Things I love #2

Yeah so I was jumping the gun a little here but oh well, I'll go with it!

Things I love #2 : being crafty

I love love LOVE that I have the ability to be crafty. It keeps me young and always thinking about how to make something cuter! I love that I can create cute things for my girls and other little girls around the world (ok so maybe not the world but hey a girl can dream can't she). I love seeing something that I like and then coming home and trying and trying to make it. And although I can't get it, I love that I can attempt it. I truely believe that every person has that ability, you just have to try. Failure is always an option but it only lends itself to success when you try again.



So what have you created lately? And yes, cooking and baking are also considered being crafty!!

Things I love #1

With February starting tomorrow (yep I have realized it starts on Tuesday and not Monday) and my recent realization that I actually can control my attitude (yeah I know shocking news huh), I am going to be posting everyday. This is a huge goal for me and I am hoping I can successfully accomplish this goal. So I thought I would get a jumpstart on it.

Things I love Post #1: Date Night

Having three kids doesn't even come close to allowing us the opportunity to go out as a couple all that often. After we had our third little one, we realized that our marriage was moving towards that "routine" way of life and we weren't doing well. We were both so tired and stretched so thin that our marriage took a backseat, actually it was more like we threw it out of the car as we were speeding down the highway of being parents and shouted SCREW YOU as the tires screeched down the asphalt. We both knew something needed to happen to reconnect with each other or we were going to be BFF's forever and not husband/wife. So we knew we needed an opportunity to get away. We decided that every time we went to see our parents or they came to see us, we would hit them up for babysitting. That's what grandparents are for right and really they don't want to see us anymore, we are just the baby carriers...hahaha. This was going ok except it was only happening maybe once a month. And this wasn't helping anything. Then we had one of those nights. You know those kind of nights that you are up all night,  crying about all the stress of being a grown-up, and knowing that we have to keep up our marriage because someday (which is happening a lot faster than I had hoped) my kiddos will no longer be here and guess who will, him. Him, my husband, my life partner, my love, my one and only, my calmerdowner, my hold my hand and kiss me all the time, husband. And with me, I want it all baby so I want us to work. I want us to work now, and later when the girls are both teenagers (what were we thinking), and even later when we can't hardly walk...I want him to be as in love with me then as he is now. I wanted to show him and remind him that there was more to me than a crying, stressed out mother who felt the world is always out to get her. Our answer to this dilemma, date night every week. Here's the kicker...no babysitter required...no packing up the kiddos to leave....no worrying about what time to get home...we have it in our home. Sounds too good to be true right...it's not!
Here is how it works: we usually do it on Saturday night, ya know parents don't have ANYTHING going on Saturday nights right, so one of us gets to cook the meal and the other is responsible for "mood". Sometimes we eat in the kitchen with a nice table complete with candles and lights out. Sometimes we eat in front of the fireplace, on the floor, and sitting right next to each other. I know be jealous, it is so fun. Sometimes we even eat on the couch, watching a movie that we both just can't wait to watch. We start fixing dinner as soon as Chase goes to his room (which is at 8:30) so we do have to wait to eat until way past dinner. But that is ok with us....date night is worth the wait. This date night idea has not only brought us closer as a couple but it also shown our son what it means to be "in love" with your wife. Won't his wife be so happy...you're welcome future daughter in law. He sees that making a marriage work takes lots of work and lots of attention to your partner. It has also made us as a couple more aware of each other and made us learn really what the other person values. We have done book studies during date nights which have led to some life changing discussions and have led to some very in depth discussions about what it is that we really want out of life. I truely can say that I know my husband inside and out. I am more observant to his moods and desires than I ever have been before. I am also learning about myself. I am learning what games I play that are detramentable to our marriage and what attitude I can have to help us continue on this great path.

We had date night last night...it was the first one in a couple weeks...we wondered why we had stopped but sometimes life does get in the way and sleep is much more necessary...but last night we jumped right in and had a great night. I was the chef last night and I wanted to try a meatless dish...see we're trying to eat healthier (but just forget I said that word because after making and eating the meal, it was far from healthy). We started with some Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, add a beautiful mushroom gravy (onions, mushrooms, red wine, and half and half, heaven in a pan), then add a roasted portobella cap that was meaty and so earthy.

Put that all together and you have one delightful meal...somewhat healthy...and oh so tasty!


Doesn't everything look better in the candle light!

Throw in a couple glasses of this:

and life is so good!

For dessert I wanted to make just the right thing: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Oh my did I get it soooo right last night. These were heavenly, divine, scrumptious, ahhh even typing this knowing there are 4 more in the fridge right now is almost too much to handle. I got the recipe from A Dash of Sass blog and man were they delicious. I will FOR SURE be making these puppies again. I did cut the recipe in half and should have cut the frosting recipe into 1/4th. (Did you hear me run up the stairs to the fridge, no , good then there was no crime committed) Here are some pictures but really it doesn't do them justice for the way they tasted.


Ahh you poor helpless cupcake just sitting so pretty on my plate. I am sure I was no romantic sight as I enhaled the poor thing in one, maybe two bites.


(mumbling with mouth full) "No Ryan, I didn't get one I think you forgot to put one on my plate" He didn't fall for it.

We had alot of fun last night talking about this week and how we're both really looking forward to our annual Valentines Day Bed and Breakfast get away and sleep until noon and watch movies all day by a fire and go eat at restaurants that don't include chicken nuggets of any kind trip. That's another blog of Things I love later this month...be looking.

I wanted to post this about our date night because of a few things:
*for those of that don't know I come from a broken marriage. We failed with each other and we failed our son. I don't want me to fail again. I fought long and hard in my first one, but it was only me fighting. I want to make sure that Ryan and I both fight for this because we deserve to be with each other, happily.
*I see far too many friends/acquintances that are losing their marriage one battle at a time because were parents. Parenting is so incrediably hard and so incrediably stressful on both parents. Taking time to remember what it was like to be an adult/yourself is mandatory. How can you possibly give your marriage 100% when you give 110% to the kids? I am not saying parenting is worthless or that having kids means your marriage fails, but it definitely changes the dynamics and if you don't keep some of those same dynamics that you each fell in love with, it's hard. You almost have to fall in love with a whole new person and hope they fall in love with the new you, again.
*if someone had given me this idea when we first had kids, we would have jumped on board then.

And the most important reason:

I want my husband to know how very dear he is to me. I want him to know that our time together here on this Earth has been precious and doesn't compare to what we have in store in Heaven. I want him to know that he has brought me more joy and happiness than anyone else in my life. I want him to know that I will forever look at him with those same adoring eyes as I did over 7 years ago. I want to keep this Date Night thing going forever and writing about it only makes that more apt to come true. I love my handsome, sweet, ever present in my mind husband!

So that's post #1, wonder what tomorrow will bring....hmmm. What would your Things you love #1 be?

Blah blah blah

I am ready for winter to be OVER
I would never make it in Seattle
I would never make it in Seattle with children and a husband
I have a case of the winter blues
so please forgive this sad poem.
and for those of you that refuse
to post my comments on your blogs
you hurt my feelings :(
Sorry.

Here are some pics of our beautiful snow:

And my first pot of homemade gumbo, which was FANTASTIC:

And here is my newest love, homemade yogurt! I got this nifty little yogurt maker from King Arthur's website. It makes 7 little jars of yogurt in 10 hours. It is so fun and so healthy. I control the sugar and we can add our own fruit. It was a great purchase!!


Happy Weekend to everyone!

Celebration Overload

Editors Note: Before I get started on our fabulous weekend I do need to ask for your prayers. The sweet little girl, Olga, that I talked about last month and the one that we thought had a family coming to get her, has had to withdraw their committment. Little Miss Olga turns 5 this month and she desperately needs a family to go get her. If you could please pass Reeces Rainbows website along to any of your family and friends. Miss Olga has $13,000 in her adoption account which is almost half of what it normally costs. She is just a beautiful little girl and she deserves a home. Thank you!


We are all dealing with celebration "hangovers" today. We had such a fun, yet crazy, week and weekend. I am not sure what is the easiest way to go about this post without it turning into a novel...hmmm. I'll narrow it down to two days : Chase's birthday and Dad's birthday, how about that.

Chase's birthday was a great reminder of the love my kids have for each other and a great way to be brother and sisters with no one there to change his thinking. We went to Chuckie Cheese. This is a great place to let the kids just be kids. Ella, Chase, and Kyndall all played in complete harmony. There was no whinning or fighting or even crying. Ella could have cared less that Kyndall was pushing her off of the Bob the Builder ride along toy because there were 3 other toys to play with. Chase was Ella's personal attendant. He took her everywhere, willingly, to show her how to play games and how to ride the rides. He also took her up in the slide maze so that she didn't get lost and so that she would feel safe. It was priceless. We were all exhausted by the time we made it home for cake but we all went to bed feeling the love of our family. What a beautiful thing we have created.


Now I have to gush a little about Chase. And not because it was his birthday but because I think we as parents need some reminders that our kids are turning out to be exactly what we hoped they would. At CC, Chase was just the sweetest thing you have ever seen with his sister. There was no mention of him being responsible for her at any point in time, this is just something that came naturally to him. He makes me so proud! He takes every opportunity to play with his sister, even in a public setting. I know that someday he will make such a great dad! SMOOCHES!!

4 words would describe my dad's birthday...food, guns, dominoes, laughing....LOTS of laughing.
Insert disclaimer here: I understand that gun violence is rampid amongst our society and that bad people do bad things with guns but the fun we have at our house is just that, fun. My kids, along with all of my family, all know the devastating effects of playing with or using a gun inappropriately.
Food: We had some fabulous food at a great steak house. We all enjoyed the peace that comes with eating without three kids sitting at the same table. (Huge Thanks to Miss Adriene for watching our munchkins!) It was just great food with people I love dearly!! We grabbed the kids on our way home and then this happened:

BTW take a look at my sister... she is doing a great job of losing some weight and looks phenomenal!!
I'm not sure what started it all. Chase has over the past 10 years has collected what my mom appropriately called an arsenal of Nerf guns. We slowly all wound up with some sort of nerf weapon, some of us with multiple ones. And because Ava and Kyndall both like to eat the darts, we were low on ammo. But that didn't matter. Im not sure who made the first shot, but someone did and that was it. It was on! We were all running between three bedrooms, grabbing darts that were stuck to our faces or the walls, then reloading them to fire them back as we moved to another room because we didn't want to get caught. Chase accidently shot my mom in the face with his bazooka and I think he may have broken her nose...this stopped the game shortly but she took it all in stride and it was quickly back to business. (Although Chase was a little broken up about it). There were hilarious moments and the girls quickly took cover in their tent in their room, this included Ava.


But it all came to a screaching stop..ok maybe a fall on the floor laughing stop when my sister pulled this:

Yep, holding my daughter hostage she needed more ammo and was going to get some. Again, I know I should be more PC but Im not because we, as a family, had a blast. I wouldn't trade these guys for the world!

We then enjoyed a game of dominoes which turned into some great conversations. All of us women in this family somehow formed a gang complete with attire, a greeting sign, and attire for my daughters. It was hilarious to say the least but I can't reveal, only the SFL members can know :)

My family left the next morning and enjoyed some grandkid time before they headed out the door. We all had such a great time, it definitely left my dad feeling very loved on his DaRk 50th birthday. The kids did decorate the house fabulously for him also! But I totally forgot to take a picture of the finished product, I know, bad mom!

We are all getting back into our normal routine which is always nice. We had so much fun over the last week reconnecting with each other that I know it will keep us going until the next time. I will say this, the NERF guns will be coming out a lot more. It was fun and exhausting, can't be that. I have some business business to take care of this week and I am hoping to announce it all next week. But I will let this out. I will be closing down my hairbow business, including my website. There is WAY TOO many people that make bows and I just don't have the time to really push it. So as of sometime this month, it will no longer be up and running. If you need a hairbow, however, I still have a TON of ribbon so please let me know. Ok that's enough...more to come later. Happy Monday!

Big day for a BIG boy!

Today is my sons 10th birthday! He is in the double digit world now, never to return to the single world again. I think all birthdays are bittersweet around here but his are monumental. He is my first, my baby! He is the one who went through hell with me and the one who kept me sane and on the right track through that horrible time. He is wise beyond his years and more caring than I ever thought he could be. We have grand plans for him tonight, well grand in his eyes. We are off to Chuckie Cheese tonight to play games and eat fattening yummy pizza!!

Then we are coming home for some cake and singing and present opening. This is where we are going next month. He will have so much fun!!

Then we are presenting Mr Chase with his What Jar. This is a great idea I saw on another post. You take a jar and decorate it. Then on little pieces of paper we are all going to write 5 "what we love about Chase" things. This will be great for him to read on those days that he isn't feeling too good.

I am so proud of my little man. Here is a post I wrote about him last year, if you would like to read it.
 I can't believe we are here and I am so excited to see what his future holds. God is so good!! Happy Birthday Bubba!

Snow Day!!

This is what awaited poor Ava this morning on her potty break at 6am:



Oh isn't just beautiful. I just love snow, especially like this. First one to see it, no sun up yet. No cars have driven on the roads. It is just white and sparkly and just heavenly. I just love it, glad I don't have to go anywhere, just lovin' it. I knew it would be a snow day so I was prepared as the day started that it would be a crazy day with all the kids and no routine in place. But boy did we get a lot done.

The kids played outside for quite a while. We attempted to make a fort (man this was too much work for me) and after probably an hour of building a huge snow pile, Chase bailed to sled instead. I didn't blame him. Ella and I went in the backyard to shovel a place for Ava to go potty that wasn't 6 inches deep with snow, which covers her up to her nose. It is quite a sight. Again, no one had been back here so the snow was prestine. Why is it that snow makes the world seem so quiet. You can hear your own breaths and you can hear the birds that are probably miles away. At one point, while Ella was sliding down the slide into snow, I just stood there. I listened to the quiet. I listened to Ella's laugh and to the sound of snow. I took that moment to stop and reconnect with nature. It was fantastic and I think I might, no I know I will be doing the same thing tomorrow morning. Listening to that beautiful silence!




And while the kids played with each other, I got some sewing done. My goal is to get all that I have cut out done by Wednesday. Then clean house on Thursday and Friday before parents come on Saturday. Here was one of my projects I got done today:


I am so excited for this weekend. I love being so close to my family, again. For quite a while I was too far away to celebrate birthdays. This weekend in a big one for my dad! I am excited to be the place that everyone wanted to come and celebrate this milestone. We will be enjoying some great food and I will be making this, Inside Out German Chocolate Cake. There will be a special post dedicated to my dad on his birthday so come back this weekend!

Some venting for this snow day. Oh youngest child of mine. Sweet little blonde haired monster. We have been and still are concerned with this angel of ours. She is behind on vocabulary, big time. She is not exhibiting the understanding of the word no. I have tried all those tricks in my bag to help with all of her "lovely" issues. And I have researched and tried and researched some more and tried some more. I am burnt out on trying. Remember when I said I reconnected with nature outside, when I was standing there in the snow, in the quiet. In that quiet, in nature, he spoke to me. I felt him with me telling me to just sit back and enjoy the world with her. So that's my goal...sit back, keep discipline the same as we have with all the kids, and enjoy her. She is her own self and if she has problems, diagnosed problems later, we will deal with them then. But for now, I am going to snuggle with that girl and hold her when she wants. And with all of this "come to Jesus" talk, here is what she was doing tonight. We were brushing sisters teeth and realized that she was missing, not a good thing to realize. Kyndall, where are you. Oh I found her, shes at the table.


Kyndall what are you eating?


Oh my, butter. She was just taking huge bites out of the stick of butter that was left at the table after dinner. Oh she is more like me than I ever realized. Just had to document this.

Looks like tomorrow is another snow day around this house. I'm thinking snow ice cream, some painting snowflakes on black paper, and some snuggling while watching Princess and the Frog!!  I think jammies are in order for all day, along with some popcorn and maybe a fort or two. Someone has to teach Chase how to build a decent fort!

I'm off and running...

Well it's another new year and just like EVERY other new year I have been blessed to see rung in, I have some major resolutions. And just like every single human, most of these resolutions won't see the light of day or the end of the tunnel. I do feel however, different, this year. Like somehow writing them down on this computer/blog will make them seem more doable. And I do believe my goals this year are totally attainable and some are a must! There really aren't pictures to go along with this post, so if you were looking for that sorry. I will keep this short and sweet.

Goal #1
I want to get in shape. This entails that I will lose weight but more importantly I want to be able to walk or run without falling over in a dead sweat and panting like a dog. I want to have more energy for my kids and my husband and most importantly for myself. I want to be the best me there is and that includes getting in shape. So what am I doing you ask, well 1 hour on the treadmill for the last 2 weeks (minus our time with family) has helped. Instead of sitting around during naptime cleaning the house or sitting in my sewing room, I have been on this machine. I even got the dog on it. BTW she hates it and refuses to even try it. It is kind of funny. Legs all spread, nails digging into any non moving thing she can find. It reminds me of what we all probably feel like about treadmills. I have to stay on it until I burn 200 calories. Yeah, I don't know where that number came from but hey 200 sounds good. Somedays that means just a nice walk for a LONG time or like today comes in the form of "hurry up and get to 200 so we can eat"! We are also as a family, cutting our portion sizes down. I would say we are limiting sugar but if you really know me, you would know that baking and cutting down on sugar just don't happen. So I bake less often and only bake the size of _________ that we can eat in one sitting. So we will see how this theory goes. My hope is that I can get down to a size 10 well actually my real goal is to get my BMI in the normal category. Here is my inspirational swimsuit, never had one of these before. I just want the swimsuit, not to be that skinny. Wish me luck!

Goal #2
Be a more positive thinker. I am NOT a positive thinker for the most part. I see the bad in everything and automatically think the worst is going to happen in every situation. I may not come off this way to my friends but it is the way I view my life. This negetivity has affected everyone in my household-negetivily. At one point, my son was writing me letters telling me ways that he was going to help me have a good day because he didn't like to see me so upset. Ugh, bad mom moment which led to massive chocolate intake and massive guilt trips. But that is no more. The massive guilt trips brought me to a place of "yep it's you and yep you can change this" So here I am. Placing no expectations on my day...no need to get a dress done or more hairbows done. No having to keep the house spotless (I hear someone from the back saying "it was never spotless to begin with") or keep my girls in prestine appearance. If we dont' get out of jammies for three days, oh well. I am bound and determined to change my way of thinking and the way that I have lived my life for a number of years. Man, this goal is a doosy and has already slapped me in the face hard these past two days. But I will make it through it and the girls will someday, soon, take naps again so that they aren't clingy monsters anymore. In the meantime anytime I have gotten down or upset, I watch this:

Come on could it be any cuter! And she (and he for that matter) are all mine!

Goal #3
De-clutter my home and my life. Easy, right? Nope, not so much. This was very evident at Christmas. Between all of us and then all of our families, wow did we accumulate a ton of stuff. So last weekend, it was out the old and in with the new. And I mean out, out to the trash NOT out to the basement. Even as I type this my desk or our desk is covered with more papers and bags and boxes (woo hoo for getting Lightroom for Christmas from my hubby!) and manuals and cds....ok you get the point. I will declutter this house. Which means I will be doing it when Ryan is at work, sorry honey. And that is also applying to our lives in the financial world. We are and have been getting rid of those pesky little credit cards that seem to sneak up and slap you upside the head all the time. We are decluttering our monthly bills and trying to work our way to a new house. And that decluttering goes for our family as well. We will be limiting sports to only two, not only for budget purposes but for family purposes. Basketball, adios amigo! And trying to focus more on us / the kids than the tv. We got so many great games for Christmas and have , so far, spent every night playing one of them with one of the kids. It is great and I feel a scrabble game coming on this weeked!!

So those are my goals, with even bigger goals in mind in our not so distant future. We have one goal that I (and Ryan) are so excited about. It will forever change the lives of our family and all those around us. We are waiting for that "right" time to let this plan loose and in the meantime we are enjoying each other and our kids. (And no I'm not pregnant) Please pray for us in this journey and achieving this goal, as it is a very important one for us.

What are your goals for this new year? And how did you spend the new year? I would love to hear from you! All 3 followers I have....hahahahahha how sad is that. Oh well Positive outlook right, at least I have someone reading this thing!

The Motherload of all Christmas Post

Oh this is going to be a long one so grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and enjoy!
We finished up our holiday season with our extended family Christmas. We decided to make a long weekend of it so that everyone had a long chance to see us.
First stop, Grandpa Melvin and Grandma Roma. This was quite a treat!! We arrived in weather that made us think it was spring, which led to Chase being able to play outside almost all day. Beau and Duke (doggies) loved it! We got the gift opening out of the way and enjoyed the rest of the day watching football, eating, and catching up on both of our lives. I so enjoy this part of being with them. Chase got Scrabble for a gift and we broke that open after the girls went to sleep. Nothing makes you feel, well, stupid, like Scrabble does. I am seriously reading the dictionary as a resolution this year. But the game between us all was a lot of fun and OF COURSE Ryan ending up winning. After Chase hit the hay, we decided to introduce the dogs and let them have some fun. Oh and way after Ella had went to bed. For those of you that don't know, Ella is TERRIFIED of big dogs, hence why we got a dog. She did a little better this trip but they still can't be out while she is up. Anywho, the dogs had the run of the kitchen and they did just that, ran around and around the island in the kitchen. Beau was playing with Ava and Duke was running away from her. I am pretty sure she knew that when she went at Duke, he was scared to death of her. It was a rather funny sight to see. Little pipsqueak of a dog running after a big big dog that is scared to death. So funny!! We had a load of fun and are looking forward to our next visit! Here are some pics from our visit.

Stop #2
This was the Pickett Christmas and this consisted of 3 various present opening stages all day. We started with a visit from our grandparents and aunt and uncle. We enjoyed some great Chili and Potato Soup then we moved onto the presents. It is always so fun to see our kids opening and LOVING the presents. Then other grandparents joined us and then it was our turn. I know the kids had a great time and really had a lot of fun playing with the packaging more than the presents, which is always the case. We had such a great time and after the kids went to bed, the goofyness began. Ok maybe before but it was nice to kick back (a few) and really kick back and relax the day away. Here are some pics from our visit:

Stop #3
This was Grandma Sue's Christmas. We were excited that both uncle's would be there with us. Poor Jason wasn't feeling well but he toughed it out and made the most of it. We were all spoiled here in every sense of the word. The food was great and plentiful. The gifts were fabulous and plentiful. The company was excited and there was never a dull moment for any of us. By the time we got the Grandma Sue's house, we weren't sure we would be able to get home. We either had to choose to leave presents behind or kids. But we somehow magically fit it all in the minivan, not sure how.  Here are some  pics from our visit:

These stops are a great lead into my New Year Reflections. Each of our families are so different and I love each and every one of them. We are all so lucky to have so many of our extended families still alive and so interested in our kids. Here are some of my favorite reflections from our trip:


Come on, what is cuter than my grandma, Kyndall's great grandma, dancing with her in front of the tree. I mean really, so cute and such a great memory for us all.


Ok so these 2 pictures don't really need any reflection. Great drinks = great times!!



And this, look at these faces. All they say is "I'm happy and I love life", what more could a mom ask for?


Animals were the highlight of most of the houses. Duke, Beau, and Ava had a blast running around and playing. It was a little different at my parents house. Katie (beautiful spaniel girl) was less than impressed with Ava, and her keep her nose is Katie's toosh all night. It reminded me of those shark scenes everyone has seen. Big shark with this little fish attached to it's side, always right there and never moving. This was Katie and Ava. Katie was never without Ava and it wasn't until the next day when Kaite finally put Ava in her place. Although it didn't really do much. But the highlight of the trip was Ava's new friend, Smoke. Smoke is a gorgeous black cat that my mom has rescued and has let live inside. Smoke is not a very lovey cat but seems to understand kids and is very understanding with Kyndall. But Ava, there was NO understanding. Smoke hated Ava and hid for most of the time we were home. Here is where she hid and here is what she did when she came down. Check out the dinosaur like fin on her back!

We had such a great time with everyone and the kids are definitely loving all the new toys. We are so blessed to have all of these great people in our lives. And although we all live these crazy busy lives, we all find time for each other. Since we are a little behind my New Years Resolution Post is going to have to wait a couple days. Hope you enjoyed the post! Talk to you soon!