Da Beach...

I'm not sure where my attraction to the beach comes from. I'm not sure if it's because growing up, i was lucky enough to spend an entire month there every summer or if it's because of the soothing calmness i get when i'm there. Whatever the reason, the beach truly is one of my most favorite places to be.

I don't, however, swim at the beach. You know, because of Jaws. Because i know he's out there.

Just waiting for me. So, i don't swim. But i do love to lay in the sun and do the whole sand castle thing. Because Jaws has never been able to eat a woman who is laying on the beach or making a sand castle.

I love that Emma loves the beach, too. Of course, she does go into the water because she doesn't know about Jaws yet. Instead of acting like a helicopter Mom, i do let her go into the water.

Up to her knees.

Really, no one needs to go any deeper than that. Besides, at that depth, you can find some really great sea shells, which is really one of the best reasons to go to the beach. Jaws has never eaten anyone who has been in the ocean up to their knees looking for shells, either.

Yep, i'm going to be great fun when Emma gets into her teenage years, aren't i?

Because when....

...you're cute, you should have your photo taken many times by your aunt who will follow you around until you let her take as many photos as she wants. :)

Thanksgiving...

...Day was amazingly low key and wonderful. Since my sister's little ones were with their dad, we decided to do something a little different for our meal: a standing rib roast. I was a little concerned that we weren't going to do turkey, but since Claudine's little ones would be with us on Friday and we would be doing the "official Thanksgiving" with one of Claudine's closest friends and his girls, i was hoping it would be okay because i hate to break traditions. Robert did a beautiful job on that standing rib roast; really it was so dang yummy. It was also the first time i've had a standing rib roast, so that was kinda neat, too. Claudine and i kept the entire meal simple, having a green bean and mushroom casserole, asparagus spears and a favorite pumpkin chocolate chip bread as dessert.

I was a bit taken back at how much i loved our simple meal. There was no stress, no huge clean up, no stuffed feelings after our meal. A lesson learned here for me....stress-free and simple really is the way to go on meals for the holiday. While food is important, only a few recipes are needed and instead of staying with our usual recipes, Claudine and i searched for new one. But truly, it was being around family that made the day special.

Oh, yeah, and the fact that we were by the beach was special, too!

I also learned the importance of spending this holiday with others. Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays and it really should be a multi-family gathering. If that can't be arranged, then i really think that it's important to invite others to your home or to organize a get-together with friends and their families. There is nothing better than preparing a meal together, laughing together, saying grace together and enjoying each other's company. It is in those moments that you truly understand how important your family and friends are and how grateful you are to have them with you.

We were lucky to have Aunt Betty with us on this Thanksgiving. She isn't "our" aunt, but Claudine and i have now adopted her. Aunt Betty has been an important part of Claudine's life the past two years and has become Claudine's mentor of sorts spiritually. She gave Claudine a beautiful bible a while back and Claudine is slowly, slowly, with Aunt Betty's help, working her way through it and asking questions.

Out of the shattered pieces of Claudine's former life, good is slowly shining through...

Aunt Betty reminds Claudine and i so much of our Mom. She thinks the same things are funny, has the same hair style and is very intent on taking care of herself. Aunt Betty knew my Mom and my Mom really loved being around Aunt Betty so it was special for Claudine and i to have her with us.

A walk on the beach to look for shells after dinner made the day perfect....and one to be very thankful for.

A Play-Date...

I recently had a "Kid Craft Day" at my home with my table at MOPS and some of the Steering bunch. It was a fun day and i think that all of the kids had a great time as did their Moms. We did ghosts using their feet....i painted small canvases with a muted blue before hand and then we had each child put their feet in white paint and step on the canvas. After the canvas dried, i glued on googly eyes to each of the ghost.

It was really a lot of fun and something neat to keep to remember those cute toes and feet in Halloween times to come.

It was also a big, huge deal for me.

Not the craft, but in having friends over to my home.

Why?

Because i've never done that before.

For reasons that are icky in my past, i've never invited folks to my home.

Never.

Ever.

Yeah, i know. I'm in my 40-ish years. I just didn't want anyone to be in my home at that time. Maybe because i didn't see my 'home' as a "home" at that time.

But, many years later, and since being re-married and becoming a Mommy, i've wanted to have other Mommies over.

I just wasn't sure how to do it. One morning, i figured out that it surely couldn't be that hard to have other Mommies over. I would plan a craft for their children, have a simple lunch of veggie soup and salad for the Mommies and pizza for the kids. And i would invite my table from MOPS.

As so, i did.

I now wish that i had invited Mommy friends over before now. Because your real friends who are Mommies don't care how your house looks. In fact, if they see toys everywhere or laundry that needs to be folded, they will probably feel more at home in your home....because it looks just like their home!

Stunning that it took me so long to figure this out, eh?

But now that i have figured it out, i'm busy thinking about my next little play-date....

Sometimes, it takes a bit of time to come full circle, doesn't it? But maybe that's what makes the journey so worth it in the end.

It's beginning to look...

....like a mess at my house. While, yes, i know that it's much too early to decorate for Christmas, i have started. Mainly because Emma and i will be visiting my sister for a week and that will put me a week behind in dragging out decorating. As much work as it is to decorate, i want to put the stuff up and enjoy it as long as possible. Of course, i'm sure that by the 26th of December, i'll have had enough of the 'festive' season and want to take it all down before the new year.

Emma, of course, is thrilled about decorating. We have huge stuffed Santa's that are being dragged all over the house, angels who are now bed-time friends and the Little People Nativity scene has had elephants, giraffes, snakes, penguins, and tigers added to the manger part. Some, it's hard to imagine them there as i try to tell Emma the Christmas story, but she's happy that they are there, so i'm happy, too.

I've been going through my recipes and hunting for new ones to bake for neighbors. We are finally settling into our neighborhood and have met others. I'm planning on setting aside a weekend morning to bake and deliver baked stuff with Emma. I want her to understand the joy of giving to others very early in her life...and i think that baking and delivering is somewhere to start. Some of my best memories of my Mom are of us baking during the holidays...i don't remember many of the gifts that i've been given, but i do remember baking with my Mama in the kitchen during the holidays. No gift could ever replace that sweet memory...

For the past 5 years, i've tried to convince my sweet husband (who has all of the patience of this marriage, btw) that we should throw away all of the Christmas lights at the end of the season and buy new ones for the next year. Sweet Husband, being the tight wad that he is thrifty, has always objected. And sometimes, quite loudly.

Not this year.

hehee.....

Out off all of the strands of lights, only 2 of them completely light. Even the handy-dandy light tool he bought last year didn't help. And so, our upstairs tree is only half with lights. The downstairs monster of a tree isn't up yet, so i guess we will deal with that later in the week.

But, i do have to say, it is exciting. Mostly because of Emma, and mostly because i love this season. It's the season to remember traditions, start new one, enjoy friends and family and remember the true meaning of the season. It's also so important to teach Emma the 'why' of the season: Why Christ died on the cross for us. I don't know if at the age of three she quite understands any of it, but baby "Wesus" from the Little People is now sleeping with Emma at night.

And that makes my heart smile.

Venting....

...which isn't a grateful-type of thing to do with Thanksgiving right around the corner. And i guess i'm not really venting, i'm complaining. What a surprise, eh? I am suppose to be working on my "Thankful List" but instead i'm complaining. That's very 'thankful' is it?

But....

It's about texting.

And cell phones.

I know, i know, with all in the world that is wrong, this is what i pick this to complain about?

At lunch today, i watched a couple together. I assume that they were married, but who knows. I do know that i saw them hold hands and they had rings on. Any way, at their table, instead of chatting together, they were on their phones. And when they weren't on their phones, they were both texting. They were so wrapped in their stupid phones that they didn't even really pay attention to each other.

I finally had to stop being nosey and stop watching because i wanted to walk over and take both of their phones away from them and tell them to pay attention to each other instead of their phones.

Why do folks text other folks while they are with friends at lunch? Or while they are spending time together? Don't the people that they are with deserve their full attention? I see this all of the time.....parents with their children at the park are texting while their child is playing at the park. Instead of texting, why aren't they having a conversation with their child? Why aren't they on the swings? What is so important that they need to spend the entire time at the park, sitting on a bench, texting while their child is playing alone?

What could be so much more important than paying attention to the person in front of you that you would have to text the entire time that you were "spending time" with another person? Doesn't that person your with deserved all of you?

Good heavens, this is how i know that i am getting older. I expect manners and not rudeness.

Please, when you're with your family or with your friends, shut off your phone, put away your phones and don't text. Pay attention to who-ever you are with. Talk to them. Give the folks in your life your full attention. Talk to them. Make them feel important. The people who are texting and calling can wait a bit. Really.

Treasure your time with your friends and family.

And give them all of you and your attention when you're with them.

I promise that they will be thankful for you if you do...

Apple-Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

Amazingly simple and so pretty...

So yummy.

And so dang simple that even i pulled it off.

Ingredients:

Apple Pie filling, dried cranberries, cinnamon and tube of cinnamon rolls.

Yeah.

That's all you need.

Oh, and an oven set at 400 degrees.

Mix 1 cup of apple pie filling with 1/3 cup of dried cranberries and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Be sure to cut up the apples into smaller chunks. Mix well and set aside. Grab a muffin/cupcake tin, spray with cooking spray and put your cinnamon rolls from the tube into each little hole. Put the icing that comes with the cinnamon rolls aside.

Smile at yourself because you actually FEEL like a baker...

Place tube cinnamon rolls "homemade" cinnamon rolls into oven for 8 minutes. (note: If you use 3 tubes of cinnamon rolls, you can do two batches that gives you 24 rolls and then you can share them. If you are into that 'sharing' stuff...) :)

Feel even MORE like a homemaking baker at this point...

Pull out cinnamon rolls and inhale the amazing smell. Grab a spoon and make a well in each of the cinnamon rolls. If they look a little doughy-like, it's okay, really. Spoon some of the apple/cranberry mixture into each well and place back into the oven for another 4/5 minutes.

Giggle to yourself as you think about telling folks that you made these from 'scratch'.

Pull out of the oven and run a knife around the sides of your rolls.

Not "your" rolls but the cinnamon rolls....hehee...i just kill me some days....


Place on rack to cool.
This is how beautiful they look. And the smell is amazing, too...

Remember the icing that came in the tube with the cinnamon rolls?

Drizzle that on top of your cinnamon rolls.

Haul to your friend's house or to your MOPS group and snicker to yourself as you tell them at first that they are "home-made".

And then, tell them the truth and share the recipe along with your Apple-Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls.

Because real friends, well, they share even Apple-Cranberry Cinnamon rolls and the recipe that goes with it.

Packing up...

 

 

 

 

...the Halloween stuff has been a challenge. As i put the stuff into it's boxes, a certain someone keeps taking the stuff back out and hiding it in her room. I guess that Emma isn't quite ready to move into the next holiday yet.

The Fall leaves have been really beautiful around where we live. We had to have some of our trees in the backyard taken down, so we didn't have as much color in the backyard but hopefully the trees that we will plant in the Spring will make up for that. I hated to have those trees taken down but they were dying. Better to have them taken down now than in the middle of a storm.

We've collected leaves, acorns and of course, rocks. Not sure what we will do with "our" collection of rocks but i better figure something out quickly as our rock collecting is getting a bit out of hand. Maybe Emma and i can paint the bigger ones red and make ladybugs out of them for the butterfly garden otherwise she will keep putting them into the bathtub as a decoration.

As i'm packing the Halloween stuff, i'm decorating Christmas balls with shiny jewel gems colors and bows. The "other" someone in our home is a bit of a tight wad so it's come to doing 'creative' stuff like this, lol. I hate that the Christmas balls are turning out so pretty as i won't have a lame excuse for the husband as to why i need to buy new decorations. It's fun, though, looking through the stuff that we already have and trying to figure out new ideas to change them. It seems that all one needs is tacky glue and some ideas...

I'm pretty sure that Robert will have a heart attack if i drag out the upstairs tree already. He's one of those "decorate after Thanksgiving" kinda folks which so sucks the fun out of it for me. But with Emma, it's hard not to be excited when you see how excited she gets about the tree and just the thought of Christmas lights. She doesn't get the getting gifts things, but she seems to be over-the-top excited about "da Wesus Birday Cake" that we will be making this year on Christmas Eve. I do hope that i will relax and realize that this is Emma's cake to decorate for "Wesus" and not a photo-perfect cake for me to take photos of.

What? Yes, i'm a control freak like that...don't act like you didn't know that before now...

The Butterfly Garden

I'm not sure when the idea of a butterfly garden first came along. I know that over the years, as i've visited garden shops, i've always loved to be near the flowers and plants that the bees and butterflies were at...it was a peaceful spot to be. In any case, Emma loves flowers. And bugs. And bees.

And dirt.

Such a girly girl, isn't she?

When you put all of those things together that she loves, you come up with a butterfly garden! The hardest part of the planning of the butterfly garden wasn't picking out the plants, but remembering that the plants grow bushy so giving them enough space to grow was important. Most bushes/plants/flowers that attract butterflies and bees spread so the last thing i wanted to do in two years time was dig up and move a monster of a butterfly bush because i planted i told Robert to plant them too close together.

We planned the butterfly garden for the side of the house that gets the most sun. All of the plants are sun loving plants and will enjoy the spot that we put them in. We shopped at Bates Nursery, which is one of my most favorite places. The staff there is amazing and knowledgeable and i love that they have Bella, a sweet dog, who roams the gardens. I wanted to put a tree over there, but in the end, we kept it to flowers and bushes. All that is left to add to the spot to make it perfect is a bench for Emma so she won't continue to sit in the dirt.

The spot turned out really well. Here are the list of plants that we planted:

~butterfly bushes
~lantana (this spreads beautifully, btw)
~sedum (Autumn Joy is my favorite sedum)
~daisies (my grandmother's favorite)
~yarrow
~blackeye susan (my great-grandmother's favorite)

I love planting in the fall as it makes Spring seem not so far away!