Sunday Morning

It's Sunday morning again, the beginning of a new week. Husband got home from work and slept all night in the chair (had I known I would have made him get up - his excuse: I fell asleep there). Still, I'm glad he got some sleep. The boys are fed, clean, and dressed for church. I'm getting there.

I'm fairly excited for this week. School starts (not that my children go to school) and that means S is coming back to our house. She's grown so much (eating solids, crawling, standing, cruising, etc.) and I know the boys will have fun with a new playmate in the house.

I'm hoping to get a Home Organization binder set up this week (mostly today) and try and do better with keeping up on household chores, dinner, time for me, etc. I have several crafts I want to finish, but I haven't been managing time well. I also plan on starting to do some homeschool preschool for H starting next week, so I've got to get all those schedule issues worked out this week too. Throw in lunch with two good friends on Wednesday and it is going to be a FULL week. Time to get started.

My First-born is 4!

I don't know where the time has gone, but my "little" H is now 4-yrs-old. We had his party on Saturday, and since then I've been telling him he's 4. He keeps telling me he wants to be 3.

It is so hard to believe that he isn't that little 7lb 4oz baby I had in the hospital. He's a 30lb little boy. He runs, jumps, and climbs. He's super active. He loves his brothers and he loves to wrestle/boss his brothers. He can be a huge helper in every  way possible. He talks constantly it seems (unless the t.v. is on). He makes connections like crazy, and he never forgets (an elephant was the perfect animal to pick for his nursery). He makes my life busy, crazy, hectic, and wonderful. I cannot imagine life without him, and I wouldn't want to!

My favorite picture from the hospital 

3 months old

6 months old

10 months old

1 yr.

2 yrs.

3 yrs.

4 yrs. 

H's Birthday Party

Today we had H's birthday party (he'll be 4 on Monday). We had a few friends and family over. I'm happy with how it went/turned out. The kids did well. H did well. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

I "made" some shirts for the kids to have as favors. I found shirts at the dollar store and then use freezer paper stenciling to paint a train on them. Those seemed to be a big hit, and some of the children even changed and wore them at the party. I was glad the shirts all seemed to fit and everyone liked them.

A couple smaller shirts 

The big kid shirts

After being washed

H's

The next project was the birthday banner. I decided I wanted to do one (no idea why, thought it would be cute). I used the same train outline (from here) and printed it on colored cardstock. I love how it turned out. H liked it...and then he didn't care. :)

Last was the cake. H saw this cake on pinterest a few months ago and said he wanted it.

Click on picture to be taken to maker

Not too difficult, right? Yeah. Here's mine. Nothing like the original, but it was good enough for H which is all that matters...that and it tasted way better than it looked.

Anyway, the party was fun, the kids (and adults) enjoyed themselves, and we all took long naps when everyone left.

It was all I could do to get him to wait until everyone arrived to open presents.

Z

Outside fun

Unity Stamp Co.: Circles Challenge

I decided to participate in this month's Unity Challenge. The challenge was to use circles. I recently saw a sketch over at Studio Calico's blog and decided I wanted to give this a try with that sketch in mind. Here's what I came up with. I am loving the combination of these colors (though the teal and pink make it hard to photograph). I stamped the circles in pink, blue, and Versamark Dazzle Frost ink. Some of the teal circles are blank. I used stamps from the Le Chic, Lovely Bits & Baubles, and Sentiments O'Simple.

 

One of the circles is not overlapped like the rest because I liked the stamp's saying.

Stamps I used  (two upper left kits unknown)

A Different Type of Crafty

Most of my paper crafts are clean and simple - lines, symmetry, etc. A lot of the time I find myself looking for ways to add to the page because I put so little on and I want more dimension or texture. I still had some of those problems with this next project, but it's not my normal thing. I found a great e-card. As soon as I read the words, I knew I had a teacher friend who needed this card. I printed out the picture and was planning on a very simple card (picture glued to card front...done). That isn't what happened. I ended up using a larger print-out than originally planned. Then, for whatever reason, I matted it on a bright teal/blue paper. Then, I added hot pink paint. The list of thens goes on and on. I think I like the end result. I cannot explain everything on the card; I just did, I tried not to over think it or have a reason. Hopefully, if I can convince myself to still give her the card, she will like it. The plan (if I stick to it) is to write a little note about the beginning of school and give it to her in 3 weeks. No promises on that one, it might just become a just because card.

Click for a larger picture

Thanks for stopping by and looking.

***I feel the need to say that I've read all the books and seen the movies. If you don't like them, I can understand why and if you do, I get that too.

Blessings

It is safe to say today did not go as planned. We were supposed to go to the San Diego Safari Park with some friends this morning. Billy Blazes from Rescue Heroes was going to be there and H was excited to get to meet him. We didn't make it. On the way there we got into a car accident. It was raining, a dog bolted into the road, and things didn't work like they should have. Still, despite the unfortunate events, we are all okay. My boys and I are fine. There appeared to be minimal damage to the other car and the other people involved seemed ok. Husband was home to come and help, and our friends were able to help too. We got the carseats loaded up, the kids loaded up, the car towed, the insurance called, and we went home. We still had a good lunch. Our friends took H for the afternoon. The twins and I napped. Now, the boys and I are done with dinner and watching The Lion King. We are EXTREMELY blessed. I am thankful that, while today didn't go as planned, we are all healthy and alive. I am thankful that something as terrible as a car accident resulted in no injuries (including the dog). We have lots to do and figure out. We will have to buy a new car or pay to fix the current one, but none of that is important. I am blessed and I am glad to be home with my boys!

New Recipes

I've been trying out some new recipes lately. I found a recipe for Cilantro-Lime Chicken and some rice to go with it and I made that for dinner last night. Then I found a recipe for Vegetable Tian and I can't wait to make it. Next, I found a recipe for Cherry Vanilla Muffins, and I just finished making those.

All this fun cooking and I am so excited for how yummy it is and how we are trying to eat healthier. I haven't tasted the chicken yet, but everyone who did said it was yummy. So, here are the links if you want to try:

Cilantro-Lime Chicken (I baked mine instead of pan-frying it)
Fiesta Lime Rice (I didn't have any precooked rice, so I used this recipe and made it with brown rice, I didn't add the salt or the extra lime in the Fiesta Lime Rice recipe)
Vegetable Tian (still haven't made this, but have everything ready to do so tonight or tomorrow)
Cherry Vanilla Muffins (I used fat free greek yogurt, applesauce instead of oil, and no lemon or granola).

Here are a few pictures of my muffins.

The cherries (this batch had 21 pairs of twins). 

They are super yummy and very light in flavor

Edited to add a warning - these muffins can be addicting. Be warned that if you make mini-muffins they will disappear quickly!