F-L-O-R-I-D-A!

I have been soaking up the sun (with sunscreen of course), visiting family and friends and having an overall wonderful time in my home state. My kids have had the best time with their family that we don't get to see enough. I love coming home and just breathing in the comfortable atmosphere of people who know you and love you!. I will be flying home tomorrow and I am bracing myself for the cooler weather that is waiting for me there. I hope things will warm up soon and to see some "spring, springing".
On the flight down I was reminded by my sweet 4 year old little girl of how to have the faith of a child. There was a LOT of turbulance on the plane and I was scared and worried. She held my hand and smiled at me and said it will be ok Mommy! I have faith that God is sovereign but sometime in the moments of panic it is so sweet to hear a comforting word. She had no clue that there was a need to be fearful. She just knew that God was in control. I pray that my faith would be as a childs!

I want to try these!

While browsing the blogs I like to follow I came across these. I must say I don't get the "mom of the year award" in the early morning. I am just not ready to get up the very moment my kids do. They are very early risers. So I don't always have a huge healthy breakfast spread for them in the morning. Most days they get their sippy's full of soy chocolate milk and a honey bun that they get from the cabinet themselves. I can hear your gasps now. However, when I have had my coffee and the sun comes up I do cook for them. But these homemade pop tarts looked yummy and maybe the kids would like to exchange one sugar rush for another.

Melt Downs

We have had a great melt down here in Preston County. Our huge piles of snow have turned to huge mud puddles. My kids LOVED splashing in them day after day. They seemed to grow and get more muddy by the day. Our shoes were a great display of the fun we had. J's shoes were about 6 sizes too big for him so he took a couple of nose dives into the mud but he didn't seem to mind (once his hands were cleaned off). G had no fear of getting dirty. I think it was just a wonderful release to get out of our house and get some fresh air.
Today it is so beautiful outside. We have temps in the 60's and it has dried out a little. The kids visited the horses down the hill and picked up sticks. We have missed the simple pleasures of the outdoors. Spring keep coming, we need more days like today.

"C"

I need to brag on another Sister (in law) of mine. For Christmas my husband's brother and his wife gave my son a precious little turtle. My sister Knitted it. It is so cute, he even comes out of his shell. J loves his turtle. He sleeps with it at night and has even named him. G asked J what the turtles name was and he replied..."C". So he is C Turtle. I thought he was quite cleaver, C turtle/ Sea Turtle. Thanks Sis~!

water colors

createtown had a cute idea on their blog that I did with the kids on one of our many "home bound" days. I wish I would have been able to relax and enjoy this craft a little more but my son was a wild man with the paintbrush. He was flinging paint all over the kitchen. I will remember next time to lay down some news print and put on smocks. G has never even get a speck of paint out of place so I was taken by surprise by my sons "boyNESS". I keep forgetting how different girls and boys are. G drew and painted Belle and J made David swinging his sling. I love the way water colors turn out! We will def. do this one again.

@ our Church's most recent Fellowship Dinner my kids wanted to contribute to the potluck. I had seen these adorable edible crayons on The Gourmet Mom On The Go. I thought they were easy enough that the kids could make them themselves. They had a blast dipping their pretzels in the chocolate and even more fun eating them. Everyone at church loved them. I think it is just a "fun" thing to eat. One of the older ladies in the church snuck one early. She was so cute because she felt so guilty she had to confess it to me later.

Naan

Naan = Yummy!

My hubby LOVES bread! Any and every variety! I recently found this bread @ our local grocery store and decided to give it a go. I served it like a Mexican Fajita. I grilled some chicken in a Taco spice pack and cooked some onions and green peppers. I also added our favorite Chipotle Tabasco sauce to the chicken to give it some spice. I spooned it onto my Naan and threw it under the broiler to toast it up a little. Amazing! It was so good. There are a million things to serve this yummy flat bread with and I intend to try many more of them.

Rant and Rave

My Rant for the day is that it is nearly impossible to grocery shop in the snow! It is like an obstacle course entering and exiting my home. You must be careful not to slip on the icy step and be watchful of falling icicles. Then trudge down the path that has been cleared, but still not clear. Sink into the snow and get your pants wet and your not so practical for winter shoes full of snow. Finally you make it to the car and you don't want to touch it because it is so dirty from the salt and muddy melted snow. This is all before you make it to the store. Once you arrive you have to drive through the maze of snow plies as high at the Wal*mart roof. Once you have completed your shopping you must push your kart through the icy/snowy parking lot and unload in the chilly windy weather. Once you arrive back home you must walk through the previously stated obstacle course to get the groceries in. ugh!!!!!

Rave!!!! The Sun is Out!!!!!!!! So amazing to have streams of light flooding your home. You can stand next to a window and feel the warmth on your face. If there was not 2 1/2 feet of snow on the ground it might actually look warm outside. I just want to slip into a short sleeve shirt and soak in a few rays and maybe get some vitamin D. I am also very excited because I heard that we might hit 50 degrees over the weekend. Can you believe it?! It hasn't been 50 since....Who can remember that far back. Maybe November was the last time it was that warm. (who would have thought this FL girl would ever say 50 is warm). God is good all the time. And I know this snow has been for His glory and I will praise Him for ALL He has made.

Spring dress

Sewing for Scarlet had a tutorial on her blog on how to make a beautiful flowered neckline. I thought it looked pretty easy and elegant. I made one for G and put it on a quick little shift dress. I think it turned out pretty great if I do say so myself and G likes it so that is a plus.

Some people are so talented.

My hubby and I received a priceless treasure for Christmas this year. It was something I coveted from the moment I laid eyes on it in September of this past year. We were at our hometown festival and passed by the art displays and from inside the building there was a picture of MY DAUGHTER staring out toward me. We walked in and discovered a beloved member of our church had painted G's portrait and entered it into the "Buckwheat Festival". She won 1st place in Oil painting for this portrait. We had people coming up to us for weeks telling us they saw G @ the festival. This dear lady had my family over for Christmas dinner this year. Our families live out of state and we were not going home for Christmas this year. We had a great time with her family and at the end of the night she gave us the painting for Christmas. I was overjoyed. G wants it up in her room, however there is no wall space in there. So I am seeking the best place to put this Wonderful Gift.

Thrifty!

I love a bargain, and I am not afraid of a yard sale or thrift store. So today I stopped in our local Salvation army. You never know what you are going to find there. G went straight for the kid books. She had a dollar bill that was burning a hole in her purse. I headed for the costume jewelry. Sometimes they are over priced, but today they had bargain bags of broken or mismatched jewelry for $0.50. I sifted through and found the bag that had the best stuff in it, and here are my finds. Creative juices are flowing!

Someone's in the Kitchen with Mama...

G and J are forever at my side doing or wanting to do everything I am. G wants to cook and to dust and to clean. I am encouraging these desires as much as possible. I enjoy her help and I enjoy seeing her feel like she has accomplished something when a chore is complete.
The kids were wanting to make dessert and I had very little in the house (due to all of the winter storms. I knew I had the makings for a semi homemade banana pie. J was my crust maker. He beat those graham crackers up to a pulp.

He also liked pressing them into my bowl. I would have let him use his hands but then most of the crust would have been in his mouth, so he used a spoon.

G got her first knife lesson. She cut the banana's into small slices. I got to teacher her some knife etiquette 101. She tired to keep her fingers curled in but that is a hard skill @4.

They both helped with the instant pudding and licking the spoons clean. Neither wanted to touch the slimy bananas to put them into the pudding. My kids are funny about dirty hands. So that was mommy's job.
Our pie turned out yummy and we had a very health goodie for dessert. Hopefully the things they are learning now will stay with them for life. I hope my daughter will continue to take pride in working hard in the home and someday be great at running her own. And hopefully J will be able to cook more for himself than Ramen, and toast.

Sledding

So, I have never been sledding before...I don't count the one time in N.C. on a 10x10patch of snow . So, yesterday when my family and I were invited by our neighbors to join them for some sledding in the back yard down the hill, I was a little nervous. It was stinking cold! The snow was DEEP! So we trudged through the snow to get to the spot the boys had packed down. I was sure I wasn't going to do it. I am a fearful person remember. I watched my husband take my 4 year old down the hill, and they made it safely so I thought I might live through it. I took a chance, I did it! I LOVED IT! It was fun, freeing, and frightful at the same time. I must admit I screamed most of the way down. OK, the whole way down. I was covered in snow head to toe but I didn't feel the cold because I had the heat of the hike all the way back up the hill. Shortly after I made it back up to the top G was crying because she was too cold. I know that that is a horrible feeling. So her daddy started carrying her back through the DEEP snow toward the house and I went for one more ride. I would have loved to make the trip down a dozen times but my baby girl was upset and I was worried. We got her in and warmed up with some hot coco w/ marshmallows. And where was Jackson this whole time?...He was sitting on a sled EATING snow. Glove full after glove full. His face was a Popsicle and he loved it. Maybe we will get to do it again before it warms up since I am sure we will have this snow till June.