Birthday Girl!

This day last year was our first day home with our newest bay girl. T Shea is now a 1 year old. And what a wonderful child she is. In the morning B & A helped her open her birthday present. A baby doll of her very own... that she shares a lot with her big sister. 

While she took her nap B& A helped me make her birthday cake! Then daddy brought home some ice cream and party hats!

What a sweet blessing you are to us baby girl. You are talking more and more every day. Some things you say are: dada, thank you, more, hi, a slew of animal noises. You walk up to me just to give me a hug and then go on playing. You are always happy and silly. You love to dance whenever there is music, and clap you hands and sing songs with your brother and sister. If I put you down before you are ready or leave you in bed for a minute after you wake up you just giggle and play and never complain. You're kind of a ham so if you make someone laugh you get really excited and try and do it again. You are super ticklish when I nibble on your shoulders. You always share your snacks. You love doing little piggies, especially when B & A help. You really like to read. You will bring mommy or daddy a book, grab our hand and put the book in it. Then try and climb into our lap. You will sit for story after story. Your favorite are the farm animals.

You are beautiful, and sweet. Happy and kind.
Easy to love, not because you are mine,
Because you are you, my sweet T Shea
I thank God for that blessing each and every day.
Happy Birthday.

Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge 2011

Well I have recently been trying to incorporate more exercise into my life. Since I haven't really "worked out" since before B (about 5years) I've been taking it slow. A friend and I decided to be encouragement buddies and aim at just getting in something every day. Even if it was just 3 minutes of step ups on our bottom stair or a quick 15 sit ups, push ups, lunges & back extensions; we wanted to begin a habit of exercise. Then we got a new stroller! A double jogger. (*hallelujah chorus*) So I have been taking the kids on walks at Lake Murray. The girls ride in the stroller and B rides his bike. (He does so great. He amazes me.) Our route is just under three miles. It's great exercise and being outdoors is so therapeutic. As any mom could tell you, staying home all day with three kids can get a bit trying on the nerves and it doesn't take long for cabin fever to set in. We just like each other better when we're out and about... and have ducks to chase and sticks to throw and snacks to munch on.

So it has felt great all around to get more active. Then a friend of mine sent me a link for the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge 2011. A competition to stay active and eat healthy over the holidays. It begins this Saturday, November 19th and runs until January 6th. I'm kind of excited... I've never been good about doing these kinds of things on my own but it helps that Sean is in a weight loss challenge of his own right now too (which he is killing by the way). So we can work towards our goal of getting healthy together; not to mention being an example to our children on how they can live healthy lives, and enjoy doing so.

Let's get to it!

Dishes

So there were a lot of dishes today... there are a lot of dishes a lot of the time now that we live in an apartment void of dishwasher. And I REEEEEEALLY wanted to complain about it. I - do - not - like - dishes... but I have to stop myself because, at the same time, they are a great reminder of all that I have to be thankful for.

Tupperware: we have been blessed food enough to have leftovers.
Cooling Rack: eating fresh baked cookies with my family
Baby Bottle: My sweet baby girl who is perfectly healthy.
Coffee Cup: Coffee... no explanation necessary.
Sippie Cups: Two amazing children who make my days colorful and my life brighter.
My Favorite Pasta Bowl: My awesome mama who I got them from.
The New Coffee Pot: My beautiful sister who bought it for me when my old one shattered.
Baby Food Jars: WIC - one of the means the Lord has used to provide hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of food for our family.
Padre Hat Bowls: Fun family trips to go see the Padres play at Petco Park and eat ice cream and watch A give herself brain freeze over and over... Priceless.

I am beyond blessed with more than I could ask for and way more than I deserve. 

Although it feels like the dishes will never end, so I know that His mercies on me will never end. And He forgives my ungrateful heart every time I look upon those dishes with contempt. And He allows me to rebel inside like a child, then gently tugs and guides my heart in the right direction, reminding me of what those dishes represent. So I repent and say: 

Thank you Lord for my beautiful family, a warm home, running water, food, coffee, a wonderful, merciful, holy savior...

and dishes. 

Home Sweet Home

It's been a little busy around here trying to get settled into our NEW APARTMENT!!! But oh, how wonderful a change it has been. 

We went from a view like this (granted the kid is pretty stinkin' cute but the yard is pretty pathetic. The little green you see is just moss that disappeared quickly leaving us with the same rocks and dirt we had for 5 years):

To a view like this:

And we're closer to just about everything. Sean's work and church are about 20 minutes closer now which is phenomenal. There are three bedrooms instead of two. Stairs (which the kids love). All new carpet and cabinets. The kitchen and living room are like one combined room making it wonderful for having people over and the everyday doing dishes and keeping an eye on the crazies in the living room at the same time, kind of stuff. We've been in since August 6th but, as normal, finding a place for everything is still a bit challenging. But we are blessed beyond measure and praise the Lord for his abundant provision. We are in want of nothing and His mercy and grace abound. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

“ Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights.” 

James 1:17 


p.s. once I get my camera battery charged and home presentable I'll post some pictures of the inside as well. :)

B-a-roo

Our little man is 4 years old. It goes by way too fast. They say a child's character is shaped largely by the first five years of their life. And we only have one of those left! But we are so proud of the boy we call our son. And here are some reasons, B, why we adore you...

• You are content. Now you don't always get what you want and you whine like any other 4 year old but right now for example, while I'm typing you are perfectly happy playing with some puzzles. You can keep yourself entertained indefinitely with a few toys (or non toys that you pretend are toys) and your amazing imagination. Sometimes you reenact your favorite scene from toy story, or make up your own episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or just start bursting out in song as you sit in the grocery cart while we're shopping: "Worthy is the Lamb that once was slain, to receive all glory power and praise, for with Your blood You purchased us for God. Jesus You are worthy, that is what You are." You will hold two colored pencils in a little t formation and zoom around the house flying them like a jet and of course making the sounds that go with it. 
• You love to read. You will sit and be read to as long and the reader will keep reading. 
• You've been working on catching the baseball with your glove and are getting pretty good at it. You can also batt like a pro. We have to stop playing in the house because it's only a matter of time before your line drives start breaking things.
• You are so tenacious! What an amazing quality. If you can't figure something out you don't get upset or frustrated. You just try again and again and again and... you get it! Although being able to open the childproof door knob was not one I wold have picked for you to catch on to...
• You decided to designate people with specific descriptive words. I realized this one day when I said "B, you're crazy!" and you said "No, I not crazy. I'm a goof ball!" Oh really? well what about A? Apparently A is silly, daddy is awesome, aunty Lisa is awesome, Uncle Bryan and papa are great and mommy.... well I'm crazy. :) (if he only knew)
• Some of our favorite funnies from you this year are when you would throw your hands to the side and exclaim "Holy Cow Mackerel!" and when you would randomly respond "huuuuuh???? HOOAH!" or you would say "I don't know, no problem" completely out of context with a goofy grin on your face just to make us laugh. For example. B: What is this? Mommy: It's spaghetti... B: Oh, no problem! (and you say you're not crazy ;)
• You do the most real train whistle. It sounds just like one of those wooden ones with the four different tones. It makes me so impressed and sends my eardrums into painful spasms all at the same time. 
• You love Donald Duck. When I asked you who your favorite disney character was you didn't hesitate. I asked if you if you liked Mickey and you said. "No Mickey is not funny. I like Donald" ha ha. We've watched a bit of donald vs. chip and dale on youtube so you know what's up. :)
• You love to snuggle. When we say goodnight you wrap your arms around my neck and won't let go until I make you. Or if we're sitting on the couch to watch a movie you will scoot right next to me and lean into me resting your head on me and it makes my heart melt.
• You love your little sisters. You will help T find things to play with. You will goof around with A and whenever you guys fight or crash and hurt each other (very often being that you're siblings that are 19 months apart) you forgive immediately. That is so special. You don't hold grudges. You just love. 

We had so much fun for your birthday this year. Birthday party at Papa and Grandma Terrie and Skittle's house where you were joined and showered with love and presents from your cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas and great grandparents. You had a donald duck cake, lots of time in the pool. Your first big boy bike, Dragons, bubbles, writing and coloring toys, and you loved everything that you opened. The next day was your birthday and you took you very own first trip to Disneyland! You loved riding on the trains, shooting the Buzz Lightyear gun, riding on the submarine and the teacups. It was a special day for our special boy. Our sweet, fun, crazy, 4 year old goofball!

Catching your first glimpse of Buzz Lightyear

Teacups

Churro!

You LOVED your sword

Riding on the submarine

Happy Birthday B. We love you.

Six months today is our sweet T Shea

June 20, 2011

Our sweet T Shea is 6 months old today. 

So I thought I would share a little of her sweetness with you.

• She rolls like a pro and squirms her way around living room with ease
• She laughs and coos and is now quite the babbler
• She's up on her hands and knees rocking back and forth
• She is a little snuggle bug when she is tired
• She is a crazy squirmer when she's not
• She loves paper. If someone left or dropped a piece anywhere on the ground she WILL find it and gum it to a pulp.
• She'll gum your finger to a pulp too... I think she's teething.
• She thoroughly enjoys being in the water. She'll kick her legs and try to swim and smile ear to ear.
• She LOVES FOOD!!! she ate almost a whole jar her first meal. The next day she had such a hard time waiting till dinner for her meal and the third day she had two full jars! And she doesn't make much of a mess. She wants it all in her tummy. 
• She is my sunshine on a cloudy day... and at 4am. (we're hoping the solid foods will help with that one)
• She has the most chewable thighs, and arms, and cheeks and... she's just yummy all around and will giggle like crazy if you chew on her sides.
• If you talk to her, her eyes twinkle.
• She is adored by her big sister who plays with her, talks to her, tries to feed her, and gives her lots of hugs and kisses. 
• She loves her big brother who brings her toys and entertains her with his silliness.
• She's daddy's little girl and mommy's comfort from crazy big siblings (for now, I'm sure she'll be keeping up with them in no time).
• She is a precious gift from God. We are truly blessed.

Fun in the Sun!

We had a fun trip a few weekends ago to visit the fam up in Simi. The weekend couldn't have come at a better time. I know you mamas understand. Just needed a break from the day to day. The only bummer was that we all had colds the whole trip. :-( Not that it slowed down B and A for one second. But I was so thankful to have so much family around to keep them busy and happy so I could just relax.

One of the highlights of the weekend was definitely the pool! B loved having splash wars with papa and A would have taken her nap in the pool if we would have let her! T even went for a little swim. She kicked like crazy and smiled and laughed the whole time. Who wouldn't in 90 degree water? :-)

T hanging out with her Auntie Lisa

T and daddy getting ready to take a swim.

After she jumped from the waterfall. Pure joy!

She showed B that it wasn't scary.

And he got the hang of it real quick.

B

My Honey and Me

My Beautiful Mama

Symphony of Grace

Life is like a symphony
It's depth we'll never understand
We feel it as it moves and flows
We'll soar to heights, walk desert lands
Each instrument that's played, unique
And beautiful and free
With eyes wide shut our ears may see
The vision through the melody
Some may lead and some support
Some resound, some contort
Our idea of what should be
But through emotion may we
Be fully trusting and contented
The symphony has been invented
Imagined, spoken, created, played
By the Lamb of God who was slain
And who could orchestrate such a plan
None, other than the Son of man
Who bore the shame that we should face
Took God's wrath and gave us grace.
The music is not ours but His
So for His glory may we live
And thank Him daily on our knees

For our part in His symphony

Popsicles!

Yay for warm weather!!! One of the fun warm weather things I loved doing when I was little was making our own popsicles. But it can get pretty messy. Grape juice melting all over perfectly good clothes. Spilling on the floor and making one big sticky mess... So what a wonderful invention when they started making slow melt popsicles! Same deliciousness but no sticky hands... or less sticky hands anyway. Then I had an epiphany! Why not have the fun of homemade and the no mess of the slow melt. 

So yesterday the kids and I took a trip to wal-mart. Picked up some popsicle molds and a package of cherry jello. I just poured a little of the jello powder in a bowl, poured in about 1/4 C boiling water and stirred till dissolved. Then combined with the Apple-Grape juice we had in the fridge, poured into the mold, placed the tops on and spilled the entire thing all over the cluttered counter, down the side of the dishwasher, the floor and myself... no joke. (hindsight: definitely should have taken a picture of that) But!.. I had mixed plenty more than I needed so after banning the children from the kitchen, cleaning up the sticky mess and changing my clothes I re-poured the molds and transferred them safely to the freezer to chill overnight. 

So we wake up this morning to GREY skies :( and a bit of drizzle :(( Normally I would love this but bummer because it's just not as fun having a popsicle in the misty midday as it is in the noonday heat. But when you're a kid, who cares?! B and A definitely didn't. :)

Totally successful on the slow melting, by the way. Not a drop! And they were quite delicious. The possibilities are endless with all the different jello flavors, juice flavors. I may even try it with some fruit puree in the future. Mmmmmm, strawberries. Lets make that a definite yes on the future pureed fruit-pop! I'm thinking pineapple juice and pureed strawberries with a little kiwi jello, maybe. Y-U-M!

Projects that Pamper

I try to be as resourceful as I can. One of the ways I do is in making gifts. Almost everyone knows how it is to be a young poor family. But I love to give. So christmas time can be a little tricky. A few years ago I was blessed with an abundance of yarn so that year everyone got scarves. The next year I went on a baking spree and each family got a Christmas tin of goodies. Last year I received an email titled "48 Gifts in a Jar" and I was inspired! Guess what everyone got for Christmas. ;)

The men and kids received Hot Cocoa jars.

I accidentally deleted the picture of the ones I made but this is similar.
I tied mini candy canes to the rim instead of crushing them inside.
 I found the recipe (and picture) here.

 The ladies received a combo of different sugar scrubs, bath salts, and bath soaks.

Orange Lemon Sugar Scrub

The Orange Lemon Sugar Scrub was my favorite recipe of the ladies' gifts. It is super easy and turned out really nice. As with anything, presentation is key, so with some handmade tags and pretty ribbon these were a real winner. I found the recipe here and then added some drops of Orange Essential oil as well. 

Some of the other recipe's I tried were:

• Oatmeal and Cinnamon Bath Soak
• Sweet N' Spicy Brown Sugar Scrub
• Lavender Bath Salts

Gifts don't need to be expensive so next time you need one, try whipping up one of these! You probably already have the ingredients in you pantry. And if you begin to save you glass spaghetti sauce jars, peanut butter jars, etc. then you save even more! Or if you prefer you may purchase one from me. :) They are great for Mother's Day, birthdays, valentine's day, christmas, shower prizes. The possibilities are endless! 

Colorful Creations

!!PAINT!!

One of the things that my children love to do is paint. And I kinda like it too. I just throw on them a painting smock or one of my old t-shirts and let them go crazy. Perfect craft for any day, in any type of weather. It was a little confusing the first time for A though. The picture in the middle captures her expression: annoyance. As if she is saying, "why put me in a high chair with this stuff and then say I can't eat it??? What a waste smearing it all over this paper." But she caught on. Now she loves it. Especially getting to use paint brushes. There is something so fun about using a paint brush. Instead of just crazy hodgepodge, B is beginning to paint and draw pictures. He was given a small dump truck canvas to paint from Grandma Lorene and he actually painted in the lines! Yellow truck, brown wheels. I was so impressed. He continued to paint the border and of course every dump truck needs a load of dirt. So it got a little crazy but a year ago it would have just been a big blob of paint. Now it has a story. It's amazing how fast they grow and learn. And how much fun it is to be along for the ride.

Bed Bath & Beyond and Wheat Bread

So... our coffee maker broke. It still worked but the brew basket would occasionally pop out, brewing coffee all over our kitchen counter. And the grinder also would stick making it impossible to clean. So my mom and dad gave us theirs since they only used it when we were around.


I heard Bed Bath & Beyond was really  good with returns so I figured I would check it out. The coffee maker was a wedding gift so it was over 6 years old but no harm in asking, right? They gave us around $140 store credit!!! So I was finally able to get some really nice sauté pans, a cheese grater and two 1lb bread pans! And I still have over $50 left!!! I only had a large loaf pan before which made it hard to bake a regular loaf. I was really excited to try them out and today was the day. B and I donned our new aprons (a gift from our wonderful Grandma Lorene) and got to work.

Here is the dough divided into their pans and ready for their second rise. And my little munchkin who has been asking to play with bubbles all day. So I figured bake time was a perfect time.

And.... (drum roll please) dunnn - da - da - duuuuuuun!

A little soft inside but soooo yummy. There is something about fresh bread out of the oven slathered in honey butter. (Right, Rachel?) Between the kids and I we've already eaten half a loaf!

Oh, and I can't leave out a couple pictures of T. She's way too cute!

Here is the recipe I used:

Combine 2 1/2C warm water, 2 C whole wheat flour, 2t salt, 1/2 C oil and 1/2 C honey. Mix well. Then mix in 1 T yeast. Continue adding flour until you have a nice soft dough. About 4-5C. (I used about 3 C all purpose and 1-2 whole wheat) Knead, cover and let rise 30-40 minutes (till doubled in bulk). 

A little trick I've learned is that it's better to add less flour. I used to keep adding flower while kneading because the dough kept getting sticky but my bread was so hard and dense. One way to keep from getting to sticky is once you have a nice soft dough, oil your hands and the kneading surface instead of adding more flour. That trick and this recipe are from the wonderful DVD Homestead Blessings, The Art of Bread Making 

During rising time I usually wash the dishes but unfortunately the water had been shut off to do some plumbing work in another unit =/ So instead we had to rub the dough off our hands and then use baby wipes and paper towels.  (I don't know how I survived before baby wipes. They are amazing!) But hey, I actually had a legitimate excuse for not doing the dishes. That almost never happens.

After the rise, punch down and form into 2 loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and use a fork to poke several holes in dough. This helps with the rising. Cover and let rise a second time for a bout an hour.

Then bake at 350°F aproximately 30 minutes. Until golden brown. Let cool on wire rack. If you have the will power to let it cool before slicing into it, that is.

So far with this bread we have made the most amazing french toast (... for dinner), grilled cheese sandwiches to die for, toast with butter and jelly for breakfast and buttered to compliment tomato soup. I wish I made six loaves instead of 2! I need to learn to pace myself... or start exercising. ;)

Let me know if you try it yourself!

Pizza Pizza!

Well we were at that point where there was not much left in the fridge.... at all. I thought about making pizza. We had crust ingredients: check, mozzarella cheese: check, pizza sauce: ummm... no. But we had tomatoes. Then I thought, who needs pizza sauce?!? I whipped up the most delicious, easy pizza dough recipe. Brushed on some Extra Virgin Olive Oil, spread a bit of minced garlic. Topped with sliced tomatoes, some dried basil (fresh would have been awesome if I had it), and mozzarella. Crack some fresh pepper and salt. And bake.

And then... light bulb! What do you do with bread at Italian restaurants? Dip in EVOO and Balsamic Vinegar of course! Why not dip my pizza? So it's like a caprese salad/pizza/italian dipping bread. I know, genius, right? ;) just kiddin'. But really, it was pretty yummy.