P is for Pirate - arrrrrrrrr!

In our house P is for pirate which is not what we "p" things for so I "created" my own curriculum for the week.

We made pirate hats out of newspapers.  We found other pieces of paper to be too small.  The simple directions can be found here.

We made pirate maps - including me.  Mine lead the children around our home to a "buried" treasure of golden (chocolate) coins.

But our favorite part was the books....

This was such a cute book, especially if the daddy in your house gets up and goes to an office every day....

 
This is such a cute book about becoming a pirate and why it might not always be fun.....


And if you have a toddler in the home I love that "That's Not My...." series (p.s. they're really great books for church too for keeping little one's fingers busy)....

"What I Am"

What I am:

1. I am a good cook. I really am. I like playing with recipes

I am not however a great baker - I tend to over/under cook things.

2. I am a an artist. For those who don't know I love to create and run my own photography business.

I am not a musician thought. Cannot carry a tune in a bucket folks.

3. I am a reader. I love books, magazines, you name it, if I can read it, I love it.

I am not someone who *needs* the latest technology the minute it comes out. True story, our TV is older than our oldest son (he'll be 9 in May)

4. I am a goer - I am pretty much on the go from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. Too much stuff not to be.

I am not a napper. As much as I would love to be if I lay down I cannot nap. It just doesn't happen peeps.

5. I am a sweet/salty type of girl. I love that sea salt and chocolate are in right now - yum-o!

I am not a peeps person. What are those things and why do people eat them? I just don't get it.

Those are five of my "what I am" (and what I am not). What are you?

What I Need

Motherhood is the greatest adventure I have ever been on.  It truly gives me endless joy to watch these little people become who they are.  I feel so blessed to have a hand in how they getting to adulthood. 

And motherhood requires a certain degree of monotony, your days don't change that much, every day your child needs to eat, every day they need to play, every day they have to go potty and so unlike typical jobs where you have a project and complete you may instead feel like you are stuck in the movie groundhog dog, never really accomplishing a "goal".

But I choose to look at the day in and day out as my act of service to my children.  When I change my daughter's diaper with a cheerful heart and a good attitude I am serving her.  I am showing her to work with a joyful heart.  When I cook for my children instead of making instant meals I am nourishing them.  I am their Mother, it is what I do.

But to serve my children with a joyful heart I have to care for myself too otherwise I end up on empty and we all pay.  This year has not been as nourishing as I had hoped.  Illness, weather, and other circumstances have prevented date nights and girls night out, MOPS has been canceled due to weather, illness has prevent playdates. 

And the enemy has been attacking - email after email attacking my decisions, treating me like I'm dumb, and blaming me for things beyond my control.  Emails canceling things I was looking forward to.  

And friends, I am on empty.  My tank has nothing else in it.  I'm snapping at my children when I shouldn't be, I'm feeling run down, low.  Not myself. 

And that's just not me. 

So what do I need?  A date night out with my husband.  A girlfriend to call and say lets get together, watch the first season of Sex and the City or Friends (watched the movie, now I'm hooked) and drink wine and laugh.  Tea while the kids play.  I need something to refuel me. 

I'm sure we all get there from time to time, when we need a pick me up.  How do you pick up friend?  How do you pick up a friend when you see they're in need?

My Little Cupcake Pop - A Product Review

So in my random internet surfing I cam across this cute little product called "My Little Cupcake Pop"  Now I love the concept of cupcake pops, I first saw them over at Bakerella however while her's are adorable and fun, mine were a huge disaster!  I believe that Martha Stewart  also does them but her's were even harder looking than Bakerella's! So I had long since abandoned my desire to make them.

That is until I found My Little Cupcake Pops!  In pure genius fashion she not only devised a no-bake (2-ingredient!) recipe for the pops but she also made a little mold to make them for you!  And for $5.95 I ordered one right up!

So after ordering my mold I watched the video on her website as I waited - her kids show you how to use it - okay friends, if her kids can do it so can I!

So I was super stoked when very fast shipping brought my little cupcake pop mold.  It just so happened that my little goddaughter's first birthday was later that week so I decide to make her a batch for her birthday.

Let me tell you - they are super easy to make and they make a really great impression!  I am going to make them later this month for my daughter's birthday and the two things I will do differently is actually place the molded cupcakes in to the freezer instead of the refrigerator so they're nice and cold and I will think my melted candy dips like they suggest on their website.

And when I make my daughter's I promise to actually take pictures!  Mommy fail!

whoa.

We got a letter on Saturday that our middle son had been accepted in to the same school that our oldest goes to.  Which is awesome.  Except that I'm planning on homeschooling our middle son for kindergarten

(and beyond?  one year at a time... one year at a time...) 

But that letter created anxiety.  Because if we don't register him this week we lose his spot.  Gone.  They'll give it to someone else.  There is a waitlist.  There is someone waiting for his spot.  

And while I'm okay with that there's that anxiety in the back of my mind questioning if we're doing the right thing?  But everytime I question I hear God's reassuring voice that yes, this is what I want for him.  Keep him home.  Teach him.  Show him My word.  Love him.  Just love him. 

And I know it is not going to be easy.  Hello!  I have a daughter that will be home with us the entire time.  There's a good chance my husband will be gone at least part of the time. 

And so we're going to take it one day at a time, one year at a time, but I hope it is the start of something bigger for us.  Something awesome.  

Toy Story 3 Birthday on the Cheap

Last month my middle son turned 5 so we threw him a party based off his much loved movie Toy Story 3.

It turned out really cute and wanted to share because it was done a week after Christmas without breaking the bank!

 

I purchased 2 packages of 25 each of balloons at the Dollar store.  We blew them up and put them all over, the kids loved playing with them!  $2 for tons of entertainment.

We cut a hole out of the top of a box and decorated it like the claw game.  The kids got to pull their goody bags out of here.  We alternated with some crinkle paper so the older ones really had to dig.

 

We decorated piggy banks for the activity at the party.  These came in sets of 3 for $10 from Micheal's but I had 50% off coupons that week so they cost me $5 or a $1.66 per kid.  

These would have been a splurge but I traded a local organic bakery here in town (Cupcakes a la mode - check her out, she's amazing) for this adorable bed and alien cupcakes.

Finally we had pizza from "Pizza Planet" and I was able to find a bogo coupon online by simply typing in the pizza place's name and coupon code.  That made two large pizzas $13 + tip.  

All in all it was a great party, my son had a blast and felt really special that day and we didn't break the bank a week after Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Hello 2011!  Did you make an resolutions for the new year?

I didn't.  At least not in the traditional sense of making resolutions.

Instead I made a list of 31 one things I want to accomplish before I turn 32 in December of 2011.

I included fun things like get a new tattoo and re-pierce my nose. 

I included things like taking the kids to serve in a homeless shelter, developing a closer relationship with God, and to give quality as gifts this year (i.e. wooden blocks that encourage play instead of a plastic toy that will break tomorrow)

Homeschooling my middle child landed on there as did taking a cake decorating class and weaning my toddler!

The idea is to stretch myself.  To be able to look back on the year and see tangible activities that encouraged me to grow and try new things.  Not everything has to be a success, I do not count myself a failure if I don't do one.  Its just forcing me to write down where I want to go, what I want to try.  To stop saying "I'd really like to _blank_" and actually doing it!  

So when my friend said to put going to Paris with her in September I thought she was nuts!  How could I afford it?  Simple she said, we have a mutual friend living there, we can stay with her and significantly cut our costs.  Oh.  My husband said go, its always been your dream and I don't want to go there.  Huh.  Everyone I talked to said GO

And isn't this what it is about?  Stretching myself?  Trying something new?  Something I've always wanted to do?

So #10 on my list is go to Paris.  #17  is get a passport. 

Hello 2011, how you doin?