Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Forever 29!

Hand made clothes and hand written letters seem to be a thing of the past! Rarely do you see these things anymore, but they are a few of the things that I cherish! I sometimes wish I lived in the day and age when there were no computers and no Wal-Mart to visit. It would make things much more simple and wholesome, but also more challenging!

There is one person in my life that I can think of that still values these simple things in life, my Great Aunt Medora. She is an amazing lady that I love dearly! She has always put others first and is like a Grandmother to me!

In this picture she is holding my son Jack and my 2 girls and niece are standing next to her. I LOVE her shirt! At every birthday she has always told us that she is 29 again! I have no idea how old she is exactly, but it doesn't matter because her sense of humor keeps her young! :0) To me she will always be "forever 29!"

While I was away at college, she never forgot about me and sent me handwritten letters. I was a pretty busy college student, but it always meant so much to me that she would sit down and write out a card or letter to me. It made me feel so important and loved. E-mails are nice but very impersonal, so when someone takes the time to write out a card, that means the world to me. I tried really hard to always write back, in hopes that she would respond again... she always did!

She still sends notes to me once in a while through the mail, even though we only live 5 minutes away from each other. She probably doesn't even know that it means that much to me, but for someone to take time out of their day and send some love through the mail is rare now-a-days!

After my son was born she came over for a visit bearing gifts. That might not seem like a big deal; most people bring gifts to babies after they are born. These gifts were different. She had saved clothes from when her grandson was born (18 years ago) and gave them to Jack. She said she had saved them all this time for "someone special." One of those items was a handmade sweater that she made her grandson when he was a baby. For her to pass those special items on to me was a honor and a privilege!

I will always cherish my memories with my Aunt Medora! She is an amazing lady!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere!

On a lighter note today... bubble fun!!

My mom made up this bubble solution a few nights ago and the kids loved it! (The adults, big
kids at heart, loved it too!) It makes great giant bubbles! If you don't have a giant bubble wand, you can use just about anything that will make a continuous circle! Try putting the solution into a cookie sheet and use a coat hanger for the wand! It works great!

Here's the recipe...

12 c water
1 c dish soap (Joy works best, but Dawn works good too!)
1 c cornstarch
2 Tbs baking powder

For those of you with musical kiddos, try these fun bubble songs/finger plays!

My Bubble - sung to "My Bonnie"

My bubble floats over the housetop.

My bubble floats over the tree.
My bubble floats over the hilltop.

Oh, come back, my bubble, to me.

Come back, come back
Oh, come back, my bubble, to me, to me.
Come back, come back;
Oh, come back, my bub...pop! Oh, gee!

POP! Goes The Bubble! - sung to "Pop Goes The Weasel"

Soap and water can be mixed.To make a bubble solution. Carefully blow, Now, watch it go! Pop! Goes the bubble!

I'm A Little Bubble - sung to "I'm a Little Teapot"

I'm a little bubble, shiny and round.
I gently float down to the ground.
The wind lifts me up and then I drop.
Down to the dry ground where I pop.

Bubbles - sung to "Twinkle, Twinkle"

Bubbles floating all around
(pretend to catch bubbles)
Bubbles fat and bubbles round
(make a big circle w/ arms)
Bubbles on my toes and nose
(point to toes; point to nose)
Blow a bubble. ..up it goes!
(pretend to blow bubble; point up)
Bubbles floating all around.
(pretend to catch bubbles)
Bub. . .bles fall. . .ing to...the...ground.
(sing slowly & sink to ground)



Monday, June 21, 2010

A Humble Thank You!

Before I post anything else about myself or my family, I want to just stop and thank my readers! This blog was started only a week ago and already I have received some amazing feedback! My blog would be nothing without readers/followers!

Sooooo many of you have either told me face-t0-face, on the blog, or on Facebook how much you can relate to my life and the chaos surrounding me! ;-) I would love for you all to feel free to share those thoughts and comments publicly so everyone will know we're no alone in this battle called motherhood! Being a mom is really hard and takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears! I will continue to share my heart and thoughts with you all, if you promise to be "real" with someone in your life too! You'd be surprised what you'll discover when you open up and stop trying to be perfect! Those of you that have shared your thoughts with me, keep sharing! There are several of you out there, and we're al struggling with similar issues, so keep your chin up and keep smiling!!!

This is a little something someone shared with me once and made me cry! (I was having one of those days!) I hope you enjoy it too!

Click here to watch "THE INVISIBLE WOMAN" It's worth watching!!

So, what are you building when no one sees? Keep up the good work all you moms out there! God sees what we do, even if no one else is looking or cares!!!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

A Mother's Love

A Mother's Love...

I had no idea what that meant before I became a mom! I used to hear people say, "I would die for my son," or "there's nothing I wouldn't do for my little girl!" I figured I would feel the same way about my kids once they came along, but I had NO IDEA those feelings would be so strong!

A Mother's Love...

My son was wearing a shirt tonight that said "My Mommy Loves Me" and my comment to my husband was, "isn't that the truth!" My three children are my pride and joy! I wish there was a way to communicate to a 3 and 1 year old, and a 2 month old how much there mother loves them! They don't have the slightest clue to what lengths I would go to protect them!

A Mother's Love...

When my children get sick or injured my heart breaks! There is nothing worse than when your child is laying helplessly on your lap and is crying because they don't feel good! At those moments the world stops and as a mom, I would trade places with them in an instant!

A Mother's Love...

When my second daughter was born, she was tongue tied and had to have her tongue clipped. I took her to the eye/nose/throat specialist where they made ME hold her down at 4 weeks old! I have never cringed so badly in my life as I did in that moment! I wanted to run out of there screaming, but instead quietly talked to her and nursed her for a good 30 minutes right after to calm her down! I put on the face of a brave mom, and no one saw the tears running down my face!

A Mother's Love...

Pregnancy, labor and delivery! Enough said!

A Mother's Love...

Watching your child achieve milestones and grow up is priceless but also makes my heart break! My 3 year old likes to hear stories about when she was "a little tiny baby," so I tell her about when she would cuddle me all night long, drink from a bottle and crawl around the floor. I then proceed to tell her that she needs to stop growing and be my baby forever. Being the feisty 3 year old that she is, she argues with me and says, "No, I not a baby no more! I grow up really really fast and be a big girl!" I give into the argument and tell her, "I know honey, you're growing up to be a big girl!" Then I turn around and wipe the tears from my cheek as I think of how fast time has flown by already! I don't want her to grow up, but that's one argument I'll never win! :-(

A Mother's Love...

I can honestly say that I know what that mom meant when she said she would die for her child... I would give my life in exchange for one of my children in a heart beat!!! I'm sure if you're a parent you feel the same way!

A Mother's Love...

Friday, June 18, 2010

Happy Father's Day Dad!


Because Father's Day is this weekend, I thought I would share this fun story about my amazing Dad! He has been such a great role model and Godly example for me, my husband and my children, Thanks Dad!!

I'll never forget this day....

It was a very hot summer day and my Mom had gone away for the day. So, that meant Dad was in charge! I was about 12 years old and my sister about 10. My Dad had a great idea and decided to take his two little girls on a small hike! Oh what fun memories we would make! He told us to put on our sneakers (great thinking Dad!!) and off we went! What a great hot summer day it was! I'm not sure if we had sunscreen on or not, but it didn't matter because Mom wasn't there to worry about that! It was just us girls and Dad! :0)

So we drove to the "hill" and started to hike. Well we quickly realized that this "hill" was more like a rock covered mountain! Oh well, Dad kept telling us that we were almost there! I believed him and kept on moving. After the 8th time or so of Dad saying, "come on girls, we must be almost to the top," I stopped believing him!

We got to a nice a place to sit and rest, so we stopped for a few minutes. Dad had brought us some water bottles, so we tried to get rehydrated and rest our legs. I remember my stomach growling and thinking that it must be lunch time! So we asked Dad if we could eat our lunch now, and his facial expression said, "uh oh!" To make a long story short, Dad had forgotten to pack us a lunch and thought we would be done hiking before we needed to eat! Luckily up ahead there were lots of little blueberry bushes that we cleaned out! I think we ate every blueberry in sight; and then picked the rest for Mom to make us a pie!! We definitely made some memories that day, just not the kind I think my Dad had intended!! To this day we harass Dad about not feeding us and making us climb this ridiculously hard trail, but I still love him for spending the day with us and taking the time to be with his girls!

Thanks Dad for the fun memories, and the future memories that I know we'll continue to make together! Happy Father's Day!





Thursday, June 17, 2010

Creature of Habit!


Okay, so here's my dilemma... I LOVE Wal-Mart! Actually I think I visit Wal-Mart obsessively because it is the ultimate place for parents with little children to shop! Everything I need under one roof! That means ONE stop, ONE time out of car seats, ONE trip in, and ONE trip home! When I have lots of energy and patience, I will pack the kids up and make a routine trip to Wally-World and stock up on the usual things; soap, bananas, milk, chocolate, diapers, etc...

So, what's my problem you ask? Our local Wal-Mart is REMODELING!!! Yes, you heard me right! Usually that's a good thing, but not for a busy mom of 3 kids! I expect to go into Wal-Mart with my cart full of children and be able to locate every item on my list within a reasonable amount of time! After all, each child has a very short attention span for shopping! They are crammed into a cart (usually with things piled on top of them) and not allowed to run! Even with snacks, toys and lollipops, every toddler has their limits!

Because the store near us has been remodeling, EVERYTHING in the store is a mess and has been relocated to another area! You can't even push your cart through the aisles because they have crammed everything together to re-do one section at a time! If you want shoes, try the lawn and garden department... if you want diapers, try the ketchup aisle... if you want clothing, try outside! (they actually had clothing racks on the outside sidewalk!) I might sound a little extreme, but it was very frustrating!

I was trying to find where the little girl's pajamas were and so I asked a nice lady with a blue vest on, if she would be able to help me, and she replied, "I'm sorry I don't know where that is because they moved everything around again last night!" What??? The employees don't even know where to find things! UGH!!!

Lets just say that after circling the store a few times and not finding everything I needed, my patience was gone and I was going home. So, after standing in line and paying for the few items I located on my list, I put the kids back in the van and went home exhausted! I like Wal-Mart because I know where everything is like the back of my hand, but I think it will be a few months before I go back! What can I say? I'm a creature of habit!





Dad's Day burgers!

We're having a Father's Day BBQ at our house tomorrow night for my Dad and I've decided to try something new! I got this recipe from allrecipes.com... I'll let you know how it comes out! They look yummy!!!


Blue Cheese Burgers
By: QUIKSMYLE
"Hamburgers? Yes. But basic fare? Definitely not! What a treat they are, and the wise cook will make up a dozen or so for the freezer. If you like blue cheese, you'll never forget these burgers."
Prep Time:
15 Min
Cook Time:
10 Min
Ready In:
2 Hrs 25 Min

Original Recipe Yield 12 servings

Ingredients
3 pounds lean ground beef
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
  • 1/2 cup minced fresh chives
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 12 French rolls or hamburger buns

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, blue cheese, chives, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, salt, and mustard. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
  2. Preheat grill for high heat. Gently form the burger mixture into about 12 patties.
  3. Oil the grill grate. Grill patties 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Serve on rolls.