Angela's Adventures

Prioritizing

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:30:00 +0000

Today started out great. I woke up feeling energized, happy and had a great morning running errands with Judah and Paisley. Last night I read before I went to bed (I wish I always did that but, unfortunately I don't) and the things that I read really encouraged me today. I've been a bit discouraged with some of Judah's behavior lately and last night I was reading about how we need to teach our kids to think of others first. We need to teach them the importance of other people and to treat people the way they want to be treated. The chapter also talked about teaching your child "why" you are asking them to do something and not having them only do it because you said so. Sure, they do need to obey because you are the parent but, they also need to understand what they are doing so, they can make the right choices in the future without you telling them what to do.

It was really a great chapter and super encouraging because, like I said, I've been struggling with Judah lately.

Lately I'm constantly being reminded of how challenging parenting can be but on the flip side, how God made my kids specifically for me and me, specifically to be their mommy. It sure is hard though! Sometimes I feel like Judah won't listen to a word I say, all he says is "No" and that I'm just constantly getting him in trouble. It's exhausting! But, I know that it's totally normal and that in the big picture, the things that I deal with are nothing compared to what some people are going through.

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting my priorities in order and spending less time on the computer. It's so hard, isn't it??? Between facebook, pinterest, blogging, reading blogs, couponing and whatever else, it seems like I could be on the computer constantly if I let myself. It's just getting to be too much and I feel like I can't keep up with all of it. I love writing so, I won't be stopping blogging anytime soon and facebook is pretty much a necessity these days, unless you want to totally be out of the loop. I just feel like I need to be off-line more. And it's hard also because it seems like there are thousands of amazing blogs out there that would be fun to read. I just can't do it though. I can read some but, I can't keep up with everything like I wish I could.

I've been thinking about how it was when I was growing up. My mom talked on the phone with her friends but, she wasn't constantly checking her computer or her phone. Heck, we didn't even have a computer until I was in middle school and she didn't even have a cell phone for so long. She didn't need to know what all of her friends were doing all the time and I feel like she gave us more un-divided attention.

We're considering putting Judah in pre-school in the fall and it's made me think about how I get only one chance to be their mom, at this specific age. I want to look back on when my kids were really young and be proud of how much I played with them and how much un-divided attention I gave them. Yes, I'll still be on facebook, I'll still be pinning away, reading blogs and writing but, I'm going to be more careful of when I choose to do these things.

The pictures for today were taken after we got home from visiting the library. I love how Judah gets excited to go return his books and pick out new ones. Watching him look at a stack of library books makes this mommy's heart happy.

Project 365{+1} Update

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:45:00 +0000

Well, here we are, it's the last day of January and I've realized that I haven't posted pictures from my photo-a-day project for awhile. Project 365{+1} has been going well! It's actually been super easy for me to stick with it so far because I'm a bit of a picture nut. I haven't been exactly thrilled with the way each picture has turned out but, when I'm grabbing my camera when the opportunity strikes, I guess I can't expect for each photo to be professional quality.

For February, I hope to focus more on capturing special moments. Moments that I want to always remember. The simple everyday life that makes being a mommy so special and so challenging at times. January has been a bit of a "blah" month for me and I'm looking forward to spring, fresh air and hopefully a little sunshine. It's exciting to look ahead and know that God has big plans for each of us in February. What are you looking forward to next month?

Judah's ice cream train Birthday cake.

One of his fun Birthday presents. He named this dinosaur "Cookie" and he loves it.

Our climber, the busy, busy little Paisley.

Flowers from MOPS.

The best squeeze ever.

Hide and go seek with Judah.

La, la, la, Levi!

Winter Garden and City Drive'n

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:36:00 +0000

This afternoon, I realized that I haven't watered my little winter garden in probably about a month. I haven't even looked at it and it's not good to ignore those you love.

My husband built a beautiful raised bed for me and then my Dad made a cover for it. In October I planted lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots and garlic.

Well, apparently a little neglect or snow and freezing temperatures haven't bothered it much. Here in the Pacific Northwest, this little garden is still pretty happy! I was like "Whoooaa!" when I opened it up this afternoon. Growing things makes me happy. If I'm not growing a baby, I mine as well grow some lettuce, right? :) This is what I brought in today.

Here's my only problem with gardening......I don't like bugs. Sure, bugs outside are fine but, I don't like bugs on my food, at all. I also don't like pesticides and one of the highlights of growing a tad of our own produce is the fact that I know it has no chemicals on it. When I brought these spinach and lettuce leaves in, I must have spent over 10 minutes spraying off each leaf, totally OCD style. Seriously, there weren't many bugs on them but, I can't stand the thought of missing one. I think our water bill is going to be higher, just from me rinsing lettuce!

So, what does a girl do? Do I just get over it and rinse it off like a normal person? If you have a garden, how do you deal with the possibility of bugs?

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On a different note, last night, we attended my husband's company party in Seattle. We haven't driven to Seattle in about 8 months and it kind of freaked me out! We parked in a parking garage that has a 6'6 limit. Seriously, if you car is over 6 1/2 feet tall, you would scrap the roof. I was a little nervous and ducking down in my seat (not that crouching down in my seat makes our car shorter, it just makes me feel better). I realized that I need to get out of my small town more often because Seattle shouldn't be scary. It's actually an amazing city with tons of fun things to do. I apparently just live a rather sheltered life.

After we left the party, I drove us home. To get back on the freeway, we needed to drive on this road that was a HUGE hill, with stop lights on the hill. I've never almost had a panic attack while driving but, I seriously almost did. There's nothing like stopping on a HUGE hill in bumper to bumper traffic and then when the light turns green, you have to get going again, without rolling back and smashing into the car behind you. Oh. My. Word. My heart races just as I type this. I survived but, I was shaking, my hands were sweating and I think I still have sore muscles in my shoulders. Next time I go to Seattle, I will specifically plan my driving to not involve one of those huge hills with stop lights. No thank you. No way. I give major kudos to those crazy people who drive on those hills everyday. That will never be me and for the record, I do not drive a stick shift and yes, my car had a funny smell after I gunned it when the light turned green.

Here we Go, Go, Go, Go, on an Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:10:00 +0000

This morning we listened to "The Cat and the Hat" sing.....Here we go! Go! Go! Go! On an adventure......

The sun was shining so, I told the kids that if we hurried up and got a few things done, we could go out on our own adventure. We got some laundry started, tidied the house and by 10:05am, we were all buckled into the car. It was 42 degrees outside but, that didn't stop us from heading to the beach and then the playground. It was so much fun that I think I might start to call our Friday's, "Adventure Friday's". I'd like to do something fun with the kids, even if we just pack a picnic to have outside, under a tree. Judah is all about "going on an adventure" and frankly, so am I. Here are a few pictures from our morning.

Valentine Wreath-Made with Yarn

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:13:00 +0000

The other day I got an urge to make a Valentine wreath to decorate the chalkboard that we have hanging in our kitchen. I'm a HUGE fan of using materials that I have on hand so, I cut out a heart from a piece of cardboard and then I wrapped some white yarn all the way around the heart.

After the heart was covered with the yarn, I cut out some pink felt hearts, hole punched them and then used pink ribbon to attach them to the wreath.

Now our chalkboard is all ready for Valentines Day....although I'll most likely change it up a few more times. You know, just because it's fun!

Pin It

5 Mom-Inspired Driving Tips- Sponsored by Esurance

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:11:00 +0000

Esurance is teaming up with real life moms to talk about Mom-Inspired Driving Tips. As a busy mom of two little ones, I know first hand what it’s like to want to keep your children as safe in the car as possible and also feel like there are so many distractions. Today, I’m writing my 5 Mom-Inspired Driving Tips.

#1-Educate yourself on car seat safety. It amazes me how many mothers think they know how to properly strap their children into their car seats or booster seats but, they are doing it incorrectly. If a carseat is installed wrong or your child isn’t buckled in correctly, the car seat will not protect the child properly in an accident. Read the owners manual front to back. Drive to your local fire station or police station and have them inspect the way you’ve installed the car seat. Also, you can check with your local hospital and see if they do carseat safety inspections. I think a lot of the hospitals have special days where they can help you with care seat safety. Also, be a good example and make sure you’re always buckled up.

#2- Keep your eyes on the road. Sounds simple, right? Well, keeping your eyes on the road when you have small children crying or screaming in the back seat can be a challenge. I know I’ve struggled with this while I have a child that’s hollering for more snacks or a crying baby. I try to remind myself that no amount of crying or whining is worth us being in an accident. Bottom line, keep your eyes on the road.

#3- Give the car in front of you some space. It’s funny how we’re all in such a hurry and we feel like if we go just a little faster or follow the car in front of just a little closer, it’ll help us get there quicker. Driving too close to the car in front of us not only endangers us and our precious cargo but, it also endangers the people in the cars around us. Give them (and yourself) some space.

#4-Be aware of other drivers. It’s easy to assume that other drivers can see us and that they are paying attention to the road. Unfortunately, this is not the case and you never can know for sure if they other drivers around you are safe. So, pay attention and drive defensively.

#5-Make sure your lights, signals and tires are functioning properly. We’ve all had it happen to us…someone turns out in front of us without signaling or it’s dark outside and another driver doesn’t have their lights on. Double check that your signals are working, that all of your headlights work and that your tires are in good condition.

Writing this post has been a gentle reminder to me that I need to pay even better attention when I’m driving. Most of the time I’m driving with my kids in the car and there’s nothing more that I want, than to keep them safe.

To learn more about Esurance or to join their safe driving conversation, you can visit them on their facebook page.

****I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Esurance blogging program for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Tea and Testimony

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:04:00 +0000

Some things I'm pretty comfortable with. For example, blogging. I like writing....a lot. It's actually like therapy for me. Other things, like standing in front of a room of amazing woman and sharing my life story make me less comfortable. I actually get totally freaked out. Cold hands, shaky voice, fears of fainting of throwing up or many other embarrassing things come over me. But, I did it anyway! I shared my testimony this morning at my MOPS group and it felt GOOD. Like, I'd totally do it all over again!

I'm not going to share my entire testimony here on my blog becauseI don't feel called to do that right now. What I will say is this..........

If you ever get the opportunity to share your testimony, I'd encourage you to jump on it. Even if you don't get asked, I challenge you to take some time and write down what YOUR story is. I spent a few nights writing out 5 pages of my story and it really made me think about what I've done wrong, how I've messed up and then, how God has FORGIVEN me.

Standing in front of a room of women and sharing some of my darkest times wasn't easy but, it was freeing. I want everyone to know that know matter what they've done and how many times they've messed up, they are still worthy of love. While I typed out my story, I listed to two songs on repeat. These songs speak so much to me and I'd like to share them here.

"Desert Song" says that "all of my life, in EVERY season, you are still God. I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship". Those words are so powerful and they've helped bring me through some hard moments!

The second song I shared was "You love me anyway" by Sidewalk Prophets. This song has spoken to me so much, reminding me that no matter what I've done, I am still loved! Jesus is always there, waiting to forgive us and all we need to do is ask. I love that!

Our Train Party

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:23:00 +0000

Last weekend we celebrated Judah turning 3 with some of our friends and family. A month or so before his Birthday, I started asking him what he'd like to do for his Birthday. He always told me that he wanted a train party so, a train party it was!

My sister came over and helped me make a train ice cream cake. Making an ice cream cake is time consuming but, my boy loves ice cream and it was really fun to make this for him.

We also had chocolate cupcakes, pizza, bread sticks and fruit salad.

I found some red containers at Target, in the dollar section. I decorated them to look like the animal car, coal car and log car. The animal car had animal cookies in it, the coal car was full of cookie dough truffles and the log car was filled with pretzels dipped in chocolate.

A few days before the party, I found out that the favors I ordered from Amazon wouldn't be here on time. I ended up printing off coloring pages and making playdough to give to the kids. Also, I got all the supplies ready for the kids to decorate a train cookie to take home with them. Some of the kids enjoyed decorating a cookie and others were just too tired or interested in other things.

For more of a vintage look, I used lots of brown paper. Last minute, I made little brown paper sleeves to hold the silverware in. These simple little holders ended up being one of my favorite things.

The kids sat at small tables covered in brown paper. Pretty easy for cleaning up and it covered my paint splattered, ugly tables.

Judah had a great time and he's still talking about how his friends came over and had a party with him. It means so much to me to see him having fun with his friends. Happy 3rd Birthday sweet Judah!

Prepping for a Party and Project 365{+1} Update

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:36:00 +0000

Well, the snow started to melt today. From everyone's posts on facebook, I could easily tell that I'm one of the few people that was sad to say goodbye to the snow. I'm happy to be at home but, I noticed today that Judah and Paisley were starting to get a bit crazy from being home so much. This afternoon they were getting into everything and I was trying to finish up the last of my projects for Judah's Birthday party. At one point, I sat Judah down at the kitchen table with a bowl, a Popsicle stick with a dab of frosting on it, a small cookie and a bunch of cheerios. I told him to decorate his cookie and it actually kept him out of trouble for a few minutes.

I've been busy working on the last minute details for his 3rd Birthday party. I'd ordered a bunch of fun things off of Amazon and because of the weather, none of my items are going to be here before the party. I ended up figuring out a back up plan so, I've been busy making homemade playdough, train cookies for the kids to decorate, printing off coloring pages, making cupcakes and also making a surprise Birthday cake for Judah. My sister came and helped me with the cake after the kids were in bed last night. I am really excited about how it turned out but, I can't post pictures yet. It needs to be a surprise!

So anyway, all the party prep has been super fun and now I'm ready to party!!!

I haven't posted a Project 365{+1} update for about a week so, I better get on that! I've been snapping away day after day. It's fun and addicting. What's not so fun is the amount of pictures that I need to sort through and the fact that I'm going to eventually need a larger hard drive! So, here we go....this should bring me up to date.

Marshmallow Love

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:50:00 +0000

Today was another special snow day for us. While Judah was out playing in the snow, I made him some special marshmallows for the hot chocolate that would warm him up when he came inside. I told him the heart was because I love him and it must have made an impression on him because he told Daddy all about it tonight when he came home from work.

First I melted a bunch of mini marshmallows in the microwave. I turned the power down to about 30% so, they would melt and not just get huge.

While they were melting, I greased a heart shaped cookie cutter and put it on a plate, covered in waxed paper.

After the marshmallows were melted, I poured them into the greased cookie cutter and put sprinkles on top. I melted quite a few marshmallows so, I also made some other fun shapes but, I didn't get pictures of those. In to the freezer the marshmallow shapes went.

After they had chilled for awhile, they were pretty easy to remove from the cookie cutters. Using a butter knife dipped in hot water worked great.

I love this boy and I hope he'll always let me make him hot cocoa with heart shaped marshmallows on top.

Snow, Snow and More Snow, Please

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:49:00 +0000

I grew up in an area where the snow fell heavily. The ground was white pretty much straight from Thanksgiving, until the bulbs started peaking out in April. The schools didn't shut down and everyone had snow tires. My sister and I prayed for snow that would go up past our waists and our prayers were answered on a regular basis. We spent our days playing outside, coming in to get warm, while my mom hung our clothes by the fire to dry. A few hours later, we were back outside again and that was normal life. One day, the snow froze and it was hard enough to walk on top of. We heard a rumor that you can get a sun tan from laying out on the snow so, we gathered our beach towels, changed out of our warm clothes and into our swim suits. I respect my mom for letting us just be kids and learn that laying out on the snow is cold.

We moved when I was in high school and winters have never been the same. Where we live now, we're lucky if we have a few days of snow per year and I think we've only had one white Christmas.

For a few days, the weather guys have been predicting a big snow storm for our area. I love it when they are right but, I'm skeptical by nature. This morning when I woke up, I was happy to see about an inch of the pretty white stuff on the ground. The world seems more quiet and peaceful when it's snowing and I think the calmness rubs off on me. By noon, we had over 6 inches and now we have about nine. Do you know how happy this makes a snow-girl like me??? Seriously, you won't hear me complaining about too much snow. Bring. It. On. More snow, please!

The only thing I'll complain about is when it starts to melt. Seriously, I'd be happy to stay home and feed my family whatever I can scrape up from our cupboards for however long.

After breakfast, we headed outside to play. We made a snowman with the neighbor kids and had fun goofing around the yard.

Paisley played in the snow for a little while and then she started getting upset because she was falling down like every other step. I ended up being able to wear her on my back for about an hour. She was bundled up and totally content. Our neighbor offered to make me a latte. Seriously, I get to wear my baby, while I play in the snow and drink a latte at the same time? Happiness.

So, here's my request.....

Snow, please stay.

My Word of the Year {LOVE}

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:19:00 +0000

Here we are, over 2 weeks into the new year. Since the beginning of 2012, I've seen a few bloggers write about their Word of the Year. I'd never really considered having a word of the year until this morning. Something in me, or maybe it's all the circumstances around me, tell me that my Word of the Year needs to be: LOVE. Some might say that the word I chose isn't very exciting or original. But, I'm saying that this word is mine and it's the perfect word for me to focus on this year.

Sure, I'm filled with love. I have Jesus in me and I have so many people in my life that I love. What I need to work on is bringing this word into action. Using the word love as a verb. This morning I thought a lot about the word love. While Judah was having his breakfast, I looked at him and asked him what he thinks of when he hears the word love....

Here's how our conversation went:

Me: "Judah, when you think of the word love, that do you think of?"
Judah responds: "Daddy!"
Me: "What does love mean to you?
Judah: "I see a train conductor driving a train!"

Ok so, maybe he gets it...a little bit.
For love to be my word of the year, I need to focus on a few areas of my life that could use more love.

Disciplining in Love

I love my children all the time. No.Matter.What. Nothing will ever change that. I'm trying to get in the habit of telling them this on a regular basis. This year, I hope to become better at disciplining them in love. Sure they will get in trouble but, I want to focus on being calm with them and not showing my frustration as much. I want to teach them good character by being calm and obedience without getting flustered with the situation. I find that I get the most frustrated when I don't feel confident in the way that I'm parenting. I'm horrible about comparing myself to other moms or second guessing the way I do things. If I grow my confidence as a mom, I'm bound to handle difficult situations with more love and less frustration.

Speaking the Truth in Love

Speaking the truth in love is something that I've struggled with my entire life. I am brutally honest and while it's good to not be a liar, I struggle with my tongue. Oh how I struggle with this! As I type this, I'm not sure exactly how I plan to learn to speak with more love. I guess the first step is knowing that I have a problem in this area. I'm going to try and watch how I speak. Words are so powerful and mine could definitely use a ~~little~~ lot more love.

Intentionally Look for Acts of Love

I've heard many times that a woman's greatest need is to feel loved and a man's greatest need is to feel respect. It's pretty easy to focus on not feeling loved instead of looking for ways that people are trying to show their love. Even with my children, I'd like to focus more on seeing the way that they are showing each other love.

Creating Moments Filled with Love

With love being my word of the year, I'd like to be more intentional about creating moments where the people that are important to me feel loved. This could be done by writing my husband more notes, spending more time playing on the floor with my kids or sending an encouraging note to someone. Creating a moment filled with love doesn't need to be complicated, I just need to be intentional about it.

Filling my home with Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up!

So, what about you, do you have a word of the year?

Do you have an area of your life that could use more love or do you just need to be more aware of the love around you?

WINNER of Porcelain Enamel Ramsign Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:56:00 +0000

Part of the fun of blogging is being able to give awesome things away to my sweet readers. I admit, I actually get a few butterflies in my stomach before I go draw the winner. I know most of my readers and even the ones I don't know in real life, I still get excited for.

I used random.org to pick the winner and I'm excited to announce that EMILY @ 52 Mantels is the lucky lady! If you haven't checked out her blog, be sure to check it out. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to get inspired. Oh how I wish I had a mantel.....maybe someday.

Congratulations, Emily! I'll be giving your email address to Ramsign and they'll be getting in touch with you right away.

A Train Hunt

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:32:00 +0000

Recently after the kids and I went grocery shopping, we headed out on a "train hunt". We've had a pretty laid back week so, after we were done at the store, I was in no hurry to get back home. Judah loves trains and he made up this cute little thing that he calls a "train hunt". Basically, you just drive around and look for trains. He said "Mommy, let's go for a train hunt!" Alright, sweet boy...let's go find us some trains.

While we were searching for a train, I spotted this awesome teal wall, the ideal place to photograph a red head.

We didn't find any trains but, we did stop at some old train tracks.

It was a beautiful day for a drive and spending time with my kids, without an agenda is one of my favorite things. I feel like when we aren't rushed to be at the next place or do the next thing, we have time to enjoy each other more and notice all the wonderful things around us.

Valentine Tutu-D.I.Y

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:28:00 +0000

A few nights ago, my husband and I put our kids to bed and then I left him home while I went to JoAnn Fabrics by myself to pick up a few things for the Birthday party that I'm planning for our (almost) 3 year old. Walking around in that store alone is like pure bliss. The holiday's are over, the store is quiet and the new craft ideas are on display. Awww.....deep....happy....sigh....

I came across a Valentine tutu they had for sale. Instead of buying it, I decided to make my own. I headed over to the fabric section, picked some tulle and some elastic. This project ended up being really inexpensive and super easy. I love that!

What you need:

2 yards of tulle

***I bought one yard of white, 1/2 yard pink and 1/2 yard red.

Elastic (The tutu size I made is 18months-2T and I used 17inches of elastic)

Thread to sew the elastic into a circle and a button if you want to dress it up a bit more.

To make the elastic waistband of your tutu, measure your child's waist or the waistband of her pants. Cut a piece that is once inch shorter than the waist measurement.

Sew the ends of the elastic together to make a circle. I sewed a big felt button on mine to dress it up a bit more.

Next, measure and cut the tulle into long pieces. Use your child or a pair of their pants to figure out how long you want your tutu to be. The pieces of tulle need to be double the length that you want, plus another inch for the knot. For example, if you want the tutu to be 12 inches long, cut the pieces 25 inches long.
I cut each color of my tulle to a different length, just to mix it up a bit! My pieces of tulle were cut at:
White: 25 inches long, 2 inches wide
Red: 21 inches long, 2 inches wide
Pink: 18 inches long, 2 inches wide

Fold the piece of tulle in half.

Put the folded piece of tulle behind the elastic and then pull the loose ends through the loop.

You should now have a bundle of tulle looped over and knotted to the elastic waistband. Continue bundling tulle and knotting each bundle to the elastic all the way around.

All done and my little Valentine loves it!

P.S If you haven't entered my giveaway yet for the Porcelain Enamel Ramsign, please go enter! These signs are amazing and they sell for $99! Wouldn't that be exciting to get one for....my favorite price.....free!

A MOPS Morning and Project 365{+1} Update

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:50:00 +0000

Today was a MOPS morning for us. MOPS days are kind of funny. They are the only days out of the entire month that I ever need to leave the house with us all feed and dressed by 8:30am. For working moms, this probably doesn't seem like a big deal but, for this stay at home mom (with kids that sleep late), it's always a bit of a challenge. This morning went well though. I got up early and I was totally ready before the kids were up. No matter if we have to go somewhere or not, me being up and getting ready before they wake always makes our day go so much smoother. Today we managed to get to the car without me loosing my patience and we were all in a good mood as we drove to MOPS. Funny how my mood rubs off on my kids!

Our speaker this morning was amazing. She talked about how we use our words and how powerful our words can be. We are supposed to be praising Jesus with our words and encouraging others with our words but, we don't always do that. There is no way that I can sum up her devotion to show you how amazing it was. All I know is that it really touched me and it gave me a great reminder about how I need to speak kindly. How I need to Praise Jesus throughout the day with my words and how I need to be an encourager with my words.

I have a few pictures from my Project 365{+1} that I'm going to share. I'm totally enjoying taking (at least) one picture a day but, I'm finding that I'm not able to capture a lot of the moments that I wish I was getting photographs of. I want to try and capture more of the everyday moments like when I have Paisley sitting on the bathroom counter at night and I'm brushing her teeth. I think I'm going to enlist my husband to start helping with the photo taking so, that I can capture the daily things that I do with the kids. See, I'm just not talented enough to hold a baby, brush her teeth and take a good picture all at the same time. I guess I need to work on that!

Project 365{+1}

Day 007: My husband takes down Christmas lights, outside in the dark and in the rain. He knows I have a major issue with Christmas lights being up after Christmas and he deals with my crazy ways.

Day 008: My sister and her family came over to have chili with us and watch football. While they were over, I took family pictures for them. We got a bunch of great ones but, this one is my favorite. They are announcing some exciting news!!!! It's weird, every time my sister has ever told me she was pregnant, I was pregnant also when she told me. Our older boys are 36 days apart and our younger babies are 18 days. This time, our kids will be farther apart because we aren't planning on having another anytime in the super-near future.

Day 009: For day nine, I took a picture of our sweet dog. I feel guilty that she doesn't get the same amount of attention from me that she used to, before I became a mommy. However, she does get tons of attention from our kids and she has never been anything except patient.

Day 010: Today's picture captures two of Paisley's current favorite loves: shoes and babies.

Seriously, is she my girl or what!!??

Well, this has been fun but, now it's time to get back to normal life. Judah has been napping less and less lately and although he's good at staying in his room and being quiet for his "quiet time" he hasn't figured out the part about not getting into major mischief yet. Seriously, the messes and "creativity" that I've walked into lately would blow your mind. Then again, if you're a mother of a two (almost 3 year old), you might not be surprised.

~Angela

Porcelain Enamel Ramsign Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:02:00 +0000

Recently I came across an amazing company called Ramsign. Since 1991, these talented folks have created custom Porcelain Enamel signs that are truly beautiful. I'm so excited to tell you all that one of you, my wonderful readers, is going to be the winner of one of these hand-crafted signs.

Ramsign is committed to quality and they back that commitment up with a 30 year warranty plus guarantee. All of these Porcelain Enamel signs are manufactured with genuine glass enamel and stencil technique and production takes place exclusively by hand. Go here to read about the history of this unique company.

One of these beautiful hand made signs would look great on your house or it would make an amazing gift. Seriously, I would LOVE to receive one of these! So, here are the details:

Ramsign is going to let my lucky winner pick out any house number sign (1-5 digits) in any size from any of their designs. Then they'll manufacture the sign specifically, just for you in their genuine glass enamel and stenciling technique. Next, they'll ship it to you, free of charge, worldwide!

To Enter the Giveaway:

Entry #1: You must first be a follower of my blog. If you're already a follower, great! Just leave me a comment, telling me that. Make sure you leave a comment for being a follower.

Entry #2: Visit Ramsign and tell me which design is your favorite. Honestly, I love them all but, if I had to choose, I think I'd choose Highlander.

Entry #3: Tell your blog readers about this giveaway and leave a link to your post.

Entry #4: Subscribe to my blog by email (upper right hand side of the blog).

•If you do not have a blog, please leave your email address so, I can contract you if you are the winner.

•This giveaway will be open through next Sunday the 15th. One Monday the 16th, I will use random.org to select the winner. Good luck!!!

Project 365{+1}

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:12:00 +0000

I'll be honest...it's late, I'm tired and I should be in bed. However..... I want to do just a quick post to update my blog about Project 365{+1}. All sorts of people have been doing this same photo challenge for at least a few years, most of them are much more experienced photographers that I am but, I decided to jump on the bandwagon anyway. If nothing else, it'll help me learn how to use my camera better and having a picture for each day of the year will make a fantastic album to have sitting on our shelf.

When I created my Project 365{+1} album on Facebook, I used the 5 W's to describe what I plan to do.

WHO: Us (or once in a while, people we spend time with)
WHAT: I plan on taking (at least) one picture a day for the entire year.
WHERE: Anywhere! Well...almost.
WHEN: I'm used to taking pictures almost everyday anyway because of blogging but, I plan on posting these to facebook and my blog only on a weekly basis or so.
WHY: To get to know my camera better and be able to make an album with a picture for each day of the year.
HOW: By paying closer attention to the everyday moments that I want to capture and be able to remember.

Here are the pictures for each day of the year so far. Already, I've discovered that it's hard to choose just one. I'm going to try and post a little description with each photo, when time allows. Tonight, the pictures will have to do. I'm off to bed!

~Angela

Easy and Simple Way to Keep Christmas Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:20:00 +0000

I don't know about you but, every year I struggle with knowing what to do with all the beautiful Christmas cards we received during the holiday season. It's easy for me to throw the tree to the curb and watch the boy scouts take it away. It's also easy to put the decorations back in their Rubbermaid's and know that I'll see them again next year. But, when it comes to the Christmas cards, I'm torn. I don't want to be a hoarder....I'm actually quite opposite because I love throwing things away. But, I can't seem to throw the cards away, in particular, I want to keep the ones from friends and family that have their kids pictures on them. I'd love to be able to compare the kids pictures year after year and see the families grow and change.

In the past, I've put the cards into a plastic bag and shoved them into my craft box, hoping that someday I'd do something with them. I've seen people put them in a photo album but, I didn't want to do that because I want to be able to open the card and also see the back of double sided cards. Well, I'm trying not to be a procrastinator so this year, I figured out a way to save them and I think I'm happy with it.

I ran down to our local Bartell's and picked up some big circle rings. Next, I hole punched all of the cards and threaded them onto the rings. I don't have any fancy graphic designing programs on my computer so, I made a simple sign in Picasa with one of my favorite pictures that I took during the Christmas season. I printed the sign out on our {very not fancy} printer and put it on top of the cards. Lastly, I added some ribbon that I had in our of my craft bags.

I hope to do this with the cards that I saved from 2010 and 2009. Next Christmas season, I'll bring them all out and have them sitting in a basket somewhere for our family and other people who visit our home to enjoy!

Chewy Coconut Brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:56:00 +0000

This year, we celebrated New Year's Eve with my sister, her family and her husband's cousins. I had an absolute blast visiting with everyone in their new home and watching the cousins play. While we were there, Judah found a book and a comfy spot to read it. I love this picture of him reading.

We also ate really yummy food. Make your own sandwiches with all the fixings, taco soup and Chewy Coconut Brownies. Now that it's a new year and Christmas time is over, I won't be having any sugar for awhile but, that isn't stopping me from posting just one more sweet recipe. If anything, I'm going to post this recipe so, I won't forget how these were made, and I'll have a place to refer back to, when the day comes that I can finally eat sugar again.

Chewy Coconut Brownies
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa and baking soda. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water. Mix until well blended and thickened. Stir in the sugar, eggs, and remaining 1/3 cup oil. Finally, add the flour, vanilla, salt and coconut; mix just until all of the flour is absorbed. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. When the brownies come out of the oven, sprinkle just a touch of powdered sugar and coconut on top. It'll make them look pretty and making them look pretty is half the battle! Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

2011 in Review and Blogging Goals for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:22:00 +0000

2011, it's been a good and busy year for us! Actually, the last 4 years have been full of events and changes. Let me show you what I mean.....

2008- Got Married
2009-Had a baby
2010-Had another baby
2011-Bought our first house.

Whew!!! Lots of major life changes have been going on. I started blogging back in 2009 but, over the course of this year, my blog has grown from being very small, to a bit bigger (yet still, pretty small...in the grand scheme of the blog world). I've thoroughly enjoyed documenting our daily adventures here and *meeting* some other moms along the way. One of my highlights has been finding a local MOPS group for a lady in a different part of the country. She went to her first meeting and said it was great. If I can encourage just one mom to get connected with other moms, I feel like I'm making a small change in this world and that makes me happy.

Here's a list of the most popular posts that I wrote in 2011:

Cakes in a Jar

Rainbow Cake-How To

Felt Flower Clips

Capturing the Glow of Christmas Lights-DIY

Almond Joy No-Bake Cookies

Flowers Made with Ribbon

Easy No-Sew Curtain

Wreath Made with Felt Circles

Sweet & Salty Cake Pops

As I anticipate the year ahead, I don't have any major resolutions that I'm going to try and keep. Instead, I hope to continue to become a better mommy, a better wife and grow my relationship with God. I want to make taking care of myself more of a priority. Somehow over the last few years, taking care of ME has slipped to the side. I truly believe that I can be a wife and stay at home mommy and not loose myself along the way. Now it's time for me to live out that belief and start taking better care of myself.

I've also been contemplating blogging and wondering if I have any "blogging goals" for the new year. I've decided that I don't have any goals or resolutions for blogging but, I might be changing the direction of my blog a bit. Our family life is very dear and personal to me so, I might be sharing less about our daily life and more recipe and craft adventures that I take on. Our memories are precious and something that I love to document but, like I said, they are precious and they are mine. Lately, I've become slightly uncomfortable with lots of people reading about our daily life. The days with my children are so sweet that I don't want to ever sell them short by sharing them with whoever chooses to read this.

I'll still be sharing pictures and I'm sure I'll still be writing about daily life because I almost can't help it. I've got the blogging bug, and I don't think it'll be going away anytime soon. Most likely, I'll be sharing more recipes and craft ideas and less about our personal life. I also want to get to know my camera better so, I might be doing that "Project 365".

As far as our personal life goes, we have no plans to buy a house or have any babies during 2012. Of course, God is bigger than all of our plans and His ways are unknown but, I'm hoping that this next year will be a very special time of enjoying our family of 4, continuing to make our new house our home, and enjoying everyday with our kids.

Happy New Year!

Angela

A rainbow for new beginnings...taken back in 2008, way before I had a good camera.

Rainbow ('ish) Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 06:35:00 +0000

At our house, Friday night is usually breakfast for dinner. It's easy, everyone likes it and the possibilities are endless. Tonight I decided to not get too adventurous and thought I'd stick with good 'ole pancakes, eggs and fruit on the side. We ended up being out of pancake mix so, I found a recipe online that we actually really liked and for being homemade, it was also super easy. If you're interested in making your pancakes homemade, you can find the recipe HERE. Otherwise, just go ahead and keep on using your mix from the box, no one will judge...a pancake is a pancake, right?

Anyway, to mix it up a bit, I went with a rainbow theme for our pancakes tonight. I ended up being out of red food coloring so, I didn't create a perfect rainbow but, coloring the pancake batter was fun and the kids liked the colors also.

Just divide the pancake mix into bowls, color your little heart out (there isn't a right or wrong way to do this) and then cook them up like normal.

Pumpkin Apple Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:09:00 +0000

We hosted Christmas this year and although we had an awesome time, the thing that wasn't so awesome is all the tasty and un-healthy sweets that were leftover, after everyone was gone. I'm guessing anyone that reads this can relate to the plethora of delicious things, that stare at you, just begging to be eaten, during this time of year.

Sure, the first few days after Christmas were great. A cinnamon roll here, a left over brownie there, oh and those delicious cookies and candied popcorn brought over by my Uncle's friend. Ok, I'll have just one more...... But then, they start to make you feel sick and a little later, even looking at the junk is starting to annoy you.

So, yesterday afternoon, I did what had to be done, I threw it all away. Yes, I felt very wasteful but, I figured that having to buy new pants would be more wasteful than throwing a bunch of (delicious) sweets into the trash.

Today the kids and I have had a wonderful morning at home. We baked this healthy Pumpkin Apple Bread

(recipe to follow) and then Judah requested a smoothie for lunch. Even though both of my children are a very healthy size, I still feel guilty if I'm not feeding them well enough. After all, what they eat is what fuels them. I want them to have good fuel, know what I mean??

Step One: If you have a baking helper, make him a very tall baker's hat. It just makes things more fun.

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

Dry Ingredients:

2 Cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup wheat bran

1/2 cup flaxseed meal

1/2 cup raisins

1 chopped apple

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup honey

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 cup pureed pumpkin

2 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 350. Stir dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Stir wet ingredients together in a separate bowl and then stir into the dry ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for approx. 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pin It

The After-Christmas Letdown

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Last night, I sat down to update the header of my blog and ended up messing the whole thing up. Apparently the amount of photos that I'm aloud to upload has been exceeded and now blogger won't let me upload a picture for my header. It was 1am and I decided that being rested is more important than having a pretty blog so, I'll be figuring that out, when time allows. In the mean time, at least I still have a boring title on my good ole' blog.

Today I'm somewhere in between content and in need of direction. The Christmas season was wonderful but, when it's over I feel like....ok, what now? All the baking has been done, the presents have been wrapped and given, the traditions have been celebrated. There are things that we wanted to do and ran out of time for...those can wait until next year. So, what now? Clean up, organize and put away is a given but, that's not very exciting. It's cloudy and dreary outside and it's weird to not be preparing for anything at this moment.

I stepped outside yesterday to get the mail and noticed that the bulbs I planted have come up. I had just been thinking about how I wish it was spring time so, it was interesting to see that my bulbs and I are on the same page. Unfortunately, I think the problem is that I didn't plant them deep enough. Instead of being excited to see them grow, I'm going to get some good soil, cover them up and make them wait a little longer until they are good and ready to come out.

I think it's time for me to step back, slow down and focus on what 2012 should be like. What about you, do you feel a little let down after Christmas is over? How do you deal with this?

Christmas Time is Here (and gone!)

noreply@blogger.com (Angela) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 23:11:00 +0000

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas with a quiet family morning at home. We had cinnamon rolls, opened presents, assembled presents and played. Later in the afternoon all of my family came over and we celebrated again. Our tradition is to go around and open our gifts, one at a time. The bigger our family gets, the longer this takes but, I wouldn't change it! We had a delicious ham dinner with Sally's scalloped potatoes, other sides and way too many desserts.

Our kids slept in on Christmas morning, I'm guessing this is the last year that will happen! I took this picture before all the chaos started. The piece of bed you see is just part of Judah's new bed. We didn't want to have all of it sitting in the living room so, we just brought one piece in to show him.

Paisley giving her new baby a kiss.

Cheers!

Even though I love decorating for Christmas, I was ready to get the tree out of our house this morning. Jeremiah and Judah took it out of the house for me and then had fun throwing it off of our deck together.

Christmas, we love to see you come and what can I say...we love to see you go! It's been fun!