squeezing joy

As this year is coming to a close, I realize how much time I have wasted having pity parties for myself (mostly just in my head, but for those few friends who I have vented on, THANK YOU, you saved me from insanity)! While not all the problems in my life were cause by my personal decisions, some were, and I hope to remember and learn from those choices because I can't change the past. However, I can choose how my heart will react and I can choose to be joyful, I can teach my children to be joyful in all things. In the last few months I have been reminded (several times) of the hardships and joys that Job faced in his life, it always puts my life in perspective, so thanks Lord, thanks for making Job's life a little crappy too at times. For now I'm going to squeeze every bit of joy out of life that I can. I'm going to keep my eyes focus on God's future blessings and try to remember that this moment in time may be a blessing in disguise. I'm going to embrace my family, relish in my children's innocence, and savor every sweet memory.

JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME!

Baby it's cold outside

Baby it's cold outside,,,,and apparently INSIDE too!

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer PARTY!

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer was on TV last night. I loved watching it when I was a child and wanted the same thing for my kiddos. So, I made a party of the whole thing. We wore Christmas PJ's, made Hot Cocoa Ice cream sundae's, and snuggled on the couch. Oh I was in heaven!

Sorry for all the extra photos, tis the season!

Single or Alligator

I have been cooking a lot lately, which means I have have been doing massive amounts of dishes. When I took my wedding ring off to roll out some dough the other day, this is what I found. My finger was red and dried out. OUCH! It hurts every time I put water on it. I haven't been wearing my rings for 3 days, my finger still doesn't feel better and now I just feel naked. I think I would prefer to be in public naked with my rings, errr umm maybe not. I'm not sure if God wants me to be single or just part alligator.

Harry walks!

Harry Walks! At 16months old, it's about time!

Warm up your Winter

I recently wanted to try my hand at making a cute Coffee Cup Cuff. It was so easy, and turned out perfect on the first try. Since I currently don't have the budget to frequent Starbucks, I had to find a coffee lover to give this little cuff a good home. (It has been sent to my mother-in-law. I challenge anyone of God's green earth to find someone who loves their coffee as much as she does.)

I wanted to dress it up a bit so I scooted over to Starbucks and picked up a gift card, and a cup to tie it all together. I think it turned out to be a great idea for a quick holiday gift. Perfect for moms, teachers, co-workers, friends,,,, just about anyone. Tutorial from House on a Hill Road

I also discovered they work great on cold cups! I love plastic cups but hate the sweat, so thank you coffee Cup Cuff. I will be making lots of these for hot summer days!

Camera Stats make me feel sick

I feel sick to my tummy everyday I look at my computer. It sits on my floor in pieces as a grave stone for all my lovely pictures. Currently I have no idea if we will be able to recover my photos. My pictures are my life literally. Weddings, births, birthdays, first steps, vacations,,,, the list of irreplaceable photos goes on, and on,,,,,, and on.

"Camera Stats" Years we have owned a digital camera: 4 Number of new cameras since the first: 4 New Photo editing programs purchased: 3 External Hard drives for storage: 2 Pictures taken : over 26,000 Pictures printed : less then 400 Pictures shared with family : under 800 Number of Brands I have used: two Number of Online photo sites I belong to: 5 Number of computes crashed: 1 Number of hard drives crashed: 1 Number of pictures I may never get back :26,000

Block Bag SCARE

My daughter came to me this morning coughing and gagging, because her block bag was around her NECK! EEEk I freaked out. I was less then 15 feet from her and this happened. I immediately cut the draw string out and threw it in the trash! I could have just dumped the blocks into the toy box, but what fun is that,,,,so I made her a new block bag, with NO DRAW STRING! An easy fix would have been to just thread some elastic through the existing casing, but if I was going to change it, I wanted it to be pretty. Plus my daughter loves toting them around by the before mentioned drawstring, so I knew I needed a handle. Annnnyywho, here is what I came up with. I just laid out the existing bag and made a case for it, a Velcro closure, and nice SHORT and wide strap.

From one momma to another

Please, if you have a bag like this, take out the drawstring!

Ghost Toast

I put a status on my facebook the other day about Ghost Toast. The response was unanimous and LOUD. Everyone wanted to know what Ghost Toast was. Say WHA??? I thought everyone ate this stuff. Turns out I had a really creative Momma growing up and she made the everyday a holiday. Around Halloween we would have this treat for breakfast. I was so excited to give it to my daughter for the first time. I love passing my childhood traditions on to my kids. So, here's what Ghost Toast is all about. It's buttered toast with powdered sugar on top, and chocolate chips for the eyes.

So make the everyday a holiday with this special treat!

Baby Legs

I made my very first pair of Leggies today!

I love them and they were so easy to make. But, can we please stop pretending these are anything other then Leg Warmers. I watch my daughter dance around in them, and in my head I hear Olivia singing "let's get physical, physical....." Hope you find time to make some this fall. Here is the TUTORIAL I used.

Princess leia

Okay so my daughter has never seen Star Wars or anything even close. However she must be honing her Princess Leia Persona today. She demanded braids that were tucked under for her hair do. Then to make matters worse, when I tried to put pink bows in her hair to match her pink shirt, she flipped out and demanded her sparkly gold bows.

I'm not sure if I have a future Diva on my hands or a Star Wars fanatic. Either way, LORD HELP ME!

Bad Idea Machine

Someone is putting quarters in the "Bad Idea Machine" again. Man, I thought we got rid of that thing,,,,hmmm my husband must have hid it in the garage behind his childhood hockey crap. Knowing full well, I would never look there! But, alas there it was this morning, sitting in my basement, right in the middle of the floor. And wouldn't ya know, he left for work, leaving my kids with free run of the "Bad Idea Machine". Dear Husband, I know you think it's a good idea to leave your weights in the middle of the floor because you will use them tomorrow too.....however this is a BAD IDEA! Resulting in, pinched fingers, stubbed toes and sore arms from having to lug them away. Love, Sore Armed Wife Dear Harry, I know you think it is a good idea to drink milk at 5:30am.....however this is a BAD IDEA! Please know that we your parents love you, but man we're tired. Love, Exhausted Mom & Dad Dear Emma, I know you think it's a good idea to play dress up, by stripping down to you skivvies and taking your hair down....However when this occurs 2.5 minutes before we leave to run errands it is a BAD IDEA! Love, On a Time Crunch Momma Dear Mother-in-Law I know you thought it was a good idea to get my daughter a microphone because she likes to entertain us all so much,,,however this is a BAD IDEA resulting in the amplification of ALL noises in my house. Love, Needing ear plugs and aspirin Dear Harry, I know you think it's a good idea to smash crackers on the kitchen floor,,,,however, this is a BAD IDEA. Love, Tired of being a Maid Momma Emma, I know you think it's a good idea to take all the Tupperware out of the cabinet so we can put the clean dishes away,,,,,,,,this is a BAD IDEA. They will all fit without you taking them all out. Thanks for the "help" Love, Tired of double the work Momma

Here's to a Happy & Healthy Fall

Summer has long since faded into the background. I no longer feel the need to jump out of bed and seize the day. I can say goodbye to my swimsuits and sunburns. Why you ask? Because FALL 2009 is HERE! While simultaneously sloughing off summer, I am whole heatedly welcoming fall into my life. I am giving myself permission to slow down, take time for one more cup of coffee, steal a moment more under the covers, read one more page in my book, grab one more snuggle from my kiddos, lounge in my pj's for just a moment longer, and steal my husband's covers for warmth because chilly fall air is wafting through the open windows. So, I raise my Spiced Pumpkin Latte and say, "Here's to a happy & healthy fall, slowing down a bit, and savoring the small moments in life" To properly welcome Fall 09 I made my apple cinnamon muffins this morning and realized I have never shared it with you.

If you make these muffins, be warned : your home will smell so delicious you may become delusional.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 3/4 c. white flour 3/4 c. whole wheat flour 1 1/2t. baking powder 1 t. cinnamon 1 egg beaten 1/3c. melted butter 1 chopped apple (about 1 Cup) I use granny smith, peel and all In lg bowl, mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Combine and stir with wooden spoon. Put in greased muffin tin or use muffin liners. Bake 18-23 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Nana stole my Fuel

My tank was empty this morning and I didn't even know it until Emma and I had this conversation. Harry: girgle spit girgle da gergile dadada Emma: Mommy a is Harry happy? Me: Yes, baby. Are you Happy? Emma: Yup Me: Do you love Harry? Emma: Yes mom Me: Do you love Mommy? Emma: Yes Me: Can you tell Mommy? (I'm anxiously awaiting those sweet words "I love you mommy" I hear...) Emma: Mommy, I love Nana! Oh, my heart just sinks. I needed to hear those words so bad. While I could have told her exactly what to say, it just doesn't mean the same as when she offers them up on her own volition. Until Emma didn't say "I love you momma" I hadn't realized how empty my emotional fuel tanks were. I have been so busy dolling out the love and support, that I hadn't realized I was running so low myself. After a brief moment, I think, I'm so glad that Emma loves her Nana, she deserves it. SHE IS A GREAT NANA! From the moment Emma was born, Nana has been smitten with her "Darlin". I am blessed to be surround my so many loving people in my life. I am blessed to know that Emma is surrounded my so many loving people too. So Nana, here it is, you can steal my emotional fuel today. I hope you use it to bless the people around you.

Just as I am realizing all of this, the fuel light in my van blinks on. Thank you Lord for reminding me to fuel up emotionaly, spirtually, and physically.

Monday in disguise

It's Tuesday Morning. But lets call it what it is, "Monday in disguise" . It's 6:34am . . . . . . The Coffee is made . . . . . . . . . . .The first born is up and in full motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . .and my newspaper is stranded at the end of the drive in a torrential downpour

Reversible Ribbon Headband TUTORIAL

HERE YE, HERE YE, FREE TUTORIAL Here is my tutorial for a super easy reversible ribbon headband. Feel free to Email me if you have any questions!

Supplies: 2 pieces of coordinating ribbon 2 inches wide 2 pieces of solid ribbon 1/2 inch wide ALL PIECES ARE 14 1/2 inches LONG STEP 1: Make a sandwich with the pretty sides together with 1 piece of the solid ribbon inside. (you might need to pin the solid ribbon in place so you don't catch it in the side seam.)

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Step 2: sew the end of the sandwich

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Step 3: Sew the sides together (be careful not to catch the solid piece in the side seam) ********************************************

Step 4: Snip the ends of the sewn sandwich (so when you turn it, it will be more square)

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Step 5: Pull the solid ribbon out of the sandwich, thus turning the headband right side out

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Step 6: Insert ruler(or any object of your choosing) to help straighten out headband, iron flat, turn in the raw edge and insert last remaining ribbon and sew shut.

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You're finished! Yeah for you! You did it!

This is the same headband! It looks great on both adults and children! **********************************

My Food Processor is DRUNK!

With Summer comes all sorts of cooking experiments waiting to happen. I love when my husband can fire up the grill and we can try new things. My parents came over for dinner a few nights ago and I wanted to give them a "Stout Burger", so my creative juices started flowing and this is what I came up with. It ended up be quit the crowd pleaser despite my concerns about the smell of the marinade. This would be a perfect recipe to use for a guys night!

********************************************** Puree all ingredients together 1 Cup red onion 2 Garlic cloves 1 Bottle Dark Beer To make my burgers extra tasty, I mixed in a few tablespoons of marinade into the beef.

Grill burgers as usual, liberally basting with the marinade, while cooking. Serve on toasted RYE bread with a thick slice of Cheddar, some lettuce and enjoy!

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My handy husband also made me some Salt and Pepper shakers out of the used beer bottles (cleaned and dried of course)

This made a great little caddy for taking the silverware, napkins, and salt and pepper shakers wherever we needed them.

Love that smile

My husband, age 2

Penguins say "Yak Yak"

Well, as promised I taught Emma a little about penguins last week. We went to the Zoo, we painted pictures, read lots of penguin books and watched some movies.