Thursday, May 12, 2011

What We've Been Up To

... in pictures.

We had some six month pictures taken by Grandpa:

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We went to N1's field day and hung out:

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We learned how to ride a 2-wheeler:

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We swung in a swing at the park for the very first time:

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We celebrated two very important family birthdays:

5'8'2011

We received a long anticipated Buzz Lightyear:

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We went to a Mother's Day tea:

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We cut up and (almost immediately) ate six pints of strawberries:

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We turned some of them into a pie for Grandma's birthday:

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We discovered a new way to make asparagus that knocked our socks off:

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We went to our cousin's Kindergarten program:

5'10'2011

And this isn't all of it ... : )

Life is good!

Friday, May 06, 2011

Foodie Friday ::: Hawaiian BBQ Pulled Chicken

I tried a new crockpot recipe this week and it is one worth sharing! I found this recipe via the Tasty Kitchen blog and when I realized that I had all the ingredients on hand, the regular menu plan was bumped for the night to serve this. A decision I don't regret. : ) We were sharing dinner with my BFF and her family, and this was super easy to put together and drop off at her house.

HawaiianBBQPulledchicken

My photo this week wasn't the greatest, but don't let that deter you from making this recipe. You can read the original version here on the Tasty Kitchen website. This is definitely going to be a great summertime addition to the crockpot section of my recipe notebook.

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Four

4'24'2011an

::: Betsy :::

Busy
Joyful
Generous
Cuddly
Determined
Loving

Ours

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Project Life ::: Weeks 17 & 18

Yesterday was a very blah day here. It was rainy (again) and the 1st grader and I were just worn out. Typically I am a fan of the rainy day because we tend to hunker down and get stuff done without the lure of the sunshine and outside, but yesterday didn't follow that pattern. So, in an uncharacteristic move on my part as we have only 10 days of school left for this year, we did a half day of school and called it good. I let the the girls watch a mid-week movie bundled up on the couch amid blankets and pillows and I scrapbooked. It was needed all round and I think we are the better for our little mini-break yesterday!

That said, I was able to get weeks 17 & 18 of my Project Life album finished yesterday. (Week 16 is sitting there unfinished, but the most current stuff is now done!) Because week 17 included Easter and several extra events with photos I didn't want to leave out, I added in an additional page in the middle - a 12x12 insert with slots for six 4x6 photos on each side. (I believe it was an American Crafts insert).

On the left is the "regular" Project Life page and on the right is one side of the 12x12 add-in:

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Below: the back of the 12x12 insert and the right side of week 17:

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Breaking down the picture below:
  • Sunday: a picture from a wedding shower after church on Sunday. We are going to miss this couple when they get married and move away!
  • Monday: a late-in-the-day shot of my evening snack. A scoop of chex mix and apple slices. The apple balences out the chex mix, right? : )
  • Tuesday: the boy on the move. This week brought several advances in the mobility department as he figure how to get out of his room and out into the hall.
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The B side:
  • Wednesday: oldest sister assisting with practice in sitting up.
  • Thursday: a photo of the buds on the rose bushes in front of our house. Ever so grateful for the previous owners in planting these. To say that I am a bit obsessed with taking pictures of the flowers would be an understatement!
  • Friday: we used this free download from Ali Edwards to make playdate invitations for a certain almost 4yo. Mama said no to a big friend party this year, but three little girls coming over to play isn't a party, right? : )
  • Saturday: a rare picture of me and the boy from the Easter egg hunt at our church. Thanks to my Dad for snapping this photo! The boy has some tired eyes in this picture - he had had about as much egg hunt fun as he could handle.
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This is the front of the insert I used. On the front side are a few pics from Friday egg coloring. The orange card at the top is from a free digital kit from Allison Kimball. The journaling card on the bottom is from Elle's Studio. It is a digital file that I resized to 4x6.

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The back side has more photos from the egg hunt at church (the rabbit, purple paper & ribbon are all from the same Allison Kimball kit I linked above).

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Week 18 layout with an 8 1/2 x 11 insert. The insert is an email of an Amazon gift certificate that my Dad sent me for Administrative Professional's Day. (He is the pastor of our church and I am the church administrator so we get to work together!) He totally surprised me with the gift certificate (and the sweet note on it) so I included it. I realize the gift certificate code is out there for all to see, but it's already been spent. : )

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Side A of week 18:
  • Sunday: a family Easter photo and only the 2nd photo of the six of us. (The last was our Christmas picture!)
  • Monday: I documented our goodbye ritual with Daddy on the blog here and then include a shot of that in the album. Will I do another layout with the whole morning goodbye run down the street? I don't know, but I at least have a photo memory and the story included here.
  • Tuesday: I was running out of dinner options this night and the cupboards were looking mighty bare. I came up with waffles and dyed the batter pink and purple. The girls, of course, loved it!
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Side B:
  • Wednesday: a quick photo while we were all in the bathroom waiting out the tornado sirens.
  • Thursday: we actually made it to the preschool story time at the library this week. I haven't even attempted to get to this with the girls in several years, but we decided to try today. N1 packed up some school to do and the little girls love the stories and singing time.
  • Friday: my new favorite breakfast. Oatmeal with a scoop of blueberry yogurt in it. I started Weight Watchers this week and I think I've eaten this almost every day this week so far!
  • Saturday: a photo from our family grocery outing to Sam's. The little girls were sitting in the front of the cart together and being silly. (B's eyes CRACK me up in the picture!) They really are the best of buddies and I love that.
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Something new that I added in this week, after seeing it on another blog (which I cannot find - rats!), was the addition of a flip up photo sleeve so that I could add in two more 4x6 photos to a single day. Under the Thursday photo above from the library, I added in two more photos. One of N1 sitting at a table doing her school work and the other of a frequent evening ritual at the new house - making a small fire in the firepit in the backyard to wind down our day.

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There is the last two weeks in a nutshell! I really, really am enjoying using Project Life to capture our daily memories. (I think I say that almost every PL post). The fact that I'm experimenting with other types of page protectors is just adding to that enjoyment because I can include some traditionally scrapped pages in with our PL inserts. This project can be whatever I want it to be and I love that. : )

For more info on PL, visit Becky Higgins' website.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

{ Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real } ::: 4.28.2011

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{ pretty }
 
All four looking (generally) in the same direction after church on Easter.
 
pretty

{ happy }

A munchkin helping to load her clothes in the washing machine. Truly makes a mama happy. : )
happy

{ funny }

Sometimes, when we play (act out) Toy Story 3, we need a tortilla to go with our Mr. Potato Head so that he can really get into character. Cracks. me. up. every. single. time. (And, if you haven't seen the movie, that will be totally lost on you - sorry!)
funny

{ real }

Fifteen minutes spent in the downstairs bathroom yesterday while tornado sirens were going off. Thankful for our protection as it wasn't near as bad as predicted yet overwhelmed for those in states just South of us. A true display of God's mighty hand in nature.
real

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Nightstand ::: April's Version

When I remember, I do love to participate in 5 Minute for Books What's on Your Nightstand Carnival. It's always a good monthly prompt for me to see what I said I was going to read, and what side-tracked me. : ) Like last month, my reading has been spotty as I've been fitting it around a regular life that has been more full than usual of late.

In March, I said that I wanted to read:
:: The Strong Willed Child by Dobson (A-hem.) Haven't started it.
:: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp Ended up loaning this out to someone before I finished it. Must get back to it.
:: The Moffats by Eleanor Estes Read a couple chapters and handed it to N1. : )
:: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan Read and enjoyed.
:: The Mysterious Benedict Society Purchased for the Kindle while it was on a steal of a deal and am waiting until summer to read with N1.
So, 1 out of 5. Not great, but a book did get finished which at this point I'll take.

For April, these are on my list but I have not hopes or plans to get through all of them in one month!
:: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
:: Currently reading in The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson in the mornings. Inspired, convicted and greatly encouraged by this book right now where I am in life with little ones. I'm planning on starting The Ministry of Motherhood when I finish it.
:: Thanks to a great review from Amy and a recommendation from my BFF, I purchased the book and study guide to Homeschooling with a Meek a Quiet Spirit from Teri Maxwell. I don't know that I'll get that done over the next month. I may wait to savor it over the summer when we aren't schooling, but I am looking forward to it!
:: Made to Crave by Lisa TerKeurst. I was sent a review copy of this and can't wait to start it either, although I'm guessing it may rock my world a bit. : )

For once I don't have any fiction in hand to read right now, and I'm okay with that. I am craving non-fiction which takes me much longer to read, but I'm going with it for now. There will be plenty of time for fluffy, fun summer reading down the road, ie., the next Penderwicks book is coming out (The Penderwicks at Point Mouette) and I've preordered it for my Kindle. Can't wait to dive into that one! : )

Happy reading!

Linked to Five Minutes for Books monthly Nightstand carnival!

Bloggy Review ::: Nick of Time by Tim Downs


I was recently sent a complementary copy of Tim Downs' Nick of Time from the BookSneeze book review program of Thomas Nelson Publishers. I reviewed one of these books before, and this one is very similar in style.

Nick Polchak is a professor and crime scene consultant - he is a bug guy, meaning a forensic entomologist. The book starts off with a suspected murder of one of Nick's colleagues and he is determined to get to the bottom of this, even if this takes him on a wild goose chase just days before he is supposed to be married.

If you are a fan of CSI type programs, you will enjoy this book! I am a fan of a good mystery, but I find CSI shows can been too gory and/or graphic for me and do not enjoy them. This book, while there is some discussion about crime scenes, is handled well. With Father's Day coming up, if you know a Dad that like to read a good clean mystery, this is one that I can recommend looking for.


Monday, April 25, 2011

Morning Routine

One of my new favorites from the new house. We have always made a big deal out of Daddy leaving for work in the morning. Now that we have sidewalks, we have stepped it up a notch.

Pulling out. (Yes, B has on pink cowboy boots and princess jammies).

goodbye1

Get ready...

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Get set...

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Go!

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Can we beat him to the corner?

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It's a tie!

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One last wave from Daddy and girls before he makes the turn.

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It's the little things like this that make our days start off on a good note. Happy Monday!

One of my goals this year has been to diversify my reading. As I've spent the last 17 years homeschooling anywhere from 1-4 kids, I woul...