Monthly Archives: May 2010

Fun with Friends{Summer 2010}

Some of my best memories from when I was a nanny came from fun little things that the girls and I planned whenever they had a break from school.  No big fanfare, just some kids getting together and playing or making a craft.  I always said I wanted to do that with my kids, but somehow manage to never get around to it.  I’m sure you know what I mean.

I figured if I went ahead and planned a few things ahead of time, we’d actually do them instead of thinking about doing them.  We’d love to have you join us for any of these, just let me know at least 2 days before each event if you’ll be there so that I have plenty of supplies for everyone.  (The one trip to Amphora Pottery Studio requires us to call one week ahead of time with the number of people attending, so please let me know about that one by June 29th.)

Most of these events are geared towards the 2-6 age range, and they are all mid-week activities.  If you can’t make it, but want to send your kids with another adult, that’s completely acceptable.  Grandmas and babysitters are welcome.

So if you live near me, we’d love to have you join us for a few fun activities this summer!

Check out what all we have planned:

(Unfortunately if I’ve never met you, you kinda have to know a friend…or at least a friend of a friend before I give you my address.  I’m not a complete lunatic.)


Weekly Winners{Golden Moon}

For more Weekly Winners, visit Lotus at iamlot.us

Livin’ Life at 30-50%

In search of giggles…

This morning Marshall was gone to the hospital to round.

Lydia crawled into my bed somewhere around 7 and snuggled sleepily until 9.

Around 9:20 Carter came bounding into my room, pouncing on my bed.
(He, like my friend Courtney, wakes up with an astonishing amount of energy.)

Sometime shortly thereafter I heard Asa calling out from his crib.

He didn’t want to leave his lovies(blankets) behind, so they joined us for breakfast.

And after a few minutes of sitting in our chairs like proper little people, Lydia asked if we could eat under the table.

Ya know, why not?

So I found myself under the table, sharing my nutella french toast with my littles.

And although I’m sure there are some of you thinking “tsk, tsk, tsk…she let her children eat on the floor,”
(Note: On the floor, not off the floor.  We still used plates.)
I’m glad we did it.

If I hadn’t let them eat on the floor, we wouldn’t have played peek-a-boo by hiding behind the table legs.

And there wouldn’t have been nearly as many giggles and smiles.

Maybe we should eat on the floor more often.

One Fine Day

(Remember that movie?
I loved that movie!)

Marshall and I aren’t really into celebrating anniversaries.
Birthdays?  YES!
Anniversaries?  Meh…a little.

But we usually try to go out on a real grown-up date and go somewhere fan-cy,
ya know, somewhere with cloth napkins and plates not made out of paper, plastic or metal.

Anyway…our dinner was nice, the conversation was wonderful, and the movie was funny.
It was the perfect end to the perfect day.

So what made my day so perfect?  I think my facebook status said it all:

Today I was a muffin-making, picture-taking, room-cleaning, fort-building, plant-watering, pool-swimming, giggle-inducing puller of the towel slide. And now I will shower, get dressed up and play like an adult for a few hours. All around awesome day!

The kids and I packed a week’s worth of fun into one day.
And it was ab.sol.ute.ly. perfect!

See?

BOO!!

And moments like this?

Oof.

Be still, my beating heart…

(Click any picture to enlarge)

If I’d Known Then What I Know Now…

If I knew then what I know now,
I would have worried less about what other people thought.

If I knew then what I know now,
I would have made better financial decisions.

If I knew then what I know now,
I would have tried more of some things and less of others.

If I knew then what I know now,
I would have never worked at that one place.
(You know the one.)

If I knew then what I know now,
I would have believed in myself
and been confident in the person I was becoming.

And if I knew then what I know now,
I would have told myself to dream big;
expect the unexpected;
and remember that the past is worth remembering,
the future is worth anticipating,
but what really counts is the right here, right now.

I would have told myself to breathe deeply,
drink in every moment,
and be  happy.

I’m glad that even though I can’t go back and tell myself those things,
That there was someone, my special someone,
Who loved me enough to tell me these things when I needed to hear them.

Marshall, thank you for telling me and teaching me and loving me.

It’s been the best 9 years of my life, and I can’t wait for more.

P.S.  Your head is not nearly as oddly shaped as this picture makes it look.  Just sayin’.

Mouthwatering Monday: Tomato Basil Alfredo Pizza

Tonight for dinner, we made two home-made pizzas.
(Well, mostly homemade. I used a mix for the pizza dough.)

One pizza was from Taste of Home’s Light & Tasty magazine. It can be found here.

The other pizza was purely a Bridget creation: Tomato Basil Alfredo Pizza.

Nom!

I used the Betty Crocker Crust Mix, which was the easiest pizza dough I’ve ever used and it was surprisingly good.
(I’m sure there are some of you who make your own pizza dough.
I love you all, but I’m too lazy to wait for the yeast to do it’s thing.)

Once you’ve flattened the dough into the pan,  spread about 1 cup of alfredo sauce over the entire top.

Add thinly sliced tomatoes and fresh basil leaves(we used some from our garden!!), both distributed evenly over the pizza.

Top with approximately 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and 1 cup of shredded(not grated) parmesan.

Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown and crust is done.

*I took pictures, but they didn’t do it justice.   Trust me…it looked goooooooood.

**There are NO affiliate links in this post.

Sentences on Sunday

Dearest Asa,
I love hearing you call out “bawl. bawl. bawl.”   Hundreds of times a day I hear this word. You love all kinds of balls. And anyone who has ever met you agrees that you’re destined to be an athlete.

Your “eye teeth” are coming in, and I’m kind of sad that your baby smile is so quickly becoming a big kid smile.  (And why are they called eye teeth?  That makes no sense what-so-ever!)

Your laugh is infectious.  You love your big sister.  You are constantly trying to keep up with your big brother.  You don’t talk a lot, but it’s obvious that you comprehend plenty.

You haven’t started saying “no” yet, but I’m sure it’s coming.  You hear it enough lately because you’re really testing those limits.

But you, my barely-a-baby-anymore baby, soothe my chaotic heart and mind like no other.  And I love you.

Love, Mommy

***

Dear Lydia,

I can’t believe how still you sit when I braid your hair.  I love your long silky hair when it’s down, but it sure is cute in double french braids.  You look like an American Girl doll.  My whole life I dreamed of having a little girl to dress up and fix hair and put make-up on.

You are so motherly to your brothers, yet strong-willed and opinionated.  I love that even when you were the littlest kid at a new friend’s house, you didn’t hesitate to stand up for yourself when you felt slighted at play time.  You show ’em who’s boss…ok, kid?

I also love that when we went to see a local high school production of Beauty and the Beast, you looked at the girl playing Belle(who happened to be African-American) and said(in all honesty): “There’s something different about this Belle…but I just can’t quite put my finger on it.”  I may have teared up.  Just a little.

I love your sympathy, your compassion, your giggle, your eyes.  I love you.

Love, Mommy

***

Dear Carter,

I’m excited about this week.  You finished up with school last week, but Lydia still has a few more days.  I’m looking forward to spending some one-on-one time with you.  You’re so content being by yourself that sometimes you get lost in the shuffle and I’ll realize it’s been weeks since we’ve done something just the two of us.

You are so incredibly smart.  I love how we have begun to have “grown up conversations” lately.  Today at church you asked about communion.  As I quietly whispered my response to you, you nodded your head and stared out into space.  That’s your thinking look.  When I see you looking straight ahead at nothing in particular, I know you’re processing.  Your dad does the same thing.  I’ll be ready and waiting when the questions come.  God help me explain it well.

You are tough and sensitive all at once.  You love to cuddle and hug and love on others, but you also play hard and love to get dirty.  I am proud of you who are, and who you are becoming.  And I’m having a hard time believing that you’re old enough to go to “big school”.  Hopefully I’ll wrap my mind around that by the time you start in August.

My dear firstborn, oh how I love you.

Love, Mommy

I’ve got nothin’

Remember how I said sometimes I go a while between posts and it doesn’t bother me?

I lied.

But it doesn’t bother me because my stats are down or any of that hullabaloo.

(What?  It’s my blog.  I can use the world hullabaloo if I want to.)

It bothers me because I have things I want to say.

I have thinks that I’m thinking and need to get out…

But I’ve got nothin’.

The words won’t come.

They’re all muddled in my head.

So until those words filter through and make their way to the page,

here’s a cute picture of my kid:

Weekly Winners: We Smiled A Lot This Week

Fun in the sun

I see myself in him

Too tired to walk, but not to tired for fun!

Fancy Nancy is almost ready for her tea party.

Happiness is…

Birthday Tea with friends and flowers

My Little Cub New look at old favorites

Find more of my pictures on my flickr stream.

And find more Weekly Winners over at Loter’s place.