Little Bit Funky: 03/01/2009

tasty.

Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Bowl
You need:

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, softened

1-1/2 cups cold milk

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, divided

2 cups frozen pound cake cubes (1 inch)

COMBINE berries and sugar; refrigerate until ready to use. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; mix well.

BLEND in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP. Spoon half into 2-1/2-qt. bowl.

TOP with layers of cake, berries and remaining cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Enjoy! It's super yummy and nice and light. :)

xoxo

Easter weekend...

We started the weekend on Friday by having Dish Network installed...the photo above is Moses flashing his tummy to the installation guy outside...yep...that's my son. :)

Moses helped me make a pound cake for Easter dessert..."help" meaning he licked the beaters. :)

We managed another year of non-candy Easter basket...full of Thomas, marshmallows and rainbow goldfish. :)

He didn't seem to miss the candy when there was play-doh in his eggs.

He showed off his "this looks painful" fake and cheesy smile.

The Easter bunny slept through most of it. :)

I made this dessert for Easter...along with homemade pulled pork and homemade mac and cheese. yummmm!

Here is Moses on Easter last year. :)

And here he is this year...hunting eggs with his good friend Kai. :)

And here they are...high-fiving each other over all the eggs they found. :)

Sadly, we didn't make it to church...I am just not ready yet...is that normal?

We did have a great Easter, though. We had some great time together as a family and then our good friends joined us for dinner and dessert.

I hope your Easter was just as lovely and full of the warmth of family you love.

xoxo

also....BOGO

A HUGE Easter BOGO sale in the shop...see shop announcement for details!
Friday, Saturday and Sunday only!

here but exhausted...

mentally not physically exhausted. Here dealing with some of my same old issues. The ones I have to conquer every so often. This time they are especially painful and exhausting. I can't really go into them here...wish I could...it would probably help.

It's been a really long week. I am hoping for a refreshing weekend...a visit with Uncle B, Easter dinner with friends...seeing one of my very best friends on Wednesday...spending time pondering the wonder and beauty that is Easter.

Here is this again. Always refreshes me.

Thankful for My King once again...and thinking on His limitless love and His selfless sacrifice. Wishing more than ever in my life that He would come back already.

I'll be here waiting.
xoxo

one more thought...or two...

So, since that post a couple back I have had some lingering thoughts. Most of them sparked by something an Etsy friend said that has really struck me. Sara said something to the effect of how comparison is the enemy of contentment and gratitude. Ever since I read those words I can't help to think about that statement and how true it really is...it also made it very clear to me just how much I compare myself to others...and it never leaves me feeling good. Just this statement alone has changed the direction of my path...since reading her thoughts I have managed to catch myself mid-comparison and change my thought pattern...change from looking outward to looking inward. I get a better feeling when I compare myself to me...as in how far I have come in life from so many years ago than if I compare myself to someone who isn't on the same path as me. We all have different destinations (ultimately the same destination...Heaven...but on Earth different) so why should our path look the same?

Another thought. I have been wondering about the things that make motherhood so tough. For me a huge part of it is that it challenges my faith more than anything in my life. In no other area do I feel like the Enemy is waiting to see me fail as much. I feel like he is breathing down my back just waiting...because I know there are times when I am begging God to help me...get this baby to sleep or keep him asleep...or to help my toddler do this or that...or to heal my child, etc and He does none of it. And the Enemy is waiting to see how I respond...waiting to see how mad I get at God. And the truth is, I do get mad. Ugh. I do. But the moment I realize that this is what the Enemy is watching and waiting for...I change my tune...and concentrate more on the sweet moments in a day of chaos. Like my baby boy who is just learning to smile...or my toddler who will randomly hug me...or my husband who likes to bring me home new Starbucks mugs. :)

So last night, after an emotionally draining day of non-napping boys and huge hospital bills arriving in my mailbox...it was suddenly 8pm and all the boys were sleeping. I had alone and I had quiet. I finally pulled a daily devotional out that I had recently been given. I was dying for a morsel from God...even a crumb. Here is what he gave me:

Sing a new song (or tune!) to the LORD because he has done miraculous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gained victory for him. Psalm 98:1

I feel like He and I are gaining victory in these two areas. And that was just the crumb I needed to continue my search for a new song...new attitude...new outlook. I am thankful for my fresh start today...and tomorrow...and the next day.

Sorry for such a rambling post...I don't know if any of that makes sense to anyone but me...but I had to get it out so I could stop thinking about it during the wee hours of the morning when I should be getting back to sleep. :)

xoxo

finally...

Finally a warm spring like weekend with NO rain!! :) It was beautiful and productive...even if the boys both went crazy on Saturday. :) Just wanted to say thank you to all of the wonderful feedback from the last post. I really REALLY want this blog to be encouraging to all who come here...and I hope that it helps you get to know me better, too. :)

So like I said...Beautiful, warm, dry weather! :) Lots of bare toes at our house...Moses has his first pair of flip flops (or slippy shoes as he calls them). It's been cute to watch him learn to walk in them...and to occasionally look down at his feet to see the shoe wedged between the wrong two toes. :)

I just threw this in because I think he's so handsome. :)

We had a visit from my Uncle B this weekend...Moses ADORES Uncle B visits...so much so that I can't tell him that he is coming until like two minutes before he is about to pull in the driveway or I have to hear Untol B? Untol B? Untol B? Untol B? Untol B? Untol B? Untol B? Untol B? You get the picture right? So Uncle B comes to see us once or twice a month...and by come to see us I mean come to see Moses. :) Moses loves it because when he is here Moses has his undivided attention...he never brings mounds of toys or gifts...he brings his time and spends it all on Moses. :) I love the Moses never expects anything of him but to play cars or trains or to play in a box for hours at a time. Gotta love when someone loves your kids like that right?

Uncle B does help us out with a lot of projects around the house though, while Moses is napping of course. This weekend he taught Doug how to change his brake pads...YAY honey!! :) Then he stained our back fence for us. :)

I LOVE how it turned out...we have had to work a LOT on this fence since moving in here...now I am itching to make a trip to Lowe's to pretty it all up with some plants and bushes. :)

Then on Sunday we got to break out the new double stroller...quite a work out on our hilly trails...but the weather was amazing and we all enjoyed getting out. :) UNTIL I got home and realized that I had locked us out of the house...oops. Luckily Doug only works fifteen minutes from home and was able to come rescue us and Moses didn't seem to mind staying outside to play. :)

And the winner of the FREE silhouette is the blogger from http://faithfamilyhomefriends.blogspot.com/
She didn't leave her name but her blog is darling. :)
So mystery blogger...just contact me via Etsy to get started. :)

As for the rest of you...if you entered you can still get a silhouette...I genuinely felt bad that I couldn't do one for everyone...if you order between now and next Monday I will give you $5 off of each one you purchase! :) Just be sure you write "giveaway participant" in the notes to seller when you check out...or contact me via Etsy.

Happy Monday to you!
xoxo

inside.

Something I have been thinking about a lot lately...the mom game. The game that I am sure that every single mom, and woman for that matter, plays with the world. It goes something like this...often I find myself thinking that I must be the worst mother in the world. That no other mother would do things as badly as I do. I find myself comparing every element of myself to my friends and other women around me. EVERY element. Thinking surely every woman I know is a better mother, friend, wife, sister, daughter-in-law, etc. I find myself thinking that I am less able, less creative, less stylish, less attractive, less everything. That every mother I know has it more together than I do. That no one else's two year old is making them crazy. That no one else wants to lock themselves in the bathroom, just for a moment of silence. That no one else wonders why God even thought that they could handle raising children. I often get lost in what I think is an individual experience of motherhood. Trying my best to learn my new babies pattern of life...only to have him poop himself awake once I FINALLY get him to sleep. Wanting my toddler to be quiet just for ONE minute so I can have a clear thought. Wanting to be able to concentrate during a conversation...just once...if even for a moment. Wanting SO desperately to parent in such a way that I nurture the darling and wonderful people my kids are and NOT parent in a way that forms their characters in any other way than what God wants for them. And failing a lot.

Then there was a moment at MOPS. A beautiful clear moment where we were ALL talking about having the same experience. Comparing stories that were wonderfully similar. A bit of relief settled over the table...at least over me...conveying that we are ALL in this together...that there is no such thing as a unique mothering experience...that every mother has moments of insanity...that we all wonder what if...or miss our former bodies...or want a moment of peace and quiet. For me this was a great reminder of why I love transparency. Of why I love and strive to be an authentic person...because when you are others can relate. No one can relate to supermom...which I think is someone we all want to be...or at least convey that we are. I am not. Nor do I want to be.

So this is me. Throwing down my cape and saying that I am not supermom. I do not have it all together. I let the TV babysit my son sometimes. I enjoy being alone sometimes. We have cereal for dinner sometimes. I lock myself in the bathroom sometimes. I am not always pleasant. I don't always parent the way that I should or the way that God wants me to. I make mistakes every hour. Every minute some days. Some nights I just want to sleep through the baby crying...I don't but I want to at times. I stay in the shower until the hot water runs out just for a few moments of quiet and alone. There were moments when my newborn was just home that I wondered what in the world I had done to my family. I don't always enjoy playing with my toddler. It's true. This is real mom stuff. And I know that if you are a mom that you have felt this way too. So I am just laying it out there in case you need a "we are all in this together" moment.

The best part is that I know that God knows all of this. Knew it all would happen and how I would handle each and every moment...yet still gave me two beautiful and wonderful boys. He thought high enough of me to give them to me. And that is amazing and humbling all at once. He knows how much and how deeply I love all three of my boys...and knows how much I want to give my best and do my best in each role of my life. I know that He forgives my mistakes and that if He does then I need to forgive myself as well. And so do you.

Happy Saturday!

xoxo

a BIG uh-oh...

uhhhh....not expecting this...
didn't even think it was possible yet.
I knew I was feeling off but...

let's just say that we are still in shock this AM.
stunned.
and a little horrified to be honest.

April Fools!!!
hehehehe (insert evil genius laugh here).

:) xo

bummer.

despite my best efforts...baby has his first cold.
not a terrible one.
just enough to be troublesome.
send reinforcements.
you know, coffee and chocolate.
cause this mama isn't sleeping much.
xoxo

to start your week...

Happy Monday!
xoxo

weekend things...

One of my new goals in life is to make my husbands days off special...especially the Saturdays that he has off...I ADORE having my husband home and I want to show him that through little special things that I plan or do for his days off...knowing Doug and knowing myself they will mostly be centered around food...one of my love languages. :)
This past Saturday I spied these yummy concoctions...and in true to me style I figured out how to make them easier. Yeast and I don't get along too well so I cheated on that part of the recipe and used pre-made biscuits instead. If you are woman enough to conquer yeast then you can use the original recipe found HERE.

Cinnamon Raisin Pull Apart Muffins

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
handful of golden raisins (optional)

Mix all of the above together.

Four pack of biscuits (shown above)
more flour, granulated sugar and cinnamon for dusting

Grease a non-stick muffin pan. I used 18 muffin tins. Cut individual biscuits into fours. Dust with a handful of sugar, bit of flour and lots of cinnamon. Place four biscuit pieces into the bottom of each muffin cup, top with a tablespoon of butter and sugar mixture. Top with four more biscuit pieces then top with more sugar mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 12-18 minutes. The sugars do great things in the oven.

Sure to make your Saturday feel special.

And my huge order of fabric arrived...lots of purses and other fun things to be created here.

This will be one of the first purses to hit the shop...hopefully this week.

I thought this was too cute to pass up...not sure what it will become. :)

I also got these pears in the shop...hope to get more of them made soon. :)

We also started sleep training with Aaron with lots of success. We use a phenomenal book called Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child. It made a HUGE difference in our lives when we started it with Moses at four months. Before we started it he was waking up 10-12 times a night!!! We were ALL losing our minds...within 24 hours of starting this method Moses was only waking up twice a night...then soon only once. :) Anyway, we are starting it from the beginning with Aaron to avoid losing our minds (at least for that reason) this time around. We started on Friday and it has already had a huge impact on Aaron's sleep...much longer naps, much longer sleeping periods during the night and he is waking up later in the morning. :) On top of that a happy baby has become even more pleasant. :) I can't say enough good things about this book. :)

And, I want to hear some ways that you make your husband feel special?
I want to hear your ideas. :)

Happy day to you!
xoxo

chunk...

I have a feeling that Aaron will be my chunky baby...Moses never really was.

I feel like he has filled out so much since birth...

He is resting on super cute pillows...sent to him by the fabulous Meg. :)

And he already finds the camera annoying. :)

Happy Friday to you!!! :)
xo

wait.......what?!?!

How in the world has it already been a month?
So having a child speeds time up, I admit.
But no one warned me that having another would double that effect.

Regardless...my baby turned one month old yesterday...first day of college here we come...

xoxo

reward...

If children are a reward from Him then I am sure I was given a double portion. :)

Moses helped me assemble the crib for Aaron yesterday...

Then he happily helped me demonstrate to Aaron how to lay in it. :)

Cuties!

Hope you are seeing the reward in your day! :)

Blog readers special!!
FREE SHIPPING in the SHOP!
(U.S. orders only)
Today only!
Must put "blog reader" in the notes to seller. :)
(check out as normal and I will refund shipping)
xoxo

photobooth documentary...

One reason I love our MAC is photobooth...I was just looking at the photos in the program and found a mini documentary of our lives since we got it two Octobers ago...enjoy!