My 3 yr old daughter took this pic of me

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Apple Cups!

My girls and I were having a tea party this morning and looking at the cool pic of the "apple-fries" that I saw recently, when an idea popped into my head. It's pretty simple to do and it was a hit!

 The Apple Fries

Take an apple and cut off the top....

Then carefully spoon out the insides, leaving a thick "cup"....

and then fill with apple juice and drink! When you're done - eat the cup :)

WARNING! These cups DO LEAK as the bottom of the apple is apparently not leak-proof. Although it left a little mess on the table, the girls loved it so much I would do it again! If anyone comes up with a solution to this - let me know! So fun.





Monday, May 13, 2013

Mother's Day - NOT What I Expected...

I am a pretty "low expectations" woman when it comes to holidays and birthdays etc. so when my husband brought home a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for me a couple of days early, I was so happy! They are so beautiful and I LOVE flowers!


My kids are Gameboy - 12, Wild Princess - almost 6, Little Flower - almost 3, and Baby Princess who is 7 weeks old so I was not expecting anything really elaborate for Mother's Day. I am a homeschooler and so it's not like my kids are going to "make something for mom at school" unless I plan it, which I did not feel like doing (a little busy lately with the newborn etc). I did go grocery shopping and made sure to bring home strawberries and my favorite chocolate, just in case someone felt like making chocolate covered strawberries for me - but didn't drop any hints.

It's been a BUSY few days and so I was not prepared at all this morning when I woke up. It was a morning of frantically running around, getting kids ready for church, packing a lunch to take to the inlaws, cutting my son's hair (WHY did I do this on Sunday morning??? beats me), showers, breakfast, packing diaper bags (yes, more than one - three, actually), and to top it off - we had an extra little one overnight last night.

When we left for church, it looked like a bomb had gone off in our house OR our home had been broken into and they couldn't find what they were looking for.

We arrived very late to church. Like 25 minutes late.

I forgot the mayonnaise I made this morning at home on the counter.

It is very difficult to manage a baby, a 1&1/2 yr old, and an almost 3 year old in a crowded building.

Our sweet Little Flower bawled and begged not to go on her visit with extended family after church (we don't have a choice - she had to go). Broke my heart into a million little pieces to drive away and leave my baby. On Mother's Day.

By the time we got to the inlaws, I was a MESS. First thing I did was bury my head in my hands and cry. This day was not feeling very special at all. I was overtired (from being up 4 times in the night) and it had been a chaotic morning. It was so busy, I didn't even have a chance to glance at the beautiful crafts my Wild Princess had made for me in Sunday school.

I was a little mad that on Mother's Day I had to be a mother and do the things that mothers do.

Sounds a little ridiculous, right?

After some good, adult conversation, I was able to take my mind off of me and focus on the people around me. It made total sense that I would have to be a mother on Mother's Day. Why did I think any differently?

My children's needs do not cease to exist just because it is Mother's Day. I had not told my kids or husband what I would like or what I expected on this day. 

I spent Mother's Day with two others who were also having a tough time with this holiday. My sweet friend lost her young mother a few years back and my other dear friend is going through some really tough situations and changes in her family and it's not easy. 

It's not easy to be a mother. If you want an easy life - don't be a mother. 

To be a mother you have to
  • let go of your expectations - often
  • learn to thrive and embrace your situation and your kids - no matter how difficult 
  • work work work and not always be appreciated in the way you would like or at all
  • seek beauty in the boring and mundane everyday things
  • voice your needs and desires (men & children are apparently incapable of mind-reading!! I know - shocking.)
  • Find ways to bring peace and joy into your life
  • Be incredibly patient
  • Seek God and ask for wisdom 

This is obviously the short list, but the important things that came to mind. I'm sure we can all add something here. 

By the end of today, I did manage to change my rotten attitude of "poor me, I'm so tired and hard-done-by" and started to appreciate my family. When we got home I had the kids do a 5 minute cleanup of the main rooms, then made myself some chocolate covered strawberries, and went for a walk on our beautiful acreage with my husband, Wild Princess, and Little Flower.

Do not let your expectations ruin your perfectly good day or your perfectly good life. It's really not so bad. More on this in my next post - Mrs. Jones.

   

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Out of Hiding

I was trucking right along there for awhile with this whole blog thing and downright enjoying it....and then I "had" a baby! We were on the list for a baby but you never know when you are going to get that call. She was born March 17th and we brought her home a few days later. Ever since then, life has been upside down.

Things had been running somewhat smoothly before A came along, despite all the paperwork, homeschooling, meetings, doctor's appointments, new trauma related behavior issues with one of our kids,  foster care visits with extended family, and all the usual stuff (cooking, cleaning, laundry - who am I kidding, that never gets done - and blogging).....but throw in a lack of sleep and I'm beat! She is amazing and we are sooooo happy that she has joined our family (we are for sure able to adopt this one! YAY! our FIRST adoption!) and she is so perfect and beautiful.

So before A came, I kinda thought I could keep up with 5 blog posts per week and 4 on a really busy week. Now I'm thinking either 1: I will never have time to blog again in my entire life or 2: I will aim for once a week. So you will still see me around here once in awhile and I do have some stuff up my sleeve that I really, really want to talk about.

This week's successes and excitement:

I CAUGHT UP ON ALL THE LAUNDRY!!!! (you mom's of many know what I'm talking about!) The laundry hampers are all empty. Every.single.one.of.them. And even got it all put away! <3

My lovely mother came out for 6 hours today and played with my wonderful kids so I could catch up on some urgent paperwork and housework. Thanks, Mom!

I am brainstorming for a huge party I would like to throw for my kids - just cuz.

I made a really interesting concoction for supper tonight and it turned out great!

And my small group women are the best best ever, as they brought me some meals and desserts and wine and snacks and gourmet coffee this past week to keep me sane!

Thanks so much for stopping by! See you around :)