I've Just Gotta Let Go

Why is it so hard to let go of that basket of mismatched socks?  I think the matching sock just may be in the NEXT load of laundry or maybe just maybe someone wore the match with another sock. In reality these mismatched socks probably lost it's match many washers and/or houses ago. Well I'm letting go. I did one FINAL match-up of the socks and if you didn't have a mate sorry for you. You're outta here my sock friend! It was hard because in the back of my mind I kept thinking what if I come across the dear matching sock ansd I've just thrown it away. Oh well, I feel much better knowing that basket full of socks can no longer haunt me. Now when I look into my laundry area there is NO LONGER a basket full of socks looking back at me saying sort me if you dare :-)

This and That

I've got a case of self-induced busies. I LOVE the late spring and early summer weather that we have here in Colorado. I wake up and just HAVE to go out into it. The kids and I have seen so many different parks lately. One of the parks we went to earlier this week, we're going to again today because it was just so neat. The park had see-saws, swings, a rock climbing wall, trails, a creek, e.t.c...

This next Tuesday, June 1, we'll be celebrating my 30th birthday. I am SOOOOO excited!!! My mother-in-law is putting together a party for me. While she's busy planning my party, I'm busy planning my little Ariana's 3rd birthday party. Now that's really exciting! Her birthday is coming up here on the 7th. We're gonna get the family together and have a barbecue out at the reservoir. She just loves the water. I can't believe that she's already 3! It seems like I just had her. Thank God for my babies and each year I get to celebrate another birthday with them!

Well, I better get off of here, We've got a playdate today

Are you trying to please God or man?

I

In the Army... Crawl?

Ok I've been trying to keep my puppy occupied with all sorts of different activities. So I'm doing everything including making homemade toys,(considering She's very smart  and regular dog toys do nothing to stimulate Her.)Well as most of ya'll know I am receiving Dog Fancy (a dog mag)and although they have Great tips Annie (my pup would not be amused)So I have come across this tip on teaching pups to crawl soooooooo You know me we had some time and OMG!!! It worked. It was soooo cute. You know here's a vision for you all Imagine... Imagine my Big German Shepard,Husky Mix of a dog and me, I'm barley pushing 114 lbs crawling around on the floor (but it was cute) So here's how I did it. First have your dog lie down. Hold a treat on the floor in front of her and wiggle it.Then pull it a few inches away luring her to reach for it. (Don't move the treat too fast or she'll stand up) Repeat ,gradually pulling the treat further and further away.After your dog learns to crawl,switch to holding the treat and wiggling your finger in a beckoning gesture. After awhile your dog will come for just the finger gesture and verbal cue "crawl". So have fun more tricks are to come!

Kari's Lion Diorama

Bakari had to make a lion diorama for school. He had so much fun! It was a great way to learn lots of information on lions.

REUNITED

Our sweet doggie, Lola, is home after living with my brother-in-law for about a year.  The story of our boxer is amazing.  My hubby bought her shortly after I had Ariana.  We had a huge house with a huge yard, so plenty of space for our new beloved puppy.   We had her for only a short time when she contracted Parvo.  We sent her to hospitals and vets for a time (seemed like forever) and she was  finally recovering.  My motherly instinct was really kicked in and it was like I had two babies to care for.  Well after some time, we had found ourselves in financial turmoil and had to move to a much smaller space.  Way too small for a boxer.  Also, Lola was recovering but had started using the bathroom in the house.  She was still pretty weak.  All of a sudden I started to feel overwhelmed.  I was homeschooling both of the boys, Ariana was crawling all around, the dog was using my carpet as her restroom, and our space was very small.  So, my brother-in-law said he'd help us out and take Lola and care for her. I agreed.  We all missed her so much but knew she was in a great home, with lots of kids (6 in all), and she was loved.  Well, we've been through a lot and are now getting back on our feet (by the grace of God) and it just so happened that he now needed us to take Lola back. We were more than excited! It's like she never left, except now we don't get puppy surprises on our carpet. We love her so much and look forward to her spending the rest of her days with us.

Hubby Helpfulness (Part 2)

To go along with the post my sis wrote titled:Hubby Helpfulness, I thought wow no wonder she can help me so well.I was having difficulties understanding my husband on cleaning issues. I mean I stay home all day and clean,so the last thing I want or need to hear is him telling me to clean something else (you know.)Every time my husband gets home He acknowledges what I've done but then tells me what I should do or could have done , it was really bothering me. So of course I went to what I call my relative counselor (My Big Sis.)She let me know that if he ask for some little thing (even if it was bothersome to me)to just suck it up and do it....well that's what I heard but she actually said,"That everything you do, you do it for the Lord, so when Hubby ask me to do something just pretend that I am doing it Specifically for the Lord. That analogy really helped me to not be so irritated. Also it helped me to understand that He wasn't criticizing me ,if anything He was paying attention and knew that I could get more done.So Ladies (or Men) hopefully if your in the same position that I WAS in, This post help you in some sort of way.

Enjoy!

HUBBY HELPFULNESS

 I was running out of menu ideas. I know you would think that out of my monthly menus I'd have something to go with.  I was looking and looking online for some fresh, healthy, and frugal meals.  I was kind of hesitant at first, but I looked over at my dear hubby, Beau, and said, " Honey, would you mind writing out a list of your favorite dinners?"   I was hesitant because Beau has a MAJOR sweet tooth, can hardly imagine any meal without meat, and is addicted to Digiorno frozen pizza.  Who can resist that stuffed crust?  Well he was right on that.  I read the list he'd written out and I immediately felt the challenge- How would I turn his processed, sugar-laden menu into a healthy one but still making the meals on his list . Now, I love a good food challenge so I got right on top of that.  He's complimented me quite a bit on the dinners and we both got what we wanted. Now why didn't I ask him sooner?  He had ended up wring out enough dinners for two whole weeks. You go babe!

FUN AT THE NATURE CENTER

Saturday I took the kids over to the nature center.  They were teaching a class on Honeybees.  The nature center in our are offers tons of free classes.  We learned a lot and had lots of fun.  The gal leading the class first talked to us and showed us some posters, we then watched a video on Honeybees, and then we explored the fun stations they had.  We were able to touch a snake.  There was a turtle.  We played dress-up.  We colored. It was just LOTS of fun and very informative . The picture above is showing the life stages of a bee.  Afterwards, we went over to McDonalds and I let them each pick something off the dollar menu and play in the playplace.  It was our lucky day because they were handing out free Frappaccinos.

NOW THAT'S GOOD

 JULIE over at MIRROR OF GRACE had posted a yummy recipe for spinach, sausage, and cheese stuffed shells. It was one of those recipes you know is gonna be good just by reading it. The recipe sounded so good I could taste it already. Well, I decided to make it for my family on Sunday and it was a huge hit! Everyone LOVED it! It tasted even better than I thought it would. My husband went on and on about how good it was. So thank you Julie! You can find the recipe on her blog HERE . If you make it, you will not be disappointed. Another site that I LOVE for yummy, frugal recipes is MRS. A's SITE over at SIMPLY CHRISTIAN HOMEMAKING . She constantly has recipes over there that are good and easy on the budget.

NOW PRESENTING...

And here are the kids and their masks from yesterday. Beau Jr. didn't use a sturdy paper plate and his came out the best. Beau's mask is a hamster. The template was originally a rabbit but since he has a new dwarf hamster he shortened the ears and made a hamster mask.

Ariana's is a butterfly. She's just adorable! The three "littles" were so cute. One was a bull, one a hawk, and then Ariana the butterfly. That was a fun, quick, and easy craft.

INEXPENSIVE CRAFTS

I love doing crafts with my kids and am all about inexpensive ones. A couple of weeks ago we made a bird feeder. you know the kind with the pine cone, peanut butter, and bird seed. That was super cheap and LOTS of messy fun.

Today we are making animal face masks using paper plates. You can go HERE for free templates.

There are LOTS of free crafts roaming the internet just waiting to be had. We also get a lot of our craft supplies and ideas from the dollar store. Yesterday I pulled out this HUGE coloring book we had bought for $1 and  let Ariana paint the pages instead of just using crayons. She had a blast!

WHAT AM I UP TO?

I feel like Mrs. Busy Bee.  Yesterday was so much fun!. Hubby got up and grilled me some food, we had a guest pastor at church and he was awesome, I enjoyed a 1.5 hour nap, and received LOTS of hugs and kisses. My kids gave me some really neat gifts (see above pic.) but the best part of yesterday was how happy my kids were to show their appreciation to me.


I've started babysitting two little boys during the day. It's a blessing to me and their parents too. However, I had almost forgotten how much energy little boys have. I wish I could bottle it up and use it on myself in the afternoons. Well since I'm watching other peoples kids, my house is definitely cleaner. You'd think the opposite, but it's like having company over all the time. 

My oldest son, Beau, went camping with his grandparents and came home with some trout he had caught. I was really busy with those slippery fish. Everyone was dying to eat what Beau had caught so I had to turn to my handy dandy internet to look up how to clean and fillet a fish. I think I did pretty well seeing as how it was super yummy and no one choked on a bone.

I'm still working on my bible study by Kay Arthur, 'Lord I Need Grace To Make It Today'. It's an awesome study on God's grace. Also, I'm doing a bible study with some friends online on the book 'The Excellent Wife' by Martha Peace. I really like that book too. I found it at a thrift store for $2.

Well, that's pretty much what I'm up to and I'm just having a blast!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!!!!

Christian Glitter by www.christianglitter.com

WHERE TO GET THOSE NIFTY COUPONS

I ran across this Youtube video and the gal tells you LOTS of great places you can get coupons for that coupon binder we're all supposed to be working on :-)

HOLDING HIS HEART

 Last night I was thinking about how God has so greatly blessed me with matching me up with the perfect spouse for me. I didn't say the perfect spouse, because none exists, but my husband and I are just right for each other. We're kind of like a puzzle, we just fit together. But what had me dwelling on it last night was the fact that he stayed up with me when he'd normally have been asleep and insisted that I come cuddle on the couch and watch a show with him that he'd been wanting to see. Now, at night is when I get my house straightened because everyone is in bed, including my husband,  but last night I stopped what I was doing because it was all about the cuddle :-) Now that was so special to me ( especially since he has to get up at 2:30 in the morning for work), that he'd want to stay up to spend some time with me. Not only that, he wakes up this morning and kisses my face and whispers, "I love you".  He does that every morning. It puts a big smile on my face and is a great feeling to know that my husband trusts me with his heart. He does LOTS of other things that are so very special to me but sometimes I like to sit there and dwell on it because that's one great feeling.

Hectic Day (4 post in 1)

Ok My sis and I love these double or more post in one. I don't know why maybe it just gives us a sense of accomplishment. Anywho So I had quite a hectic day, there is no real moral  or point to this story at all. I just thought that I had an interesting day and want to share it . So here it goes.....

Morning:
I wake up at 7 am pack lunch, make breakfast and eat (I know blah blah blah) thats just the everyday stuff.So I dropped off hubby at work (one car right now stinks.) I stopped by the post office to pick up a large box ,which they said they would have later in the day. So I went home..... Well then I took the dog for about an hour walk and came back inside the house. (I thought that I would {should}be resting from that walk but.......... Instead I was getting everything together to send a box of goodies to my sis and her fam.I know it sounds simple enough: besides the fact that I had been working on the box for over a week.Not only that but of course it was over flowing,Man I was putting stuff in like a puzzle and then dumping stuff out and trying again...Ding ding ding the bell went off in my head, I can just put everything in the car,go to the post office later and get the bigger box,and send it. Simple enough right??? Oh buddy I felt accomplished for sure. So I left the stuff alone (for the moment)

Afternoon:

I have to get the dog ready to go to the Vet (nothing serious just annuals) So here I go brushing her hair, spraying her down all that good stuff. (oh yeah I make sure she looks good,Shes my baby .)So after that Off We go early Yes I said early. I left an hour early in the hopes that I could go to the post office get a larger box,mail it and be on my way. Hahahahahahaha! Do you think that happened ? Heck No. I got to that dang post office just to find out they had NO larger boxes I had the largest one. No problem I thought "I'm just going to get another box the same size and send 2. Did they have the same size? Of course not ughhhh That's all I could think. So I grabbed the smaller box and off I went. Sitting in the car I realized No tape I had no friggin tape.So hum I'll just pack the box with no tape and take it in there and They can tape it. Yeah another bright idea from the peanut gallery (the bottom of the box kept falling out, if your a little behind like me.) Well enough with this I had to get Annie to the Vet.Arriving at the Vet everything was great except pooch is a bit chunky (oh well what do you expect she's spoiled.)


Evening:
On the way home from the Vet I knew I had to get this box(boxes) shipped out today Or they wouldn't get shipped for another week(or 2). So I whipped into the parking lot of a local grocery store,Jumped out the car and bought some tape. (the cute kind with the little claw on the end) I probably didn't need the claw but it made me feel Powerful and I was grouchy(sharp objects make you feel better when your grouchy, didn't you know that.)So I headed home,dropped off the dog and again headed out to the post office(I felt like I lived there by this time)I sat in the back of the car (Hot car) and pushed,taped,shoved,screamed,crammed. By the time I got out of that car,I looked like I had just gottin out of a brawl with a couple hundred cats. My hair was going in every direction but down ,I was so sweaty you would've swore I wet myself,I had box tape all over me And I think that Dang claw cut me.Whoops getting off the subject ....So Finally the boxes were packed I thought to myself "Yes I'm Done" You think? Of course not I stood in that line for nearly an hour just to arrive at the desk for the guy to tell me "I can't ship this small box it's too full" WHAT THE #!$#@%$@ I was beyond done. I ripped that box open so fast grabbed a pair of shoes out (Sorry Ariana)and re-taped the box. I know the postal worker thought I had gone Well Postal!! After that I don't think He had a choice but to take the box.Yes I was really done and I had about 2 hours to kill before I had to pick up Hubby.

Night:
I got home kicked off my shoes,Sunk into the sofa.....then my phone rung. It was hubby .He got off early and was wondering where I was Shoot! Off I went to pick up hubby. Needless to say That's just the day in the life of a Dedicated Christian Woman Enjoy!!

Wax and Animals?

This was so cool. After hunting all around for a cute picture for one of the prior post I ran across the cutest thing that I felt others might enjoy. So here the story when my Mother and I were in PA, we stopped at a craft fair. They had the cutest stuffed animals that were dipped in scented wax. The lady who had thought of it had a mother who was in a nursing home.Her mother loved candles but as most of you know candles are not allowed in nursing homes(or dorms for that matter.)So the idea is (and it works surprisingly) If you place a blow dryer over the stuffed animals for a few minutes it will scent up the place(without the dangers of a fire)I thought that it was a great Idea and I love my cute little animal( I have a white reindeer) He's cute I named him Ralph lol.The point of the story is cute things like that exist and if your talented you may be able to make your own wax animal
Also Heres some basic instruction if you are talented:
1. Melt wax and add fragrance (about 1.5 oz per lb of wax) stirring well. At this time you can add dye to match darker or colored bears allowing it to blend better with the material. The average wax temperature is 170-200F.

2. After the wax is melted, unplug the cooker so as not to exceed 200F. If the was is too hot, the animal may shrink and become misshapen.

3. Using a pair of tongs, dip and roll the animal in the wax for about 2 minutes or until well saturated.

4. Using the tongs, pull the animal out of the wax and, while wearing thick insulated rubber gloves, squeeze out some of the excess wax. Tip: if you put the animal on a screen over your pot, the wax will drip back into your pot for the next animal. This means less waste and less mess!

5. Immediately use a large tooth wire comb (or fork) to comb or fluff the hair. Longer hair requires more fluffing. This must be done before the wax hardens. (wide-tooth pet combs or picks may come in handy too)

6. Next let cool to the touch, then put on a cooking sheet to finish the process. You can pose them at this point. To completely dry, let stand about 2 hours.

7. Once completely cooled, you can package them in a cellophane or polypropylene bag and tie with a decorative ribbon. We recommend enclosing instructions for care
Enjoy!

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK

My son, Bakari, goes to school and this week is Teacher Appreciation week. Well, I think his school really knows how to show their appreciation to the teachers. Monday and Friday the parents are doing a pot luck for them, Thursday they'll receive a scrapbook that the kids have been working on, and the other days are left for our own ideas. Bakari is going to make his teacher a card. Well, all the parents had to sign up to bring a dish on either Monday or Friday so I chose a dessert to bring in today. I chose a dessert because those are usually less expensive but a great treat. I was thinking of going with good ole sugar cookies but they seemed kind of plain. Nothing too special about sugar cookies. Then after speaking with my sister, SCHII, she gave me the idea of banana pudding. She told me a cheap, quick, and easy way to make it. So I took off making the banana pudding with the pudding, bananas, and Nilla wafers. YUM! I was literally salivating. I made a dish for the school and a dish for here at home (hey I'm a teacher too, gotta give myself a little appreciation :-) So here's the banana pudding (you can find the recipe on the sidebar):

DRESS UP FUN

Having a daughter is a load of fun! I absolutely ADORE my sons, but I can relate a lot more to my daughter. She's home all day with me so she acts so much like me. My poor hubby, there's now two of me :-) Anyway, she loves to play dress up and right now she's going back and forth between being a ballerina and Mickey Mouse. Now you guys know what I'm REALLY doing all day-Playing dress-up.