Mom of 5 kids

Jorja's Pumpkin Bread Recipe

2012-09-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 a cup of oil
2 eggs

1/2 a can of pumpkin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl
Smell it

Spray a bread pan with cooking spray
Pour mixture into the pan

Bake in the oven at 325 degrees for 35 mins.
Insert a tooth pick into the center: If it comes out clean, then it's done! If not, let it bake a few more minutes.
Sift powdered sugar on top.
Enjoy :)

Why We Love Bookstores

2012-09-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

The kids and I enjoy spending time in bookstores. The one we often like to frequent is Barnes & Noble. As soon as we enter the store, my little children head straight for the children's section. The bright, colorful books, and wooden train set help keep them busy long enough for me to enjoy a slice of pumpkin cheesecake, and a coffee with my older boys.

The cashier at the Starbucks counter wrote my son's name "Jacob" in Hebrew on his cup. The top portion is in cursive, and the bottom is written in print. So neat! This is the kind of stuff I love about the bookstore! Who would have thought the Starbucks cashier could write in Hebrew?!

We love the brainy atmosphere at the store. The perfume of new books, and coffee fills the air, all types of people are browsing the bookshelves for whate're they fancy; College students, hipsters, parents, grandparents, teens, and children; people from all walks of life are there. I even observed a military man who enter the coffee shop where we were sitting. Dressed in his fatigues, he ordered a cup of coffee, browsed the books for a few short minutes, then left. I thought about his service to our country, and told my boys they should go shake his hand, and thank him for the job he does. Of course they 'd rather suck down their caramel frappuccinos, and take advantage of the free WiFi.

Not long after my boys finished their frappuccinos, my son Jon (12) comes over, and asks, "How does he do it? Everywhere he goes, he does this!" I heard some girls giggling behind me. I turned around, and my oldest son Jacob, who is 14, has already met two girls, and is making them laugh! I gave him his privacy. I don't mind him making friends with girls from the bookstore. At least I know they're probably smart. ;)

We all bought something. Jorja (my Girl) bought a board game, Joel (5) and Jared (8) both bought angry birds balls; go figure. Jacob, Jon, and myself all went home with new books. It should take me about 3 months to read these ;) I better get started.

My New Project

2012-08-31T23:36:00.002-07:00

Good Morning! I'd like to show you all a little project that I have been working on called

Photography by Michelle. This is my very own photo journal that I am ready to share with you awesome people. I mostly take pictures of nature, kids, and inspiring moments. It's a fairly new blog so there are only 9 posts on it and no followers....yet ;) But I am inviting you to visit and browse through my personal collection of photos and follow me if you like what you see :)

Have a great day!

A Peculiar Pet

2012-08-04T13:00:00.002-07:00

Right after her first bath

~
I'd like to introduce our pet

Her name is Juliet

She loves to eat

She's very sweet

She enjoys getting muddy and wet
~

Juliet & my son Jon

Yes, I wrote that poem myself ;)

So, let me tell you the story of how we acquired such a peculiar pet.

One evening, my husband and I were driving through downtown Hampton, a place that has an old-fashioned attractiveness with it's archaic homes, charming gardens, historic train station, and old town buildings, when we came upon a man selling a tiny piglet in his front yard.

Scratching her ear after her first mud treatment

We gawked and aww'd as we drove by.It was so cute, tiny and pink. The man had it on a rope leash and people were standing around in the yard adoring it. Possible buyers I'm sure. We just continued on down the road. What would we do with a pig? I said to my husband. We both thought it was so neat. We found ourselves still talking about it down the road. Wouldn't it be cool to have a pig as a pet?! The kids would love it! He agreed. With tears in my eyes, I looked over at my husband, who was driving and said...I want it! Let's go back and get it! So we turned around and went back.

We were hoping no one had bought it from the man yet. There were still a few people standing around admiring her absolute cuteness when we got there. We politely stood around the circle, making small talk, asking if it was a boy or girl, what to feed it, how old it was...giving the others a chance to speak up and say if they wanted her or not, and debating if we ourselves could take on the responsibility of caring for such an unusual and interesting animal.

She's always smiling

Finally, everyone left and it was just us, the man and this mini potbellied piglet. After going back and forth for about 30 minutes, we finally decided to buy the tiny pig. We paid $50.00 for her and she was so small that we took her home in a milk crate. We named her Juliet and she spent her first night inside the house.

Juliet & my daughter Jorja about 3 months old

We gave her baths and took her outside to potty. We had planned on raising her inside the house and she did very well using the restroom outside for a while...then she started getting bigger and naturally her accidents became larger so we made her home inside the garage. We fed her powdered milk and cereal for the first 2 months we had her, then began introducing her to pig feed. She had 3 meals a day and when she ate, she dove into her bowl and acted like it was her last meal on earth.

On the back porch

She was a bit of a handful when she was little. She learned how to nudge the backdoor open with her little snout and would come inside to hang out with us during school.

Invading the schoolroom

Sometimes she would run around and around the house, oinking as she went. Kinda like a dog does after having a bath. She ran so fast for a pig. She has one blue eye, one brown eye and a happy curly tail that wags constantly. She is happy but she doesn't like being picked up. She squeals...well like a pig when we try.

Getting a tummy rub by my son Joel

She loves to have her tummy rubbed. Everyone can rub Julie's tummy but me. (We nicked named her Julie.) Just as a nursing child behaves around their mother, Julie, would behave like that towards me. If you have ever nursed a child, you know what I'm talking about. I was nothing but the milk lady to her. All she knew was this lady gives me milk in a bowl. So whenever I would try to pet her or if I even got close to her, she would wake up, stand up and start oinking for food, nudging me with her snout.. It was comical.

Exploring down by the creek

We tried weening her off of the milk and cereal and put her on the pig feed but, she just wouldn't have it. It seemed she preferred eating the dog's food instead. (Peaches & Molly) They all live together, in harmony, inside the garage. So, that's what we began feeding her.

Taking a nap underneath the blue truck

She grew bigger...

Napping in some cool dirt this summer

and fatter!

This is a picture of Julie today.

I woke her up to take this photo. She was sleeping in the garage on a blanket, which is what she does most days. Sometimes she likes to walk down to the creek and take a dip or get a drink. Sometimes she'll go on a jog with me in the mornings. It's been a while since she's done that though. She's been sleeping late and I think she prefers to run in the evenings anyway ;) So, that's Juliet! She's a very sweet pig and we all love her very much. It was fun introducing her to you :) I hope you all enjoyed meeting her as well :)

I'm Back! But Not The Same

2012-08-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

Well, I don't know where to start. So...yeah! I've been gone for 9 months now... long enough to have incubated a baby, but I'm not pregnant. I have changed and grown a lot though in these past 9 months and I have the stretch marks to prove it. What am I talking about? Growing pains!!

Flowers down by my driveway

I'm always amazed when I look back at my life and see how much I've grown. I am not the same person I used to be and this made coming back to my blog intimidating, to say the least. What changes am I talking about? Well...

Me hitting the gravel @ 8:30am

~Physically~

I started running back in March and have stuck with it. I began running 30 mins in the morning 4 days a week and I loved it! I run a minimum of 3 miles each day. Sometimes I'll run 4,5,6, or even 8 miles in one morning, if I have the time and if my brain will stop telling me that I can't go any further. My body has changed quite a bit and I can't fit a thing in my closet :) However, I haven't lost a pound since I started running, just inches. I have gained muscle which explains why I still weigh 120 lbs. So yeah! I've been running for 5 months now and I have no intention of stopping.

Jackson, Ga

~Spiritually~

I am different. That's all I'm going to say. Here is one thing I've learned over the years... Never discuss religion or politics. It always ends up in an argument or debate. I'm not interested in winning one or making you believe the way I do. Just saying :)

Down by the creek

~Mentally~

I am saner than ever! ... As a Mom of 5 kids can be ;) My kids tell me I'm crazy though. I've been exercising my brain... reading books, writing in notebooks, learning new things, doing lots of thinking. I've always been so busy that I've never had much time for thinking before, just doing. I started getting serious about life, confronting problems, fears and issues that I had been blinding myself to, changing stuff that I didn't like. I finally opened my eyes and started to see things as they truly were. A lot of people don't like doing that. I was one of them. I never realized how much work it takes to actually sit down and really think about something (the important stuff), especially when there is a decision to be made. I've changed some things and I'm still working on others. Some things I just can't decide on. I'm pretty indecisive when it comes to decision making. I'm just so scared I'll make the wrong choice. Ya know?! But I have some goals to reach for, some ideas I'm throwing around and I'm pretty sure I'm not finished growing yet.

My little girl Jorja & I on her 7th birthday

Even though a lot has changed, much has remained the same. I'm still a Mom of 5 kids who loves to cook good food, make homemade jelly, organize, take awesome pictures, read books and write. I'm still teaching my kids at home, still going to church, still me, just a truer me ;)

Soap Dish Pedestal

2011-10-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Isn't this the smartest idea ever!? I found it at The Wright House. There's is a little different than mine so you should go check it out! I don't know about you, but my sink use to stay cluttered with drain plugs, scrubby brushes, rags and dish soap. Not anymore!

I made this one by gluing a glass plate and candle stick together.I used a glue for gluing glass but a hot glue gun will work also. This pedestal could also be used to display a cake, desert, horderves, etc. It saves on space at a cluttered dinner table and is a really versatile piece. The cool thing about this craft is that u can use any plate and candle holder combo you want. So get creative and make one for yourself :)

What's Been Goin On Around Here?

2011-10-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well October has arrived so I changed out the school calendar.

We're still doing school everyday in case you were wondering ;) I start out every morning with a few cups of coffee. I'm loving my new Caramel Macchiato creamer. It's yummy :)The weather was so nice today that we opened up the back doors to let the breeze and sunshine in :)

Just outside those double doors are my tomato plants. I will often check on them during the school day. I thought that my plants were dying out but I'm finding new tomatoes are growing and I'm happy about that.

They are ripening quite well and I've been picking new ones everyday this week. I'll have more to pick tomorrow.

13 are basking in my window today :)

My husband has been cutting wood this weekend. We're preparing for the cold months to come.

We'll need more but this will be enough for a month or two. We try to use our fireplace as the main source of heat in during the winter months.

The kids carried this wood inside the house for me and I put it into this basket beside the fireplace ;)

Josh, made the first fire of the season last night.

It really wasn't cold enough but he was in the mood and he's such a kid when it comes to stuff like this.

Warm & cozy ^_^

This is our kitty Jack. He's never seen a fire before so he came over to check it out. So that's what's been going on around here. What's been going on around your house? Leave a comment below and even a link from your blog if you like. :)

Leaf Lantern Craft

2011-09-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

How did I make this cozy leaf lantern?

1. Well, I applied Elmer's Glue to the outside of a small mason jar using my fingers, then placed a soft leaf on top it. Old crunchy leaves will not work. I guess I could've used a brush for this but I didn't mind getting my hands dirty.

2. I applied the glue directly on top of the leaf and spread it out, covering the entire surface, pressing the leaf down to make sure it was sealed in.

3. Then repeated steps 1 & 2 for the second leaf.

4. I applied glue to the entire jar, making sure the leaves and exposed glass were covered .

Then I added a tea light candle. In some of the pictures you can see candle wax on the jar. That's because I dropped the candle into the jar real quick while it was lit and when I did, the wax splattered up on the inside.

When the glue dried, the glass looked like it was frosted. It gives off a lovely warm glow in the evening and I think it turned out well :) My husband must have liked it too because I noticed he had it lit while he was watching T.V. later that night. LOL So have fun making one yourself. But beware it's messy ;)

>

Fall Wreath Craft

2011-09-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Fall is officially here!
The leaves are changing and falling to the ground.
The weather is...well almost perfect. Everything's just beautiful around here and I've been in a crafty mood. I found this cute Leaf Wreath (try saying that 3x's out loud lol) that I thought the kids and I might enjoy.(Above) is the wreath that I made and hung on our front door :)

We started out with a basket full of colorful leaves from the yard,
cut out some circles, clipped off the steams and started gluing...

Jacob (13) made this lovely yellow wreath.

Joel (4) & I worked on his together :)

Jared (7) created this masterpiece ;)

Jon (11) did a wonderful job on his...

and Jorja (6) added acorns to hers :)
It was fun & messy. The perfect combination for a good time around here ;)

Apple Pie Recipe

2011-09-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

In celebration of the Autumnal Equinox (first day of fall)I now publish a blog about....

this yummy apple pie I made with Granny Smith apples :)

I'm all about easy and this recipe isn't complicated at all.

I found the recipe here.

and I learned how to braid the crust from here.

Your family will be so impressed when you bring this gorgeous looking pie to the table for desert.

Happy Fall Y'all!

>

A Mom Made Shelter

2011-09-13T14:53:00.001-07:00

I love the outdoors during this time of year! The weather is perfect for working and playing out in the yard. I have been wanting to create some fun structures around the property for some time now. This is one of them.

There's just something about the fall air that makes me want to get up and do something. (Nine days until the Autumnal Equinox, and yes I am counting.) I love fall! Another thing I have started back doing is jogging up and down the driveway. It's not so hot and muggy as it has been this summer so I feel motivated to do it. I had a ton of energy yesterday and I felt inspired to create something. The lazy days of summer are over!

So I built this shelter for the kids :) It was some good exercise. I don't enjoy working out inside of my house on a mat or walking on the treadmill. I do however like to be outside in the fresh air and a little hard work can burn alot of calories.

I think I may create some trails around this area to make it a fun place for the kids to spend hours playing.

I used rocks from the creek to stabilize the structure on one side and a large fallen tree for the other side. I didn't want all of my hard work to come tumbling down at the slightest bump.

Side view

Back side

Later that afternoon, I took the kids down to the creek to show them what I had made for them. Of course they loved it! They ran up to the house to pack some clothes & sleeping bags. They informed me that they would be camping out in the shelter that night ;) It didn't quite work out as they had planned but they did spend a good part of the evening playing down there and having a fun time.

>

What is Pinterest?

2011-08-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

is a virtual pinboard. You can organize your recipes, find your style, crafts, DIY projects, organizing ideas, products you love, homeschooling ideas, stuff for kids and anything else you are interested in.

It's a very inspiring place. There are so many ideas and things I want to try and make that I have found on there. Here are a few of my boards...

Homeschool(photo credit)
Clocks in different time zones.
(photo credit)
Puzzle pieces as magnets
(photo credit)
Chalk board globe

Ideas for the home
(photo credit)
Coolest staircase ever!

(photo credit)
Sleeping porch

(photo credit)
Re-purposed dresser

Simplify My Life
(photo credit)
Organized your freezer

(photo credit)
Organize your makeup using magnets for easy access.

(photo credit)
I would use this for clean laundry to save space.

My Style(photo credit)
(photo credit)
(photo credit)
You can follow me here on Pinterest.
If you are interested in joining feel free to ask me for an invite!
Happy Pinning!

Glitter & Clay

2011-08-27T20:04:00.001-07:00

The kids wanted to play with glitter on Thursday, so I cut out some shapes of Heaven and let them decorate it however they wanted.

This is Jorja's interpretation of what Heaven looks like :)

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
Revelation 21:19

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
Revelation 21:20

This is Jared's picture of Heaven.
There are people saying Hi, to each other and the red is "Jesus' blood, he says."

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
John 1:7

This is Joel's sparkly Heaven :)

Now I didn't tell them what Heaven looked like or even read it from the Bible. They all created these using their own imagination and knowledge of what they already knew.

We had glitter everywhere! On Friday, night we made clay figures and they played with them for hours!
Here's momma elephant and baby elephant.
Who knew they could have so much fun playing with glitter and clay ;)

New recipes that made my menu this week!

2011-08-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

(Click photo to enlarge)
To download your free weekly menu go to Heavenly Homakers I filled mine in using Picnik.com

Throughout the week I browse blogs looking for new recipes that my family can tryout. Every Thursday or Friday I'll sit down to create a new menu for the next week and then make a grocery list off of that. Here's my menu for the week of 8/26 thru 9/2. B- Breakfast (red) L- Lunch (green) & D- Dinner (black). Some new recipes were added this week, they are...Puppies in Blankets, Pancake bacon strips, Crock pot potatoes, Fried eggs in bell pepper rings & Chicken, bacon, avocado quesadillas.
I also have a Cobb Salad recipe for you to try :)
Enjoy!

10 small things to keep your house clean & organized

2011-08-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

~I'm blogging here~

Mountains of laundry, fingerprints, smudges, crayon on the walls,
dishes, clutter everywhere.

Have you ever looked around your house and felt overwhelmed?

So have I!

Every now & then your home may get like mine...a big cluttered mess! If you are not like me, I commend you on your organizational skills and diligence ;) I don't know how it happens, I just wake up on a Monday morning and think...what in the world happened in here? Looking at the house as a whole can be intimidating and stressful, but if you set some small goals everyday you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in a week.

This is what I did yesterday...

I sat down and made a list of 10 small things I could do to help get my home clean & organized.
(back to normal)

Here was the list...

De-clutter a dresser in my bedroom.
Remove leftovers and empty containers from the fridge. (Any one else have this problem?)
Wash off the coffee bar.
Clean the oven door.
Wash of the washer.
Wipe down the dryer.
Fold 1 basket of laundry. ( I ended up fold two ;)
De-clutter bathroom sink.
Wash sink.
Clean toilet.

I ended up sweeping the bathroom floor as well. I kinda felt myself trying to hold back so I didn't do more than what was on my list. LOL! I was amazed at how simple it was and how quick I got it all done.

Sometimes I look at all the things that I need to do around the house and they seem so BIG and time consuming but really they're not. I did these things after my normal everyday chores which include... dishes, cleaning the kitchen, laundry, cleaning my bedroom and bathroom.

I liked this concept so much that I made another list of 10 things to do today.

Here are a few before & afters....

Organize my DVD's
Wipe down the outside of the fridge.
De-clutter another dresser in my room.
Organize my closet. (It wasn't too bad so it was a small task)
Clear off microwave.
Scrub crayon off of my house.
Wash the kitchen window.
Fold at least 1 basket of laundry
Windex my mirrors.
Scrub and organize one shelf in my fridge.

10 things may sound like alot and I thought it was too, but once I got started I was like...this is super easy! Be careful not to add a big jobs to the list or this concept will not work. I added mopping a few floors and had to change it. LOL! Only small jobs will work like...going through the mail, organizing papers, cleaning out a kitchen drawer or maybe organizing your makeup.

So grab a pen and paper, walk around your house and see what you can come up with to get your house back in shape :)

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Fried Green Tomatoes

2011-08-17T11:27:00.001-07:00

I picked these babies right off of the vines and put them in the frying pan!
For fried green tomatoes
you will need....

4 green tomatoes
1 cup flour
1 cup corn mill
salt & pepper
1/2 cup milk
oil

~Directions~

Heat up oil in a pan.(cover the bottom of the pan with oil)
Mix flour, corn mill, salt & pepper (eye ball it) together in a bowl.
Pour milk into a shallow bowl.
Dip a tomato slice into the milk, covering both sides.
Transfer tomato from the milk directly into the batter. Cover both sides with batter well.
Transfer tomatoes from batter into hot oil until golden brown on both sides.
Enjoy ^_^

Breakfast Casserole

2011-08-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for new breakfast ideas on the Internet. I ran across an easy recipe for a breakfast casserole at Heavenly Homemakers.

We chose to put sausage in ours but you can put anything you want in yours. The possibilities are endless!

Here's the kids enjoying their breakfast :) It was sooooo good!

Later on we had Bible Devotion and this is how Jon's prayer went....

Dear God,Thank you for those chickens that sacrificed their little baby chicks so we could have some eggs in the casserole. And Dear Jesus I Thank You for that cow that would sacrifice that milk so that it could be made into cheese so that we could use that cheese to put on top of our casserole. But Dear God I wanna thank you the most for that pig who sacrificed himself to be made into sausage so that we could have sausage in that casserole. Amen :)

~Jon age 11

I think that proves just how yummy this recipe is. You should try it ;)

French Toast

2011-08-15T14:01:00.001-07:00

~You will need~

4 eggs
1 tsp sugar
1 cup of milk
bread
butter
syrup
powdered sugar
Any fruit

~Directions~

In a shallow bowl add eggs, sugar, milk and whisk together.
Coat pan with butter or cooking spray.
Coat bread in egg mixture 1 slice at a time for a few secs on each side.
Transfer to pan heating slowly until golden brown on both sides.
Serve with powdered sugar, butter, syrup and any fruit you want!
Enjoy :)

Peach Cobbler

2011-08-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

To make a peach cobbler like this you will need....

2 cups fresh peaches peeled and sliced
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of milk
1 cup of self rising flour
1/2 cup of butter

1. Put sliced peaches in a bowl with sugar, mix and let set.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, flour & milk with a whisk until there are no lumps.
3. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan.
4. Spoon in peach and sugar mixture, do not stir.
5. Bake at 350 for 45mins or until it turns golden brown.

Your cobbler may seem wobbly on the inside when time is up and you may think it's not done baking yet but it is. Just let it set for about 15 mins and everything will jell together :)

After 15 dig in! We like to add vanilla ice cream to ours ^_^
Enjoy!

Wild Muscadines :)

2011-08-08T17:22:00.001-07:00

I was waiting on the mailman today, looked up and look what I found!
Muscadines ^_^

I took two of my children down there to show them my new discovery :)

They had to pick and taste them, even though they weren't ripe yet.

Our dog Peaches followed us down there too ^_^ She loves chasing rabbits, wild turkey and deer ;)

I can't wait for these to ripen on the vine so we can make muscadine jelly :)

http://proudmomof5kids.blogspot.com/2011/08/wild-muscadines.html

Tour Our School Room & Link Up With Me!

2011-08-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome to our school room and Link Up!
I'm just going to take you around the room as I teach my little ones today.
I don't have anything fancy and nothing has been professionally designed. Over the years I have accumulated pieces of furniture that I have adopted into our school room and they work. Everything in here has a function and serves it's purpose.
These are my shelves that hold all my teaching supplies.
I keep it simple :)

This is where two of my children are busy doing their school work. I am using Horizons from Alpha & Omega Publications to teach them this year. I like it so far. We are half way through this curriculum and I plan on using it with my 4 year old next year as well.

I put up this screen so that Jared could focus on his school work. Bland walls and a cubical setting help keep his mind from wandering.

I store my oldest boy's curriculum underneath my bakers rack. They have been using LIFEPACs from Alpha & Omega Publications for years now. It's challenging and has Bible throughout the lessons which is a plus!

Joel, has started practicing writing his b's :) He also uses LIFEPAC from Alpha & Omega Publications but I prefer Horizons for his age. It has brighter colors and a simple layout. I purchased his curriculum way before I knew about Horizons so we are using it to save on cash ;)

Counting chips, fries, hot dogs and fruits.

Grouping foods into categories.

Playing a game of grocery store :)

Browsing the aisles...

Checking out

Clean up on aisle #9

The kids call this "Jorja Money" after my daughter Jorja's name ;)
She loves money lol

Work trays hold completed and uncompleted work from my two eldest boys.

This is another work space for one of my sons. The chalk board is also a dry erase board or "white board" on the other side. As you can see I love maps! I have two sets. One is for the younger children and this set is for the older.
So that's it! That's the tour. I hope you enjoyed it.

To link up with me just click on the little blue frog underneath this post. Copy and paste the URL of the post you want to enter and there you have it :) I can't wait to see your homeschooling space and any posts having to do with homeschooling, homemaking, photography, devotionals, before & afters, parenting, marriage, vintage, really whatever you'd like to link is fine :) I have no preferences just keep it clean ;)

Coffee Bar

2011-08-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

This coffee bar was inspired by { the vintage wren }

I came across this lovely idea and thought it would be a perfect fit for my bakers rack.

I've been using it to hold school supplies, books and a catch all. I really had no idea what I wanted to do with it.

But after I saw { the vintage wren's} coffee bar, I knew exactly what to do with this piece of furniture that has been sitting in my dining room for 8 months!
I love it ^_^

Bleach Pen T-Shirt

2011-07-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

I came across this idea over at Homespun With Love and knew I had to try it! Click on the link to see her instructions. Basically you buy a bleach pen and a dark colored T-shirt. Put wax paper inside the shirt so the bleach doesn't penetrate the other side. I'm good at drawing free hand so I just Googled fish coloring pages etc. and picked one I liked.

I used the bleach pen to draw it on the t-shirt. You'll see it start to develop within a matter of mins. I didn't wait for mine to dry b/c I could see that the bleach was going to spread out more than I wanted.

Here's the whale ^_^ I like it best!

Use a Q-tip to take off the access bleach.

Trace along the lines of your picture with the Q-tip and let set until you are pleased with how the bleach has developed.

Then hand wash with laundry detergent in the sink and rinse well.

I hung mine out in the sun to dry.

Here's how the fish turned out.

and here's the whale :)

Joel wore his to church last night

You can be as creative or as simple as you want. A simple heart or sunshine would be cute as well. Happy Creating!

Birthday Dinner Party

2011-07-27T05:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my little girl's Birthday dinner party.

It's simple, nothing fancy.

A friend from church made this awesome cake for her for free!!!

My little girl loves Hello Kitty and so does her mom ;)

The cake is vanilla flavored and made from scratch even the fondant was homemade :)

I think she did a great job considering this was her first time making the fondant herself.

So cute ^_^

We're ready to sing Happy Birthday!

Now blow the candles out! Come on..... ;) I couldn't get her to blow them out! LOL

Oh well! Let's cut the cake anyway ;)

Those were Hello Kitty rings around the cake. Oh, the cake was yummy!

Hello Kitty Power!!!

This was the ice cream tray. I didn't get a pic of it for some reason.

Sprinkles...

Gummy Bears...

M&M's...

and Reeses Pieces all together!!!

A cherry on top of a chocolate ice cream cone...

A mountain of whipped cream sounds yummy.

Mine was a little smaller ;)

Since it was my little girl's 6th birthday, I let her plan her own birthday menu.
We had BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Deviled Eggs, even Pigs in a Blanket ;)
All the food was good! I must say she is a great little meal planner ;)

Good Morning Smoothies

2011-07-25T05:13:00.000-07:00

To make this breakfast smoothie you will need...

2 frozen bananas
2 cups blackberries & blueberries mixed
2 tbs honey
2 cups plain yogurt
1 cup of ice

Measure two cups mixed blackberries & blueberries whole.
Crush and sieve blackberries (This will remove the seeds) crush the blackberries.
Thaw bananas 15 mins
Cut bananas in half, slice down the middle and peel away skin.
Chop banana into pieces
Liquify sieved & crushed berries and bananas in a blender.
Add yogurt, ice and honey and liquify.
ENJOY :)

Makes enough for the whole family!