Author Archive
Flexing My Crafty Skills
Posted on: August 11, 2011
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
Since making my braided headband, I’ve been trying to really flex my crafty muscles. Be it in the kitchen or something for the house, I am keeping an eye out for what will be a fun little project or adventure.
Recently on Pinterest, I came across this cute idea of turning an unused picture frame into a dry erase board.
The original idea for the board is to be used as a to-do list or menu. I already have a menu/to-do list board, but still really love this idea. I thought it would be really cute as a message board for the girls in their room.
Being the non-scrapbooker, I had no cute paper on hand {which is what the site suggests using}, but I did/do have cute fabric. And I scored double that the fabric goes with the girls’ color scheme.
We always ask the girls “How much do we love you?” and it is met with the reply “too, too much.” I thought it only appropriate to have that as our first message on the board. The fun part is, as the girls get older and start writing, we can turn it into a real “message board” and write notes to each other.
It was super easy to make and allowed me to try something new with low risk {helping me build those crafty muscles!}.
What crafty things have you done lately?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.
The Power of a Praying Mother
Posted on: August 10, 2011
- In: Life
- 3 Comments
Since having kids, God has really shown me my need for communicating with Him through prayer. As the girls get older, it has become even more evident. Today, I have the honor of guest posting for Rosann at Christian SuperMom about The Power of a Praying Mother. I’d love for you to check it out.
- In: Life
- 16 Comments
Pregnancy and cravings go hand in hand. It’s like peanut butter and jelly. Or peanut butter and chocolate. Or peanut butter and bananas. Or peanut butter and well, anything.
With all of my kids I have some crazy strong craving at some point in my pregnancy. A couple of months ago, all I wanted was eggs. Eggs. Eggs. Eggs. The weird part? I’m not a big fan of eggs {though all this egg talk does make me want an egg and cheese muffin}. Currently, I’m going through a fun rotation of cravings.
1. Cereal – Any cereal really. Cheerios. Raisin Bran. Rice Chex. But mostly, Lucky Charms. What is it about dried marshmallows soaked in milk that makes me fight the urge to eat an entire box in one sitting?
2. Tuna fish – Tuna fish sandwiches, tuna fish on my salad. Tuna fish straight from the can with a little salt and pepper. Strange, but oh so good {and hello protein!}.
3. Pasta – There’s not much better than pasta and pasta sauce. And when paired with some buttery garlic bread? Big time score.
4. Green smoothies – I’ve continued perfecting my green smoothie. Added some broccoli and carrots. Talk about goodness in a cup. Seriously.
5. Pita chips and hummus – Specifically spicy hummus. And multigran pita chips.
6. Hamburgers – From anywhere. With anything. Major bonus points if smothered in a fatty dressing, topped with bacon and avocado.
7. Tomatoes – Beefsteak. Big Boy. Early girl. You name it. If I can slice it up and eat it, I will.
8. Pancakes – Preferably with blueberries. Or chocolate chips. Ohh… or slices of banana. Dipped in pure maple syrup. With a cup of coffee. *drool*
9. Eggs – Like I mentioned already, I’ve had some crazy strong cravings for eggs. Especially our at home recreation of McDonald’s Egg McMuffin.
10. Cake – Chocolate. With chocolate frosting. And sprinkles. With a mint chocolate ice cream. Though, I’ve been pretty good and haven’t had any cake since Hannah’s birthday party and have taken to making my own low-fat ice cream. But boy, could I go for a slice of cake…
Anyone else starving now? No? Just Me? Ok, I guess it’s time to whip up another batch of pancakes.
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
And The Winner is…
Posted on: August 6, 2011
- In: Life
- 2 Comments
Annie S
{Annie, I just sent you an email. Please response as soon as you can.}
Thanks to everyone for participating in my giveaway for a copy of The Help!
I’m Not Paranoid by Nature
Posted on: August 5, 2011
- In: Life
- 5 Comments
I’m a naturally open person. But over the last few years, I’ve found myself becoming more and more cautious. Perhaps it’s because of news articles like this and this that have made me far less trusting than I use to be.
Then a few weeks back, I read Amanda’s Top Ten Tuesday about the need for watermarking your photos. She had this crazy story about a lady who posted a family picture on her blog, only to find out that a company, in Prague, used her picture without permission. And it made me a little paranoid.
Could Julia and Hannah’s pictures really land on a billboard? Sure, the chances are pretty slim, but still. What if?
So, I started watermarking my photos.
But after talking with Jonathan yesterday, I realized, I probably don’t need to watermark every single picture. Especially since I honestly don’t mind people using my non-people related photos. Just the ones of our family.
Then comes the whole, where to put the watermark, how the watermark should look, and all that jazz. I’m still working on it {though Amanda has some really great tips}.
If you notice some random changes to my photos over the next few weeks, just chalk it up to me being paranoid, but trying not to be paranoid.
The Perfect Green Smoothie
Posted on: August 4, 2011
- In: Life
- 7 Comments
{Be sure to enter my giveaway for a copy of The Help}
I love green smoothies. There’s just something about drinking vegetables and fruit that makes me feel like I’m my own personal health guru.
For the last several weeks, I’ve been on a mission to eat plenty of vegetables throughout the day. I’ve been finding it challenging to do that at breakfast, because, really, who wants to eat a salad? Not me. In steps a green smoothie. I can get in some romaine lettuce and kale without ever tasting it.
I took an adapted version of this recipe, adding kale and lettuce instead of spinach, and came up with my own green smoothie ::
I used plain yogurt, half an apple, half a banana, a handful of grapes and then several bunches of kale and romaine lettuce. Blend until smooth and eat.
I don’t tend to measure out my ingredients for smoothies, just eye ball what I think will be tasty. I did try adding juice, instead of yogurt. The consistency was fine, but I figure yogurt has a lot more protein, and a lot less sugar, than juice so I went back to just yogurt. All in all, it’s turned out to be a pretty tasty {and very filling!} recipe.
Have you tried your own green smoothies?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for Things I Love Thursday.
Homemade Playdough
Posted on: August 3, 2011
- In: Life
- 9 Comments
{Be sure to enter my giveaway for a copy of The Help}
After all our playdough dried up recently, I decided to make some rather than buy more. I’d heard of some friends having made playdough in the past, mentioning to me how easy it was. Turns out, it’s easier than they let on.
There are lots of recipes online if you just google “homemade playdough”, however, I went with this recipe :: Flour Playdough
Playdough Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 cup salt
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)
- food coloring (liquid, powder, or unsweetened drink mix)
I only used 3/4 cup of salt because I didn’t have enough on hand. Actually, turns out, I had two more packages of salt sitting in my pantry that I completely forgot about {thanks pregnant brain!}. I don’t think that 1/4 cup made any real difference, so feel free to cut back if you want.
Keep in mind, this playdough is totally kid safe {depending on your view of food coloring}, so no need to freak if they eat it. Though I should warn, your dog might try to eat it too. Not that Jack would ever do that.
First step ::
Cook flour, water, salt, oil and cream of tartar on low heat.
After a bit {maybe 10 minutes}, it will start to form a ball
Keep cooking until it is no longer sticky, but still pliable
Second step ::
Remove from pot and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, knead it like bread until soft and pliable
Divide ball into as many pieces as you’d like
Third step ::
Add food coloring
Knead the ball until the coloring has spread throughout. You might need to add more as you go
Here’s my final product ::
This was super easy. I think older kids could help out just fine, though my girls only watched {since Hannah is still too little to help}.
Have you ever made homemade playdough?
Visit Kristen at We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.
A Top Ten To-Do List
Posted on: August 2, 2011
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
{Be sure to enter my giveaway for a copy of The Help}
I’m a planner. If I thought that it was at all reasonable, I’d have the next 5 years of my life planned out. I’ve tried that before. Trust me, it doesn’t work. But, I can plan out certain projects that I want to get done before the end of summer.
1. Paint Baby Boy’s Changing Table – We have the same changing table we used with the girls. It’s a little brown, three tier table. It’s nice, but because of Baby Boy’s new-to-us white crib, the table doesn’t match his room. So I’m setting out to paint the table white. Maybe, just maybe, I might add some blues and greens to it. Maybe.
2. Get a Purse Hook – My purse ends up either on the floor or kitchen counter. Neither place is very good, because it’s either in danger of little hands or taking up space. I’d love to find one like this at a repurpose store ::
3. Add Art/Color to the House – Thanks to pinterest, I’ve got a lot of wonderful ideas. However, I don’t have tons of time or money to see them all through. But, this is one idea that I really love
4. Finish Julia’s Dress – I’m in the process of making a dress for Julia {as part of my 30 before 30}. I’ve stepped away from it for the last several weeks, but I think it’s time to come back to it.
5. Paint Baby Boy’s Room – Currently, one of the walls in Baby Boy’s room is hunter green. And the window valence is a green/red/khaki combo. Not my favorite, as it looks super office-y. We are planning to tone down the green and get new curtains.
6. Plan Julia’s 4th Birthday Party – In my I’m-a-planner nature, I realize that I’m most likely not going to be up for planning Julia’s 4th birthday weeks after Baby Boy makes his arrival. Slowly I’ve been setting aside ideas for her party {going with a princess and knight theme}, so that when the time comes everything is ready to go.
7. Take a mini-vacation – Our family is in need of a little vacation. Nothing major, just a few days away. We are currently looking at visit South Padre at the end of August. Fingers crossed all goes well and we can enjoy beach time together.
8. Plan Julia and Hannah’s Spring School Schedule – We started preschool yesterday. Nothing major, just learning numbers, basic math, ABC’s and introduction to writing/reading. {I do need to brag for a second. Julia totally wrote her own name yesterday!} We started school so early, because I plan to take off November and December. But, before Baby Boy arrives, I want to have the spring planned out, as to not have any excuses for not finishing the school year off strong.
9. Start Christmas/St. Nick Shopping – After last year, we decided to go forward with not exchanging gifts on Christmas. We are celebrating St. Nicholas Day and using that as our gift giving holiday. I am planning to make gifts for our neighbors and have some pretty great ideas going. This one I thought was really cute ::
10. Read More – That seems a bit vague, but I’m really wanting to read a few more good books as the summer ends and fall begins. I’ve gone through two in the last month, so I’m hoping to going through two or three more. Just a little mama time when the girls sleep.
Do you have an end of summer to do list? If so, what’s on it?
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
- In: Life
- 8 Comments
{Be sure to enter my giveaway for a copy of The Help}
I’ve always asserted that I am not creative. You know those people who can look at two pieces of fabric and see a beautiful dress? Yeah, that’s not me. Or those people who plan months in advance for their Christmas card, which turns out to be the best card of the season? Again, not me.
But, Jodi at Life and Oh-La-Dee-Dah has been challenging her readers to do something creative, whatever it may be, throughout the day or week. Every time she shows her way fun creations {or re-creations} I think “I really should do something” and promptly think it’ll be too hard. You know, since I’m not creative.
Friday I came across this headband on pinterest ::
And I found myself thinking “That is so cute, I wish I could do that”, and sighed with defeat. But, the June Cleaver in me decided to toss caution to the wind and just make the headband. If it didn’t turn out, what do I have to loose? Fabric. That’s it.
So I went to town. I grabbed three different sheets of scrap fabric and started cutting, braiding and sewing. I decided to only make one band instead of two, because I’ve found that the bigger the headband the less likely it is to stand in my hair.
Here’s the end result ::
I liked it so much I made one for both girls and another one for me {that is red and black}. Maybe I will take on Jodi’s creativity challenge.
What creative things have you done recently?
An Anniversary – My Friday Joy
Posted on: July 29, 2011
- In: Life
- 19 Comments
Tomorrow marks six years of marriage for me and Jonathan. Crazy that we are closer to our 10 year anniversary than our wedding day. Crazier that in just six years, we’ve owned four houses, lived in three cities, two states and are expecting our third child. Craziest that I’m more in love today than I was six years ago.
{My all time favorite wedding picture}
Thanks to some great friends from our church, we have free babysitting for Saturday night. I don’t know what we will be doing, Jonathan has planned everything {which means it will be spur of the moment and amazingly fun}.
This week {heck, this lifetime} my Friday Joy is celebrating six years of marriage with my favorite fella ever. What’s yours?
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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