Taco Tuesday

Taco Tuesday was a flashback to my high school days when every Tuesday we had tacos or taco boats in the lunchroom. Okay, moving on from random flashbacks... this was our "family cook night." The kids seem to really enjoy taking charge of their specific tasks. And by the time we sit down to eat, each child has that look of pride about them, that feeling that they have accomplished something that will benefit the whole family - and it was a delicious benefit.

We enjoy this taco seasoning recipe found here if you want to give it a try.

sun catchers

We decided to do this cute little project this week. It was fun but messy. Each of my kids has stained hands and I think there are a few blue spots on the floor. A little bit of rubbing alcohol and they should be good as new.

This and this are another cute takes on these as well that would be worth it if you feel like venturing out in the cold.

Momma said there'd be days like this

You know those mornings when you wake up late, call every child by the wrong name, call the dog by the youngest child's name, go to a room for a reason, end up finding a new reason to be in that room, therefore forgetting why you were there in the first place, standing there trying to remember why you are in there only to notice that the clock says 12:30 which is past lunch time and you are still in your pajamas?!?!

It's kind of like -  "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it" or " You know what happens when you pray for patience?"  I was just purposing in my heart to do better this year. To be organized, purposeful, and to have a better loving mommy attitude. And guess what, God just threw the opportunity right in my lap and gave me a chance to "prove" it. 

Obviously I can only do it with God's help. So my advice - admit that you were wrong, apologize to your kids and tell them we are going to have a better attitude about this day. Make a plan with your family and put some music on and get to work :)! 

New Year, New Goals

Now that you have read my reflections of this past year, I would like to include you in on some of my goals  for this year.  These are in no particular order and this list is incomplete, as I am sure I will think of new goals every day.

1.  Realize that life goes on without Mt. Dew.  Oh dear, I can't believe that I just wrote that, but it is something that is going to have to be learned this year. I want to be fit and healthy before I am thirty :). 

2.  And to help me out with the previous goal, I will be drinking lots of water - at least 32oz a day. Well, that's a lot for me - maybe not for the rest of you, but for me it is. If you have trouble drinking water, take a look at this.

3.  To do 1 craft with the kids per week.  I know, some of you do crafts every day and others only every once in a while. But I think that I can manage one a week. There are quite a few blogs that have great ideas and I will be adding them to my sidebar soon.Or you could just go to Gina's blog and look at her sidebar!

4.  To let the kids make one item in the kitchen per week.  I want them to be able to make roasted potatoes from start to finish with minimal hands-on help from me.  A different dish every week and I'll have 3 little chefs before you know it.

5. To be more organized and prepared.  If I want to do numbers 3 and 4 above successfully, then I am going to need to get organized - time and house! Here is a great idea just to get the ball rolling, and as I find more, I will post them. 

6.  To listen more and talk less. I know, that is kind of like an oxymoron after you read this whole long post. But hopefully these will be few and far between.

7.  To smile more.  Have you ever seen a picture taken where you were in the background (not the main focal point of the picture) and looked like life was just horrible?  Well I have, and it isn't a pretty sight.  I normally look like I could bite someone's head off. So I am going to try to change this....smile lines, here I come.

8.  Learn to sew.  The theme of my birthday this year was focused on sewing.  I received a rotary cutter, a clear quilt ruler, a cutting mat and a birthday cake with a picture of a needle, thread and quilt on it. I haven't always wanted to sew and have passed up many opportunities to learn (foolishness on my part)...but now that I have had a large brick thrown at me, I'm ready to roll, or should I say sew?

9.  Pray more.  It seems like during this past year I would find myself praying a lot....but mostly when I needed something, or was scared of what was to come.  I would like to set aside time everyday to pray and spend time with God.  I'm thinking a prayer journal would come in handy here.  I'm a list person and seem to do well when I have a list in front me, not to say that I'm just going to check off my prayer list so carelessly but to use it as a guide - so as not to get distracted. I think if I could write my prayers out that it just might help.

10.  To do 2 loads of laundry everyday - start to finish. I have no problems washing clothes or even folding them.  It's the "getting them out of the basket and into the drawers" part that I seem to have trouble with.

Well, that should do it for now.  This isn't a complete list, but it's a start. Hello 29!

On a side note - we need a good family picture with ALL of us in it at the same time. Maybe this will be goal number 11.

Blast from the Past

Okay, so maybe that title is a little miss-leading. More like "reflections of the past year." I know, New Year's was about 3 weeks ago, but my anniversary of living on this earth was just this past week. I was encouraged to reflect on all that I have learned and have been blessed with over this past year. I must say that I learned a lot and I learned that I have a LOT to learn.

So I am going to give you short glimpses of this past year through words and photos. And please note: the photos may or may not correspond with whatever thought I may be writing about.

1. Dogs will be dogs. In fact, even after you give a dog a bath, he still smells like a dog! We love our puppy, Courage, very much but that is just what he is - a puppy. He loves to chew on things, scratch things, and even rip things! I must say that over all, he is a good puppy and he brings lots of smiles to this family.

2. Tacos are our friend! This meal has been used at least once a week. It suits our entire family and we get lots of nutrition from it.

3. A moment I hope I never forget - the look on my children's faces the first time they saw the beach!

4. And because I don't want to re-number my list - this is a great moment too, the only picture I have of all of my kids together at the beach.  (Mark and Simeon are in the water, even though it is hard to see.)

5. Needles Schmeedles! I must thank God for giving me strength and my husband patience! I do believe that I can honestly say that I received more needles in me during my 28th year than I have had in my first through 27th years combined!

6. Music is just wonderful. Pandora is a great aid in listening to music around here.

7. Microfiber is flammable.

8. You don't actually oink when you get the swine flu - it's more like a moo.

9. Loving the snowman in Kentucky - that's right, I said Kentucky not WV, and you can't excommunicate me from the family :).

10. Always tip your tour guide well, especially after having a minor panic attack in the cave.

11. I love, love, love the country!

12. I now know the true meaning of nit picking - and I really don't want to know it again. But if this should happen again, I will definitely turn to mayonnaise as my shampoo!

13. Bakerella is a yummy website for special desserts!

14. Time with God is a necessity not an option.

15. I love my family and am very thankful for them.

Courage

Courage: That quality of mind which enables one to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear, or fainting of heart; valor; boldness; resolution.

- Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary


I want to take a moment and introduce you to the newest member of our family: Courage, an Olde Victorian Bulldogge.

He is 2 1/2 months old and weighs 20 lbs.

Simeon took right to him. In fact, he has somewhat claimed him for his own. He wants to be the one to walk him, feed him, play with him, and train him. Simeon is very excited to have a dog - and I think the dog is very excited to have Simeon.

Abbi is adjusting well to Courage. When we first brought Courage home, Abbi was a little nervous around him. As long as she approached him, she was fine, but when Courage approached her (unannounced), then she was ready for him to go back to his home. Now she does wonderfully with him. One thing that helped was the fact that he loves shoes - once she realized that he has the same shoe fetish as she does, they became great friends. He comes to her unannounced and she reaches out to pet him very lovingly. She also always has to make sure she hugs and kisses him every night.

Abe... hmmm... Either Abe thinks he is a dog or Courage thinks he is a boy. They are both the same weight and approximately the same age (if you go by dog years). Those two are together all the time - best friends. I have found Abe sharing everything from his drink, his cheerios, to his blocks with Courage. Courage, in turn, shares his pillow and chew toys with Abraham.

Courage is a good dog. He is great with the kids and very gentle with them - he reads them very well. He's grown quite attached to them, to the point that he pouts and whines when the kids go to bed at night. He curls up next to the door and whimpers - it's pretty cute. And, much to Daddy and Mommy's pleasure, he is doing well in both obedience training and potty training :).

If you would like to read more about Courage's breed, go here.

"A righteous man cares for the life of his animal..."

- Proverbs 12:10a

Mother's Day

So I'm a little behind, ok, I'm a lot behind, but I just wanted to post a picture of Mother's Day before Father's Day got here!

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward."

-Psalm 127:3

The beach

A couple of weekends ago our family took a little "big" adventure. We introduced our kids to the beach, and oh what an introduction it was. That first moment of the children seeing the beach for the first time fit right in the list with watching your child take his first step or hear his first word. As we were driving to the beach, the kids asked tons of questions such as "Are there sharks in the water?" or "Will the crabs pinch us?"or "What if we get stung by a jellyfish?". They were beginning to get a little hesitant about this whole "beach thing." But one look at the ocean and it was love at first sight.

Simeon had no fear at all and would have stayed there all day if possible. He and Mark went out as far as allowed and battled the waves.

Abbi enjoyed looking at the water but was happier with the large sandbox at her disposal. She spent a little time in the water with Mark and then ventured out on her own, but as you can see once the water touched her...well, I'll just let the picture speak for itself.

Abe of course was just happy to be there. He loved the water and he loved the sand. What else could a boy ask for ( Maybe a dog? - that will be next)?

Favorite things

Just stopping in to say "hello" and show a couple of my children's favorite activities. Hopefully next time I will come and stay awhile. But for now, this is all.

Arrrgh, matey!

A horse and his boy.

Dressing up

He's not so sure about dressing up...

but this one loves it!

My Favorite Cookies

I am running low on things to post for right now, so I am going to share my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  It is a combination of recipes. I just kept substituting ingredients until I came up with one I liked.  Feel free to substitute ingredients as you see fit.  The kids like M&M's instead of chocolate chips.

          1 cup buttered flavor shortening

          1 1/2 cups brown sugar

          2 eggs

          1 tsp. vanilla

          2 1/4 cups ap flour

          1 tsp salt

          1 tsp baking soda

          1 1/2 - 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

I generally mix the first 4 ingredients together and then add the dry ingredients.  I add chocolate chips last.

Bake at 375 for 7 minutes.  Take them out of the oven but leave them on the pan for 3 more minutes.  If you choose to take the cookies off the pan immediately, they will be doughy.  If you choose to bake them for 9 minutes, they will be crispier.    

Just an idea of what to do with extra cookie dough over at bakerella.

teachable moments and little helpers

So we have begun a new year and I am still planning out my goals for what I would like to see this year hold for me and my family. Of course I already have a few of the basics lined out on paper, such as get up earlier, lose weight, stick to a schedule, be more organized, etc. - you get the point. Now I am filling in the details and those details seem to hit me right in the face sometimes, making sure that I know that that area of my life needs some improvement. 

So here are two specific goals for this year (and hopefully they will improve with every year):

* more teachable moments with my kids

* encouraging my kids to be helpers

It's funny how when you have one child, you can take all the time in the world to watch a bug. To see where it goes, follow its path, discuss what kind of bug it is, and maybe even make a life lesson out of it. But now with three kids, it seems as though I barely have enough time to keep one kid from slaying the bug with his sword (which I am thankful for when there are spiders around) and keep another kid from picking up the bug and loving it, all while trying to get the smallest kid to even pay attention to it, let alone to try to teach them anything about the bug.

These ages are GREAT for teaching. So I am looking for opportunities to teach my kids and to make daily life activities or chores as we know them - fun! My children beg me sometimes for me to let them help me. Unfortunately, my first response is not always "yes". I know that I can get things done a whole lot faster by doing a job by myself, but what will that prove? Granted, there are times when this needs to be done, but most of the time I would say that the more help the merrier! By allowing them to help, I am creating a sense of accomplishment, providing an opportunity for learning organization, teamwork, and the list goes on, not to mention the family time we spend together while cleaning!

One last attempt...

So I thought I would just post one last blog for the year.  Nothing of importance, I'm just a little on the OCD side of life.  I can't stand to see every month have at least one blog post in it and then December have nothing.  So this will most likely be of no great revelations but it will make me feel better when I look at my own blog. Pathetic - I know.

The past month has been very busy for us, but then again who isn't it busy for?  We had Abraham's first birthday party, but good ol' mom (me -Jena) didn't use the camera.  So no blogging there, unless someone out there has pictures of it?!  I can say, though, that the birthday boy really wasn't up for the party - even his first cake experience didn't win him over.  He was somewhat cranky the whole time.  We found out Monday that he had an ear infection - which explained most of the crankiness.

We also did a lot of travelling for the holidays but again - no camera.  You would think that with my genes there would be a camera attached at my hip.  It sounds like a New Year's resolution - MORE PICTURES! 

With that I will wish you all a Happy New Year! Hopefully next year I will be able to fill in the gaps of my blog - Abe's party, more Proverbs and maybe some fun kid things!

Our Abbi-girl is 3!

On November 14, our Abbi turned 3. She had informed me several weeks before her party that she would like to have a pink and yellow castle cake. She chose the theme and the colors - all I had to do was put it together. The cake was easier said than done. The icing didn't cooperate. But with the help of Gramma and Pappa Judd the cake was finished by 1:00 in the morning. Next time I will use this recipe recommended by Shelly.

I was having a hard time coming up with games, but within a matter of minutes before the party started I thought of these 2 short games. One was "princess, princess, who's got your shoe?" - a spin off of "doggy, doggy, who's got your bone." And the other was a treasure hunt game where we took a box full of the princess's jewels (candy bracelets) and hid them somewhere in the house. Whoever found the jewels was to return them to the King and he would then distribute them among all the people.

I think Abbi had a wonderful time. Thank you to all who could join us. You made this day very special!

gleaning wisdom

A few weeks ago I was at my cousin's birthday party when I heard some great advice. I heard my aunt say that she and her husband "always prayed for wisdom" when their kids where growing up. OK, granted, this is nothing new. I know this and you know this. But when I heard these words this time, they hit me like a ton of bricks! Wisdom - that is exactly what I needed! Why didn't I think of this before. Now don't get me wrong, I've prayed for wisdom before, lots of times. However, this time it was different. I had a clearer understanding of what I was praying for. So the next time I sat down to pray, I didn't just pray "Lord give me wisdom .(dot).(dot).(dot)" moving on to something different but "LORD, GIVE ME WISDOM, understanding, a willing heart, a teachable spirit." Now... I know that wisdom is not going to just "pop" into my brain and I will be a wise person. It is going to take some action on my part. What better place to start than Proverbs. Again, a no-brainer. We've all read it before, several times I'm sure. This time my husband is reading it with me and commentating on it as well (I learn so much better when he reads and shares his insights with me). And this time, though I have read it plenty of times before, it is sinking in deeper. Now no, I am not all-wise and full of understanding. In fact I have a long way to go, but I am enjoying the journey ( I will tell you more about that later). Not only do I have God's Word, prayer, and a godly husband to gain wisdom from, but as I look around, God has surrounded me with quite a few wise people to glean from too.

Thank you Lord for wisdom, for your Word, for wise friends, and for a godly husband.

Snow in October

This is what we woke up to this morning.

Simeon was so excited that he went and woke up Abbi so she wouldn't miss it.

They couldn't wait to play in it.

Out they went for a small snow ball fight. 10 minutes later they were ready to sit by the heater.

A happy first snow day!

More boots

So Abbi wanted to show off her boots too! Thanks to Gina, we now have 2 happy kids with boots. 1 kid with boots just didn't seem to work.

Warm, Cozy Moments

for just a moment...

all three kids are sitting at the table

2 coloring, 1 eating

cold and rainy outside

the smell of dinner cooking

the candlelight makes eyes sparkle

Norah Jones playing quietly in the back ground

and all is calm

at least for a moment

In the middle of fall and didn't even realize it

So fall came fast for me this year. I couldn't wait for it to get here and then didn't even notice when it came. I walked out back to find that all of our beautiful leaves are already on the ground.

And that of course means lots of raking!

It also means yummy apple butter. Our neighbor has been very generous and is allowing us to have apples from her tree. They make the best apple butter.

It seems like we are taking on a new tradition with fall as well. This is the second year that we have gone to a pumpkin patch. The kids loved it this year! I think they enjoyed digging through the weeds looking for the gourds that "Mommy just had to have."

And of course Simeon can make a sword out of anything! He picked this up instead of a pumpkin to protect us from anything that could be lurking in the field.