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

Analogies

The other day a question was asked of my small group in sunday school. It was.....drum roll please, "How does God speak specifically to you?" (or something like that). I immediately knew EXACTLY how God speaks to me, but the funny thing is, I never really could answer that question with certainty before. So, I answered: analogies! He speaks to me through ANALOGIES! Here's a few He's used lately to get my attention:

Macy wanting more vitamins than she needs for the day. = Me wanting more-NOW! He is the giver and He controls my portion.

Our master shower needed remodeling due to a leak that was noticed first in my closet. = Take away your layers and you can see the real problem.

Garrett not wanting to take naps anymore, in turn, leaves him cranky in the late afternoon. = You can't make sense of anything until you rest (in Me).


Just some thoughts~

I did not make a yucky applesauce, oatmeal coffee cake and act like it was good so my kids would eat it.
I did not pinch my nose while taking a bite myself to convince them it was good.

I did not roll over my vacuum cord today and burn a hole in it.
I did not say a bad word when it quit on me shortly after.

I did not hike up my lounge pants and "lay out" on the tennis courts with a neighbor while our kids played in the sunshine today.
I wasn't embarrassed that I hadn't shaved in a few days(week).

However, I did meditate on the holiness of our Father being a rescuer throughout the day~

one last time...

Hopefully this is the last of the snow, freezing rain and cold weather until next year---I go by a Aug-Aug calendar due to my previous career as a teacher, btw. HOWEVER~ I did love, love, love it that my sweet hubby kept the logs on the fire, made homemade pizzas, bbq wings and choc chip pancakes all in the past 48 hours. Meanwhile, through all the bustle in the kitchen, we've had so much fun playing inside games like: dominoes, leggin' logs (linkin' logs), airplanes, "get-choo, get-choo" (macy's favorite, thanks gma T), coloring, writing, laundry, and eating. Mmmhmmm eating is somewhat like a game when you have a 1 and 4 yr. old, isn't it? "See if mom can scarf it down fast enough to catch the flying bowl and spilled drink." We play that a lot over here at the Crouch home.

All this to say, I was able to embrace this hibernation period gracefully and full of smiles because maybe, just maybe it'll be the last time until next year?