7.years

How did we go from this....

to this...

to this....(I remember thinking how old she seemed in this picture!)...

to Trident model....

to this....

Our Claire is 7. Seven sounds so old, doesn't it? Claire is turning into a little lady. She talks like us. She laughs at (most of!) our jokes. She's becoming extremely aware of the world around her.

Currently, she asks more questions than I can answer about electricity and the atmosphere and space travel. Thankfully, we're learning together! :) She asks so many questions that I have to answer with the words, "I don't know, but we'll find out!"

This girl loves to learn. Her helpfulness is evident on a daily basis. She loves it when I read to her. Her "throat starts to hurt" and she gets teary-eyed when she watches the sad parts of Charlotte's Web. A girl after my own heart! :)

Claire loves being the biggest sister. She's an excellent order-giver (even though she's not supposed to hand them out to her sisters) and on track to be a great contributor in this world. Her mother-hen skills are unmatched. Amelia loves her SO much that sometimes she prefers Claire over me. It's so sweet.

Claire, we are truly blessed to have you as our daughter. You are a beautiful girl filled with so much determination. We can't wait to see where you use your talents. It is so much fun to watch you learn and grow. We love you so much!!

question.of.the.day

"Mom, do all tornadoes have tomatoes?"

I think we've read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs one too many times.

eden.3.months

Little Eden is 3 months old. We've spent a lot of time together this month, and it's been so much fun! We love you, Eden!

an.apron

My blogger buddy, Myah, asked me to make her an apron. Of course, I said yes! But, I asked her if I could make her one that had been brewing in my mind for a while! I warned her that it was a bit "June Cleaverish," but she assured me that she was a bit June Cleaverish. (She is, too,...she's the one that irons her hubby's work shirts! Although she does it while drinking wine...I don't recall June sucking down alcohol while doing her chores, but I'm sure she felt like it from time to time.)

I'd seen several online that I'd liked, but I didn't quite know how to go about making this one. I had a couple of other projects that were ahead of it, and I was completely nervous since I'd not made one before!

Overall, I was extremely pleased with it...by far my most intense project. And Myah loved it, which made me extremely happy! :)

new.bike

Look who got a new bike! Her other one broke, so we gave her an early birthday present a couple of weeks ago.  Her favorite part?  The kickstand.

The bike is a bit big for her, but she got the hang of it so quickly! She rides up and down the driveway (just the part near our house) all the time! She is turning into such a big girl.

Who told Claire she could grow up?!!

birthday.gifts

We attended a birthday party last month, and instead of purchasing gifts this time, we went the homemade route! I made some felt shapes for the little guy...

And a memory game (13 sets of matches) for his big sister...

I am becoming more and more of a homemade fan! I was thankful to have all of the supplies on hand for both projects! The only thing that I purchased were the containers to put them in...I picked those up at the dollar store. Gotta love that!

The felt shapes are just two pieces of felt sewn together with the edges trimmed up. This is a great activity for church, quiet time, or pretend play.

The memory game is made out of card stock, scrap material, and hot glue. You could easily do this with scrapbook paper as well, but I don't scrap!

I found both of these online, and I hope to make them again! My girls played the memory game several times before we gave it away! Quality control! :)

poor.fletcher

Poor little Fletcher got kicked out of his own bed at the lake! Unfortunately, Claire's a bit big for his bed.

he.loves.me

My husband loves me. Do you know how I know? Cause he writes it in the food that I cook. My favorite part about these onions? He says, "Did you see the onions?" I said, "Yep...thanks for cutting them up." He says, "Did you look at them?" Me, "I see them from over here." I was trying to figure out what was so stinkin' special about the onions!!

...and I love him too....because then I have fun blog posts. :)

the.laundry

Laundry.

It never goes away.  Even when it's done, people are still wearing clothes in my house (and I'm certain that someone is dripping syrup, a popsicle, or ketchup on their shirt). 

My friend, Erin, posted some laundry questions on her blog the other day, and I'm going to answer them as best as I can over here because I think my comment on her blog might take up too much space! :)  I'm even going to break them up into a couple of different posts. 

Here are Erin's questions:

How often do you do laundry?
Where do you store dirty laundry?
How do you sort laundry?
Any favorite laundry detergents?

What stain-fighting weapons do you use?

Please share any and all tips about laundry care.

Here we go...

How often do you do laundry?

I've tried several different approaches to laundry.  I've been the main laundry do-er for about 8 years now.  I did my own laundry while I was away at college (very insightful!), and I've tried to figure out the best method regarding laundry for our family. 

There are lots of different laundry-doing schedules.  And, honestly, there is no right or wrong schedule.  You have to do what works for you and your family.  Here are a few schedules that I've heard of or tried myself:

• schedule certain laundry on certain days: darks on Tuesdays/lights on Wednesdays/towels and linens on Thursdays
• fill the hamper and wash:  once a hamper is full, do a load
• daily laundry:  a load a day
• weekly laundry:  laundry day every Wednesday (or day of your choosing)

I've tried all of these.  And each of them has worked for me at one time or another.  It really depends on where we are in our craziness as to what I'm doing!  I started our current method last November, and it is working extremely well for us (well, at least me!) for the time being.  Here's what I do:

• two week cycle
• week 1: clothes only (no towels/bedding/bibs/etc. unless necessary)
• week 2: linens only (no clothes unless necessary)
• stain stick (Spray 'n Wash) anything that can wait to be laundered
• set items on the washer that need to be washed in the next cycle (regardless if it fits the clothes only/linens only category)
• wash items immediately that need washed immediately and do a full load at that time
• clothes only loads typically take 2 days
• linens only loads typically take 1 day

Here are some things that made this work for us:

• make sure everyone has enough socks and undies to make it 2 weeks
• wear your clothes more than once each cycle (I made this work extremely well for me while I was away at college, and I started doing it again last fall!)
• when your kids put their pajamas on, remind them that you aren't doing laundry for a week or two and that they need to wear that piece of clothing again if it's still clean
• choose 1-2 days a week when you are typically home to do laundry (I am almost always home on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so those are our laundry days)
• don't be too proud to wear the same outfit two days in a row (not to work, of course!) 

The hardest part about this was making sure that Josh had enough clothes for work.  He had to buy a few more pairs of black socks, and sometimes toward the end of our 2 weeks, he has to dig out the rarely-worn dress shirts (like the pink one that I love!). 

What's working for you right now?

Stay tuned for more...

not.very.festive

I was baking some muffins the other day. I pulled out my baking cups and noticed that these weren't just any baking cups....no, no, no sir. These were "Festive" Baking Cups...(white).

Festive? That's stretching it a bit, don't you think?

happy.mother's.day

This is my mom. She's pretty much one of the best moms ever, and everyone that knows her will agree.  I love you, Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms who read my blog! Keep up the good mom-work ladies! We're all in this together.

"Train {your children} up to be people that may one day lead nations." I can't remember who said this, but it inspires me to be a good mom! :)

mushroom.huntin'

The end of April/beginning of May is prime mushroom huntin' season! Josh wandered out into the woods and found a few really nice morels this past weekend. He was soooo excited! I'm sure this will be an annual tradition!

galloping.horses

My friend, Deanna, introduced us to this recipe a year or so ago.  It is extremely tasty, and don't let the ingredients scare you!!  I loved it, and then after I got the recipe, I was slightly concerned about making it!  Ever have recipes like that?  I followed the directions, and it was just as tasty when I made it! :)

Galloping Horses
1/2 t. oil
2-3 cloves mined garlic
1 T. cilantro
1 lb. ground beef (or pork)
2 T. ground roasted peanuts
3 T. oyster sauce
3 T. brown sugar
1-2 jalapeno peppers
serve with rice and extra peanuts

1. Heat oil in skillet.
2. Add garlic, cilantro, and peppers.
3. Add beef or pork, peanuts, oyster sauce, and sugar.
4. Cook over medium high heat until brown (liquid should dissipate).  Be careful not to burn (Deanna cooks it for about 10 minutes on medium heat). 

notes:
-prep all of your ingredients ahead of time
-to make jalapenos less "hot", take out the seeds, and cut out the veins (white part) inside
-we've only had this with beef

fun.with.cousins

We were able to spend a few days with Aunt Jill and Eden last week! We had soooo much fun! The girls all had their first sleepover at the lake, and little did they know that they all brought pink pajamas to the party!

It is so much fun to watch my girls love on Eden. Claire and Meredith just adore her!! And, well, Amelia really likes her, but we all have to be on the lookout when she's around!

Don't you just want to eat her up?! She's so sweet!

My mom took the day off last Friday to spend with all of her favorite girls! She spoils us rotten...all of us. We had chicken salad, donuts, popsicles, drumstick ice cream, and the list goes on and on.... We love you, Mom! Thanks for making sweet memories with us! :)

chicken.cordon.bleu

This is a simple (unbreaded) recipe for chicken cordon bleu in the crock pot.  It came to me in a recipe swap!

Chicken Cordon Bleu
4 chicken breasts
4 slices of ham
4 slices of swiss cheese
sauce:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 c. milk

Pound out chicken breasts using a mallet.  Lay ham and cheese over the top and roll up; secure with a toothpick or kabob skewer (cut down).  Place in crock pot and cover with sauce.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  Optional:  serve with noodles or rice (we don't!). 

notes:
-I don't have a mallet to pound out my chicken.  I put each piece on a cutting board, lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top, and pound out with my rolling pin until flat.

may.menu.planning

I can't believe that it's May already! What happened to April??! May will be a busy month in our household, but a fun one! May through September are great months for me because I don't have to cook nearly as much. It's lake season, so we get to bring a dish or two somewhere instead of having to make an entire meal. Gotta love that!

May 3-8
5/3: deer steaks/fried morel mushrooms (josh found some!!)
5/4: fiesta chicken burritos (new/crockpot)
5/5: turkey breast (crockpot)
5/6: stir-fry (josh!)
5/7: super burritos (better homes and gardens...missed it last month)
5/8: claire's choice (bonfire cooking): chicken patties, toast, egg salad and crackers, smores for dessert
**i've never made chicken patties over a fire before...should be an interesting experience!

May 10-12
5/10: chicken cordon bleu (crockpot)
5/11: sloppy joes (new recipe)
5/12: charley's slow-cooker meat (new...missed it last month)
5/13-5/15:  no cooking...this will be a fun weekend...did i mention that i love may?

May 17-22
5/17: spaghetti
5/18: jackie chicken
5/19: grilled smoked sausage (josh!)
5/20: deer and noodles
5/21: carribean chicken (new)
5/22: meredith's choice (bonfire cooking): hot dogs, mandarin oranges, chocolate rice krispies

May 23-28
5/23: fish fryin' (josh!)
5/24: roast (crock pot)
5/25: frozen pizza w/ the babysitter (we're going on a date to a baseball game!!)
5/26: chicken manicotti (makes 2, freeze one for next month)
5/27: claire's birthday meal (her choice): deer steaks, creamy corn, stawberry/grape/apple salad, chocolate cake
5/28: homemade pizza (hopefully the kids won't mind eating pizza twice in the same week!)

By the way, the picture at the top of the post is the skillet penne and sausage supper from last month.  All I have to say is yum!  It is so tasty.  It is going in our rotation for sure!!  The kids weren't huge fans (more for us!) and it was a little on the expensive side, but we'll be making it again for sure!  This will be a good late-dinner meal for the two of us.

a.sign.of.the.times

Claire and Meredith were having a conversation this evening during their imaginative play...

Setup:  Both girls have a doll baby wrapped in a sling around themselves. 

Meredith:  Claire did you see my newborn baby?  I just had her.

Claire:  No!  I didn't know it. 

Meredith:  Well, I just posted the pictures on facebook. 

Claire:  I must have missed it.

Meredith:  Oh, well her name is Hannah, and she was born just yesterday. 

Is this a sign of the times or what?!!