~this moment~

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by Soule Mama

 

 

~Easter treats for kids~

Tomorrow will be the last day of school for the kids before Spring Break.  Derek's class will be having a little celebration at school and the teacher asked if I'd send in some treats for the kids.

I can't wait for her to ask.

I pounce on the opportunity to contribute and go in to volunteer. 

I'm one of *those* moms. 

And I'm proud of it!  

This year, we decided to make Carrots and Bunny Tails.

*Warning... Picture overload below*

Goldfish Carrots

Marshmallow Bunny Tails

All we needed to buy at the grocery was the Goldfish crackers and the Marshmallows.  I had everything else on hand, including the Wilton Carrot Baggies and ties.  I love grabbing things the year before when they are on Clearance... right after the holiday.  It's just a matter of remembering that I have them that next year! 

Wilton Carrot Labels and Ties

It was a perfect opportunity for some Math fun, too.  Since Derek is studying measurements in school, we used the 1/4 cup and he had to scoop out two helpings per bag. 

So, each carrot holds 1/2 cup of crackers.

Next, we moved onto making the Bunny Tails.  I've seen these made with the Large Marshmallows before, but we opted to buy the mini ones for the younger kids.  I didn't have the heart to put "Baby Bunny Tails" on the labels, though.  It just sounded really wrong!!

I made and printed off a sheet of paper to make labels.  We used a scalloped scissor to cut them out. 

Derek picked the bunny image.  It seemed fitting when they were stapled onto the baggies.  It looks like the bunny is spooked a bit! Thinking,"Oh no...... where's my tail?!?" 

He wrote who they were from on the back of each label. It was tricky trying to explain to him how he had to write his name upside-down before we folded and attached them. 

Just glad I printed off extra.....

we had 5 that were "practice" ones. :)

 We dropped them down into some festive Easter bags this morning and he was off for school to deliver the treats!

As the bus pulled away, I couldn't help but wonder how many treats would actually make it to school not smashed...

or uneaten!

Now...Head on over to Creation Corner or Today's Creative Blog or Craft-O-Maniac for some other crafty ideas!

~banana bread~

I can close my eyes and smell it now. 

The scent of warm bread baking away in the oven.  

~Mmmmmmmmm~   

This banana bread recipe was given to me from my neighbor across the street.  She and I are always sending food back and forth to try out.  This recipe is one that I use faithfully.  Every time. I usually make a loaf on Sunday afternoon so that the kids can have it to eat for breakfast or a snack that coming week.   

It's always fun getting kids involved in cooking, too.  My little guys like to mash the bananas and measure the ingredients.  We usually have 3 kinds of bananas in our house at any given time. They are referred to as, "the green ones, the yellow ones, and the brown ones." Make sure to use the brown ones for this recipe!  Nice and soft ones... easy to mash!!     

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Banana Bread

1/3 cup Crisco Oil

2 bananas (not fresh ones!)

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 cup nuts (if desired)   *I always throw in chopped walnuts!

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups flour

Beat oil & bananas together- add milk & vanilla,

then dry ingredients (flour last).

Mix all ingredients and pour into loaf pan.

Bake in oven preheated to 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Let cool before slicing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Do you have a favorite recipe you'd like to share? 

Please feel free to leave a link to your post in the comments for all to see and try!

Enjoy!! 

Click here to check out some other recipes and creative ideas! 



~I'm guilty...~

Don't ask me why.
I'm just guilty of doing it.
It all started in December.
And it is still happening today.
I was guilty just last night.
And this morning.
I don't even know exactly what it is that draws me so much.
Is it the variety?
The ability to do it wherever I want.
Whenever I want.
It's an addiction.
And I just can't stop.

I'm guilty of cheating on my library....

with my Nook.

I stopped into the library yesterday and you should have seen the looks I got.
The questions I was bombarded with.
The stares.
They all know.
They've heard.
They've seen my empty account in their computers.

But I'll tell you what...
No matter how much I love my Nook ,
NOTHING FEELS BETTER THAN HOLDING THE PRINTED WORD IN YOUR HANDS.
Nothing.
So, I left with my arms full.
With a long receipt that could touch the floor.
And a smile.

Anyone else guilty of neglecting your library?
Come on...
Be honest.
Fess up...

~the lucky one~

I'm lucky.

I know I am, but sometimes it takes a little sign like this to put it all into perspective.

I reached down at a baseball game this weekend, picked this green goodness, and immediately was flooded with ways in which I feel I am lucky.

What do you feel lucky about right now?  

Please feel free to share...

~this moment~

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by Soule Mama

 

 

 

 

~last night~

finishing:

this book before the big brother and I have an "Adventure" and go see the movie 

missing:

 a friend who lost their battle earlier this week, as I look behind at the beautiful backdrop of my boy's practice field

wondering:

how in the heck that boy of mine is fielding that baseball and not breaking his left foot?!?!

proud:

of all the hard work, dedication, and love this boy shows towards the sport

amazed:

by the 'Spring' sunset my boy and I shared on our ride home together

Happy Spring to you and your loved ones!

XX

~wooden Ninjago toys~

Recipe for a fun activity with your kids:

~Paints

~Wooden People

~Inspiration

~Artist

~Table and Paintbrushes

We had so much fun making these Ninjago guys.  The boys have all of the "real" LEGO sets, but I thought it would be fun to paint some of our own unique ones together.

Derek painted all the wooden pieces and we let them dry. 

 Next, I painted the yellow "faces" and let those dry.

Then I showed him how to paint the eyes on by dipping the back end of the paintbrush in the paint. 

I did the white one, below, and then he did the others.

(I love how he is in the background with his eyes in the next picture. Funny how they sneak into the frame, isn't it!?)

After the black eyes dried, we did the same technique, with a smaller paintbrush, to make dots with the white paint. 

Then I added the eyebrows because Derek said they,

"have to have those!" 

Introducing: (Left to right)

Zane,  Jay,  Kai,  Cole

Now, go check out these Link Parties for craft ideas:

Hope Studios

Creation Corner

Funky Polkadot Giraffe

Making the World Cuter


Craft O Maniac


Today's Creative Blog

~Sunday Storms~

Sunday morning was just gorgeous.  Beautiful skies, warm air, and a perfect day to enjoy the weather outdoors.  After getting some things finished around the house, we decided to run a few errands.

We stopped by the park on the way home and let the kids explore and wear off some of that constant boy energy.

 The clouds were lovely on the ride home.  Fluffy and delicious... like cotton candy.  We had the sunroof open, radio cranked, and were enjoying the wonderful day together and the awesome weather.

Until....

We got home.

 

It just hit us.  The wind was gusting and the rain came down in buckets.  More like swimming pools.  Or rivers.

And it came...

And it came harder...

Then the hail started.  At first it was really cool.  We ran into the master bedroom to shut the window. I went ahead and left it open at first... letting the boys feel the mist of the storm through the screen. Then the hail came down harder.  The sound of it ricocheting off the grill and the patio furniture got extremely loud. It got a little scary... for us all. 
I decided I should go ahead and shut the window.

After the storm died down we decided to head outdoors to check out the damage.  It looked like it had rained for days, even though this storm had moved out just as fast as it came in.

The water had completely covered the drains along the side of the road.  You could see the water swirling where the holes to the drains lay. 

 The sun appeared again as we walked to the end of the road to check out the neighbor's yards.  It could have been worse.  And we are thankful that it was not.

Later that evening, our oldest son came out of his bedroom while doing homework to ask us a question.  He just finished reading The Terrible Wave and was working on a few assignments pertaining to the book.

He asked us if there was any "good" that could come out of a natural disaster.

Of course there is.  Whether it be a tornado, earthquake, hurricane, etc., there is always good that can come from it.

 

Community.  A comminity working together, supporting, caring, comforting, rebuilding.  That is the good.

We explained how even with our storm we had that evening, we saw our community coming together.  Neighbors were outside checking on eachother, people were using garbage can lids to scoop out water close to houses, tractors from local farms came into town to help clear out drains and move the water. 

There is good all around us. 

We just need to see it.

~this moment~

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama

 

O' Derek

 

~vintage planters~

Little Lamb Crochet Hook Holder

One of my favorite things to do the first weekend of the month is to browse around our local flea market for junk treasures. 

Vintage planters can be found by the numbers, although I am rather picky about which ones I bring home.  I remember my grandmother having a whole cabinet filled with tons of these.  She told me they were filled with a plant in the back and were given to her as a baby gift after the birth of one of her seven children.  These little planters come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and animals.  I'm rather fond of these vintage planters, as you can see proof scattered about our home. 

The Little Lamb pictured above is my favorite.  It was my first purchase and I think it is just lovely with the gold accents.  It holds some of my crochet hooks so that they are easily accessible.

Polka-Dot Fawn Teaspoon Holder

 The Polka-Dot Fawn sits on top of our microwave and holds our teaspoons and tablespoons.  They look cute displayed out in the open, instead of tucked away in a drawer, and are easy to grab while I am preparing something tasty.

Pink Donkey Tea Buggy

Our Pink Donkey carries a load of teas in his buggy and you can find him sitting next to our Fawn on top of the microwave, too.  It's a convenient place to have tea ready to grab, rip open, steep in boiling water, and enjoy!

So, the next time you are looking for a lovely and frugal container for your goodies, look no further than your local flea market...  or you might just want to peek into your grandmother's cabinet.