Live and Learn

Peanut butter randomness

2012-01-24T16:22:00.000-05:00

Today is National peanut butter day! Who knew? I didn't, well at least I didn't until the Huffington Post told me. And I always believe what they say. (Ha!) But, I thought it was a good enough reason to have peanut butter sandwiches for lunch today. Boy, were they good.

Peanut butter is always in this house. If there is no peanut butter, there is definitely something wrong. I eat a lot of it. It is one of my favorite things in the whole world to eat. Just smear some peanut butter on half of a piece of bread, fold it over, then enjoy. Nothing better. My Uncle Toby agrees with me, too.

Sometimes we might just eat it with a spoon. Yummy.

(pictures from lunchtime)

In other news, I have joined my bloggy friend, Jenners, and her friend Jill, and a few other people in a read-along. I am supposed to blog about each chapter on Mondays. We just finished chapter 2 for this week. The book is Howard Zinn's classic history book, A People's History of the United States. So, far I agree with some reviewers I have found that it is from a very liberal viewpoint. BUT, like all historians, Zinn has an agenda. I really would like to read some other viewpoints, before I come to any conclusions. I do, however, realize that what he says is true, to a certain extent. He just makes the first 2 chapters sound HORRIBLE and the founding of our country on the deaths of all the peoples who were here first. Really, was it that bad? I don't know.

Also, life is pretty much the same with my 2 crazy girls. I am curious to see how adding one more to the bunch will change things. Here is Kate with her new obsession.

Her gun, her holster, her ear protection, and her horse. I need to get her a hat, a cowboy hat.

Isabel still loves to swing. Snot and all. Snot is just a part of our daily lives in the winter, I guess. Yuck.

Well, on that note, I will go. I am purging things from the guest house. I have a huge box for the trash and another box for goodwill. I need to make more room for storage. We are slowly running out of room in our main house. I save too much. I need to just THROW AWAY.

Don't forget to eat some peanut butter in celebration of today, this important holiday.

Happy National Peanut Butter Day!

new baby preparations

2012-01-20T19:55:00.002-05:00

Were basically nonexistent, at least until Wednesday, anyway. I had an ob appointment where they told me I was pregnant. Which I already knew. I really don't understand the point of all the appointments. It is really annoying and stupid. Yep, you gained weight. Yep, there is a baby in there. Okay, see you in 2 weeks. Ugh. Really? What a waste of time. I already knew all of that. Yesterday, though I took advantage of being in Greenville~45 minutes away in the big city. I had lunch with a friend. Then I went to Babies R Us. I am sure I could have gone to a trendy little downtown baby store, but I was hoping for a sale or two.

I was able to get a stuffed cow for half off. Koala brand blankets were buy one get one 50% off. So, I got a nice brown blanket with polka dots and a puppy luvvy half off. I had already purchased the cow sleeper earlier this year. The cow sleeper is what has given me my inspiration for the new baby's stuff. Cows and brown. I already liked brown and cows, so why not use them for new baby? Kate's colors were yellow and red. Isabel's were light blue and light green. Since we never know what the gender is, I try to use gender neutral colors for their "stuff".

So, new baby's colors are brown and brown, with some blue or whatever thrown in there.

Now, I really need to sew some for new baby. I have plans for a taggy blanket, big blanket, and a stuffed animal. I want to make some stuffed letters, but since we have no names picked out for our gender neutral baby.....I need to wait. I also want to make big sister shirts. Is Kate the BIGGER sister and Isabel the BIG sister? How does that work, anyway? Do you know?

All this talk about cows reminds me of this post. I was 32 weeks pregnant with Isabel at the time. I am twice as big as I was then.

See?

Now, I am going to go cut out new baby's blanket.

thank you, danke, gracias, arigatou gozaimasu

2012-01-13T11:35:00.000-05:00

I think it is very important to teach my children to be thankful for everything. We talk about being grateful. I try to explain to them how very blessed they are. Since they are so small, still, one of the easiest things I do to reinforce thankfulness is to have them make thank you cards.

I found this adorable Melissa and Doug sticker book that I gave them for Christmas. They used it along with crayons to say "thank you". I printed up the words "thank you" in different fonts and colors for them to cut out and glue onto their cards. The cards themselves are pieces of scrapbook paper that I use for lots of different crafts.

The girls had lots of fun making these. I did, too, actually.

It's a tea party! Each item is a separate sticker. The girls created their own "scene". Kate's is on top, Isabel's is on the bottom. Adorable.

It took a bit of explaining to get them to realize what I wanted them to do. They really just wanted to put stickers EVERYWHERE! But, once I showed them all the different themes, their imagination took off. They made several more, I just didn't photograph them all.

new year

2012-01-10T10:34:00.000-05:00

Well, we have already had an exciting start to our new year. Brian has been home! We have really just been enjoying his presence. We have been spending a lot of time just being together. It has been really nice. Granted, it was a bit busy right around Christmas with him just getting home and doing stuff at church. But after the holidays, we have been just relaxing.

We are trying to finish up the playroom right now. I hope to have it finished next week, I will show it to you, then. I also have a few more projects that I really wanted completed before new baby gets here. In case you have forgotten, there will be a new baby arriving in the beginning of March.

This week, Brian is actually out of town for training, so I am trying to get some sewing done. It is hard to sew while he is here, for some reason. I want to make a baby blanket and stuffed animal/toy. Floor cushions for the reading area in the playroom. Skirts for the girls. Dress for me. Diaper bag. Do you think I can get all those finished? Plus, I have a small stack of things that need fixed/finished/repaired/made to wear.

I did not make any resolutions this year. I just don't think it would be wise to try to have resolutions with new baby coming. New baby is going to take up a lot of time at first. Who knows how life is going to really be with the new one? Wild at first, I am sure.

It is getting closer and closer to time for new baby, actually. Less than 2 months are left. I think I am 32 or 33 weeks along. I forget. I am getting a bit nervous about the delivery. The other two's births were far from normal. I really do not want an ambulance ride or emergency anything.

We have a lot to be thankful for. Last year was a great year. I learned so much about being a godly wife and mommy. I am looking forward to this new year and all the wonderful things that will be in it. I have a several things on my mind that I want to begin and to do. I hope that I can even with the new baby. But, I am not making resolutions for any of it.

I actually have a lot on my heart and mind right now....but I don't think I need to blog about any of it. If any of you that read this are pray--ers, pray for me. I really want to do the Lord's will. I want Him to have preeminence in my heart and life. I want Him to soften my heart and help me to love others. Really LOVE them. I struggle in this area (amongst others). I would like to get back into reading His Word daily, not just sporadically. I would like to grow spiritually.

And on that note....our Christmas morning family picture.

(Don't the girls just look thrilled?)

Happy (late) new year!

some homemade goodness

2011-12-17T09:02:00.000-05:00

Brian will be home tomorrow.

This year for the girls' presents I really wanted to either buy used, really cheap, or make them. I have done a little of it all. I am going to show you a few things I have made so far. I am really excited about them. I have seen felt food tutorials all over the internet and have quite a few bookmarked. But my mom gave me a pattern that she picked up for a dollar, so I just used that.

Felt fruit:

2 bananas, an apple, and an orange. I went scavenging in the outside toys and found this tin bucket I am going to wrap it all in. Cute! My bananas might be a little wonky, but I don't think they will notice. I really like the stem and leaf on the apple.

Brian will be home tomorrow.

Cupcakes with decorations:

I only made 4 cupcakes, because I thought the muffin pan I was going to package them in was for 4. But as you can see it is for 6. So, I need to make 2 more. In the purple envelope is a bunch of different colors of hearts, flowers and butterflies. They all have velcro on them for easy decorating. The cupcakes themselves have velcro, too. The pattern showed the decorations sewed on, but I thought the girls would have more fun decorating them the way they wanted to.

Brian will be home tomorrow.

Bow tie pasta:

I am going to take all the credit for the creativity of this one. I was given these pinking shears a few months ago. In my cutting felt for flowers, I thought how it kind of looked like bow tie pasta. So, I cut up a bunch of little rectangles then tied them all in the middle with thread. A tad bit time consuming, I will admit, but worth it. So cute! Then I made this little bag with the see through window, remembered I had the twine and tad a! Bow tie pasta. But we call it hair bow noo noos (noodles). Hair bow noo noos are the favorite noodle of choice around here.

Now I need to figure out how to make some black olives. The girls love black olives. I want to make some with out sewing....so, if anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Here are a few more things that the girls and I have done this past week.

Brian will be home tomorrow.

Homemade snow globes:

These have been a BIG hit in this house. They were a lot of fun to make. The second picture is a closeup of Mary and baby Jesus. We have an angel, carolers and a snowman. We gave the snowman away last night. I need to make a few more for presents. They are really attached to these. Now I am not exactly sure where I saw this particular idea. It may have been on pinterest or it may have been one of the thousand crafty blogs I follow. Who knows. But, if you want to know how, here is what we did.

Glued our figure to the lid of the jar. Filled the jar with hot water. Added some glitter. Added some glycerin. (We have a huge jar left over from when we made bubbles.) Screwed the lid on. Flipped over. Some we had too much water and made a mess. Some we had too little water and had to add water. Some we had too much glitter. ETC. It was definitely a learning process. There is no formula to making these perfect. It is all trial and error. Which is how I do everything anyway.

Brian will be home tomorrow.

We finally took our fall tree down from the playroom. We needed to put up our Christmas tree. I picked up a yard of green glitter felt at Hobby Lobby. Who even knew they made such a thing? I was just going to get some green felt, but the glitter looks so sparkly, like lights. I cut a tree shape, eyeballed it, of course. Hot glued and pinned it to the door. The we cut out a bunch of felt ornaments. I just cut out what was ordered. Hearts, bells, birds, looks like we have Easter eggs, pinecones, balls, etc. I had some ribbon that looked like candy canes, so I used it to cut out candy cane shapes. At the end, Kate wanted a star, so we did that, as well. Then we hung her angel up over the tree. She made that angel in children's church and was so very proud of it.

Then yesterday we finally got the presents under the tree. Just in time for Daddy to come home.

It turned out really cute. If I do say so myself. The garland is bead necklaces hot glued on. I think it really adds some Christmas cheer in the playroom, along with the lights we have strung around the room.

I am going to put a side note in here. I don't consider myself one of those overachieving moms who goes out of her way to make things just so for her children. I just want to make their lives filled with fun and creativity while they learn new things. I am learning new things all the time. I want to pass that love of learning and doing on to them. I like it when they see mommy can't do something the first time, and then I figure it out. Or I love it when I hear them playing and they say, "I have an idea!" Because I say that all the time...I am always having ideas that I jot down.

I really just want them to love life. To love living and doing. That is why I do the things that I do. I love it when they say, "My mommy made it." Because they know that I put in that extra little bit of love to give them whatever it is they have. Instead of just going to buy it at the store. I like it when they see how things are done. For them to make a mess in the kitchen with mommy making dinner or cookies or whatever. To me that is what life being a mommy is all about. What is the point of having these little things running around with you, if you aren't showing them how to do things? Kate got a sewing machine for her birthday. She loves to sit beside me and "sew" while I sew. It is really great fun for both of us. (Until her needle becomes unthreaded for the 50th time, then she is done. HAHA.)

Anyway, I hope you don't mind my side note....I just don't want anyone to think I am bragging about what I do. I just like to show you. I think some of the stuff we do is cool. I mean, half the time, I have no clue what I am doing. I am just winging it. Then when it turns out good, it is exciting. Like the playroom....I still am not completely done redecorating it. But, I have never painted a room for kids before. So, it was all new. And it turned out awesome, if I say so myself. I will show you the complete room when it is finished. I still have some finishing touches I need Brian's help with.

Did I tell you? Brian will be home tomorrow. Brian will be home tomorrow!

Woohoo!

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

snowmen SC style

2011-12-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas decorating has been going on full speed ahead around here in the Armonat household. Once we got our tree up and decorated, we haven't stopped crafting and making and playing. It has been fun.

I really like snowmen. I have a few here and there, but not nearly as many as I would like to have. And of course, it isn't like we get the kind of snow down here that you can make a real snowman. So, I have figured out how to make snowmen myself. Southern style. Thanks to the internet and Pinterest. You can follow me here on Pinterest, if you want to.

Snowmen jars!

First, get some jars and paint them white. We let them dry overnight. While we had out the white paint, we actually painted lots of things white. After they dry, add your hats, faces, and accessories. This is the best part.

Here is the final product. In order from left to right: Daddy, Kate, Isabel, Mommy. Hilarious, huh?

Snowman pumpkins!

The next snowmen project, we used our leftover pumpkins from the fall. We painted them white and left them to dry overnight.

As you can see, we really, really like to paint. After they were dry, we stacked them and added their faces and accessories.

Here they are outside in the flower garden. They look pretty happy, don't they?

I have had this snowman doorstop for years. I usually just put it by the front door on the floor. Which is where it is. Well, the other day, Isabel said he needed flip flops. So, she gave him her flip flops and asked me to take his picture.

For some reason, she thought this was hilarious. She left them there for a few days and would laugh every time she saw him. It was funny. She is such a little clown.

Here is the snowman made out of plastic pumpkins covered in white fabric. She is in the living room this year.

Kate and Isabel read books to her.

I hope you are having a wonderful December so far. We are! We are counting down the days for daddy to come home. We are in the single digits, finally. Another cause for celebration is all my presents have been purchased! I am just finishing up a few homemade projects and I will be finished. Woohoo! Now to wrap them all and mail some. So......

Happy shopping!

farewell fall

2011-11-30T12:58:00.001-05:00

I came across these two pages in a magazine and thought they summed up my feelings of fall, perfectly. I really do love this time of year. The colors of the leaves, the decorations. It always makes me a bit sad to put up my Christmas stuff. Fall is just my favorite. I find winter so dreary and cold.

Even though the first official day of winter isn't until December 22. I always feel like December 1st is. I don't do like some and put my tree up the day after thanksgiving. I wait until it is December.

I am excited this year to turn the calendar over to December, though. Now we can begin our countdown for Daddy's homecoming. When he first left, I was flipping through the calendar....page after page....month after month. I didn't think December would ever get here. But yet, here it is. Tomorrow. Where has this year gone?

I think we have made the most of our fall. Trips to the apple orchard, playing outside, planting our pansies, putting up our scarecrow. Fall treasure hunts, watching Papa blow all the leaves away. Here are some things I might not have shown you from our fall fun.

Kate's fall tree shirt

sweet sisters

I'm a scarecrow!

Do you want my boogy?

My hummingbird

Farewell fall....parting is such sweet sorrow.

(I know. I am a dork.)

thanksgiving blessings

2011-11-28T22:10:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. We have so much to be thankful for. I couldn't even begin to list them all. Brian's parents came down for the week to help us celebrate. It was a nice time. Jason, my stepson (I have never really thought of him like that, I don't know why. But he called me his stepmom this weekend. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.) In preparation for the week, the girls and I made this lovely thanksgiving banner you see above. each letter is comprised of something different. Beans, feathers, ribbons, etc. Then we added glitter for fancy fun. I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun the girls had with this project. Kate for one, is really into letters and what they are and the sounds they make. I think she is ready to learn to read.

Here they are, with their supplies we have gathered...ready to GLUE!!

Gluing away....what fun for little ones. Who knew?

Thanksgiving day itself was fun. A lot of work, but fun. Even the girls helped prepare dinner. Here we are breaking beans. We had fresh beans instead of green bean casserole. Delicious.

bean mustache

Sometimes they just sat on the steps and watched Grandma and mommy work.

While the turkey roasted and other things simmered, the girls and I talked about thanksgiving as we colored pictures. Grandma and Grandpa read magazines and watched us. Jason had to give Molly some loving.

I tried to explain to them why we set aside a special day for thankfulness. Who we thank and what we are thankful for. Then I asked them what they were thankful for. If you know Kate, you know she just listens, takes everything in, and doesn't really participate. So, I went around and asked everyone what they were thankful for. Everyone said stuff like: health, family, food, etc. When I got back around to Kate, I asked her again. She told me she was thankful for Jesus dying on the cross. As I type this, I tear up again. We hadn't even discussed Jesus, not then, anyway. But, that is what she was most thankful for. My sweet Kate, who hit the nail on the head and said the very thing I was thinking but was too chicken to say in front of my in-laws. I was so proud of her. My special girl.

Soon dinner was ready. Isabel got to the table. And before anyone realized what she was doing, she helped herself.

This girl loves olives.

Jason had the honor of carving the turkey. He did a really good job.

Once Grandma Judy stopped badgering him, that is.....she was a good sport, though when Grandpa called her out on it.

It was an almost perfect thanksgiving. Obviously the less than perfect part comes from Brian not being able to be with us. But, we are thankful for his job. This next picture is for him. I wasn't able to get one with them all smiling. They were worse than children. Talking, laughing, looking down. I think this one was the best, though.

The day was truly a blessing.

fancy birthday tea party

2011-11-19T11:51:00.001-05:00

My precious little Kate turned 4! (last week) She is such a fancy, dressy, girly girl that I wanted to make her party something that she would love. So, we had a fancy tea party.

The decorations:

Those hearts and flowers in the back are princess wands. I thought those turned out especially lovely.

Here is her cake in all it's glory. When I would ask her what kind of cake she wanted, she would reply, a pink cake with sparkles and blue, and purple, and flowers....FANCY!!! I googled fancy cake and found a picture of something similar to this and tried my best to duplicate it. The one online was 6 or so layers with fondant. Mine is more like 3 layers with butter/cream cheese frosting. Messy but tasty.

We even made sure the inside was fancy.

Here is the fancy birthday girl. Ready for her party. Notice her accessories?

We decorated crowns and made pearl necklaces. Here are the party goers showing off their princess/fancy attire.

The tea set and me....ready to serve.

Having tea. All the girls really enjoyed the tea. It was a raspberry tea. Decaffeinated, of course. The girls were so careful with the fancy tea cups and saucers. It was really cute.

Ready for presents. She got completely spoiled on dress-up clothes. Now she and Isabel have no need to fight over things. (right?)

The happy birthday girl with her fancy cake. I think the party was a success.

Happy birthday, Kate!

rambling randomness

2011-11-11T17:00:00.001-05:00

We were at Walmart the other day and came out the wrong door. As in the door on the other side of their HUGE parking lot. Of course, I didn't realize what I had done until we were wondering around the HUGE parking lot looking for the car. Ugh.

Then the next time we were at Walmart, I did it again. Yep, sure did. I told the girls we were on an adventure and the first one to spot the new car got a lollipop.

Sometimes I forget I am pregnant. Then I try to work like a man, all day. Then I can't get up the stairs that night. Wow, I am so out of shape. Like yesterday, I made a coat rack, painted 3 things, fed and watered chickens, planted pansies, hoed one of the flower beds, gave the dog a bath, then made dinner.

I cannot wait for Brian to be home. Hopefully, by then ALL my projects will be completed. I am trying so hard for them to be done. I really need to start on the few things I am making for Christmas presents. The playroom redo is almost where I can show you. I am waiting on something in the mail. I have to make two more things. Then it is done. I am so over this room. It has taken much longer than I expected. It is really cool, though. The coolest play room I have ever seen.

Brian's parents will be here next week. So, I will be slaving like a mad person over the weekend to make sure everything is perfect. I am looking forward to their visit. I get a little crazy with just toddlers to talk to sometimes.

Isabel is a funny, funny girl. She has the most hilarious sense of humor. She sees the world in such a unique way.

This is her new thing...she does this, then says, "see my rings?" Cracks me up every time.

I am getting pretty good on Brother Lucy, my sewing machine. She and I have learned to really work together well. I am getting closer and closer to deciding to open an etsy or not. I made this shirt for my nephew's birthday. He is into trains.

His "don't take a picture of me" face. I debated whether or not to put a '4' on the train (4th birthday), but decided not to. It is a big shirt, hopefully he can wear it next year, too.

By this time in my other pregnancies I have usually picked out a "color" for the new baby's blankets and such to be. Kate was yellow and red. Isabel was blue and green. We never know what the gender will be, so I always go for neutral colors. I think I want brown and light gray. I know that isn't very bright, but I keep thinking if it is a girl we can always add pink. Then if it is a boy, we can add something else like navy blue. What do you think?

Part of me wishes we knew what we were having. If this baby is a boy, he is going to have to wear girl baby clothes. HAHA! I do have some green and yellow stuff, but because the girls wore them, I think of them as girl clothes, you know?

Want to know what the best alarm clock in the world is? Realizing at 6 am that you left your camera outside ALL night long.

Spray paint is very awesome. I spray painted a few things for my kitchen yesterday. Things I had bought at the thrift store that were total 80's style. Now they are nice and updated.

Every meal time a little person HAS to go potty. Every time it is a potty that requires mommy assistance. Really? We aren't past that stage yet? At least we are out of diapers. But, not for long. I never in a million years ever once thought my life would consist of conversations that begin like this "Did you pee pee or poo poo?"

I am loving pinterest! Here is a link to my boards. I am just getting started on this thing. It can be consuming at times.

Well, enough of this rambling. I leave you with Kate's new facial expression for the camera.

My children are a bit strange. They must take after their daddy.

fall craft FAIL

2011-11-08T12:41:00.000-05:00

I had in my mind that the girls and I would go on a fall treasure hunt. We would then take what we had collected and craft with it. Well, best laid plans.....

We did go on a treasure hunt. That was fun. Well, it was fun after we got out of the briars. I tried to walk in the woods which did not work at all. The woods have overgrown quite a bit. So, there were lots of briars and yucky things. We ended up just walking around the edge of the woods finding neat things.

The next day was my planned crafting day. I wanted to iron wax paper on the leaves then make a fall tree for the play room. For some reason, the wax paper did not cooperate. It did not look pretty at all.

See? The wax paper leaves are in the background. My pretty leaves are in front. Since that didn't work, I googled it. It said not to use dry leaves. So, I sent the girls back out to get more. It still didn't work. Oh, well.

I remembered how to take your leaf and put it under your paper, then color with a crayon on top. Getting the leaf outline. Remember doing that in elementary school? I showed the girls what to do.

So pretty! Right?

This is what they did. No cooperation with mommy at all. Scribble scribble. That is all they wanted to do. UGH! Maybe they are too young to color that way? I don't know. So, I left them to their scribbling, found some colored card stock, and began to CUT OUT leaves. I cut out about a million. Made a tree trunk with branches out of brown paper, stuck it to the door with sticky tack. I then let the girls go to town sticking the leaves all over the tree. I was bound and determined to have my fall tree in the play room, obviously.

When we were finished, they said we needed a bird. So, I made an owl for it. After it was all said and done, I had tired fingers and back from sitting on the floor cutting out the million leaves. A messy play room, but two happy girls.

officially fall

2011-11-04T18:13:00.002-04:00

Well, fall is officially here at our house. The scarecrow has been put up. And isn't she pretty?!

We have also been working on quite a few other projects, hence no time for blogging. I think I want to blog, I sit down, and there are no words. Just exhaustion.
I took this $10 dresser, sanded and painted it.

Before

After

I am still not quite finished with it. I bought these plain wooden knobs after seeing tons of cute knobs on etsy that had been painted with butterflies and flowers and such. But, I put them on plain because we needed knobs on there desperately. Kate keeps changing her mind what exactly she wants. So, I just need to paint something. Eventually it will be done. But, I am taking a break on this dresser. It turned out cute, I think. We bought the little plants on clearance at Lowe's. They get the morning sun in their window, so they needed a few plants. Two of them are in shiny pink pots from breast cancer awareness month. Which makes me chuckle since I bought them for two little girls. But, that is my cheesiness coming out, I guess.

I have been making headbands and hair bows galore, as well. We now have one in every color, and then some. This is just a few of them. But we had nowhere to put them. I had an empty oatmeal canister in our craft box that I noticed was about the same size. So, we covered it in pretty paper and tada! A headband holder!

I also redid their closet. (Is redid even a word?) Well, if it wasn't, it is now. This is what it was before. I should have taken a picture with their clothes in it, but I wasn't thinking...

You see how high the hanger bar is? Then there is a shelf above that, with just enough room to put a diaper box. Which is what is on the shelf. Diapers ranging from newborn to size 3. I have been saving them. Anyway, I painted, added a lower hanger bar and added another shelf. I was going to take the higher hanger bar down, but it was NAILED in. I could not get those stupid nails out. So, the hanger bar stayed.

I covered the two by fours with some cool duct tape. I was so tired of painting. I had bought the duct tape for something else, but I think it brightens up the closet.

Here it is with clothes and such. I think I am going to add another shelf above the hanger bar, for more storage. We can never have enough shelves to put things on, right?

When the cooler weather finally came, I decided to go ahead and put out my fall decorations. I have been seeing these felt wreaths all over blogland. I had to make one. What do you think?

CUTE! Huh?

I also had several sweaters and jumpers that I really liked the colors of, but couldn't wear. So, I saved them thinking they would make nice pillows. AND they did....

Every season, I take the stuff off my wreaths, then make new ones with whatever I have on hand. These are my door wreaths this fall.

front door

side door

(Please excuse the sideways pictures.)

This year, Kate and Isabel made their own wreaths. It was lots of fun. They did all their own work. I only put glue on the wreath, so what you see is all their own. They are becoming quite creative.

The bottom two are Kate's (I don't know what is up with the feather, but that is what she wanted.) The top two are Isabel's. Cute, huh?

The woods beginning to show off their fall beauty.

The last two times we have gotten milk, this is what greets us on one of the roads. It is like the beginning of a joke. Why did the turkey, guinea, and chicken cross the road?

To amuse Kate and Isabel, of course.

Right. I know. It wasn't that funny.

Well, happy fall, anyway!

last week

2011-10-13T16:17:00.001-04:00

Was horrible on so many levels and in so many ways.

I cannot even begin to tell you how rotten it was. But I am going to try. It started out with me being absolutely exhausted. Mama and I had a yard sale together at her house over the weekend. We went to church Sunday morning, but I could not seem to get out of my chair for church Sunday night. Plus, Kate and Isabel took extra long naps and still weren't awake when it was time to leave. When Kate finally did awake, she was very hyper. She likes to dance in front of the mirror. So, this night she is dancing and twirling, completely out of control. She trips and falls forward. She landed with her neck wedged onto the edge of a wooden stool, bruising her neck and throat. Needless to say, it scared me to death. She is choking and making these strangling noises. She is drooling all over me while hysterically crying. She has this huge mark across her throat. When I finally calm her down, she can only whisper. She says she can't swallow.

Then, I made a mistake.

I googled bruised throat, then called my mom.

Of course, she says, RUSH HER TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM!!!

I say, I don't know. I am think I am going to wait. It is about the time that Brian wakes up over yonder, and sometimes we skype when he gets dressed. So, I told Mama I would call Brian and ask him.

While we are skyping, Kate is in my lap. He is watching her, but she doesn't realize it. She keeps swallowing and smiling at him. Her voice is still hoarse, but she seems okay at this point. So, we decided not to take her.

The next day, Isabel and Kate are taking a bath. I keep hearing lots of splashing, thumping, and giggling. So, I decide to see what the commotion is. They are both standing up, Kate has her leg up and Isabel is holding it.....then somehow they both fall in slow motion. I see Isabel's mouth smack the edge of the tub, blood spurts EVERYWHERE! I pick her up and wrap her in a towel. We rush into the kitchen where I pour sugar all in her mouth and under her lip to stop the bleeding. (A trick I learned from my Aunt Trudy.) Poor Isabel ends up with a huge fat lip for several days. It was even black on the inside.

She liked showing it off.

Isabel got into the vaseline and spread it all over her body and clothes. While I was attempting to clean up slimy, greasy vaseline, Kate was skyping with daddy. Well, she was sitting in the office chair in front of the computer. Wait, let me rephrase that, she wasn't just sitting there, she was twirling the chair around and around. She accidentally hit my coffee cup and coffee went everywhere! All over the desk, computer, bills, letters, papers, and pictures I had just printed out to mail to Grandma. UGH!

This was also the week I decide to redo a dresser for the girls' bedroom (more on that later) AND their closet AND wash all the winter clothes. All with a serious bad attitude on my part. The girls did not want to cooperate with me at all. Disobedience was the norm. Then, I sliced my finger open on a knife. We also had several more falling downs and other such injuries.

Every single time some disaster occurred, it would frustrate me to no end. Every little thing annoyed me. I wish I could blame it on single motherhood. But, that isn't true. I had this attitude problem at times when Brian was home.

Everything and everybody was getting on my nerves. I didn't feel like making dinner, breakfast, or lunch. I don't even think the girls brushed their teeth but a few times. One day, I literally just screamed and screamed. No words, just screams. Then tears. The poor girls just looked at me. Kate then ran to the playroom and cleaned it up. It was almost spotless. I have to admit I was really proud of her cleaning job.

The Lord has been working on my heart about this again. I get so caught up in myself and my selfishness. I stop reading His word. I stop praying. I take my focus off being what He wants me to be and instead do what I want. I then become a miserable mess. I react to things in a way that is displeasing to God and to those around me. I become a horrible mother and wife.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying that reading my Bible and praying every day makes everything hunky dory and no annoying things happen and all of a sudden I am a perfect little mommy. (Like that horribly long sentence?) I am still human and my children are still bad at times. But, when I make my focus pleasing Jesus instead of myself, my reactions are usually calmer.

I couldn't have a higher calling than to be a mother. It is the most wonderful thing in the world to be allowed to do. That is what God wants me to be. A keeper at home. A teacher of my children, a helper to my husband.

Titus 2:4-5 says,

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

I have been working on a Bible study entitled Holy Women. It goes through Proverbs 31, Titus 2, and lots of different women as examples. It has truly been a blessing and a help. Lots of things I didn't even know. Not only am I learning them, but I am learning why. I also recently read a book called, Created to be his Helpmeet by Debi Pearl which really helped me a lot the last few weeks Brian was home.

So, this week, I have been focusing more on God and the girls instead of me, myself, and I. Once again, this has proven to be the way to live my life. Now, the girls still fuss, argue, scream, and get hurt. But, I seem to be handling it better. Because I spent time this morning (and another morning or two) in His word and in prayer. It wasn't hours and hours, but it was enough to help me to focus on Him.

For you other young girls and mothers who seem to be struggling and have days or weeks where all you want to do is scream and pull your hair out, cry and pitch a fit. I suggest getting up in the morning before your children do and spend some time with Jesus. Then you can truly enjoy moments such as these instead of thinking about all the mess they are making, and all the work you still have to do.

Happy mothering!

Summer recap, part 2

2011-10-02T18:04:00.001-04:00

Fourth of July was celebrated by shooting guns....

Mama and her cane while shooting = hilarious

Playing badminton....

Eating watermelon....

And spending time with family and friends.

During this month, I was asked to make a cake for my Uncle Anthony's surprise birthday party. It turned out so pretty, I just have to share it with you.

Cute, huh? He plays the ukelele, so his daughter requested a ukelele cake. I had no idea how to do it. I used 2 sheet cakes and cut out the shapes. I used candy and thread for the top, Hawaiian looking flowers for the edge.

I canned lots and lots of pickles and tomatoes.

Kate had her first taco. And LOVED it. Now, every time I mention having tacos, she gets very excited. She likes to dip them into a salsa and sour cream mixture. We always have root beer with tacos. It makes it even yummier.

We went camping on the hottest weekend of the year. It was fun, but so hot!

Putting up our massive tent took some patience and some time.

The girls danced around the fire.

We learned to make cowboy coffee. Delicious! I suggest if anyone tent camps to try it. It is worth the wait.

~BOAT RIDE~

~swimming~

~jumping~

~walks along the lake shore~

~grilling burgers lake side~

~eating more watermelon~

~enjoying sunsets~

~enjoying full moons over our campsite~

~having strange things happen~

Kate learned how to do a flip on the swing set. She loves to show off.

Isabel still hasn't quite learned how to pedal her tricycle, much to her frustration.

We ate lots of blueberry pancakes. LOTS.

~popcorn and movie nights~

The back vegetable garden

The front flowers on the other side of the driveway. Next year, hopefully, I will remember that the sunflowers face AWAY from the house. They don't look quite like I want them to, because they face that way. Oh, well.

front flower bed

another view of the front

Stay tuned for August!

summer recap, part 1

2011-09-26T18:05:00.000-04:00

Fall is here, officially by the calendar anyway. The first day of fall was last Friday. I had every intention of posting something about it, but for some reason, life keeps getting in the way of this blog.

I love this time of year. I really like the cooler sweater weather. I told Kate the other day that I was ready for sweaters, because I was tired of sweating. I had to laugh at myself. She didn't get it, but she laughed with me. Because she is 3 and doesn't "get" corny, yet.

In celebration of fall, I thought I would recap our summer for you. I was going to do it all at once, but I was going into picture overload. So, I will just do one month at a time...

JUNE

The beginning of June involved getting ready for Daddy's homecoming. We painted signs, cleaned and cleaned. Did lots of yardwork. And just generally wore ourselves out.

Daddy's homecoming was a very special day. We got the the airport extra early.

And we waited, and waited. Surprisingly enough, Kate ran to her Daddy. Isabel was too busy eating her french fries to be bothered. But, Kate was beyond excited.

She kept giving him these precious, little hugs. Quite adorable, really.

This is Brian and me on his first Sunday back. There are several of these pictures and in several of them a head or something is cut off. This is one of the better ones. We look cute together, I think.

After Daddy came home, life took on a different pace. There was lots more laughing and lots more horsing around.

I goof off with them and play with them, but NOT like Daddy does.

We went on a plane ride to Grandma and Grandpa Armonat's house for Father's Day and Grandpa Armonat's birthday. Brian celebrated his Father's day by buying himself a present. Which was a good thing, because in the planning and packing for the trip, I completely forgot about Father's day.

Here Brian is posing with his present. He is probably going to shoot me for putting this picture out there. But it is hilarious. Every time it scrolls through the screensaver, I laugh.

We got new baby chicks. Mama hen sat on 14 eggs. I think 6 hatched out. Baby chicks are so much fun to watch.

I accidentally grew a cantaloupe. I used my homemade compost around my blueberry plants. A vine began to grow; I left it alone. I watered it when I remembered. Brian and the girls enjoyed it. I thought it tasted green. Still neat, anyway.

We went on several boat rides. I love this picture of the girls holding hands. Just look at the way Isabel is gazing adoringly at her sister.

We also had several breakdowns and other issues that took a little bit of fun away from lake-going.

But, we still managed to have lots of fun, anyway.

And capture some nice pictures.

No caption needed....sister love.

The vegetable garden in June.

The front flowers in June.

I wish I could tell you I learned lots of lessons during the month of June, but I don't think I did. I wasn't feeling my best a lot of those days. I had a bladder infection one week, then a stomach virus the next. So, not really the best of months to look back on in that regard. But, one thing I am learning daily is to make the best of whatever life hands you.

I hope you enjoyed this look back on our month of June.

I did.

new shoes

2011-09-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

My sister had given me these shoes last year. I liked them, but I really didn't like the color. They were the pair of shoes I had in my closet that I tried on most days, but rejected because they just didn't quite go.

See, Clemson orange, or Tennessee, or wherever that has a bright orange as their color. UGLY!

Well, one day, I thought what if I painted these shoes? If it doesn't work out, I don't lose anything. It's not like it will be wasting a pair of shoes. I have seen all over blogland people paint everything. Including shoes.

So, I did. Cute, huh? Now, if you look closely you can still see some orange. But, all in all I am pleased. I have worn them many more times than I did before.

I only wish I had painted them black. I already have brown sandals. Oh, well. Maybe one day, I will paint them again.

When we were on our vacation, Kate spotted a pair of flip flops that had glittery sea shells on the straps. Oh, how she loved them and wanted them. I looked at them and at the $40 price tag. Thought to myself, I can do this. So, when we got home we scoured Target, Wal-mart AND K-mart for flip flops. Of course, it being the end of August, there was hardly any to be found. We did find boots. Lots and lots of boots. Ugh. We finally found blue ones at K-mart and pink ones at Target.

Daddy knew we were going to be making this project. So, when he was on his sea shell search (say that 5 times) he purposely picked up itty bitty tiny ones. It took a few days of drying time, but we finally got them finished.

I must tell you, the girls did the glitter all on their own. I glued the sea shells onto the straps myself. The girls can't have all the fun.

Here is Isabel modeling her's. If you have met Kate, you know why I don't have a picture of her modeling her pair. They absolutely love these flip flops. We get lots of compliments whenever I let them wear them in public (which is rare....neither one can walk well in flip flops). Which leads me to the thought that I should dress up their flips or other plain play shoes more often. Make things more fun to wear.

Happy shoes!

Happy birthday, Isabel!

2011-09-13T23:22:00.000-04:00

Sunday, September 11, we celebrated and remembered something other than what happened in NYC.

Isabel.

She turned 2. My little monkey, who hasn't been a baby since she was 8 months old and began walking, is officially a toddler. She is a character and a true joy in our lives. She with her hugs and kisses taught me how to be a more loving parent.

Here are a few pictures from her birthday celebration.

It was a simple celebration. Lunch with Grandma and Papa, our babysitter Heather and her husband. Then cake, ice cream and presents with them and Aunt Jada and cousins. Everyone had lots of fun.

Isabel really got bored with opening her presents which was kind of funny. But I had saved the best 2 presents for last. She wasn't interested in either one of them. So, I unwrapped them for her. We got her a new baby doll, one just like Kate's. For she loves Kate's baby and is always taking it. Since giving her new baby, she hasn't put it down.

She even sleeps with her.

The present that I was most excited about was a handmade one. Made special for her by Mommy. Some call these quiet books, some call them busy books. I call it a quiet book, because that is what my mom called the one she made for me when I was small. Which I still have by the way. The one my mom made is a lot more detailed and has a lot more pages. But I am really thrilled with how mine turned out.

Rather than show you each page individually, I made a little collage for you. The top left picture is the cover. The rest are the pages in order. A buckle, snaps, tying shoes, buttons, overall buckles, velcro, and a zipper.

Isn't it adorable? I really like it.

But it isn't nearly as a adorable as my little Isabel. The whole day Sunday, she sang, "happy birthday, Idabelll....!"

I leave you with some more pictures of the birthday girl.

The only thing missing from an otherwise perfect day was a hug from daddy.

Happy birthday, Isabel.

where has the time gone?

2011-08-23T08:03:00.000-04:00

Wow. It has been so long since I have blogged. I just can't seem to find the time to do it. We have been really busy living life this summer. The girls make life exciting. There is never a dull moment around here.

Another reason I can't seem to find time to blog (or clean or make dinner), I have morning sickness almost all day. Yep, you read that right. We are expecting our third baby. The precious blessing will be here some time in March. We are beyond excited (when we aren't tired).

Happy Tuesday!

my new shades

2011-07-29T09:34:00.006-04:00

I remember my mom wearing glasses like these when I was little. She always had huge sunglasses.

And, of course, like everything else, they are back in style. With a vengeance! I got a pair of contacts for the summer, so I needed sunglasses when we go to the lake. I went shopping for sunglasses one day. All I could find were the big ones. It was as if that was all they had, except for the aviator ones.

ala-Tom Cruise~NOT my style

I didn't really like all the big ones, but finally found a pair I liked.

I thought they looked pretty good, until Brian looked at me and smirked. He asked if maybe there wasn't a bigger pair I could have gotten. (Brian doesn't like anything that smacks of trendiness.) So, I went rummaging around in the girls' toy box and found these.....

Do you think these are big enough?

outdoor wednesday

2011-06-04T09:51:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, it isn't Wednesday. But, Wednesday and Thursday were CRAZY around here. I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off both days trying to get the yard and house looking nice for a certain someone who arrived home Thursday night. I really wanted to share with you the yard stuff I have been doing, but I didn't want Brian to see some of the stuff I have done. I wanted him to be surprised, you know?

First, the vegetable garden:

Here it is when I first planted it, the week of April 17.

Here it is this past week, just 6 weeks later. You can't really tell in this picture, but there is lots of grass between the rows.

zucchini

yellow squash

banana peppers

Remember the front flower beds? Here is is before:

My perennials have begun to grow back here. This is also before I put down the new soil, but after I had raked up all the leaves, mulch and black plastic.

Here it is with organic garden soil and some new perennials. I have also planted lots of zinnias and sunflowers in this bed. They are coming along nicely.

This is along the front. I have added some begonias, coleus, and impatiens for color.

This is Kate and Isabel's garden. It is doing so well. Every day we see a new sprout of green that gets everyone excited.

Here is a close up of the climbing spinach we planted. We also planted some mammoth sunflowers with it, hoping the spinach will climb the sunflowers. We will see.

Here is their strawberry patch. It is supposed to fruit in June, but I was late in getting them in, so who knows when it will. But, they are looking good, don't you think?

I planted zinnia and sweet william seeds amongst these peonies so that we would have some color in this bed throughout summer and fall. Zinnia never cease to amaze me. They just GROW with no help at all. I can't wait until they are in full bloom. It is going to be fun.

Here is the rock wall that is on the other side of of the driveway. I added these sedum, petunias, and other perennials. It looks nice, too. It will look even nicer when they are all in bloom. I even added lots of zinnia to either side of these rocks.

Here is a shot of our morning entertainment. We have really been enjoying my birthday present. Aren't they cute?

I still have a few other things to finish before I share them with you. But in the meantime....

Have a happy weekend!

counting down

2011-05-29T16:29:00.000-04:00

Today it has been 16 weeks exactly since Brian left for work.

This is the last Sunday. Sundays seem extra lonely. All the husbands and wives sitting together at church make me miss Brian more. I can't begin to describe how excited I am that he will be home this Thursday. This Thursday at 9:30 am to be exact.

When he first left I felt a bit of freedom. In little ways, like staying up late and sewing, or watching movies I know he would just make fun of, or going to my parent's house and staying all day....that kind of freedom. I enjoyed it for the most part.

Then it began to get to me just a little bit, so I worked. I worked in the yard, I rearranged the house, cleaned out the guest house, put in some flower beds, put in the garden, sewed and sewed. I stayed up too late sewing, actually. I read tons of books. We have had ice cream and popsicles for dinner. I have even let Isabel eat a plate of bacon for lunch.

It began to get to me some more, just in time for Brian's mom to visit. We had a lovely time together. Mother's day preparations and celebration also helped to fill in some time. We have gone to the park, we went to the zoo.

We planted Kate and Isabel's garden.

We have had folks over for dinner. We have invited ourselves over to my sister's to play and eat. We have kept ourselves so busy that we are exhausted. All of us.

A few weeks ago I really didn't think I was going to make it. I was talking to my daddy on the phone and this analogy came to me. It is kind of crude so beware:

Sometimes on my way home from somewhere, I will have to go potty. I have to GO! I don't think I am going to make it home. When I finally get home, I don't think I am going to make it to the door. It will be difficult getting the girls out of their seats. They won't have their shoes on, they won't get their things. We finally get to the door and I can't find my keys, so I don't think I will be able to make it through the door. Finally get the door open, run in the house, drop my purse (and whatever else I am carrying) on the table, run to the bathroom. When I finally see the toilet, I don't even think I will be able to get my pants down fast enough. But, I do. I always make it. I haven't had a peepee accident. Not yet, anyway.

That is where I was....I was feeling as if I wasn't going to make it. Brian would never be home. I would have to be alone forever. I was having bad dreams. He kept dying in my dreams. It was horrible. I am feeling better now. He will be on his way home Wednesday. I can't wait.

The saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" is true. I believe that his absence does make me love and appreciate Brian even more. I think he loves me more and more each time he comes home. It has drawn us closer together because no one truly understands but us.

This is the picture we took when I dropped it him at the airport. Every time I think about going to the airport to pick him up again, I tear up. I can't wait to have my best friend home with me again.

mother's day

2011-05-24T12:06:00.000-04:00

My mother's day weekend was really wonderful. I was able to participate in our Mother's Day brunch at my church. That was a lot of fun. I helped decorate for it. I was also in the skit. Which I think was hilarious and was actually a big hit.

I wanted the girls and I to wear blue. I didn't really have a blue dress that I thought looked nice on me. So, I made me one. It is really lovely if I say so myself.

I almost look skinny!

(Check out my cute shoes~Kmart)

Mama took some pictures of me modeling it. I did not use a pattern. I just copied another dress I had, made it more A-line, added a ruffle at the neck, and a tie at the waist.

Here is a picture of Mama and me at the luncheon.

It always surprises me at how much I look like her. Same nose, same mouth. Funny. I was glad to be able to spend both Saturday and Mother's Day with her. Even though we only live 30 minutes from each other, we rarely get to spend time together.

It is so hard to get a good picture of me and my silly girls. Here is one from the luncheon.

Here is Mother's Day. I really like this one. We set the camera on a table and used the timer setting on the camera.

Brian bought me a beautiful necklace and earring set. He also bought me an incredible coffee maker. It makes the coffee at 200 degrees! HOT coffee, finally! I have not really had hot coffee in several months. I bought myself a hydrangea, because I have wanted one for years. It turned out to be a nice weekend. It would have been better had Brian been here, but we can't have it all. Can we?

Here are a few other pictures from the day.

Mother's day gifts:

My attempt at embroidery for my mama.

Making stepping stones with hand prints for the grandmas.

Finger print flower cards for the grandmas with pipe cleaner stems.

My sister and her daughter and Kate.

My cousin, Jody and me

a scene from the skit

(that's me choking the poor girl who is actually Mrs. Heather, our babysitter)

My sister, Jada and me

( I put it in sepia because the color was off. Really a good picture, huh?)

Becoming a mother has really been the biggest blessing of my life, besides my salvation and marriage. No other job could bring me greater joy. I am so thankful to be a mommy.

I dreamed of being a missionary

2011-05-06T16:41:00.001-04:00

I dreamed of being a missionary in foreign places, bringing to God great numbers of swarthy-faced souls. But God set me among familiar scenes, and gave me dirty faces of my own children.

I dreamed of being a nurse. But God made me a scrub woman, a kitchen maid, a washer of greasy dishes, dirty clothes, and smeared windows.

I dreamed of being musically trained. But God gave me the noise of crying babies and the clamor of quarreling boys.

I dreamed of being a landscape artist and God gave me a kitchen window to look out of and diapers to hang against a summer sky.

I dreamed of writing poems. But God gave me baby records to keep, excuse blanks to fill out, report cards to sign.

I dreamed of being a teacher, but God chose to let me learn the hard way, through the discipline of daily chores, through the tribulation of hard to manage children, through the restriction of freedom to come and go as I wished, through the confines of an ever-tight budget.

I dreamed of being faithful in great things. But God asked me to be faithful in the little things~tying shoes, wiping noses, putting wheels on trucks, getting that “one more drink” of water, applying band-aids, removing gum from blonde hair.

I dreamed of being a saint. But God gave me children.

And so it was that my dreams died. Or did they die? Ah, rather I should say...so it was that my dreams became realities.

For I am a missionary. In my keeping are living souls~ no less precious to God than the souls of the Indians and Africans that I hoped to win. From me they can best learn the strength of love, the power of prayer and the effectiveness of a strong faith in Christ.

~anonymous

Thursday's randomness

2011-04-21T08:14:00.001-04:00

Sometimes I am daunted by all that I need or want to do. Sometimes I miss Brian so much it aches in my throat. Sometimes I just want to sit on the couch with a good book and pretend that all my projects are already finished. Like Monday, when I tilled the entire garden, TWICE. Then Tuesday after an entire morning of running here and there. I needed to buy all the veggie plants and seeds for the garden, a part for the weed eater (got the wrong one), and a dryer. Came home, ate lunch, put together Kate's new wheelbarrow, so she can help mommy.

By then it was going on 2pm.

I really wanted for the girls to play in the dirt while I planted the garden. I was envisioning the really fun day of all of us together playing and getting dirty.

It was a wonderful idea.

Until the gloves wouldn't cooperate with little fingers and the wheelbarrow kept tipping over and the shoes wouldn't stay on little feet and the SUN! Oh, the sun was just so hot! And Isabel won't stop looking at me! Then Isabel wouldn't stop crying. Then Kate's whines turned to cries.

So....

My wonderful vision evaporated into a mist of tears.

The girls went to bed. They were asleep in minutes.

I went back outside to begin the hoeing. I stood at the edge of the garden and literally wanted to cry. The thing is huge. And I need to hoe it into rows? You have got to be kidding me, right?

Instead of crying, I took a picture. Took off my shoes to better feel the sun-baked dirt, picked up my hoe and went to work. About 2 hours and a couple of breaks later, I had this.

All in rows with my plants laid out where I think I want them. Granted, it isn't straight. I just eyeballed it. Brian uses string and stakes and makes his rows perfect. Um, I am not that much of a perfectionist. Then I took a nice long break, drank some ice water in the shade and called my mom for a chat.

Then I planted it. Along the left row up there are 12 tomato plants. The back row and at the end of the rows on the right are cucumbers. The 2 rows of green plants there in the back that you can barely see are a variety of pepper plants. The 3 rows at the bottom are zucchini and squash. Makes me all happy inside thinking about the wonderful fresh veggies that are to come.

Admiring our work.

(Do you like the wheelbarrows?)

Now that the job is done, there is such relief in my mind. While I hoed, I prayed. As I planted, I let my mind relax. It truly made for a nice afternoon. Almost as much fun as planting flowers.

In other news, I have been making aprons for our Mother's day luncheon. Another lady in our church and I are making these. Aprons to give to all the girls age 10 and under. I have 10 made and another 13 or so cut out to put together.

The other day at Mama's, I looked out the back door and saw this:

What a good Papa!

Yesterday, my niece and nephew came over for a few hours. We made spring chicks. It was fun.

{*grin*}

Today, I am going to begin putting together a dress I cut out for myself last week. I also need to make something for me to wear on Sunday. The girls are wearing pink, so I need to figure something out to match them. I am thinking about a variation of this here. But with an A-line skirt. OR this one. I am leaning towards the second one because it it just 2 seams. I think I could embellish the neckline with a ruffle, though. What do you think? I have some really pretty dark pink knit with flowers I am going to use. Anyway, whatever I do it will be a first. I made a dress for myself YEARS ago that Brian said looked like a tablecloth. But I was very proud of it and wore it several times. My sister has it now, it is a bit small on me since the girls and all.

One more thing, remember when I told y'all about my new working out plan? I have still been working out. I haven't been doing the video every day because it was making my muscles in my legs too big. But, I have seen a bit of shrinkage in my waist and hip area. So, I have been doing cardio stuff a couple of days and the video a couple of days. I feel stronger and more energetic. Honestly, if I had not begun the video when I did, I would not have been strong enough to till and hoe the garden. I haven't lost any pounds, yet. But, muscle does weigh more than fat. (I have to keep reminding myself of that.) Also, I have been trying to dress differently to make myself look thinner. It seems to be working. Well, I think so, anyway. The last 2 Sundays at church I have gotten lots of compliments which made feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

On that note, I think I should run/walk before the girls get up.

Happy Maundy Thursday.

lessons learned...march edition

2011-04-14T09:15:00.000-04:00

I kept thinking I needed to do a "lessons learned" post from March. But, if you want to know the truth of the matter, I don't know that I learned anything. Not anything new, anyway. I made all the same mistakes over again. As I was thinking about this yesterday morning, how I keep seeming to fail, I began to pray about it. Really, truly pray. Because honestly, He is the only One who truly cares. Others may listen and care, but they have their own stuff, you know? When I am in 'that moment' of utter despair and can't seem to shake myself out of it, I never think anyone else understands. So, as I was praying this song came to my mind with this part, "His peace fell around me, the same as yesterday. And even though my tomorrows may have sadness and sorrow, I will still be no stranger to grace." And it did. His peace fell around me. ME! Little old me. And I think I am finally getting it.

So, I began typing this post and looking through my pictures of March. I realize I did learn a few things.

#1 One mistake I made last month that I have never made before and doubt I will make again, is bringing a new to us, yet old dog into our lives. That poor thing was absolutely miserable.

Look at this poor girl. She just wants to lick and jump on Isabel. But yet, I won't let her. Or she wants to run away. And run, she does. As soon as she feels some slack in her leash she takes off. Sadly, she took off one day last week. When she came home, she discovered my chickens. She killed 2 hens and my rooster. So, Nanga girl went back to her previous owners. I can't have a chicken-killing dog. Evidently there are ways to break a dog from doing that. But, I just don't want to put the time into it. I just can't do it.

If we EVER get another dog, it will be a puppy.

#2 Brian said when he was home last time that he was implementing an "only cook on 4 rule." Another lesson. Always cook on 4! It will not burn that way. I have a bad bad habit of beginning to cook dinner, then getting sidetracked with something else, in another room, even. But lately, I have been taking Brian's advice to only cook on 4. It seems to be working. I haven't burned anything lately. See, we have this STUPID glass top stove. I really hate it. I have always had a gas stove. They just make more sense to me. Water burns on this stupid thing. If a pot of water over-boils, it burns on the stove top. BURNS! It makes a huge mess. Almost every time I make rice, I over-boil the water and burn it. UGH. But, I have been doing better. Thank you, Brian.

#3 When it rains, make something messy with the girls. We made rainbow rice.(I will publish a full post with directions, later.)

#4 After the rain, go for a walk while looking to find some flowers to smell and enjoy.

#5 Take a roll in the dirt.

Sadly, a few of these including the rooster, were murdered last week.

#6 Enjoy the simple things, more. Like peanut butter and popsicles.

#7 Don't forget to get the eggs.

28 total

#8 Have a pajama/hat/dress up Molly day.

#9 Smile more...

And on that note, I bid you, good day.

Happy living!