teacher appreciation!

Since I'm a former teacher, I heart teachers. ALL kinds. homers, public, formers and especially the ones that teach MY children. This next week is teacher appreciation week at our school and I'm making these buckets for the moms to drop all their goodies in each day. My neighbor came up with the plan and hers have lots of polkadots all over the buckets (haven't done that to mine yet). She's super creative and all business when it comes to teacher appreciation (she's also a former teacher). Anyway, I'm also going to decorate their door with a cutey little saying and some die cuts.






Also, I took some pictures of our kids tonight while playing in the yard. We usually do indoor games on Tuesday nights, but we headed outside this time and Garrett and his daddy came up with some kind of hula-hoop game that involves shooting a rocket through the center of the hoop while it's moving? Macy and I enjoyed putting REAL bird eggs (that Garrett found and then claimed "I must be a great scientist!") in a REAL birds nest on our porch. Macy and I weren't really into the hula-hoop game. Then the kids each had a turn crying about something--- Why the crying, I ask myself? Well, Macy wanted the eggs back out of the nest and Garrett wanted to play Chutes and Ladders. I was thinking how funny it is that kids can have a turn in emotion on a whim. One car driving by while we're all smiles has a totally different perception than the car that drives by 5 minutes later. Ha Ha!







I had a chance to pull some weeds today and also transplant some monkey grass that needed a new home. Which of course got me thinking about my life and new growth. This is one of those "analogy" times where God really taught me that something can grow so beautiful in the right light and in the right spot. His light, His garden. As I was trying to pull up the monkey grass clumps, I actually bent my shovel because the ivy that it was growing in was so twisted and so tangled up within the plant. Oh what a lesson! I see so much of my past as a tangled, twisted mess that is wrapped up tightly in old sin that I'm still hanging on to. Eventually, like the monkey grass, I'll allow myself to be totally uprooted from my yesterdays and bloom and grow in the new spot of the garden God has selected especially for me.

Happy Gardening!

Mother's Day Idea

I think I'm going to do this for Mother's Day gifts. Maybe make one for me too...I'm thinking-insert a picture of the babes instead of paper.how cute!

Diving

I've been so busy dumpster diving that I haven't posted much lately. BUT- I have found some treasures!! Well, my husband actually has been doing the "diving", I've been "receiving". If you don't know me or my family's business, you're probably appalled by my post- but have no fear, this is totally safe people. All you need is some good leather gloves and a trailor for hauling.

My parents own this place and as a family we've found great joy in finding "junk" and selling it to people. Tomorrow they'll been doing an outside market and I'm taking a retro medicine cabinet, some vintage hats and jewelry, an old play table with a built-in highchair (looks like a crazy baby contraption) and some old yearbooks to sell. I'll probably make enough to buy spring clothes for the fam. So, it's a high price to pay, but so fun and so worth it. I'll take some pictures tomorrow of my "stuff" and let you know if anyone buys it! I also got a lovely turquoise 8x10 oil painting of a beautiful bouquet of white fluffy flowers(in an awesome frame) that is NOT going to be sold because it's propped on an easel in our sunroom. Loverly.

no matter what

So, Garrett told me at bed time tonight: "I'll always love you no matter what, mom."

me: "aww, thanks buddy, I'll love you no matter what too"

Garrett: "mom, what does that mean?"

me: "it means nothing can make me not love you, not ever!"

Garrett: "not even when I'm naughty?"

me: "yep, that's right"

Garrett: "okay, well I guess I can love you when you're naughty too."


Thanks.....

Pretty sure this is what I'll be doing at 3:00 PM tomorrow

5 minute chocolate mug cake

1 large mug
4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 large egg
3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. oil
1/4 cup chocolate chips (plus some extra for sprinkling on top when it comes out of the microwave)
a small splash of vanilla extract

1. Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.

2. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

3. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

4. Add the 1/4 cup of chocolate chips and vanilla extract, and mix again.

5. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Remove from microwave and sprinkle top of cake with chocolate chips.

Planning for the summer!

I'm determined to be very intentional about how we spend our summer. Of course, we'll have the good ol' "lazy days" of summer as usual; however, I've been here a lot lately and she's totally inspired me to pull out my teacher skills and 'theme' our weeks of summer. Here's a quick run down of the themes I'm going to implement:

1) Dinosaurs
2) Clifford/Dogs
3) Curious George
4) Dr. Suess
5) Beach

Each one will have a crafts, books, field trip, cooking and movie.

Garrett heard me telling a friend about all the fun things I'm planning and he perked up and said, "Really mom, we're going to do all those things!" Which of course is holding me accountable now.

Anyway, along with the themes, we'll be doing lots of crafts and cooking. I can only imagine how my patience is going to grow... I guess I'm always up for a challenge.


So, what are you doing this summer? Any fun ideas for me to copy?

An Ordinary Day...

Garrett told me today that he wanted a nightgown. After I went through the whole, "what makes you want a nightgown? Where did you see a nightgown? Why do you want a nightgown?" questions he brought me a t-shirt and four hangers from his closet. He wrapped the shirt around his neck and hooked all the hangers together (picture Barrel of Monkey toys) and asked me to hang them from the back of the shirt.

(I guess his idea of nightgown and mine are totally different.)

And then he was done with the whole nightgown idea.


I had much joy watching my son and the neighbor boy play "shoot em up, cowboys" today. Sorry if this makes you a bit squirmish. I swore I'd never let my precious baby boy play with guns until I read "Wild at Heart". A must read if you're a boy's mama.

Macy threw up for the first time today. Her little face was quite cute as she was looking surprised at what happened. We then canceled the playdate at our house. Darn, I picked up the house and all~

I finally addressed and mailed all the invitations to a baby shower I'm cohosting. My best friend Alyssa did the invitations. She's quite the diva.

I'm going to dye eggs with the kids tomorrow. I'll probably be in tears when it's over.

I'm looking for friends with kids and fun ideas this summer-let me know if you want to get together.

A tulip from our yard-------I mean, our rent house yard.

And that got me thinking. Too bad this beautiful flower wasn't in our yard. Oh, poor me that I didn't plant tulip bulbs last fall in my yard.

Then, I was reminded by the creator that---guess what!-what you planted a long time ago (in a yard somewhere else) will be enjoyed by others for years to come, and sometimes it's much better to see others enjoy things you would like to have for yourself.

So, I started thinking about how my relationship with my kiddos relates to the whole "tulip in the wrong yard" saga and I this is what I decided I could learn: the seeds I plant today in their lives: scriptures, family traditions, love, guidance, chores, will not necessarily be my blessing but maybe for someone else. Maybe their spouse(hopefully) or children or roommate. And actually, I think that would bless my socks off even more!

Now when I see tulips (my yard or not!) I'll remember to keep training my children, whether I will see the payoff or not~

xoxox