Sweet relief...

Oh how we've missed "kid's night out's" at church and wonderful grandparents that are pleased to enjoy some quality time with their grandchildren. These times have provided much needed times of respite for Dan and I from the demanding job of raising young children. We now realize how spoiled we've been for the last 5+ years! I have a renewed appreciation for groups like MOPS where I can go and enjoy the support and encouragement of other mothers, while our children are cared for in a safe and nurturing environment.

A few weekends ago...my Dan decided to take the kiddos to Disney W*rld...all by himself...for the weekend! What a man!

At that point, I was still in the throws of the first trimester-feeling all yucky and tired, not really wanting to be alone, but also not very much fun to be around, if you know what I mean! ;) My poor family. The thought of "what am I going to do with my self all weekend?" kept popping into my thoughts, but I was determined to enjoy the time to try and rest. I'm not good at resting...I wish I was! I tend to be a real busy body. Seasons like pregnancy and post-partum can be so frustrating at times, but needed-because I have no choice but to sit down and realize that I have limitations. Dan has been amazing. I've had all-day sickness with this pregnancy, which I never experienced with our first two children. What a been a HUGE relief that Dan has windows of time during the day and evening to practically do it all, so that I can rest and wallow in my yuckiness!

The first night was quiet and felt strange! I tried SO hard to sleep in, but woke up at 5:30 am!! Those kids have me programmed. :) I thought I might sleep, rest, watch movies all weekend...but no. Without my little ones here, I had this sudden BURST of energy to do some of those projects that have been hanging out on my list for way too long...and some newly inspired ones, too.

So I started working towards this...it felt good to narrow down our closets to the minimum, switch out my wardrobe for clothes that will fit my expanding girth ;) and for the first time in many, many years.... switching out the warm weather clothes for the cold weather clothes! The best part of narrowing our clothing selections down is that it means LESS LAUNDRY to contend with!!!! Yippee!

Next, I got all inspired to make one of these. It's still not finished, but I'll post some pics soon! Oh, how I enjoy this season of autumn!!! More about that later...

Then, this post came just in time for my next project...paring down/organizing my memory-keeping supplies so that I could spend the little time I have working on simplified album keeping. Especially as we add a new little person to this family...memory keeping is about to get even a little more challenging. Stories + Photos, that's my goal.

Caught this chick-flick...of course not NEARLY as good as the book! :)

And last but not least...learned how to sew!!!! My parents and Aunt Cindy outfitted me with a sewing machine and all of the necessary sewing "notions" for my birthday/Christmas last year...finally cracked that puppy open to give it a whirl (only NINE months later ;) ! Thank goodness it came with an instructional dvd that even showed me how to plug the dern thing into the wall, sweet! I started working on my first project, one of these. Several weeks later, here's my finished product (hanging in my m&d's house ready to celebrate Reecie's 3rd b-day with our family in FL):

The birthday girl was so tickled with it she didn't even notice those frayed edges and crooked seams, bless her heart.

My people had a ball at Disney. Dan called regularly to check in, and most of the time, I could hear the music to "High Scho*l Musical" BLARING in the back ground at the HSM Parade at Hollywood Studios and he'd say "guess where we are again??" :) Have I mentioned that Hannah Reece LOVES that movie?? (I like it too :) Between the hotel pool and Disney, the three of them spilled into our front door tan and exhausted with big smiles plastered on their faces ...ready tell me all about their adventures. I felt refreshed and so thankful for this family God has entrusted to me.

The Case of the Missing Hair

It was late one night, and the little girl crept out of her room, afraid of the dark....again. When she emerged into the light, her parents noticed something different about her appearance...that monster in her closet must've eaten pieces- no, CHUNKS of her HAIR! The little girl's daddy ventured into her room to discern what had happened in that quiet room....after all, the little girl had been so quiet for so long, her parents thought that she was sleeping!

Here, our innocent victim, obviously terrified by the whole ordeal:

Here's the evidence the little girl's daddy bravely uncovered:

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

Update: Feel relieved to know that the weapon was recovered, though hidden carefully under the victim's pillow! Be assured that authorities have been alerted and WILL get to the bottom of this crime. ;)

An exciting first from our big Kindergartener...

This evening, I was in the living room straightening up, and I could hear Graham at the dining room table making all kinds of letter sounds (quickly!) I should mention at this point that he had just finished watching the Extreme Sports and Other Action Adventures dvd from his all time favorite video series. So I peeked around the corner and there he was....it was a sight that would make a proud momma's heart skip a beat...our little boy scrawling out his very first sentence....so exciting!

Here, Graham proudly displays his first written thoughts so that I can proudly share them with anyone who will look ;)

IWUITTISECNOFRODRAS translated:

I want to see an off-road race!

Homework and Banana-Walnut Muffins

Dan's buddy, Chris, has been staying with us this week. One night, he saw me sitting at the kitchen table, contents of Graham's take-home folder spread out all over the table, and said "how did you get a job here so quickly (being totally serious) " I laughed and said, "yeah, this take-home stuff and paperwork is like a part time job!"

So, in addition to reading a book every evening together (which we try to do every day anyway) now we have a monthly homework chart, with an assignment for each day! It's all very simple tasks, but homework the same. Mom's out there, if you have any ideas on making homework time painless, please share!

Yesterday, his assignment was to write his name three times and draw a picture of himself and a friend together. I wish I had taken a picture, but he drew this huge-long space ship with about 10 kids in it...his buddies from Florida and all of his cousins. He said he couldn't pick just one. :)

On a different note, I have a recipe to share with you, and it's so yummy!!! Check it out at the link on the right side of this page for Sarah's Simple Servings. Here's a teaser! ;)

Banana Walnut Muffins

I LOVE to bake....mostly because I love to EAT baked goods! My old banana muffin recipe was always a little dry for my taste. So when I found this one, I was excited to try it and boy did it deliver! Perfect with a cup of coffee or a big glass of milk...kid tested and approved! I'll post again soon with a recipe to use up that big ol' thing of buttermilk ....

(courtesy of Prevention Magazine, September 2009)

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed ripe banana (2-3 bananas-I used 3)
1 lg. egg
1/4 c. 50/50 butter blend (I used regular unsalted butter)
1/4 c. 1% buttermilk
3 Tbs. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. plus 2 Tbs. chopped walnuts, divided

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 8 cups of a standard-size muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. Mix banana, egg, butter, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract in large bowl until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture and stir until blended. Add 1/3 cup of the walnuts and mix thoroughly.
4. Fill muffin cups three-quarters full. Sprinkle remaining 2 Tbs. walnuts over tops.
5. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.

Mistreating These Ol' Windows

I realized with this move to NC in April, that in the 7+ years that Dan and I have been married, we have moved SEVEN times! Because most of our moves have been to rentals, limited storage space, and/or realizing that window treatments just don't fit the budget, I've felt very limited in what I could actually do in that department....until now!

I'm not too sure how I came across this blog...but here I found another woman whose family is constantly on the move, lives on a budget, and y'all she works MAGIC with a piece of fabric and a few easy-to-use tools (plus she's insanely creative and stages homes to sell for a living).

This particular post caught my eye while I looked around at our particularly old, ugly windows with mis-matched blinds and rods...and the wheels started turning, I thought "maybe I can do this!" Mom bought me a sewing machine for my last birthday, and while I stare at it longingly most often, and even have a cute cover for it, courtesy of Aunt Cindy, (so that it doesn't collect dust of course!) I still haven't learned how to use that thing! One of the most appealing things about the nesters window mistreatments is that most of the time, there's not a STITCH involved...which means that when we move or if I change my mind *whichever comes first ;)* the fabric can be re-used for anything my heart desires.

The two fabrics in the living/dining room I found after digging around a while at the remnant table of the local fabric store for about 3.99/yard and the fabric for Reecie's room I found at the same fabric store and used my 40% off coupon.

The Nester's got so many ideas for how to mistreat windows (and hers are GORGEOUS!), but here are just a few that I've tried so far. Disclaimer: from far away they look good, but don't examine too closely! But like most things, I'm learning that the more I practice, the better they look. Each treatment took between 30 min. to 1 hour. So, without further ado, I give you window mistreatments:

First, the dining room-I used the upholstery tack technique for this:

Then, the windows on either side of the fireplace, the don't match because they're different sizes (one's a reg. window and one's a door) The rods were already there so I just added the ring clips plus a little pinchin', pulllin' and hotglued some pompom ball trim:

And last, the princess room, upholstery tack technique, again. Except it looks different because this fabric is light-weight (no rods or rings here):

Then I added a glue dot and a little daisy to cover each tack........voila!

"I'm FRRREEEEE!"

Sweet Hannah Reece,

Three years ago, when you made your grand entrance into a hospital room, (with no doctor present!) I knew that you were going to do things in your own special way, and that life would be an adventure with you around! But three years later, I could never have imagined how rich, how exciting, how sweet our lives are because of yours, Hannah Reece.

Look how cute you were in that little bassinet...you baked on that little biliblanket for several weeks after your wild ride into this world, the jaundice lasted for several weeks....we called you our little glow worm!

You are not afraid to enjoy life, let go, make a mess...I love that about you...God has used your adventurous, carefree spirit to teach me to let go, get my hands dirty, and make the very most of every moment! You sure know how to make us laugh! Here I come to get a towel after my shower...HELLO!!!

Now you see her, now you don't! ;)

Baby, you can rock it. I will shamelessly admit letting you stay up way too late once a week to watch So Y*u Think You C*n Dan*e. I love to listen to music and dance with you, my boogie buddy!
I never could've imagined or dreamed up a more wonderful you. As you blow out the candles, know that my only wish for you, my only prayer, is that you will live your life basking in the love of your dear Savior, Jesus.

I pray that your beauty will glorify and draw others to Him, precious daughter. We love you, happy 3rd birthday!