions called for pineapple flavor, but I chose lemon. I also chose clear plastic cups instead of sitting there scooping out 12 limes (too wasteful and expensive for my taste). It took about 8 boxes for a class of 24 because I just made the "jello jigglers" recipe on the side of the box. They came out nice and thick, easy to cut into squares, and held their shape nicely. However, I should have taken a picture of the refrigerator full of casserole dishes with jello in them - stacked top to bottom for 24 hours - hilarious to me...not so much for anyone else trying to get to the food behind all that jello! The craziness of these projects I take on if part of the fun for me, but for those of you who want to give these ideas a try, and prefer to cross every "t" and dot every "i", check them out on familyfun.com!

Lucky Charms Poem

A little bit of luck goes a long way!

When my son started 1st grade, his wonderful teacher sent each child home with a snack bag full of lucky charms. Stapled to the bag was the cutest little poem that of course just made me tear up reading it. He came home with such a huge grin on his face, his little ego had been boosted for the day, all because his teacher took the time to show the kiddos that she cared! It could have also been the sugar high, being as I'd never allowed Lucky Charms in the house before that day, but I'd prefer to think it was the former. Of course, after he realized what he had been missing, Lucky Charms became a staple in our cereal pantry. This year, for my kiddos' St. Patty celebrations, I decided to make the bags and send them in for the party favors. They turned out rather cute, got lots of compliments, and if you ever want to make them for any occasion - here's the poem...you can always adapt it for first day of school, last day of school, preschool graduation, etc...just by changing the wording a little bit. You can also do google search and come up with some ideas.

Next Up: A rose petal painting craft made out of celery stalks!

The Way I Roll

This month, I've done nothing but juggle. I feel like every day is full to the brim. Not only with the basic needs of feeding, dressing and caring for the kids, but also baking, cooking, cleaning, putting away laundry, driving the shuttle bus. There always seems to be soooo much to do, and so very little time! Of course, now my husband is essentially working 3 jobs. I know, I just consider that blessed - we've gone from jobless 2 months ago to balancing 3. The 3rd being launching his photography website. I have so throughly enjoyed helping him with that. I love editing, posting, uploading all the pics -who knew? Who knew Mike was so creative as well? I guess when you have a little time in life to find peace (or be jobless) you gravitate towards your natural interests. With a little effort and a lot of hard work, a little "passion" can turn into something great! So, we juggle, and we keep a lot of things up in the there at all times. But, I've come to realize, that's just the way I roll - and I really like things that way!

Something New

So today's post is not going to be inspirational or even very interesting. But, considering it's been over a month since my last post, I really thought I should get back up on the horse. Things have just been crazy! We finished out the last of summer, travelling a little bit more. We went up to Philadelphia to stay with friends - lots of fun! Definitely something I'll have to elaborate more on - and post some pics of. That is, when I get control of my laptop back. Currently, Mike and I are sharing one...and a car. He started some new work about 2 weeks ago and takes the laptop to work everyday. Considering I only get two days a week, 3 hours each day (while both kids are at school) to get everything I want to do "done", it's been a challenge. Not to mention the 2 weeks of 103 fevers and asthma attacks I've been nursing. Such is life, I guess. Meanwhile, Mike's photography skills are really taking off. He's been snapping away, then I edit, post, makes books, etc. Loving do that - so much fun! Again, something I'll have to post more of. I think soon he'll have his own .com up and running - really looking forward to that!
Ok - I'm back on the horse! So, I must move on....off to shower, grocery shop, clean the house, get the laundry done before practice, make a few crafty things with only 2 and 1/2 hours left to do so. Oh! And Grampie needs his computer back anyway. Did I also mention I'm living with my in-laws???

First Off...

First off, let me just say...I never thought blogging would be my thing. Then again, I did grow up watching Doogie Howser, M.D. I always liked the end the best - something magical about watching those letters type across a computer screen. My life has not been nearly as accomplished as that young over-achiever (circa 1989, played by Neil Patrick Harris, for those of you too young to know). But, it's been pretty interesting all the same. I often feel like I've lived many lives. And in a way, I have. I count that I've seen 38 of the 50 states, no telling how many cities, a couple of places overseas, and I've lived in 7 different states since 1999. And no...we are not in the military. After so many moves, so many friends, so many states, and a couple of prompts (okay, one) to start blogging; I finally decided I would give it a shot. It's going to be pretty embarrassing when nobody follows it. I guess I've just been feeling a little nostalgic lately. Last year, I turned 3o. Last week, my youngest child gave up pacifiers and graduated from the crib to a big girl bed. This year, my husband and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Next year, we'll watch our son receive his first communion. In 2 days, I pack up the last box in the house, put suitcases in the car, and head to the airport one last time. I guess what I'm trying to say is...life goes by pretty quickly. It may have taken a while, but we have finally decided that Dorothy was right. There really is no place like home.