Fun in the Saturday Sun

It's too sunny and too beautiful to stay indoors...

so we put our little guy to work..

he scrubbed and scrubbed...

and my car turned out better than a professional car wash...

(yes, his daddy was there to scrub too:)

Simon finished off the hot day with

a little run in our make-shift sprinkler...

(otherwise known as the garden hose)...

even daddy joined in the fun!

Gotta take advantage of the
weekend family fun!

Indulging...

I decided to

indulge

on some Nutella...

YUMMMM-O is all I can say!Well....Simon saw me and decided to

partake in mommy's indulgence...

How can I say NO,

when my spoon was filled with this ooey-gooey yumminess?!

So....

we BOTH enjoyed a treat,

giggled at each other...

and took another lick!

Yummm!

This is January???

YES!!!
Love it!!

Keeping the Boys Busy...

The ground was covered with leaves from our big tree outside...
after an hour of raking...
no gardner is needed
thanks to Simon and his cousin, Ryan.
Thanks, Boys!

Upcycled Glass Bottle Project

So sorry I haven't updated my blog lately!!

Here's an easy Up-cycling project to try...

You'll need a funky old glass bottle,

twine,

a glue gun,

and a strip of fabric.Begin by using hot glue to stick the twine

on the bottle.

Start at the base, and glue a little bit at a time,

laying the twine on the glue...

repeat all the way up to the desired height on the bottle.

Be sure to use about an inch or two of glue at time,

and not more,

because the hot glue will dry.

I went up to the neck of the bottle...

I may add more twine later up to the lip,

but for now, I wanted to experiment.

Finally, I added a double-layered strip of fabric

that was cut with pinking shears on the edges.

I tied it around the neck of hte bottle,

to add some color to the neutral twine.

Then, I placed it on the mantle next to a cool beachy picture,

that picks up the colors in the twine and fabric.
It cost pennies,
took 20 minutes,
and adds a little somethin' to a naked mantle:)
Happy Crafting!!

YUMMY Breakfast Casserole for New Year's Day!

I made this for Christmas morning for

both sets of granparents and...

YUM-O is all I can say!

Breakfast Quiche

2 zuchinni sliced
1 french loaf of bread sliced in 1" pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons (or more) of basil
6 ounces of chedder/jack cheese, shredded
8 large eggs
2 cups of skim milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3-4 large tomatoes (depends on the size)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Precook (stirfry) zuchinni and onion for 5-7 minutes.
3. Placed sliced bread in greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
Spread zuchinni, onion, and basil evenly over the bread.
4. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper and mustard;
pour over vegetables. Arange tomatoes evenly over on top,
covering entire area.
5. Bake for 70 minutes, or until lightly browned. This dish can be refrigerated
overnight and baked in the morning. Makes 10 servings.

The last few days of Christmas Break

We're trying to squeeze in the last few days of fun

in 2010 (can you believe it's New Year already?)! Scootering in the beautiful sunshine after some heavy rains...
doing some jumping jacks on the trampoline at Open Gym
(gotta get those wiggles out)...

attempting a new gymnastics move...
I don't know if Simon liked this one...
(looks a little scared)!

And spent an afternoon fishing
for the Kids Fishing Derby...
Simon SURE learned what patience is!!!
Oh, how fishing is challenging for little children...
they expect to catch a fish-
NOW!
Not so much...

Simon walked away empty-handed...
but made a memory with Mom & Dad.
That's about it for 2010!
Happy New Year, friends!
Now go blog about some family memories of your own:)!

Sweet Friend

The other day we picked up Cade

who JUST became a big brother!

Cade is Simon's little buddy...

whenever we have them out together,

people think they are twins

(must be the blondish hair & cute smile:)

As a treat to the New Big Bro,

we took him on a boat ride around the lake...

Yes, Simon IS steering!

Look out!!

Good buddies....
many memories...
lots of love for Caders.


We loved every minute that we spent with you that day.
Such precious memories for Simon
as he grows up and remembers the
little buddy days...
from fishing...
to Jingle concerts...
to playdates at the park...
to making brownies...
to Sunday School...
to Kids Club...
to rockin' out with the drums...
We love you, Cade!


We'll see you real soon,
sweet friend!

Ultra EASY Felt Flower Tutorial

I have a few cute sweaters that just needed a little

"POP"!

So for the Christmas season,

I made a couple Super SIMPLE felt flowers that

you can make in about 10 minutes for about 50 cents.

First, free cut about 12-15 small circles

(about 2" in diameter).

Then cut ONE bigger circle

(about 3" in diameter).
Take your hot glue gun
and glue a small amount in the middle of
EACH small flower,
pinching it in the middle to adhere the felt together.
The circles should look like the ones shown below.

So you will have every small circle glued in the center,
and the BIG circle as is.
Next, begin to hot glue a small amount around
the edge of the larger circle,
placing each smaller (scrunched) circle down.
You will glue each scrunched circle
along the entire edge of the larger circle.
Then you will continue to glue in the center of the larger circle,
until the entire large circle is filled.
Start on the outer edges and work your way into the center... Once completed, your flower should look like this.
You may have to trim the edge of the flower
so that it is even.
Once you are done with that,
hot glue a pin (that you can buy from Michaels or a craft store).
Then glue a small piece of felt over the pin's base,
leaving the pin on top.
This will secure the felt onto the pin's base.


Then find a plain 'ol sweater and place accordingly...
you choose where you need a little spice.
These pins look great on a
sweater,
shirt,
scarf,
belt,
or even to a purse!

Have fun!!!

'Lil Jingles 2010

Every year, the 'Lil Jingles perform

at our church...

these cutie-patooties

know how to sing, let me tell ya.... they melt your hearts as the Christmas Carols

are belted out at the top of their little lungs...

Here's an example of Simon singing...

although he gets a little distracted

by his buddy, Eli,

who really wanted to emphasize

"Christmas Day"....

Hope you all had a

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

7 Years...

Seven Years...

ups...

downs...

twists...

turns...

joy...

sorrow...

valleys...

mountain tops...

Through it all,

we had the Lord at every point...

He never left us,

and always sustained us.

Happy Anniversary, my sweet beloved Dave!

Thank you for walking out this life with me...

And thank you Lord,

for blessing me with my

husband and friend!

'Tis the (BUSY) Season...

Well....

as most of you are experiencing,

this has been a C-R-A-Z-Y couple of weeks!

From birthday celebrations, to playdates,

to preschool parties, to volunteering,

to Christmas Extravaganzas....

everybody is in the same boat-

the BUSY boat!

But all is good...

Here's a re-cap of Family Fun...

Little Sime celebrated his 5th birthday on Wednesday.

We had a couple buddies over for some

ice cream sundaes

and some Christmas Light touring to the winners

around our beautiful city.

Started with a little prayer for my boy...

Saw some Clark Griswold Christmas Lights

(AMAZING)...

and enjoyed a sweet bithday time with
two great buddies...
Thank you for making Simon's birthday so special and memorable!

The next day,
he was blessed by his teacher and Principal...
what a treasured memory to celebrate with his first
Preschool class (ever)...


His teacher, Mrs. Summers,
has been absolutely remarkable!
Hats off to ALL Preschool Teachers
around the world!
They do SOOOOO much for our children...
and we thank you!

Simon performed in his first Christmas Play EVER...

He was SO excited to be a Wiseman,

with his cousin, Ryan!!

They both did a great job saying their first line (in public)!!

He's come a LONG way since the

days of screeching in public,

to speaking a line in a play.

Good Job, buddy!

Excited...

just minutes before the big moment!

Thank you to Grammy & Pops for coming

and supporting little Sime!

We love you!

And a few seconds to pose...

Isn't it true....

Moms barely get in any pictures with their kids!?!

They're always behind the camera, aren't they?!

And we ended our week

with 15 beautiful kids from church

at our house...

no damage done...

no spills...

no one hurt...

lots of giggles...

lots of sqealing...

lots of smiles...

LOTS of memories for these little cutie-pies!

Tomorrow is the big day...

Introducing...

The 'Lil Jingles!

They may look tired,

but this was after three practices of their Christmas songs...

Can't wait to hear them on their big day!

Gotta Love every second of this

B-U-S-Y,

CRAZY,

Season!

Super Cute, Super Easy Burp Cloth

Try this cute Burp Cloth as a gift for the

newbaby in town...

First, get some soft, fuzzy fabric,

and TWO fun cotton prints to make the burp cloth. Next, cut the soft fabric in your desired size.

Mine was 6inches x 12inches.
Then, cut your TWO fabrics in 3 equal sizes
that will match your backing.

Next, sew up the 3 strips.
These strips will be in alternating colors.

They will look like this (below)...

these fabrics are the same brand

and compliment each other well.

Next, place the backing (right side facing right side)

towards the sewed up cotton fabric.

Pin along the edges,

leaving one side open.

Then sew up the three sides.

Then, turn the last end under and pin.

Then sew along the edge....

but don't stop there...

Sew the open edge up,

then keep sewing around the other three sides,

creating a nice edging for the burp cloth.

I added some regular rick-rack down the middle for some flair!

And made a matching bib to boot!

Love this set!!

The burp cloth cost pennies,

took me less than an hour,

and is a SUPER cute gift to bless the new baby in town!

Have fun!!