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Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

When I was in High School, one of my favorite school foods was the granola bars. I would always make sure I had extra money those days to buy one or two extra. Yes, premade boxed ones are okay if they are the chewy kind, but nothing can beat those yummy school granola bars. Until now. Here is a recipe that I recently tried and loved. Even Jimmerz gave them his approval.

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter

1 cup rice krispies
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup your choice (mini m&ms, chocolate chips, dried fruits, nuts, etc).

1. In a saucepan, heat honey, peanut butter and butter until loosened and smooth.
2. Remove from heat and stir in rice krispies, oats and whatever else you're using.
3. Drop by spoonfuls into cupcake liner or press into a pan if you prefer to make bars.
4. Refrigerate until set (about 15 minutes).
5. Store in an airtight container in fridge for up to one week.


Let me know what you think.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Catching Up

I've been searching through my computer trying to get all 147 pictures of Bree onto a cd to be developed, when I noticed a lot of pictures that I meant to post but never did. Here they all are.

Maybe this is why my bathroom isn't getting finished as fast as it should. Daddy's too busy playing.










If you click on this picture, you'll see Bree has some paint on her nose.














We have some serious bed head to work with in the mornings.

She so crazy.

Why did we spend money ona sit and learn chair?

The first bath in our new tub.


"Helping" Daddy in the bathroom.












Not quite ready for the potty.



















I think we have a heart breaker on our hands...









... or not.


















Just playing in the truck.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Thirsty

Have you ever been soooo thirsty that you would do this?

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Meant to do my work today

I meant to do my work today
But a brown bird sang in the apple tree
And a butterfly flitted across the field
And all the leaves were calling me
And the wind went sighing over the land
Tossing the grasses to and fro
And a rainbow held out its shining hand
So what could I do but laugh and go?

Richard Le Gallienne



Words can not describe what how perfect the weather was today. I could not focus at work and when I was home I wasn't doing what I should have been doing. Today I should have...

picked up the living room,

folded the laundry,

and washed and put away dishes.












Although I did manage to wash a load of laundry and get it hung on the line to dry,


we mostly spent our glorious evening doing this.







And even though my child is going though the most whiniest phase right now (I hope it is a phase and not her personality coming out), we still ended our night on a good night.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Very uneventful

Absolutely nothing has been happening around here. The massive amounts of rain we received last week caused Jim to work a ton of much appreciated overtime so its just been me and Bree at home...alone...with nothing...to...do. But as my blog title says "Simple pleasures are often overlooked" here are the little things we often miss.


Here is how I'm even able to take these pictures. :o)















Its almost here...

Spring is coming!!


Longing for the great outdoors


Maybe we should all eat this way.



This can only mean one thing. Daddy's home.










Lastly I leave you with two videos. The first one is of Bree trying to put my shoes on. Too cute. The second is... well you'll see.



Tuesday, March 10, 2009

My many ramblings

The batteries in my camera died...again. I really need to invest in some rechargable batteries but other things like shoes, purses and food always distract me when I'm at the store. Maybe the Easter Bunny will read this and take the hint to put some in my basket this year. :o) Or else the Easter Bunny will have to live with the fact I will forever be stealing the batteries from the remote.

My bathroom is on its way to being finished. The paint is up. The border is up. The vanity has been sanded and stained along with the door. Our countertop came in this wee. Its not installed but at least its sitting on the vanity making it useable. All thats left is sanding and staining the cabinets behind the door, staining the baseboards and sanding and staining the drawers. I know it sounds like a lot and even time consuming but its not. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of this weekend. Hopefully. With all this rain lately Jim has been having to work overtime so I can understand if he is too tired to work. I would post pictures of whats done but that would be like spoiling the surprise or ruining the wow factor of the complete project. I am expecting lots of "ooooohs" and "aaahhhhhs" from you all once I do post pictures.

Our furnace was installed last week. I'm actually excited to get my bill next month. How geeky am I? Hopefully there will be a big difference in the usage or whatever that translates into us saving money each month. Its also so much quieter. I swear the floor used to vibrate whenever the furnace kicked on. No exaggeration. I would like to say that I think the house is warmer too but I've been drinking so much ice water I"m pretty much frozen from the inside out and can't seem to keep warm. Ever. I've been told that has nothing to do with the furnace though.

I've been bitten by the reading bug lately. You'd think that since I was a librarian I'd be reading all the time. I honestly don't have time to read. Between Bree, housework, crafty projects, projects arond the house, etc, etc, etc I don't have time to just sit down and read. However when I do find a book that I'm interested in, I devour it. Last week I read "Multiple Blessings" by Jon and Kate Gosselin (of Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC) in two days. I loved it. I'm not an avid watcher of the show. I just can't stand Kate's attitude sometimes and even through this book that attitude was there and prominent. But now I understand why she is the way she is. If you were on complete bed rest in the hospital at twenty weeks to help ensure the lives of your babies, I think you have the right to be overprotective. Now I've moved on to reading "Seven from Heaven" by Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey. They are the couple that had septuplets in the late 90's. So far its a pretty quick read. You may be questioning my choice of baby books all the sudden but it doesn't mean anything. When I was in high school (when the septuplets were born) I had wanted to do a report on them for english class but wasn't allowed. Reading the Jon and Kate book reminded me about them so its not really like I'm on a baby kick.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

She floats through the air with the greatest of ease...

...the daring young girl on the flying trapeze.



Rainy Day Blues

After two "as glorious as can be for this time of year" days of playing outside and going for walks, we were stuck inside today due to rain. There was nothing else to do but clean. Here is what I accomplished:





The Before...




The After.
The candle was just for effect.



The Before...
(I was working a on a few projects, normally its not that messy.)



The after.



The Before...
(Those are all clean dishes waiting to be put away.)



The after.
(there will always be dishes to put away in my house.)









I scrubbed down all countertops and backsplashes and even mopped the floor. All-in-all it was a very good rainy day.

I even have my very own free slave labor now.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Answers

Here are the answers to the Dr. Seuss questions:

- The name 'Seuss' is Theodore Geisel's mothers maiden name.

- Dr. Seuss wrote over 60 books.

- There are 5 stripes on the Cat in the Hat's hat.

- The moreal of the Lorax is environmentalism/anti-consumerism

- The moral of the Butter Battle Book (having been written during the Cold War era) reflects the arms race.

Don't you feel smarter?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Rare moments

If you walk into my living room at any point during the day, week or month, more than likely this is what you'll find:



So it is a rare moment in this household to actually see our living room look like this:



However, considering everything that is happening in this world and around us lately, I'm very grateful that I have enough "things" to make a mess. This comic strip says it all. You can click on the comic below to make it bigger.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Happy Birthday!




Today Theodore Geisel aka Dr Seuss turns 105 years old - or would be if he was still alive.

If you've read about Yertle, and Green Eggs and Ham,
And the Cat in the Hat and the Cute Sam-I-Am,
If you've heard about Horton and Gerald McGrew,
and the Grinch and the Lorax and Cindy Lou Who,
Then listen up now, there is no excuse,
Lets see what you know about Dr. Seuss!!


How did Theodore Geisel come up with the name 'Seuss'?

How many children's books did he write?

How many stripes are on the Cat in the Hat's Hat?

Which book was choosen first to be animated?

The moral of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' is antimaterialism. What is the moral of the Lorax? (Hint: the topic is very popular these days.)

How about the moral of the 'Butter Battle Book'?



Of course there is another very special person with a birthday today but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of her. Happy Birthday, Tricia!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Fun for the whole family!

My new workout machine has proven not only fun for me but the whole family.





Sunday, March 1, 2009

My little cheerleader

Bree...my little cheerleader...my little dancer.

Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up

I guess I on;y asked her to pick up her toys. I never told her where to put them.

Snack Times

For whatever reason, this is what our snack times have come to. Can't just eat food the normal way...