Birthday Blessings

In the prior posting on Birthdays I said I would post a pic of the other cake my dear friend made while I was out of town earlier this year! Well, I found them. What a treasure for my daughter! What a blessing for our whole family. I am truly blessed to have such a fantastic friend.

A perfect pink cake for my pink loving princess! Also, she brought icecream! Priceless treasures!

Let the field trips resume!

So, school is back in session! And for me that means trips! We did a lot this summer.{but to be able to go without mass crowds is like a totally better realm! } The kids and their pals went to lots of movies together (I really think I might have lost brain cells at one of them!lol) and we also went with some pals to two of the three NC Aquariums.

No, they were not told to stand in order of height, they just did it naturally!

 

 

 

We went to Quantico,VA for about a week while my husband had work to do there. We went to the grainary and distillery at Mt Vernon. It was fantastic. And not busy!

 

We used to live 30 min outside of DC...but it was SO busy at this time of year (August) that it was not too fun for me to drive in, and the lines were longer at exhibit. So we did a car tour of the city, then went to a park in Prince William County! The weather was so much better than where we live.

 

 

Then for Memorial Day we went to Fort Macon. We had not been with my husband yet. It POURED rain, so we just did the interior museum. We hope to go back again to finish it out with him.

 

Picnic in the rain! We had a light snack we had packed after the museum. It was rainy, but a covered area made it fun! We almost always eat out on these trips lately, so this was a great way to try to simplify...pack our food!

 

 

I look forward to seeing where we will land this year. We usually try to go to as many places as we can so the children get exposure outside of the textbooks.

 

Simple, Easy Birthday Celebration

So....for birthdays at our home, we usually keep it on the mellow side. We did some bigger parties when the kids were younger, but now favor a family & perhaps close pals celebration. I keep some party things in a box so that time does not get away from me at the last minute. We have 4 birthdays in May-July. This year for one of the birthdays, I simply put out easy decorations (that I found on clearance early in the year) and my daughter was very pleased. I did it just prior to leaving the house for Church that morning, so she did not see it until we returned! A dear friend made some AWESOME cupcakes (below)  That made the days sooo special! Love is priceless! Another dear friend made another daughter a awesome cake (which I hope to post when I get the pic!)  and delivered it (we were out of town, so the party was with the Grandma). It was such a huge gift! Such a tremendous blessing to have ladies in my life who bless us in such special ways. Our celebrations hopefully reflect to our children our love of family and that simple can be so much fun!

 

How cool that she made these from scratch!

 

Friends & Stress

Last week a friend got some sad news...her hubby will be leaving for a year..three weeks earlier than they thought. I had the blessing to be able to encourage her. I prefer to be the encourager, but.....

Yesterday and Today I had the privilege to share with my dear friend. I was feeling overwhelmed and upset. So much to do, lists to be completed. Like a hamsters wheel, never ending A mason jar of soup I was taking to someone spilled all over my car floor, that was the "melting point" for me. . She was so kind. She used her time to encourage me. To remind me of ways to help things. What a gift, priceless friendship.

I knew my vision was blurred by my emotion. But my friend helped me to see clearer, to regroup.

I want to do it ALL. I don't like any part of my home or life off balance much. I spaz out, get cranky, get angry. Oh, I have gotten MUCH better than I used to be (even so says my husband!), but I still fall so very short. I get cranky, then I get frustrated with myself for being cranky or short with my words. So the cycle goes for a bit.

BUT, we must keep our eye on the prize.We must do what is more important, not what we necessarily want. My friend reminded me to make a list of what is important, then do those things first. And I remembered what I have been thinking about lately...He won't give me more than I can handle. He gives me just enough time each day to accomplish all He needs me to. When my vision gets foggy, I can't see that. With my vision cleared, it is so obvious.

I am just so thankful I have a few good friends I can be candid with. It is hard, because I feel so silly telling them my issues. They see the good, the bad, and the ugly. And they even stick around after seeing all the bad and ugly! We can encourage each other to live for Him, for His highest. Those are the treasures in life that make even days like this one so wonderful.

Family Date Night is getting Modified!

After getting the great news that my husband was not going to deploy for a while, we began something we call Date Night. We don't hardly ever do babysitters (other than my mother-in-law when she comes to visit, then we sometimes leave the kids). We really enjoy begin together as a family, but also want to have a fun time with our children, and we need a break from our routine sometimes! So we came up with Date Night...I take one or more of the children, and my husband takes the others. We would go do dinner somewhere, maybe dessert, and go shopping or whatever. One evening, my son and I got take out, and came home and watched a show we both really like. It is was so fun..one on one time. My husband took the girls to eat and to the craft store one night. So simple, just when every one is excited about Friday Night Family Date Night, it turns it into so much fun!

Some nights we all stay together. We had a duct tape craft night...we got tons of duck tape and all sat in the living room and made stuff...it was enjoyable!

 But..........now we have decided to not eat out...for 60 days. Then only about twice a month thereafter (that is the plan at this point...we shall see!!)
Soooooooo, I have had to come up with something fun that is eat in...gives me a break from a whole big meal to prepare, and is fun for the kids. I came up with this:
A popcorn maker
A Hotdog Roller (like the thing that they use in convince stores to heat up hot dogs, but home sized!)
A Blender

I have all but the hot dog roller, which can double as a toquitto heater also for the child that does not eat hot dogs (I have one that quit eating them, can't say I blame her!) . Milkshakes or smoothies can be made with the blender, popcorn is always good and feels festive. It is quick to do and fast to clean up. I might add a cotton candy maker, too. They will loose their minds if we get the cotton candy maker!

I encourage you to do something special just for fun with those that you love in your life. It does not have to cost a dime...play games, talk, or give them a manicure. Pop some popcorn and play board games. Go to the library and rent a movie (usually free or like a $1). Get a pile of books and read to little ones. Have a older person over to eat with your family one evening.Be purposeful with those you love AND those that need friendship! You get to double dip...you get a huge blessing doing for them and so do they! 

 I used to have movie nights when we lived in VA. I would get cupcakes with a theme (like Shrek) from the store, and pick up the movie and plates and cups to go with it. Then I would invite a neighbor friend of ours over. It was a blast! Here is my youngest at the Shrek movie night.

If you are lacking for people to share time with...look around. Your neighborhood is a good place to start sometimes. We had a princess party for about 10 or so little gals from the neighborhood. It was SO much fun to put together. Here was our table of food for that. We played games and all the little girls dressed up! The mom's had time to chat and had a little break. I did not know all these people, but it was a great way to bless others!