It's Puzzling

One of the other cool gifts I got for my birthday was this puzzle.
Isaac asked all week if we could do it, and I told him on Sunday we would.
First thing he said on Sunday was, "Let's do the puzzle!"

And so we did.

It was 550 pieces and took us about 2 hours.
Not bad.
Isaac was a little frustrated at the end but so excited when he put that last piece in!
Yeah!

Garage Saling

Last weekend Chad and I had a date night. 
This means that all of the kids went to spend the night with the Grandpas.
The house is so quiet!

Anyhow, Saturday morning our neighborhood and the one next to us were having their spring garage sales.
The whole neighborhoods.
We busted out the old bikes and went riding.

We started at 7:30am and got home at 11:30am with only one unloading stop.
My bike has a little platform thing on the back to carry things, so we used one of our reusable grocery bags and tied it up when it got full.

Then at one of the garage sales (after unloading), we bought a crate and square bucket for $.50.
That helped haul more.
Here's our load . . .

That orange crate is FULL of boys clothes.
Total of all that boys clothes: $2.
They basically gave it away.
Some of it is a size or two bigger, but a good lot of it will fit Isaac now.
Yes!
The Star Wars backpack was only $1, as were the Cadoo game and Lego Island computer game.
And Olivia has a birthday gift in there (but I can't tell you what it is because she might read this!).  It was only $2 and the score of the day.
Most of the books were $.10 with some at $.25 and a few at $.50.

A close up of all the books . . .

Lots of Magic Treehouse, some classics, some other various ones.
We also found (for free) an anatomy coloring book.
And it's really detailed.  It's one of the thick books on the bottom left stack.
Very cool.

Grand total we only spent about $25. 
If all this were retail it would be way over $200.
I love garage sales!

Happy Birthday, Jes!

Today is my future sister-in-law's birthday.
She is turning 25 today.
In 6 months and 2 days, she will be marrying my brother.
I cannot wait!
I will finally get the sister I've always wanted.
She is so awesome!



Happy Birthday, Jes! We love you!

Crazy Girl

Olivia has been cracking me up lately.
She's eight -- almost nine -- and I don't know if it's her age or just her, but she's been doing some crazy things.

I already showed you her sleeping in the bathtub and the Scientist at Work sign on her door, but there's more.

I found a notebook the other day which belongs to Miss O.
Don't worry, it's not her diary, just a random notebook.
So, I flipped through it and found . . .

My favorite part is where she says, "I don't think I should be in the poison stage, but I'm going to do it."
That's very Olivia.

And also . . .
Last weekend she went to a Halloween themed birthday party for her best friend.
She had a blast and dressed up in my old cheerleading skirt from when I was 4 or 5.
She looked awesome!

After the party she came home with some goodies.
One of those was a water balloon which she was calling her "baby".
OK . . .
But on the way home, it rolled off her lap and popped on the van floor.
Nice.
And she bawled.  And wouldn't get out of the van.  For like an hour.
The next day, I found this taped to her wall . . .

And that night, she was asleep like this . . .

This girl . . .
make me so happy!

Birthday Goodness

Last Tuesday was my birthday.

I believe that birthdays are days to celebrate you, and it's the one day you get to be a little selfish.
So, my whole day was planned around baking my cake.
I always bake my own cake.
You see, there was an incident six years ago involving Chad, a cake mix, and some melted candles, so he can no longer be in charge of the cake.
Plus, as I've mentioned before -- I love baking!
This year the cake of choice was a Devil's Food Cake -- with bonus chocolate chips.

I also made my own frosting.
Don't worry, you'll get the recipes!
But first you're going to have to see some pictures of my kids decorating the cake.
That's the one thing I allow someone else to do.
Plus, the kids think it's fun.
You'll notice Ezren is missing from the decorating extraveganza.
This is because he was sick and slept from about 5:pm until 7:am the next morning.
Poor guy.

Isn't that a most beautiful cake?!
Good thing I cut the sugar in both the cake and the frosting!
I also received (among other things) a super cool, handmade thread and bobbin holder.

I've been asking for Chad to make me one (the ones at the store are incredibly expensive) for a looooong time.
Now, finally, it is mine.

Overall, this was a really good birthday.
Good food (it was also pizza and Voyager night!), delicious cake, and tons of laughs.
I literally smiled all day.
Awesome.

Devil's Food Cake

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter or margerine
2 eggsm lightly beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 - 1/2 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup baking cocoa
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Direcions
•In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil.
•Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
•Remove boiling water from heat and stir in sugar, butter, and yogurt until butter is melted.
•Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.
•Add dry ingredient mixture to butter mixture and mix thoroughly.
•Pour into three 9" pans (takes about 2 cups per pan)
•Bake at 350*F for 20-25 minutes.


Buttercream Frosting (adapted from a Wilton's cake decorating book)

Ingredients
1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp. clear vanilla (or reg. vanilla, it's just a color thing)
1/2 tsp. almond extract
6 cups confectioner's sugar
Approx. 1 Tbsp. milk

Directions
•Cream butter and shortening
•Add vanilla and almond extracts
•Gradually add the sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on med. speed
•Add the milk to get your desired consistency.

***Note:  When the frosting gets a little dry (about halfway into adding the sugar), that's when I'll add some milk.  Keeps my beaters happy and keeps the sugar from flying around too much!

Just Say It

I've been thinking about this post for a while and wasn't exactly sure how to put into words what I wanted to convey.

The song by John Mayer called Say (What You Need to Say) -- you know the one that's in all those sappy Hallmark commercials now -- this song has touched me.
More than any other artist, I relate to his music.  His lyrics reach me, and I seem to understand them.  This song, this line in particular.

"Better to say too much than never to say what you need to say."

How true that is!
Shouldn't we all be saying a lot more?
Shouldn't we be saying how we feel and what we mean instead of dancing around issues?
And I'm not talking major world issues like war and starvation and the environment.
I'm talking about the issues we all have with the ones we love, the people we want to have in our lives.

For instance, isn't it wonderful when you talk to an old friend with whom you haven't spoken in years?
It's as if you had never stopped talking. 
Like the gap in time between your conversations was suddenly nonexistent.
But it's also like walking into Wal-Mart.
I know whenever I go to that store (and I try my best not to because it sucks the life out of me), I may have a list in my head, or even on paper, but the moment I'm through the doors, *poof*, it's gone.
Plucked right from my head.
When you talk to that old friend, do you ever say how much you missed them?
How much your conversations in the past meant to you?
How much they, as a person, mean to you?
How glad you are to be in their life?  in their heart?
How much you hope the conversations never cease again?
Yeah, me either.
It's always the "Hi.  How are you?  How are the kids? job? home?  Me, I'm fine.  Same as always."
More talk about trivial things.

Maybe I'm a big sap.
I like to talk about feelings too much (been accused of that many, many times).
But shouldn't we all be talking about how we feel?
Talking about our love and admiration for each other?
We never know when our life or someone we love's life will be over.
Will we have said everything we need to say?
Isn't it better to say too much, than never to say what you need to say?

Future Scientist

Olivia keeps telling us that she's going to be a scientist when she grows up.
The other day she tried to build a dam in the bathtub with all the clean towels.
She makes many a mess in her attempts at experimentation.
Most of which are OK.

And just for proof, I found this hanging on her door.

I love that girl!

The Kind of Mom I Am

Someone asked me the other day, "So, what kind of mom are you?"
I wasn't exactly sure how to respond.
What kind of mom am I?
How does one really define themselves as a mom?
So, I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it some more.

I am the kind of mom who lets her six year old wear a mohawk to school for a week.  Not because he's into heavy metal rock, but just because he thinks it's fun.

I am the type of mom who allows her eight year old to sleep in the bathtub because it's not worth the fight, and because I'm pretty sure she'll learn her lesson when her body is aching the next morning.



I am the type of mom who:
• lets the four year old (or any age, really) run around naked all day.
• lets the kids jump off of furniture.
• lets the kids dance on top of tables.
• hangs educational paraphernalia all over the living room walls because should the moment arise to discuss negative numbers, infinity, German color words, the periodic table, world locations, state capitals, how to spell certain words, I want to be prepared, and I want the children to be able to find the information any time they want.
• allows the kids experiences of falling down and getting hurt or failing and subsequently learning from that.
• allows the children to draw and color to their hearts content,
• and who also allows them to hang their artwork anywhere they so desire.
• sings (really badly) to them every night, even when sick or exhausted or both.
• plays music really loud and lets it all hang out by dancing around the living room with (or without) the kids.
• is not afraid to say, "I'm sorry, I was wrong," when it's deserved or even just when it's needed.
• gives kisses openly and freely.
• hugs and snuggles with such wholeheartedness that the kids may have a tough time breathing.
• who loves them completely, unconditionally, to infinity and beyond.

That's not to say, I'm always a good mom.
Sometimes I:
• yell too much.
• slam a door or a cabinet or push a chair too hard into the table when frustrated or angry.
• lose my cool in a public place.
• don't keep a tidy house even when I know an uncluttered house leads to an uncluttered mind.
• push the math thing a little too hard.
• spend too much time on the computer.
• don't read to them everyday.
• am selfish and won't let the kids listen to the music of their choice.
• don't play with the kids as often as they (or I) would like.
• am kind of a control freak -- especially when it comes to baking or sewing.

So, there you go.
That's me with all my blatant imperfections.
And even with all those imperfections, I guarantee my kids know every single day how much I love them and how absolutely honored I am to be allowed to be their mom.

December 2006

Lego Games by the Kids

Ever since Isaac first learned of the new games from Lego, he's been creating his own.
Isn't it awesome how a little spark can ignite the imagination in a child?
He creates games, makes the instructions, puts them in a bag, and has us all play with him.

Because you can never see too many pictures of my kids playing with Legos . . .

You Can Stick It

I made myself some new pincushions.

My stuffed tomato was looking a bit raggedy, so I hopped online to find a great tutorial to make myself one.

This one looked promising (and easy), so I tried it.

And what do you know?  It was easy!
I just took two scrap pieces of fabric that were lying about and cut two 4" circles.
Sew, stuff, close.  Embroidery thread.  Voila!
Grand total, it probably took 15 minutes to make one of them.
They look really cute and make me want to sew more than I already do.
Is that really possible?
Go make yourself some.  You'll be glad you did.

Orange Yogurt Bread

I love baking!
I mean, I really love baking.
I wish I liked to cook just half as much as I like to bake.

The other day I was reading her blog (I like reading it because she has great recipes and also loves to bake!), and she happened to mention Orange Yogurt Bread. 
Doesn't that just sound yummy?  And springtimey?
So I searched and searched and searched in her recipes trying to find it.
No such luck.
In the end, Google held the answer (it always does, doesn't it?).
Found the recipe here (amazing site from which I will most likely snag some more delicious things to make).



Dear goodness!
This is awesome.
No, whatever word is beyond awesome, that's what it is.
On his first bite, Chad said, "Wow.  This is really good."
He's not usually one to say anything, so it was really nice to hear that.
Then on his second bite, he said, "Mmmmm . . . this is sooo good."
Smile.
Yep.  This is a recipe to keep.
You should make it.  And if you do, let me know how it turns out and how much you and your family love it too!
It's very light, not too orangey, not too sweet.  A perfect springtime treat! (ooo . . . and a rhyme!)
I didn't follow the recipe exactly, but certainly didn't change much.
Here's what we did:

Orange Yogurt Bread

Ingredients:

2/3 cups butter softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp. grated orange peel
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 flax meal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Glaze:
1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2-3 tsp. orange juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add yogurt, orange juice, and peel.  Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Pour into a greased 9" x 5" x 3" loaf pan.
Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
*Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly.
Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

Glaze:
Combine confectioners' sugar and engouh orange juice to achieve desired consistency.  Drizzle over cooled bread.
Sprinkle with little bits of orange peel (just for looks and fun!).

Plantings

It's finally time.

Time to get the garden ready for growing.

We have the seeds, the dirt, the desire.

While Chad was getting everything ready, Olivia and Ezren found a rolly poly. 

Then we got to the gardening.
Ezren helped a little.
Olivia helped a little more.
Isaac didn't help at all -- he stayed inside "designing more sets for Lego."

The sad looking tomatoes in this picture were planted and have since perked up (much to the surprise of everyone).

We've got a pretty good garden going so far this year:
Corn
Tomatoes
Carrots
Green Beans
Onions
Cucumber
Green and Red Peppers
Blueberries

We're also trying some canteloupe and watermellon and a few different herbs elsewhere.  Those aren't protected from the squirrels and rabbits though, so who knows how they will turn out.
Let's hope for perfect growing weather -- rain and sun!

Yellow Gold

This has been a really bad year for pollen.

We moved here in March 2004 from Kansas.
I had always heard reports from the weather guys about "pollen count" and how it was up or down for whatever particular year.
We couldn't see pollen in Kansas, so I never gave it much thought.

So different it is here!
That first year we were a little bit concerned with the yellow stuff all over our car.
Someone at Chad's work finally told him what it was.
And every year in April we get a nice dusting of pollen.
This year seems to be particularly nasty.
The pollen is everywhere, coating everything.
Take a step in the grass, and you'll get a little poof of yellow all over your feet.
You can see the pollen covering the streets and sidewalks.
The air has a yellow haze to it.
And if you stop and pay attention, you can see the fine pollen particles flying though the air.
With the windows rolled up, I still have a dusting in my car.
Inside my car.  On the dashboard.  All over the clock.  The doors, the seats, everywhere.
I wiped it down once and then it was back again a few hours later.
Gross.

Thank goodness it only lasts about two weeks and we're heading into the end of that time span.
And thank goodness no one in my family has allergies!

Vintage Goodies from Etsy

I love Etsy.

I love vintage goodies.

Here are a few things I found.

Oh, do I have a some books that these pups could wrangle . . . 

I would look snazzy in these and my poodle skirt . . .

Any man in these wins my heart . . .

If I'd known you were coming, I'd have baked a cake -- and put it on this stand . . .

This would make any girl feel classy . . .

Orange is my favorite color -- hang this in a frame on any wall in my house . . .

Way Too Early on Easter Morning

Easter started waaaay too early.
At 3:00AM Olivia decided to get up and sneak around a bit.
I woke up, heard her, and had to get up to walk her back to bed.
Then I heard thumping upstairs.
Walked up to check out what was going on -- Olivia and Isaac (all the kids were having a sleepover with each other in Isaac's room) were whooping and hollering about how the Easter Bunny had visited already.
Needless to say, I was not happy or in the mood to hear about the Easter Bunny at 3:AM. 
They finally settled down, but at 4:30AM, Noobie (our Siamese) decides to go up and start meowing at the kids' door.
If you've ever heard a Siamese meow, you'll understand it's not really a meow, is it.
It's more of a death threat.
"If someone does not help me, I will hunt you down and claw your eyes out!"
He did this twice, and after I threatened to crate him (he just looked at me like, "Yeah, right."), he finally stopped.
The kids all woke up at 6:00AM. 
Really?  Is it really necessary to wake up so early?
Apparently so.

The had all written a letter (Isaac, Olivia) or drawn a picture (Ezren) for the Easter Bunny.
And the Easter Bunny wrote back!

Here is what Isaac's says (EB response in blue):
Dear Easter Bunny,
Q:  Are you a person who likes carotts?
Fill in the ansure here!
A:  I am an Easter Bunny who likes carrots (a lot)!

Here is what Olivia's says (EB response in pink):
Dear Easter Bunny,
How much mony do you have?  lots
Do you have any children? lots
You know I ♥ Easter!!!
Love,
Olivia

Isaac thought the responses were pretty cool.
The picture looks like he's confused, but I promise he's not.
Remember, it's 6:AM.

Then it was a free for all searching for eggs.
We set out the eggs for the Easter Bunny to fill and hide and counted them before bed.
Somehow, we ended up three short.
Hopefully we find them soon.

Isaac didn't do very much searching because he kept running back to his basket to look at the Lego set the Easter Bunny brought.

More Easter shots of the goodies they got in their baskets:

After all the Easter hoopla was over, we went out and tended to the garden, watering and weeding.
And pulled out some seriously overgrown weeds in the front yard.
All before 10:00AM.
Didn't get a picture of it somehow, but Olivia received the Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix movie.
And since we had all had very little sleep, we vegged out after lunch and watched it.

Happy Easter!