Days to come, bring them on:)

Pictures from a recent fishing trip our family took...On one of the beautiful summer days that is now behind me....more fun lies ahead though!!

Feeling nostalgic and a little sad on the day before school starts!!  I don't want summer to end! I love having everyone here. It feels like the days are slipping through my fingers sometimes....and then I remember who they all belong to.  The words of this song mean so much to me, especially in light of loss and going through difficult times.  Somehow, though they also make me glad for the days ahead and the road to come. How about you?  Are you anticipating the days to come? Forgetting what is behind and striving toward the goal? Such great words here that I was compelled to write them out and share them:

Through All of it   by Colton Dixon

There are days of taking more than I can give
And there are choices that I made that I wouldn't make again
I've had my share of laughter
Of tears and troubled times
This has been the story of my life

I have won
And I have lost
I got it right sometimes, but sometimes I did not
Life's been a journey
I've seen joy, I've seen regret
Oh, and You have been my God through all of it

You were there when it all came down on me
When I was blinded by my fear and I struggled to believe
But in those unclear moments You were the one keeping me strong
This is how my story's always gone

I have won
And I have lost
I got it right sometimes, but sometimes I did not
Life's been a journey
I've seen joy, I've seen regret
Oh, and You have been my God through all of it
Oh, through all of it

And this is who You are, more constant than the stars
Up in the sky, all these years, all my life
I, I look back and I see You
Right now I still do
And I'm always going to

I have won
And I have lost
I got it right sometimes, but sometimes I did not
Life's been a journey
I've seen joy, I've seen regret
Oh, and You have been my God through all of it
Oh, and You have been my God through all of it
Oh, and You have been my God through all of it

I haven't had a computer since the first of August.  Now I have it back, which is a relief and I am completely thankful for, but really it was a nice break to be totally free of it.  Sometimes I wish I lived in the days of Laura and Mary...free to run on the prairie...with no technology to have to think about fixing or figuring out!! 

13 Year Old Birthday Parties!!

It's a sad thing when themed birthday parties are not cool anymore!  Or maybe it can be seen as a relief too huh?  No more spider man or Lego or dinosaur party themes.  In some ways having a theme makes everything easier because you know just how to decorate, what favors to buy and what to put on the cake! Life has been busy around here, which is why I haven't been able to blog about the recent happenings. We just returned from a once in a lifetime (for us anyhow) Alaskan cruise and I will do a post on our adventures from that soon. There was no wi fi or cell phone coverage which was a nice change.   

But another recent event around here was my oldest son turned 13!!  We have a teenager in the house!!  I think I am ready.  Luckily he is very easy going and ready to tackle new adventures that life brings his way.  When he asked to have a birthday party I was excited because last year he didn't even want one. He had some specifics in mind this year though.  "Nothing on the cake mom, just chocolate", were my instructions.  "Just gift cards to sports or outdoors stores" was the request when I asked what he wanted for a gift.  And a movie at the theater, food, and wii was in his plan for the party, but he also let me add in a scavenger hunt of my own creation. 

When my daughter started to hang streamer the morning of the party, Andrew (birthday boy) asked, "We don't really have to have those, do we?"  I said that we could take them down if he wanted, but being the easy going guy that he is, he said, "That's ok, but just do a few!"

The party was a smashing success and the boys even loved the door to door scavenger hunt!  (picture of the list is below).  We saw Mall cop 2 in the theater, which was a very clean and funny/silly movie...perfect for 13 year old boys.  We ate pizza, salad and buffalo chicken strips (recipe below).  Next of course, the cake and ice cream.  Then, they played wii for 45 minutes or so.  

So I think the moral of my story is that teenagers like it simple and relaxed but still like to do things that push them a bit out of their comfort zone...like a scavenger hunt.  And they like lots of food!!

Here is the paper that I made out for the scavenger hunt.  I divided them up into two teams of 3 and then sent them in different directions.  It was a race to see which team would come back first:

I really love buffalo chicken wings but sometimes it is nice not to have to eat around the bones, especially if you are a teenager and you inhale your food...

Buffalo chicken strips recipe:

10 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into strips
3/4 C. Flour
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 C. melted butter
1/2 C. Franks red hot pepper sauce

1. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray. Mix the flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt in a ziplock bag. Add the chicken strips, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour mixture. Place the strips on the baking sheet, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Combine the melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. Dip the chicken strips into the butter mixture, and place back on the baking sheet. Bake until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, and crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the strips over halfway during cooking so they cook evenly.

Enjoy!!

Making Homemade Play dough

Today is a grey and rainy day and I love it!  The grass is getting super green and for some odd reason, when it is rainy outside I don't feel so much like I have to accomplish as much inside.  No idea what the connection is there, but I am able to give myself more permission to relax.

Little hands of my munchkins need something to do though!!  Or else....for some other odd reasons, little feet have a tendency to want to jump on my couches when it's raining!  So, here is my tried and true play dough recipe given to me by my mother-in-law, who used it with kindergartners when she used to be a kindergarten aid.  My 3 year old and 8 year old have fun playing together with play dough for hours (especially if it's new and smells good).

Here's pretty much all you need: (and I normally just use vegetable oil, but all I had today was the grape seed oil)

And if you want you can add smells or colors:

Play dough 

2 C. Flour
1 C. Salt
4 t. cream of tartar
2 T. oil
2 C. Water
(optional):  Food coloring and flavored extracts
Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Cook on medium, stirring until it is like scrambled eggs. Cool, knead and be sure it is cool before storing in a covered container. Can be played with as soon as it is cool!
Pictures in order of progression, with the help of my littlest buddy....

 Here comes the fun...even if not the sun!

Booster Seat made out of things you have at home!

My 3 year old hasn't used a high chair for a long time and his booster seat with the tray wasn't working anymore because he really didn't need the tiny tray for his food or to be strapped in. So, for awhile I removed the tray and just scooted him up to the table.  Then the straps became a problem because he would strap himself in and then not be able to get out!  You know how it goes!  

I had a little restaurant style booster but I didn't like how it slipped around on the seat:

I came up with this idea based on the ol' phone book booster that I remember having to sometimes use as a kid.

What you will need:

-1 to 3 phone books (depending on how thick/tall you want it to be) approximately the same dimensions.

-a layer of packing material or bubble wrap and packing tape

-decorative duct tape

Put the packing material or bubble wrap on the top to make it softer to sit on:

Wrap the packing tape around to hold it all together:

Then just evenly cover it with the duct tape.  I used a gummy bear pattern: 

The duct tape has sort of a non-slip surface, so it stays on the chair well.

 And he likes it too! Now to give away all the old boosters!  yay

The Lipstick Tube

My new lipstick tube was ruined!  It was the perfect color, which is hard to find! I had owned it less than 24 hours before my 3 year old found it on the kitchen counter (placed there by me on it's way up to my bathroom) and screwed it up into the lid so that the lipstick was all smashed in there.  So sad! It is actually still functional it's just that I only buy new lipstick like once every 3 years and I use it so infrequently, because I am always rushing out the door....that it takes those 3 years to use it all!! Also, I was so excited to have one that was pristine AND one that I wasn't using a Q-tip to reach into the bottom of the tube for because it was my favorite color!

I started thinking about how it is hard to live a life of beauty with small children around....how the pillows that I put on the couch in the morning are on the floor again by 10:00am...the crayola marker on the kitchen floor tile...the finger marks on the windows and walls....the books/CDs etc. that don't stay on a shelf....the sippy cups all over the counter....those horrible slimy grow-toy things in bowls of water in the bathroom (ok, those have got to be my most unfavorite toy invention - if you have no idea what I am talking about that is a good thing.)

Then, of course came the light bulb moment.  Wait a second!!  These messes are all things of beauty!! Would I trade my kids for a perfect, clean house? Not in a million years. I still have to teach them to clean up, but I love how God uses little children to help his own children grow. I certainly had some growing up to do (mentally and spiritually) even after I was all grown up and I think children have been one of God's most useful tools in that process. So thankful that God only cares about our inside beauty (and He helps it to grow) because all I have here is smashed lipstick! At least when I use that one, it reminds me of the beauty of his goodness-turning our messes to joy.

Tooth Fairy Trials

Our tooth fairy had done it again!!  She forgot to take the tooth that was carefully placed under the pillow and replace it with legal tender.  Now, I am not sure if our tooth fairy had been reassigned, or if she was the same one that we had all along, but with each additional child she seemed to have gotten a bit more careless in her scheduling!  I have always assured my toothless children that she does have many houses to frequent each night and that some nights she may just have too long of a list.  In that case, I told them, she would have to hit the remaining houses the following night. 

“Don’t worry, she will definitely come tonight though!”  I would assure them.   At one point, I told my children that I would contact the tooth fairy and let her know that if she had to come one night late, that it would be so appreciated if she would leave a little extra moolah for the waiting time.  Then, I let them know that she was happy to set up that contract with me.  You’d think that would have motivated her a bit more.  After all, it behooved her to be on time.   But, after that there were still more delays on her appearance!  “There must be an awful lot of kids losing teeth right now,” I said.  Seriously, there was one two week period in our house where 6 different teeth fell out (not from the same child)!  But, the kids didn’t mind too much knowing that the following night they would find a few extra coins under the pillow. 

Not until that last missed tooth pick-up appointment have things really improved.  I decided that since I do have the tooth fairy’s contact information, (I have picked up the phone and notified her personally upon the loss of each person’s FIRST tooth), I could just send her a brief reminder on the nights that we expect her.  So now instead of just putting their tooth under the pillow, I ask them to also put the phone on my pillow.  That way they know that I can send her a quick call or text right before I go to sleep.  Seeing that phone on my pillow before I go to bed has miraculously turned around our tooth fairy tardiness.  Not that anyone else has this problem, but if you do….this works! 

I recently had a child lose another tooth and was thankful for this new policy, so past failures came to mind.  Would love to hear if your tooth fairy is ever tardy too.