I am taking two Advils and heading to bed with the biggest hand cramp of my life. It throbs just trying to move my thumb to type. What caused such a pain?
I have spent the last three hours:
- Eliminating clutter of the physical paper and digital kind
- Setting an example to a child who want to grow her culinary skills
-Trying to make my meal planning life easier by creating a useful tool that the children and husband can use in times of need
- Working on a priceless, handwritten, heartfelt heirloom
We celebrated a night early with pizza, pop, large cookie cake, and Goosebumps 2 .... in the living room.... on a school night...
Breaking the rules is what birthdays are for anyways.
Bree asked if we could take her to the store to get Jacob a gift. Although it was my money and the gift was staying in my house, I let her have free rein of the store. Here is the pleasantness she found as a loving present for her brother:
There is no way to capture a feeling in a picture but I sure wish there was.
The first warm Spring breeze was blowing in from the open patio doors. It smelled wonderfully of warmed dirt and grass and promise of outdoor excitement to come in the season. Peter, Paul, and Mary's'Its Raining, Its Pouring' is softly playing on the CD player as Holly follows along with her book. Birds are chirping wildly outside and I'm in the kitchen chopping eggs for a simple egg salad lunch.
Its days like these when I'm instantly transported back to the simple days of my youth. Days I cherish. And days I hope my kids will cherish too.
For Holly, there may be much more to remember about this day as well. While doing lunch dishes at the sink, I look up to discover Holly had snuck out the patio door, grabbed her bike, and was in the driveway determined to learn how to ride. Of course, the moment I stopped filming she took off!!
(Please pardon the dramatic music in the background. Holly was listening to a book on CD and never shut it off. I think it adds a nice little soundtrack touch to her attempts.)
Bree and I were walking down the isles at Wal-mart, just doing a little grocery shopping. I'm not sure what she saw that sent a spark in her brain, but randomly she asks:
"Mom, can you make that cabbage dish again?"
Before I could register what she asked me, a Wal-Mart employee turns around and shockingly exclaims:
"Did your daughter just ask you for cabbage?!?"
She sure did. And apparently I don't make it enough because she asks for it quite often!
I hopped onto Pinterest to find a recipe I needed for dinner and before the night was done I had three more projects on my plate!! Now the challenge is....
I've said it before and I'll say it again and I mean it with every fiber of my body...
We live in thee best neighborhood!
Winter sure did take its toll on our trees.
So many sticks to pick up. So many branches to burn.
A simple chore turned even more enjoyable when some neighbors, who after smelling the fire, showed up in our backyard armed with a cooler of adults beverages and a stock pot full of spaghetti. We sat. We chatted. We moved indoors and played games for the next few hours. Nothing planned could have gone so well.
The feeling of comfort and being welcome doesn't end there. Since Holly has learned to ride her bike without training wheels, she is hard to keep off it. If you dare ride your bike past our house, you're likely to get some company. And, thankfully, no one minds.
Spring = craving for a taste of something fresh and vibrant and citrus-y =
mini baked lemon donuts
However, if you are not careful and overfill the mini donut pan, when they bake and rise, they seal off the whole that makes them a donut thus looking like mini muffins. Which I could have made just as easy in my mini muffin pan and not wasted my time spooning the batter into circular donut crevices.
This lovely and disturbing creature was found walking through the dining room like he owned the place, like he belonged here.
He does not, did not, and never will belong anywhere in this house. Ever. After summoning up every Mama Bear ounce of protecting my children energy and removing that thing from the house, I immediately knew what needed to be done.
It is time to begin Spring cleaning and eliminating all clutter (ie hiding spaces) of any unwanted living things starting with the garage.
We are a family of 5 that is crammed into an 18-foot camper.
Its do-able. A camper is only meant to be a sleeping and food hauling vessel anyways, right? However, a little more breathing space sure would be nice.
So when a series of God-laid-out plans landed us on a 28-foot, bottom of our price range camper that solved all our needs, we didn't hesitate to bring it home.
Not only do the kids have their own permanently set up sleeping quarters,
but we have our as well AND it does not involve one person climbing over the other to get out!
Not only does it have the standard dining table,
but a very comfy leather couch settled next to a large window that is perfect for enjoying some peaceful morning coffee, reading, and sunshine.
We have so much more storage inside. We have so much more storage outside. We have a power awning making set up a breeze. But. The kicker for me, the thing that sealed the deal....is an oven. It may be an odd necessity when camping (as in don't I do enough baking while at home? why would I want to bake in my camper?) but on torrential down pour, snowy weekends when the fire won't light but you must camp on, the oven sure does come in handy.
Bible Journal:A Bible journal is a hybrid diary where you keep both notes on your study of the Bible and a record of things that happen in your everyday life. Over time, as you analyze and study the Bible, you can apply what you've learned to your life experiences, which may make it easier to overcome difficult situations
Bible journaling is awesome except I cannot bring myself to doodle in Thee Book. I mean - what if I make a mistake?! You can't just rip a page out of the Bible!!
Enter a simple Mead Composition notebook, Sharpie markers, words that are weighing on my heart, and some quiet reflecting time.
I don't know who is more nervous - Holly or me. I've sent two other kids off to the big, scary school and they've been just fine carrying their own lunch trays and getting to the bathroom in time. But as a parent, I still worry.
Holly (and probably the other kids) have worries and fears of their own. That too is natural. Which is why I love that her preschool does a field trip to the Primary school prior to Kindergarten screening so the kids aren't going in blind.
The Principal went over what to do when you're dropped off to school in the morning, showed them the library, the Kindergarten wing and classroom, the various bathrooms throughout the school, and, most importantly, where lunch is served.
Holly went in with trepidation, but came out ready to conquer Kindergarten. Let's see if she still feels the same next week at Registration.
Holly's last preschool Grandparents day was today.
We painted, cut, and glued. There were snacks and lots of show and tell. But the highlight of any preschool performance is the singing. Jim Gill songs have a special place in my heart and I'm so happy Holly has a chance to learn them.
Stick To My Glue
Oh Hey Oh Hi Hello
I discovered a new favorite preschool song that I'll keep singing for years to come.
Hip Hip Hooray Hippopotamus
But the most special song of the day is, of course, grandparent themed.
Grandma's House
By Mary Rice Hopkins
My teachers give me lessons I need to do
My parents give me chores and say they're good for you
My friends are nice and they give me advice
But there's one place I can kick off my shoes
At Grandma's house, at Grandma's house
I'm always welcome without a doubt
No chores to do and goodies I can't refuse
So welcome to Grandma's house
She makes me custard that just can't be beat
Oh she never gets made though there's mud on my feet
Spring is on the horizon and the weather is starting to warm up... just a bit. Barely a smidgen even. But sometimes that's all you need to feel inspired enough to eat outside at the patio table Sauder's unit awaiting the burn pile.
With random and rare alone time with Jake, we drove over to a local camper sales business. We had a great time exploring every camper, pointing out things we liked, what things we didn't, what we'd change to make it perfect... And then it happened.
Jake found his forever camper.
The recliners, the couch, the fireplace, the tv where he can plug in his video game systems, the space to have his birthday parties....
For a little over a month, I've been working on a crocheting project - a gray and white chevron afghan - any chance I get. Its only natural that the kids want to follow suit and try to create something of their own. But before afghans, scarves, or wash rags are made, you first must learn to chain.
With camping season right around the corner and the urge to seize the day on any free moment available, we decided to take a road trip over to Elkhart, Indiana (where 80% of the campers in the USA are made, FYI) to the RV/MH Hall of Fame.
Its a pretty fascinating place to visit. Seeing the evolution of campers, the unique designs, and the different ideas of necessities while camping from the beginning of the era are pretty interesting.
The key word in the following pictures is 'mansion'.
I'm sure camping in the 1950's was not quite the fast pace, pick 'em up and go lifestyle that it is today. Probably because with a 42 foot beast like this and the boat of a vehicle that hauls it isn't going anywhere fast in the first place!
And I am all about the comforts of home while traveling as well as being known to bring a project/book with me to help pass the time. However, I have never, not once, thought.. Hmm.. I wish I could bring my sewing machine with me.
Actually.... that probably not true...
Anyways,
While in Elkhart, we headed over to the Hall of Heroes - a superhero museum.
The Hall of Heroes is truly a gem of a place. This is someone's personal superhero collection. Housed in a two story garage that was built to mimic the Hall of Justice from the DC world. In his own backyard! Pretty cool, huh?
Even more awesome is the owner runs the museum himself! He welcomes you upon entering and gives you a brief explanation of how it all started. From his work as a comic book illustrator to being in the army as a Marshal Arts instructor thus propelling him into the Hollywood scene and being one of the top 5 finalists to playing Robin in he 1997 Batman & Robin movie to hosting local Comic Cons with real celebrities. His celebrity wall of fame (pictures taken with all the celebrities he has met and the autographs) is ridiculously impressive.
His personal collection and part of the museum contains things like Sheldon's Green Lantern t-shirt,
the actual Captain America shield used in the movie...
...and its signed by the entire cast!
He owns Adam West's Batman costume,
the green lantern movie prop ring, and the Deadpool mask complete with white dots used for CGI editing. But thee most coolest thing that he owns, that was actually donated to him....
The 1965 Shelby Cobra that Iron Man crashed into during the first film!
And if you ever find yourself in Elkhart, Indiana, that close to South Bend, stopping into the University of Notre Dame is a must. The viciously strong and wickedly cold wind stopped us from exploring the campus like we would have liked to. But that's okay.
We spent the first two hours of our road trip watching 'Rudy' so it felt like we had been on campus all day anyways.
Finishing watching Rudy in our fancy new van while waiting for the RV Hall of Fame to open.
