Don't Laugh...

...but I've started a second blog. :) Hubby doesn't understand at all. I wanted to participate in some blog stuff like Menu Plan Monday and Works For Me Wednesday, but wasn't sure how paranoid I need to be about having my kids' actual names and pics 'out there.' Hence, the second, more 'public' blog. Maybe down the road they will combine or something, but for now, you can click here for my other blog.

Jonah was a prophet of God...

I thought I should explain Speedy's birthday ticker above: He is fascinated with the story of Jonah and the Big Fish, so it seemed appropriate. :) He can 'read' the whole story to us from Honey's picture Bible. Pretty sweet.

More Easter Cuteness

There's not much sweeter than a baby girl all dolled up for Easter...even if she has a banged up face from tripping down the front porch steps! Each of our kids has gone through that phase where they pretty much have a scratch or bruise somewhere on their face for 6 months straight. I guess Honey is starting on that!

holiday crafts

Here are some of the holiday crafts we've made lately, nothing profound...

Shamrocks (PAT library day): we rolled a marble in paint; then rolled it on a shamrock; then glued on the shamrocks. Egg carton critters: styrofoam egg cartons, permanent marker, pipe cleaners and a feather. Ladybug, chick, caterpillar. Not shown: rabbit and turtle with retractable head. :)

Milk jug bunny easter baskets, from Family Fun magazine. We stapled on cardboard ears; used permanent marker to add face details; glued (tacky glue) on eyes and nose.

Menu Plan Monday

I love it! This has 200 or so ladies' weekly meal plans every Monday, I just came across it tonight! I usually get stuck in a rut so am looking forward to checking this out more thoroughly! It's the same idea as
Which is a ton of tips posted each Wednesday! (Thanks, Steph!)

Bloopers

I think it's hilarious sometimes, what the 'lag' in digital photo-taking captures. If you enjoyed this pic from Oct 2006, with Speedy dropping his gourd in mid-air, then you are sure to love...

...This pic from Easter! I was trying to take a picture of Honey looking at her egg, when--SQUIRT!--she squeezed it out of her grasp. Yes, that yellow object levitating on the left of her is the egg. :) I laugh out loud every time I look at it! It fell on the ground and broke open to reveal the whoppers inside, so I think Honey was quite pleased with the whole deal. If only those round whoppers didn't look so much like the acorns scattered in the grass...

Accept Each Day as it Comes

I received a new devotional book for my birthday, 'Dear Jesus' by Sarah Young. I try to read one at breakfast--sometimes the only quiet chance I get, while the little mouths are munching. :) Today's was good for me, here's a blurb (as if spoken by Jesus):

"Human minds, though capable of brilliance, tend to be undisciplined and rebellious. To counteract this weakness, I have provided help in the Person of the Holy Spirit. ... Your time and energy are limited; only I know how much of each you have. Try to accept each day as a precious gift from Me, thanking Me for it rather than wishing it away. Ask Me to accomplish My purposes in and through you this day. Instead of wasting so much energy longing for what is not, invest that energy in trusting Me."

I thought it was a good reminder, as a stay-home mom, that I might not accomplish what I want today, but it's still a good day, still a day where I've served a purpose. Reminds me not to always be looking where the 'grass is greener' but to have joy and contentment in current circumstances. With the devotion were several verses, this one stuck out especially because I saw it over the doorway as I was leaving a family member's house yesterday, and I thought it was a great spot and great verse to read as you leave your house:

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
---Psalm 118:24

Boys!

Speedy spilled his milk on the table at the farm yesterday noon. Not unusual. He started licking and sucking it up, and got mad when I started wiping it up with a rag. Eww.

Sewing!

Due to spring break, not snacking (after surgery on my gums), and the sewing machine actually working, I put together a few novice projects:

This is a diaper and wipes holder idea I lifted from diapees & wipees. Made my own pattern, need to do a little tweaking. The bottom was tricky for me, but finally came out close to what I was wanting. The material is from some old sleep pants.

Whipped out this taggie pillow for Honey using the matching cami sleep top. :)

And this one may need some work, it's a cushion cover for Princess' tent/playhouse. Kind of a hexagonal shape. One side opens, and we put in all the throw pillows and large stuffed animals that don't get used a lot, so it doubles as storage!

Happy Easter!

I hope you have a blessed Easter! It is always a season of reflection for me as I think about how much we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus--His birth wouldn't be that memorable if it wasn't for His death on the cross for our sins and His resurrection and victory over death. He has done so much for us!

Here are some of our celebrations: multiple egg-dyeing. At home, with homemade dye:

And the egg factory with cousins at Grandma Wehrman's house:

Spring Stuff (but not cleaning!) :)

Pictures from a windy visit to the park last week with my sister. I love the one of Honey's hair blowing! I didn't know she had so much hair! And underdogs--the kids can't get enough of them!

We had fun watching the ducks and geese, too. Especially talking about the mommy and daddy mallard pairs. The kids weren't really interested in reading 'Make Way for Ducklings' when we got home, though. :)

I was trying to catch a duck in action, ducking down for a snack. I was kind of far away, but caught this one!

Surfing

The more time I'm on the web, the more useful sites I find. I came across DonnaYoung.org
Among other things, it has tons of printable charts: calendars, menu and school planners, chores, etc. See if you can find something you like!

When did you buy your diamond?

I received this link from a friend--check it out if you have a diamond purchased between 1994 and 2006, you may qualify for a refund from a lawsuit over price inflation! diamond refund

CHEEEEEEESE!

I don't know how the girl picked up on this so fast--all I have to do now is get out the camera...

We were playing outside yesterday, and heard some pretty chirping. Thanks to the lack of leaves, we were actually able to locate the singer WAY up at the top of our oak tree!

For anyone following our swimming pool foibles: I think we've decided not to do anything with it right now. The estimate was $7,800, and that was with Hubby doing about half of the labor.

Nothing really interesting to say today--just wanted to make sure I got a post in for the week! And procrastinating--I think I really need to mop the kitchen floor--apparent by the ant trail that's found something or other. I can't imagine how anything sweet or sticky could get on my floor! Speaking of sweet, here's a link to the best-ever brownies if you don't have any yet! We don't do the nuts; and I've used parchment paper instead of the foil for lining the pan--works great!

You know you're a mom when...

...your shirt looks like a used kleenex

...YOU are the one who has to do all the undesirable household tasks (ex: those certain dishes that NOBODY wants to wash! Sorry, mom, that we always ignored those growing up!)

...you know what clipping all those box top and best choice labels is for

...you know why it's crucial to keep the toilet lid closed

...you pick up the same things over and Over and OVER

...part of your 'workday' includes playtime and storytime and naptime

...you get to give Kissing Hands (The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn)

...your reading list includes parenting how-to's (the latest one I'm reading through is 'Shepherding a Child's Heart' by Tedd Tripp. It presents kind of a different perspective from a lot of other parenting books out there. More focused on changing the heart than just the outward behavior. Neat.)

I also recently read 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen. I don't think I'd ever read it before. My sisters have a little book club, and that was their latest selection. I think society was so interesting back then--some of the things would have been neat for a while, like dressing up for balls and such; but there was such an apparent prejudice based on money and your name. I'm glad that's changed a little.

My time is up--I'm being summoned to the sunny table to check out the latest tomato sprouts!

Projects

I finally put together an envelope journal kit from over a year ago from reddiva. It's a Celebrate Life album, and my thought was to write down and put in the envelopes our favorite ways we celebrate different holidays, birthday traditions, etc. I also saw an idea for putting recipes in, and thought that would be a handy way to keep some of those holiday recipes right where you need them! Here's a couple pics, I will try to get more up on my 2 peas page sometime.



Another accomplishment this week: I finished up Honey's baby album. Woo-hoo. Now only 12 months behind in our family scrapbook...

And a random thought: I wanted to share a successful Christmas gift I found for Hubby (those guys are hard to shop for!) It was a dessert-of-the-month club one year membership. I printed out a coupon for each month and he could pick any dessert he wanted. It was nice, he got some desserts that he craves that I probably wouldn't have made otherwise, and I tried several new recipes. And found out that I CANNOT make meringue. :)

Time

I was pondering last night (as I was thinking of plans to be made and activities to partake of for St. Pat's and Easter, and how FAST they are coming up) how when you're little, it takes absolutely FOREVER for each holiday, birthday, or thing you're looking forward to to arrive. Is it being grown-up and busy with so many to-do's; or being a mom, trying to cram learning, and traditions, and fun, and sugar cookies into each season; that makes the months SPEED by?

And now the minutes that drag are the ones spent waiting for the mail to arrive, or wondering if it's really only been 3 minutes of wailing since you put the baby down to cry it out in the crib! And you want those babies to be out of diapers and quit whining...but at the same time not too old to cuddle up for a story or for their hands to grow out of that sweet size that fits so well in my hand...

And how 24 hours in a day used to seem too many--I don't even remember what it's like to have time to be bored and wish time was passing faster!

Old Soul

Sometimes I wonder if Princess is 4 years old, or 94 years old. Like last week when I went to change her sheets and there were a bunch of tissues crammed between the mattress and the headboard.

30

I think of things all day to put on my blog, but then when I have the chance to sit down--they're all gone. :) Whew. I feel like I've spent the last two weeks taking care of sickies. And it stinks, Hubby got very sick last night, and was in bed all day today. On my birthday. Oh well. I helped the kids make and decorate my cake; we tried out some new decorator bottles from Pampered Chef. They don't get a glowing recommendation yet, but it is a much less messy way for kids to be able to help out. They are kind of tedious and messy to fill, and I didn't feel like had as much control for detailed decorating as the typical bags.







I finally got a picture of Honey's 'cheese' face--the one she first started using after she sneezed.

Queen of the Castle

:) When I put those words by my picture on the blog, I was kind of making a pun with our Halloween costumes, since I was dressed as a princess. I received this cute tale on one of the many email listservs I subscribe to, and thought it would be fun to share:


QUEEN OF YOUR CASTLE
Homebodies
By Cheryl Gochnauer
homebodies@comcast.net
Copyright 2008

Once upon a time, there was a fair Princess who was very
beautiful, especially in her parents' eyes. But though she was
beautiful inside and out, the Princess was also very confused.
Her mother, the Queen, loved the castle and was content to
raise her family within its walls. But every day, rabble-
rousers outside the castle banged on the gates and tossed
rocks with messages tied round them into the courtyard. The
Princess would untie the messages and read them:
"The Queen is wasting her life, just staying in the castle
with you and the young princes."
"Princess, the Queen is a coward. Or maybe she's just lazy.
Then again, I bet she's not very smart. Because brave, busy
and bright queens leave their castles and become part of the
real world."
"I can't believe how selfish the Queen is. She makes your
father, the King, work like a serf to take care of her while
she watches Oprah the Great spin tales all day."

The Princess, who up until this time had been happy to play in
the castle with her brothers and the Queen, began to mope. "If
the Queen would get a job outside the castle, my life would be
so much better," she thought. "There would be money for more
toys, I could play with other kids all day at Wee Royal
Daycare, and the Queen could drive me about in a brand-new
carriage."

The King noticed the Princess pouting, and beckoned her to
him. "What's the matter, Child?" he asked as she crawled up in
his lap. When the Princess told him about her plight, the King
realized it was time for a royal chat. He summoned the princes
and the Queen, and the entire royal family gathered to hear
his words.

"Alas," the King began, "I fear a plague has entered the
castle grounds, transported here by the rocks thrown over the
castle walls. It is affluenza, a dangerous and fast-growing
affliction that brings sorrow to almost every family it
infects.

"Affluenza's victims are stricken with a warped perception of
true wealth," the King explained. "Instead of valuing what
they have, they want more. They trade their time for things,
and then have no time to enjoy the things they've traded for.
"Princess, don't you like to play with the Queen and the
princes?" he asked. She nodded. "Well, if you spend ten hours
everyday in Wee Royal Daycare, you won't have much time to
play with the Queen. And since Wee Royal Daycare doesn't take
princes under two years old, you'll be separated from your
youngest brother, too." The Princess scooted a little closer
to the Baby Prince.

"With the gold the Queen made from working outside the castle,
we could afford to buy the new carriage," the King
acknowledged. "But you wouldn't spend much time in it, except
driving back and forth to Wee Royal Daycare. And carriages
cost so much, there wouldn't be much money left over for new
toys, either."

"It's nice having the Queen around to help you learn and to
answer questions, isn't it?" the King asked. "At Wee Royal
Daycare, there are nice teachers, too. But with one teacher to
ten children, they are very busy, and what's important to you
and the Queen isn't always important to them."

"Tell me what you saw the Queen doing today at the castle,"
the King said.
"Let's see," the Princess thought. "She cleaned the castle,
bartered with shopkeepers, washed and mended our clothing. She
soothed the Baby Prince, counseled the Teen Prince, and helped
me with my letters. Then she prepared the feast, and listened
to you talk about fighting dragons outside the castle."
"The Queen doesn't sound lazy or scared or dumb to me,"
observed the King.

"She's wonderful," cried the Princess, as she threw her arms
around the Queen.
"Yes, she is," said the King. "And I should have let you know
I thought so earlier. Sometimes I get so busy fighting
dragons, I forget to say how much I appreciate her creating a
safe haven inside the castle.
"Princess, there's a wide, often whimsical world beyond these
walls. You have many choices of what you might do with your
life when you grow up. But no matter what you do, remember
that simply becoming queen of your castle is a noble choice."
*****
Are you Queen of your castle? Write Cheryl at
homebodies@comcast.net and spin a tale of your favorite moment
with your royal children.

***Now, you working moms, I'm not trying to disinclude you--I don't know how you do all that you do! Just thought this was cute, and true for me. I'm very thankful my mom stayed home with us while we were growing up. There are sacrifices, but it's worth it!

Highs & Lows

To encourage dinner conversation, sometimes we'll talk about each person's highlight and lowlight of the day. Last night, Hubby and I were talking, and Speedy said "Excuse me!" EX-CUSE ME!" EEXXX-CUUUUSE MEEEE!" (he gets louder and louder till we stop talking). We look at him, he says, "Excuse me, mommy, what was your high today?" Yes, our 2-year old is leading us in highs and lows! Amazing! :)

Definite low today--waking up to find Hubby taking Princess to puke in the bathroom at 4:30 am. She picked it up visiting Grammy and A. Stephie. Hopefully (fingers crossed) it's the same strain that Speedy, Honey, A. Natty and I already had this winter. Cause that would mean we can't get it again, right? RIGHT???

So, really haven't made any progress on all those one-year errands--Speedy had a fever off and on from a week ago Saturday till Monday, so moved back our portrait sitting. Then Honey got a fever Wednesday--so moved back her immunizations. And moved back our portrait sitting again. And took her to the doctor (not for well-child, but for sick-child) and she has influenza. Why did that groundhog have to see his shadow?? I am tired of winter!

On the plus side, it was a beautiful day today, extremely windy, but beautiful. We (mostly Hubby) started on the unnecessary but interesting task of relocating the fishpond out front to a better spot where all the leaves from the entire neighborhood wouldn't be corraled into the pond, choking out the fish. Maybe I'll get a pic on here of before and after. I should be able to have some fun landscaping the old pond crater, too. Theoretically. Since Honey really can't be unattended at all outside, because she's still putting EVERYTHING in her mouth. And our driveway slopes toward the street, so that's where the balls she chases head quite quickly. But in theory, it would be fun to have time to pick out plants and plant them. :)

Anyway, have a great day!