I will be 40 in a matter of hours...how am I spending my last day in this young decade?? We spent the morning at the farm, picking peaches and petting goats, dogs and cats. The kids enjoyed the time and I always love doing whatever with my little family!
I'm not horrified by the fact I'm turning 40 but I am slightly annoyed! I hated 20...I remember vividly telling people "I'm no longer a teenager but I'm not an adult either". Don't know why that bothered me so much! I can't even remember turning 30, really, I can't. Prince Charming turned 30 a month before our wedding and we didn't do anything special. I remember thinking we didn't have any spare cash and everyone was already blessing us with shower and wedding gifts. A birthday bash seemed like too much. I don't recall Prince Charming really caring!
So tomorrow is 40...not liking the title "middle-aged" but I'm not really feeling much older than usual. I have no idea if and how we are celebrating, but you better believe I'll be putting sprinkles on everything tomorrow :)
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Bounce U
I bought my first, and only at this point, Groupon at the beginning of the summer. I paid $15 for 5 passes to Bounce U. It would cost $20 for us to take the kids one time, so this sounded like a great deal. I figured, on a rainy day we'll have something to do. What a great plan...right!?!?!
Fast forward to August, I read my friend Dana's post "had a great time with my boys at BounceU". Uh-oh...where is that pass I bought in June????
I found it, between the fridge and the cabinet, covered in about 6 inches of ew only to discover that it expires on August 17. We have roughly 2 weeks to go two/three times.
We started the fun last night, family night. It was soooo great! We had been once before for a birthday party but JB was really limited with what he could do. He did much better last night, just a few months makes a difference in his physical capabilities. It's still a little much for him, but he hung in there :)
Miss M ran around for two hours like she had a job to do! We went with the divide and conquer theory and each took a kid and played right along side of them. We would catch each other here and there and switch kids, it was great. We didn't buy the pizza dinner portion of the program so during that time period we about had the place to ourselves. We had a family game of chase in the big bounce house and played a bit of basketball in the smaller one. I think the fav of the night was the giant slide, all four of us had a blast on that!
JB took one nasty slide and in my efforts to help him I think I broke my toe...no kidding...it's killing me as I type!! The obstacle course proved tricky for both Prince Charming and I. It's not made for a 6'8" guy or an out of shape 40 year old woman. We both moaned any time the kids ran toward that one!! Miss M mastered it enough to go by herself, and she made a friend at the end who she preferred over either of us!
I have three more "free" passes to use by next Wednesday. I signed up for the preschool playdate on Monday morning at 9:30 am. If you want to join me I can get one of your kids in free...it's only for kids 7 and under...comment me and the ticket is yours :)
Fast forward to August, I read my friend Dana's post "had a great time with my boys at BounceU". Uh-oh...where is that pass I bought in June????
I found it, between the fridge and the cabinet, covered in about 6 inches of ew only to discover that it expires on August 17. We have roughly 2 weeks to go two/three times.
We started the fun last night, family night. It was soooo great! We had been once before for a birthday party but JB was really limited with what he could do. He did much better last night, just a few months makes a difference in his physical capabilities. It's still a little much for him, but he hung in there :)
Miss M ran around for two hours like she had a job to do! We went with the divide and conquer theory and each took a kid and played right along side of them. We would catch each other here and there and switch kids, it was great. We didn't buy the pizza dinner portion of the program so during that time period we about had the place to ourselves. We had a family game of chase in the big bounce house and played a bit of basketball in the smaller one. I think the fav of the night was the giant slide, all four of us had a blast on that!
JB took one nasty slide and in my efforts to help him I think I broke my toe...no kidding...it's killing me as I type!! The obstacle course proved tricky for both Prince Charming and I. It's not made for a 6'8" guy or an out of shape 40 year old woman. We both moaned any time the kids ran toward that one!! Miss M mastered it enough to go by herself, and she made a friend at the end who she preferred over either of us!
I have three more "free" passes to use by next Wednesday. I signed up for the preschool playdate on Monday morning at 9:30 am. If you want to join me I can get one of your kids in free...it's only for kids 7 and under...comment me and the ticket is yours :)
Monday, August 8, 2011
Random pictures I downloaded from the last two weeks :)
Went to a beautiful and fun wedding on Friday for Laureen and Jon. There were sunflowers EVERYWHERE and it was fantastic! And, the bonus of the evening, if you stuck around long enough you got to bring some home!!! We are enjoying two big vases of them in our house. I think the Garvens might have more sunflowers in their house than they do in all of Kansas!
Made these with the kiddos last week. Saw it somewhere, than my friend Kim posted that she tried it. They were perfectly simple for JB and Miss M enjoys any crafting we do. They are sweet and simple and took two days of "project time". Even Daddy liked this one!
I got crazy at dinner about two weeks ago. Made my usual meatloaf but cooked them in muffin tins. Than I used mashed potatoes as icing and a little dollup of ketchup as a cherry. I thought they were adorable...the kids...not so much...why do I even bother????????
The other day I realized that we hadn't eaten very healthy for a few meals (read as "mom was lazy and made a lot of junk") So I was feeling guilty but still had a few hot dogs I didn't want to waste. My kiddos love hot dogs so I wracked my brain to see what I could serve with them that would be really healthy. Miss M is on a NO vegetable kick (has been for about a year and half now) and they've both been giving us a real hard time about eating dinner. So I made a "rainbow" of things that are healthy and that they like. Red strawberries, orange cheese, yellow apple, green cucumber and blue blueberries. I forgot the purple, don't worry, Miss M pointed it out repeatedly!
I ended up laying a blanket down on the floor and we had a picnic dinner, a hot dog for everyone than just noshing on the rainbow. The kids loved it and I felt okay about what they ate for dinner! I just went to the grocery store and stocked up on ingredients for some tried and true recipes, so we can get back to a more balanced diet. Hopefully there won't be too much resistance, if there is, you know what I'll do...just add sprinkles!!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Ivory Soap :)
When we first got married we thought it would be fun, on each anniversary, to give each other a gift based on what Hallmark (that seems to be who published the lists we found) said was the gift for that year. And it was fun, for about 5 years...
Year 1: Paper: we bought each other a plane ticket to visit an old friend in Michigan
Year 2: Leather: we each got a new pair of shoes (I know it's a stretch, but I recall we both needed shoes and had fun picking out a pair, with leather, that we might not have bought had it not been an anniversary gift)
Year 3: Cotton: we happened to be on a missions trip in the DR for this anniversary so we each got a souvenir/gift...Prince Charming got a DR flag for his office and I got a cute little sarong to wear over my bathing suit.
Year 4: Rice: we went out for chinese food
Year 5: Wood: we bought an entertainment center for the house
You can see that we were sometimes practical, sometimes extravagant and sometimes at a loss (ie Chinses restaurant in year 4). After year 5 the lists we found only went every five years, by the time we got to ten neither one of us wanted a gift made out of tin, nor did we feel like being creative. That year our present was Miss M. We had talked about going on a cruise to celebrate 10 years but instead God blessed us with answered prayer and I was 3 months pregnant and violently nauseous for our anniversary. But boy was Miss M the best 10 year gift EVER!!
So this year was number 14. We decided about a year ago that we were going to forego gift giving for each other for all holidays except birthday and Christmas, and those are up for discussion each time they occur. Now I am better at following that rule than Prince Charming, for our non-gift Valentine's day I got 2 dozen roses, he got nothing. For our non-gift Fathers/Mothers day I got flowers and a gift card to a favorite store, he got nothing. So for this anniversary I reminded him, we're not getting each other gifts, we'll go out on a good date instead.
So last night we went to Princeton. I thought we were doing a cheap fun meal, instead he planned a dinner at La Mezzaluna. It was fun, but not cheap. Dinner was delicious, and since we didn't waste any money on silly gifts that neither of us really need, he decided we could go for it for dinner. I was so glad he did, it was nice to eat in such a nice place. No people dressed as cows, no standing at the counter asking why you got fries instead of apples, no free coupon for a kids meal, no screaming children, sliding boards, or kids menus with crayons!
Then we took a walk, hand-in-hand, in the drizzle. It was silly and romantic and fun. We didn't really talk about the kids, just enjoyed conversation about life and even some dreams we have for our future (corny, I know).
When I got back in the car he handed me a gift...he told me he looked up year 14 and found it on the internet...ivory...so what did I get???? A bar of ivory soap :)
Year 1: Paper: we bought each other a plane ticket to visit an old friend in Michigan
Year 2: Leather: we each got a new pair of shoes (I know it's a stretch, but I recall we both needed shoes and had fun picking out a pair, with leather, that we might not have bought had it not been an anniversary gift)
Year 3: Cotton: we happened to be on a missions trip in the DR for this anniversary so we each got a souvenir/gift...Prince Charming got a DR flag for his office and I got a cute little sarong to wear over my bathing suit.
Year 4: Rice: we went out for chinese food
Year 5: Wood: we bought an entertainment center for the house
You can see that we were sometimes practical, sometimes extravagant and sometimes at a loss (ie Chinses restaurant in year 4). After year 5 the lists we found only went every five years, by the time we got to ten neither one of us wanted a gift made out of tin, nor did we feel like being creative. That year our present was Miss M. We had talked about going on a cruise to celebrate 10 years but instead God blessed us with answered prayer and I was 3 months pregnant and violently nauseous for our anniversary. But boy was Miss M the best 10 year gift EVER!!
So this year was number 14. We decided about a year ago that we were going to forego gift giving for each other for all holidays except birthday and Christmas, and those are up for discussion each time they occur. Now I am better at following that rule than Prince Charming, for our non-gift Valentine's day I got 2 dozen roses, he got nothing. For our non-gift Fathers/Mothers day I got flowers and a gift card to a favorite store, he got nothing. So for this anniversary I reminded him, we're not getting each other gifts, we'll go out on a good date instead.
So last night we went to Princeton. I thought we were doing a cheap fun meal, instead he planned a dinner at La Mezzaluna. It was fun, but not cheap. Dinner was delicious, and since we didn't waste any money on silly gifts that neither of us really need, he decided we could go for it for dinner. I was so glad he did, it was nice to eat in such a nice place. No people dressed as cows, no standing at the counter asking why you got fries instead of apples, no free coupon for a kids meal, no screaming children, sliding boards, or kids menus with crayons!
Then we took a walk, hand-in-hand, in the drizzle. It was silly and romantic and fun. We didn't really talk about the kids, just enjoyed conversation about life and even some dreams we have for our future (corny, I know).
When I got back in the car he handed me a gift...he told me he looked up year 14 and found it on the internet...ivory...so what did I get???? A bar of ivory soap :)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
14 years
Today I've been married to Prince Charming for 14 years! We dated for about 2 years prior to the wedding so we've been together for 16 years. Before that we knew each other from church and school for about 8 years, so we've known each other for about 24 years (go ahead ask me...yes, I was 2 when I met him).
I'm not a big fan of the statement "I married my best friend"...although in my younger years I probably said such things. Now I just think it's stating the obvious, so why say it. I mean, really? I'm hoping we all married our best friends, but I never call him that. When I think of my best friends I think of Debbo, Trish the Dish, and Doodle, you know, my girl friends. But of course, Prince Charming is on the list, who marries someone they aren't friends with? Maybe I'm naive, maybe people don't marry their best friend and that's why everyone is getting divorced...anyway...
Here are a few high/lowlights of the last 14 years, in no particular order:
1. Chartering a plane on our honeymoon.
2. Driving to NC for a job interview, being offered the position, apartment hunting, all in about 36 hours, only to turn the job down.
3. Working together in the youth ministry we grew up in.
4. Moving to NJ to minister at Windsor Chapel.
5. Moving 4 times in 5 years.
6. Living in a free farm house for a year.
7. Adventures in Boston, Cape May, NYC, the Outer Banks, Niagara Falls, Gettysburg, the Dominican Republic, Lansing MI, Williamsburg, and the Jersey Shore!
8. Job interviews in NC, IN, NY, NJ, MD.
9. Saying good-bye to Prince Charming's Dad, my Nana and my nephew.
10. The struggle of infertility.
11. The joy of our first pregnancy and Miss M.
12. The surprise and joy of our second pregnancy and JB.
13. Buying our first home, almost losing it and working our tails off to keep it!
14. Joining a church that we love, where it feels like family!
15. Prince Charming has had 9 different jobs...sometimes more than one at a time!
16. The year of the newspaper!
17. Knowing that we are committed to each other, no matter what, forever...amen!
We celebrated with a simple day, doing what we love. Having dinner together as a family then going outside to play! We'll go out for dinner just the two of us tomorrow, but the real celebration is that God brought us together, has kept us together and isn't finished with us yet!!
I'm not a big fan of the statement "I married my best friend"...although in my younger years I probably said such things. Now I just think it's stating the obvious, so why say it. I mean, really? I'm hoping we all married our best friends, but I never call him that. When I think of my best friends I think of Debbo, Trish the Dish, and Doodle, you know, my girl friends. But of course, Prince Charming is on the list, who marries someone they aren't friends with? Maybe I'm naive, maybe people don't marry their best friend and that's why everyone is getting divorced...anyway...
Here are a few high/lowlights of the last 14 years, in no particular order:
1. Chartering a plane on our honeymoon.
2. Driving to NC for a job interview, being offered the position, apartment hunting, all in about 36 hours, only to turn the job down.
3. Working together in the youth ministry we grew up in.
4. Moving to NJ to minister at Windsor Chapel.
5. Moving 4 times in 5 years.
6. Living in a free farm house for a year.
7. Adventures in Boston, Cape May, NYC, the Outer Banks, Niagara Falls, Gettysburg, the Dominican Republic, Lansing MI, Williamsburg, and the Jersey Shore!
8. Job interviews in NC, IN, NY, NJ, MD.
9. Saying good-bye to Prince Charming's Dad, my Nana and my nephew.
10. The struggle of infertility.
11. The joy of our first pregnancy and Miss M.
12. The surprise and joy of our second pregnancy and JB.
13. Buying our first home, almost losing it and working our tails off to keep it!
14. Joining a church that we love, where it feels like family!
15. Prince Charming has had 9 different jobs...sometimes more than one at a time!
16. The year of the newspaper!
17. Knowing that we are committed to each other, no matter what, forever...amen!
We celebrated with a simple day, doing what we love. Having dinner together as a family then going outside to play! We'll go out for dinner just the two of us tomorrow, but the real celebration is that God brought us together, has kept us together and isn't finished with us yet!!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Ups and Downs of Pooh
Did that title catch your eye? By Pooh I mean, Winnie-the, not poo...the ups and downs of poo is an entirely different blog entry :)
Today we took the kids to their first movie theater movie. I've been waiting for just the right one and Winnie-the-Pooh seemed to fit my criteria. First, it had to be a movie I actually wanted to see (selfish little bugger, aren't I?). Second, and this is huge, I had to be 100% confident the material was appropriate for both my kiddos, a four year old and a two year old. My opinion is that the huge screen combined with the volume and the dark room (possibly filled with strangers) add a lot of impact that is unnecessary for young kids. So something a little scary, or a little coarse just gets kicked up too many notches for my comfort. But c'mon...what could be wrong with Pooh??? Well, nothing was wrong with Pooh, it was just that I took a two year old with me. Clearly something is wrong with me!!
Miss M loved it from the first pre-view on (make mental note, don't go early enough to watch the pre-views, they add a lot of time and scenes from movies I may not want them to watch). She sat beautifully, until the very end when she just couldn't resist joining her brothers antics. She laughed, she smiled and at the end she wept...yes, full on dramatic weeping because the red balloon, in her mind, got lost.
JB liked the short cartoon before the movie and about 5 minutes of the movie. Then he preferred to play with the seats--ALL of them--he went row to row to row. Thankfully there were only four other people in the theater and they were in the top row, two of them were young children and they appeared about as interested in the movie as JB. After we tried ALL the seats he got quite interested in the little lights along the floor. He thought they were fireflies I think, he wanted to catch them, then he wanted to step on EVERY one. Prince Charming ran out and got some pretzel bites at one point, that quieted JB down for about 10 minutes, than back up he went. He roamed the 'countryside', catching glimpses here and there of Pooh, or more often Tigger. I think Tigger and JB are like minded and he seemed drawn to the screen every time he appeared! They both like to bounce, they both get themselves in sticky situations, they both make up words, they both think they are the funniest thing ever and they are both extremely lovable!!
It was still a great morning, Miss M really loved it and Prince Charming and I got a kick out of the movie. It is certainly no blockbuster, but it's a sweet story filled with characters we love. They added just enough to keep adults from resorting to playing Words with Friends on their iphones.
I have the ticket stubs saved for the scrap books that I'm not making. I think the next one we go to will either be in about four years, or it will just be Miss M. JB isn't much of a sitter...but he's so lovable anyway :)
Today we took the kids to their first movie theater movie. I've been waiting for just the right one and Winnie-the-Pooh seemed to fit my criteria. First, it had to be a movie I actually wanted to see (selfish little bugger, aren't I?). Second, and this is huge, I had to be 100% confident the material was appropriate for both my kiddos, a four year old and a two year old. My opinion is that the huge screen combined with the volume and the dark room (possibly filled with strangers) add a lot of impact that is unnecessary for young kids. So something a little scary, or a little coarse just gets kicked up too many notches for my comfort. But c'mon...what could be wrong with Pooh??? Well, nothing was wrong with Pooh, it was just that I took a two year old with me. Clearly something is wrong with me!!
Miss M loved it from the first pre-view on (make mental note, don't go early enough to watch the pre-views, they add a lot of time and scenes from movies I may not want them to watch). She sat beautifully, until the very end when she just couldn't resist joining her brothers antics. She laughed, she smiled and at the end she wept...yes, full on dramatic weeping because the red balloon, in her mind, got lost.
JB liked the short cartoon before the movie and about 5 minutes of the movie. Then he preferred to play with the seats--ALL of them--he went row to row to row. Thankfully there were only four other people in the theater and they were in the top row, two of them were young children and they appeared about as interested in the movie as JB. After we tried ALL the seats he got quite interested in the little lights along the floor. He thought they were fireflies I think, he wanted to catch them, then he wanted to step on EVERY one. Prince Charming ran out and got some pretzel bites at one point, that quieted JB down for about 10 minutes, than back up he went. He roamed the 'countryside', catching glimpses here and there of Pooh, or more often Tigger. I think Tigger and JB are like minded and he seemed drawn to the screen every time he appeared! They both like to bounce, they both get themselves in sticky situations, they both make up words, they both think they are the funniest thing ever and they are both extremely lovable!!
It was still a great morning, Miss M really loved it and Prince Charming and I got a kick out of the movie. It is certainly no blockbuster, but it's a sweet story filled with characters we love. They added just enough to keep adults from resorting to playing Words with Friends on their iphones.
I have the ticket stubs saved for the scrap books that I'm not making. I think the next one we go to will either be in about four years, or it will just be Miss M. JB isn't much of a sitter...but he's so lovable anyway :)
Friday, July 29, 2011
Design on a Dime
I've been inspired! My sister just gave us a couch and recliner that she know longer liked/found comfortable. Yippee...it's in pretty great condition and it's very comfy! The only problem is it's tan. What is wrong with tan you ask--well, nothing! In fact we like tan so much our carpet is tan, our walls are tan, and much of our "extra" pieces are light wood (aka tan). See the problem?
So I've decided to begin the process of redecorating my living/dining/play room area. I'm really considering a big change, from my country roots to a more pottery barnish motif. I'm so NOT a designer and I really might literally have ten cents to do this with. So, first I want to start with color. I'm thinking of something bold on one statement wall. I think it should be the wall my TV is on, Prince Charming agrees. My color thoughts are either dark blue but not quite navy, or dark red/burgandy. But then what color do I do the rest of the walls? Leave them tan or brighten them up a bit with more of a white tone?
The next problem is my kitchen--it's green. My place is so small and so connected that I'm wondering if I'll need to repaint the kitchen. Maybe it would look nice if the kitchen were a color from the same family as the statement wall like light blue or salmon/pink (okay, I don't want a salmon/pink kitchen, that's definitely out!!)
If we had the money we'd get the floors redone too...the carpet is nasty. Hardwood would be awesome but until I get my Publishers Clearing House Check, that's a no go!
So back to the living/dining/play room. After I settle on color and actually get it painted (that should take Prince Charming about 6 1/2 years) I have big dreams for what I want to put on the walls. A picture collage, the letter M, some of the kids artwork framed, etc. I also want to find some good containers to put on my shelf unit to hide all the crap...any suggestions of where I can find cheap cool containers...maybe wicker or fabric or a combo of the two.
Listen, I really just need one of you to come over and do this for me so it looks cool. Any takers? We always have ice cream and sprinkles ready?!?!?!
So I've decided to begin the process of redecorating my living/dining/play room area. I'm really considering a big change, from my country roots to a more pottery barnish motif. I'm so NOT a designer and I really might literally have ten cents to do this with. So, first I want to start with color. I'm thinking of something bold on one statement wall. I think it should be the wall my TV is on, Prince Charming agrees. My color thoughts are either dark blue but not quite navy, or dark red/burgandy. But then what color do I do the rest of the walls? Leave them tan or brighten them up a bit with more of a white tone?
The next problem is my kitchen--it's green. My place is so small and so connected that I'm wondering if I'll need to repaint the kitchen. Maybe it would look nice if the kitchen were a color from the same family as the statement wall like light blue or salmon/pink (okay, I don't want a salmon/pink kitchen, that's definitely out!!)
If we had the money we'd get the floors redone too...the carpet is nasty. Hardwood would be awesome but until I get my Publishers Clearing House Check, that's a no go!
So back to the living/dining/play room. After I settle on color and actually get it painted (that should take Prince Charming about 6 1/2 years) I have big dreams for what I want to put on the walls. A picture collage, the letter M, some of the kids artwork framed, etc. I also want to find some good containers to put on my shelf unit to hide all the crap...any suggestions of where I can find cheap cool containers...maybe wicker or fabric or a combo of the two.
Listen, I really just need one of you to come over and do this for me so it looks cool. Any takers? We always have ice cream and sprinkles ready?!?!?!
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