{pretty, happy, funny, real}
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
The weekend before last the three oldest went hiking with their Dad! It was the first time that Twinkle Toes had hiked this particular peak and she enjoyed it so very much.
Late that night I discovered this beautiful vase of flowers on my dresser which she had picked!
She is always so sweet and thoughtful…
{happy}
During the girls sewing class last week I took the rest of the children bowling! The boys had won four free games during golf camp this year and the nice gentleman behind the counter let Rose bowl for free as well!
Trying to imitate her older brother, as usual, she was hilarious to watch and actually ended up with the highest score of all!
Oh! And guess who tried eating lettuce for the very first time on Wednesday night?!?! This picky picky eater of ours (who literally starved himself as an infant rather than eat foods he didn’t like) noticed that his little sister was enjoying her salad and decided to give it a try. He was pleasantly surprise that it “tastes like nothing!” The texture was still a challenge for him, but with the promise of a scoop of ice cream for dessert he finished a whole leaf of green lettuce.
Hip, hip hooray!
{funny}
Early last week (after splurging on a new bunk bed for the girls using “Bill Me Later”) I decided to have a Yard Sale! We live a ways from town on a dead end road and I wasn’t sure if it would be much of a success, but I figured it was worth a shot… As I was working on decluttering our home, our older children were busy with their own preparations!
{real}
I tend to make a huge mess when I “organize.” This is what my living room/entry looked like early last week as I started piling up everything to sell.
The kids started to get a little nervous, especially when I decided that I wanted to sell the entertainment center and TV too! (I purchased the entertainment center for my apartment when I was single. The television was from a neighbor and the only one we have ever purchased.) We don’t have any television reception where we live, and have never had cable, but we do have a Wii and a DVD/VHS player. I was just getting so tired of answering the constant “can we watch…” questions!
I decided to have a two day sale and set up everything out front on Thursday. Sean had to work both Friday and Saturday but was able to put up (and take down) the signs all along our road on his way to and from work.
The boys helped me put little price tags on everything and we made a large “FREE” pile as well. (It seemed that everyone who found something in the Free pile would then try to also find something to purchase as well!) We had the same about of traffic (45 cars according to our tally marks) each day but Friday was the most successful with $305.50 in sales! Saturday I sold another $209.25. Then on Sunday a woman from Mass gave me $100 for the remaining entertainment center, TV, Bookshelf with glass doors, track light, and blue recliner, for an over all total of $614.75!!! The children also made $15.50 in sales from some of their own toys plus another $46.00 in baked goods and water!
Overall I’d say it was a huge success and definitely worth the work! Between the yard sale and what I already have saved in my Paypal account I have almost enough to pay for the bunk bed!!! I still have a basket of skirts (though I did pull them out for a couple ladies to look through) to list on ebay and am also planning to host another Online Curriculum Sale Blog Hop here August 1-7th for all who are interested.
It will probably be replaced at some point, but so far we haven’t missed the TV and the new question I keep hearing is “Can we listen to…” which I don’t mind at all! The boys have already finished the first four books of The Ranger’s Apprentice series and the girls are currently listening to Anne of Green Gables!
Headtime Story :: Kids’ Sewing 101
Today our oldest two girls had their very first sewing class! Twinkle Toes has been wanting to learn to sew for awhile now. I had actually signed them up to take this “Headtime Story” class at JoAnn’s back in June (inspired by Charlotte’s girls), but had to reschedule it when we decided to go to Catholic Family Camp since it fell on the same weekend. The class normally costs $35 for each child, but Joann’s often runs specials on their classes and I was able to sign them up during a 50% off sale so both the girls were able to take class for the price of one. They also had to bring their own fabric, pins, scissors, etc, but our local store also provided us with some 40% off coupons which we could use in addition to the regular weekly coupons which really helped make it a little more affordable for us. We had so much fun searching for fabric and the patterns the girls decided on are just dreamy, don’t you think?!
Chiquita fell in love with this Matryoshka Fabric the minute she first saw it last month, the day we signed up for the classes. We found some soft pink polka dot fabric to coordinate and she was set.
Finding fabric for Twinkle Toes was a little more challenging. At first she was drawn to a variety of fabrics (Hello Kitty, kitty cats, owls, flowers, and more) but wasn’t able to make a decision. (The poor girl gets her inability to make quick decisions and procrastination tendencies from me…) Anyways, we arrived at the store early today to continue our search and were so happy to find this lovely owl fabric with pretty pink flowers. Perfect!
Peggy was an excellent instructor and the girls learned so much during the three hour class!
I completely forgot to tell the instructor, or Chiquita, that the reason I purchased extra fabric was so that the matryoshka dolls could be vertical on the finished pillowcase instead of horizontal… Oh well. Chiquita doesn’t seem to mind and said “the dolls are sleeping on their sides, just like I sleep!” 🙂
I was so impressed with how great the pillowcases turned out and the girls couldn’t wait to try them out just as soon as we arrived home. I am looking forward to signing them up for another class soon! In fact, JoAnn’s is having a “Buy 1 Class, Get 1 Free!” sale July 19-21. I’m jotting it down on my calendar now!
Celebrating the 4th of July
Here are Seven Quick Takes from our 4th of July Celebration!
For additional quick takes visit Conversion Diary.
.: American Flag Cupcakes :.
We have been reading about Our Flag this week, from the sweet Little Golden Book, and the girls were very excited to help create this year’s Flag Cupcakes. Since we were using all the berries on the cake and brownies the girls decorated the cupcakes with white frosting with white and red sprinkles and blue frosting with white stars! I thought it turned out great, even if we were short on stars… Just think of it as the Flag of 1822! 😉
.: Red, White & Blue Berry Brownie Torte :.
This was inspired by Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Brownie ‘n Berries Dessert Pizza. I baked a batch of Fudge Brownies in my Pampered Chef Torte Pans. After they had cooled I combined 1-8 oz package of cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla to divide and spread over the top of both tortes, topping it with blueberries and chopped strawberries. Yummmmm!!!
.: Flag Fruit & Marshmallow Kabobs :.
We have made a variation of these Red, White and Blueberry Skewers back in 2009 but this year we made the Flag themed Berry Kabobs from Family Circle.
Directions: Thread 4 blueberries, 2 mini-marshmallows and 2 raspberries on each of five 10-inch wooden sticks. On the remaining seven sticks, thread 4 raspberries and 3 marshmallows to create this all-American treat.
.: Star Spangled Berry Cake :.
.: All Ready to Go :.
.: At the Party :.
Don’t you just love those red boots?! I was able to combine an extra coupon with a great sale at Gymboree and get boots for a couple of the girls for less than $10 a pair! Unfortunately they were already sold out in Chiquita’s size, but I was able to find her a festive 4th of July skirt instead.
I think Bud was having fun reenacting the Flag Raising at Iwo Jima which we had read about earlier! 😉
And Snuggles t-shirt? I had been looking for a Texas Flag Tee for Bud (which had already sold out) when I ran across this “Awesome Sauce” t-shirt. The day before we had been at my brother’s house and my SIL asked this picky eater of ours if he wanted a hot dog. He said “Only if it is a good one!” (The little stinker!) She went on to ask him what a “good” hot dog is and he said “one with ketchup!” The t-shirt was perfect for him and he is wearing it again today… I’m going to have to sneak it out of his room tonight to wash!
.: Fireworks :.
The fireworks were beautiful! Bud especially loved them this year and was so cute as he tried to blow them out!
Happy Independence Day!
Star Spangled Berry Cake
A couple days ago I still wasn’t sure what I was going to take to the annual 4th of July party we attend each year. The sweet hostess, who had just arrived home after spending the school year on the opposite side of the country, asked me to just bring “one of your FABULOUS dessert items.” I somehow missed reading the “one,” looked back at what we brought last year, and had a panic attack. Yes, my archives stress me out sometimes and I occasionally think “How does she do it?” I can’t compete with THAT!!! 😉
Thankfully my husband was able to pick up some berries at Costco on his way home from choir practice Wednesday night and after a quick google image search I had a plan. The girls and I ended up only having enough time Thursday afternoon to make four (of the six) items I had chosen, but it ended up being a smaller party this year and was plenty. This “Star Spangled Berry Cake” (inspired by this picture) was my favorite! It was so easy to decorate and turned out beautifully!
Ingredients:
- 2 – 9″ Round Cakes (I used a Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix)
- White Frosting (I used Betty Crocker Fluffy White)
- Sliced Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Optional: Large Star Cookie Cutter (I used the 6 1/2″ Star Cookie Cutter from this set)
Directions:
Bake and cool cakes according to directions. Trim the tops off of each cake. Place one cake bottom side down on cake platter. Spread 1/2 cup frosting over cake and layer with strawberries. Place second cake, top side down, on top of the strawberries. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the whole cake. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes to seal in any crumbs. Spread the remaining frosting over the cake. Using a large star shape cookie cutter as a guide, arrange blueberries on the top of the cake in the shape of a star. Fill in the rest of the top of the cake with raspberries. Place blueberries in around the base of the cake.
I took this last picture to post to Instagram/Facebook while I was balancing the cake on my lap during the 45 minute drive to the party, but thankfully it arrived safely and was definitely a hit. I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! I’ll be back with a few more pictures from our celebration soon!
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
{pretty}
Yesterday we spent the day at my parents home and Rose enjoyed picking flowers with Grandma.
{happy}
Sean had to work last Saturday, but the kids and I spent the morning with my two youngest brothers watching our hometown parade and then the afternoon swimming at my brother Brian’s house!
The kids loved watching the parade, and they were all very happy when the employees from the local building supply store handed out full size candy bars to each of them!
7 kids + sitting where the parade begins = enough candy to fill a piñata!
{funny}
Bud was so cute playing peek-a-boo with himself at the doctor’s office on Sunday,
as we waited for the doctor to remove his stitches!
{real}
Bud’s injury wasn’t to be the last of the “excitement” for the month of June… On Friday this poor little baby deer was stumbling around our yard… We gave him water and called both the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and the Department of Fish & Wildlife and basically neither of them do anything to help save injured deer. I was told that if they came to pick him up “he would just be Euthanized and his best chance for survival is to hope that the mother isn’t dead already (from trying to save her baby from whatever attacked him) and that she will try and find him during the night once it is safer and has cooled down. Otherwise this baby will just become food for some other animal (i.e. cougar).” Ugh! It was really hard to tell the children that we had to just let him go…
Right after that I was sitting on the porch and Rose was playing with Snuggles on the swings when she did a face dive resulting in yet another mouth injury. She had torn the frenulum on the top and had put a few of her bottom teeth nearly all the way through her bottom lip. Thankfully, she didn’t have any loose or broken teeth, since it was on the inside of her mouth she didn’t need stitched, it has healed amazingly fast, and we haven’t had any injuries yet this week!
Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.
Happy 4th of July!
A Virtual Baby Shower for Sarah and her TWINS!
You are invited to another Virtual Baby Shower! I’ve hosted one here before and was so happy to see that Mary is hosting a shower for Sarah at Amongst Lovely Things and her TWIN boys!
Click on over to Better than Eden to join the fun and get a chance to win some great prizes (including one of Charlotte’s awesome quilties or one of Barbara’s beautiful handmade scapulars or tenners!) after signing up to offer prayers for Sarah and her family, donating to a diaper fund, or just by helping spread the word!
The 2014 Saints Calendar & 16-Month Planner
The Saints Calendar and Planner from Tan has always been one of my favorite planning tools for Celebrating the Liturgical Year. This calendar sold out quickly last year and many of you were not able to purchase a copy.
The new 2014 Saints Calendar & 16-Month Planner begins September 1st of this year, so be sure to pre-order a copy soon!
The ever-popular 2014 Saints Calendar and Daily Planner is a 16 month calendar ready to use in September. Our spiral-bound design allows plenty of space for daily appointments in a lay-flat format.
This Calendar has become a favorite for home or office with professionals, students, and busy homeschool families.
TAN calendars contain special feasts and fascinating Catholic traditions. They are marked with days of Fasting, special Saints Days, and the Sundays of the Liturgical Year for both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Calendar.
You can see sample pages from my 2013 Saints Calendar here.
The beautiful wall calendars published by Tan for 2014 will include: The Life of Our Lord, Mary and the Saints and The Angels.
The planner and calendars are available to pre-order from Amazon or directly from Tan.
I hope you all have a blessed Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul!
Tidepooling
Another Trip to the Ocean
After Mass on Sunday our family went on another road trip to the coast to meet up (once again) with our dear friends who moved to the midwest a couple years ago! It has been a rainy couple weeks, and it was chilly and misty when we arrived at the beach. All the kids were so excited to be back at the ocean and I was very thankful to breathe the salty sea air as I continue to fight this summer cold. 😉
After unpacking the car and saying hello to all our friends, Sean and the boys started a campfire on the beach with some of the wood they had squeezed into the back of our overcrowded minivan. It was raining but we were determined to roast hot dogs and marshmallows!
One of our little guys forgot his jacket at home and looked so funny in his “homemade” rain jacket recycled by his daddy from a case of water bottles! At least it helped keep him dry.
{pretty, happy, funny, real}
~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~
… with a few Instagram photos from the past week…
{pretty}
My beautiful new rose covered chapel veil from Michele isn’t just pretty, it is gorgeous!! I absolutely love it and am so glad I happened to see it when she announced that she had a few for sale. She doesn’t have any more of the lace to make and sell more, but she will be posting a tutorial sometime soon!
{happy}
Very happy to be back at the ocean and to be meeting up with some of our BFF’s at any minute!!!
We were also happy to discover that we happened to wake up Monday morning to the lowest tide of the year. There was so much awesomeness to explore and discover!
{funny}
Instagram Photo taken on the way to the beach…
Instagram photo taken the following afternoon on the way home from the beach!
{real}
Bud wasn’t sure what to think of the operating room as we waited for his doctor…
He ended up with “just” three stitches since the cosmetic benefits of five were not worth the extra trauma for our scared and mad mad mad little man. He did not like getting those stitches!
 |
| Colds & Flu and Overtired & Cranky – I was mixing them all last Saturday night… |
As for me? June has been crazy… Car repairs, Conferences, Camping, Golf Camp, a Birthday, Summer Colds, a Trip to the Coast, and then Dentist appointments (sealants and fillings) for three of us (including me) on Tuesday followed by a trip to the Pediatricians for stitches just as overnight company was about to arrive for dinner.
I think I am ready for a break!
I think I am ready for a break!
Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.
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