Day 28: Family Valentine's Dinner

Last year, we started the tradition of having a family Valentine's Day dinner at home with our kids on Valentine's Day.  We never enjoyed going out because every place is so crowded and would much rather enjoy a date when everyone and their wife, girlfriend, or grandmother was out.  Also, this tradition is so fun!  Our kids have a blast and so do we.  It is a lot of preparation, but is so much better than going out!

I applied many pins this year.  The nice thing about Pinterest is there are people who pay close attention to detail.  Printable, free Valentines are available through Pinterest that can make those special details, like having homemade Valentines with your children's' favorite characters on them, so much easier to find and use!  (Click here for a bunch of free Valentine's Day Printables!)

For this card, I found the free chevron stripe printable HERE and the date to date calculator for date HERE.  The fact that you could have that calculated in seconds is amazing!

An idea I came across on Pinterest was to have heart themed pizzas.  How fun is that?  And how perfect for the kids!  I purchase the Bob's Red Mill gluten free pizza crust at Big Lots for a decent price.  The bag says to divide the batch into two balls, but I decided them into several balls, just big enough to roll out into a six inch circle so I could use a large cookie cutter to shape the dough.  Instead of baking the dough with the toppings on it for 15-18 minutes, as directed on the package, I baked it for 10.  The pizzas were smaller, so that was perfect.

To make the pepperoni (which is nitrate-free from Fresh & Easy) heart-shaped, fold the pepperoni in half, just like you would to make a paper heart, and cut out half of a heart from fold.  Unfold and you have a heart and a pepperoni with a heart-shaped hole.  Cute, huh?

Next, to make the salad special, I made the carrots heart shaped.  When I saw this on Pinterest, I HAD to do it  The hardest part was cutting the slit in the middle of the carrot.  After that, I just peeled the carrot to shape it.  Overall, it was pretty easy and added such a great detail!  Madelyn loved eating the carrot hearts!

And, of course, we ate by candlelight.  :)

After dinner, we played a few rounds of balloon volleyball, Valentine's Day Edition (the red balloon!).  Jackson said he wanted to play this every night.  I have to admit, it was so much fun!  (Again, this idea was from Pinterest.)

To set this balloon volleyball up, fold a twin sized sheet in half lengthwise, drape over  two chairs so it forms the "net."  Then tie the ends of the sheet to the leg of the each chair.  Be sure to blow up the balloon to a somewhat small size, so it is less likely to pop.

After volleyball, we finished the night off with brownies!

A bonus I didn't expect...my hubby gifted me Elyse Fitzpatrick's new devotion, a much needed and very pretty apron, and Thin Mints.  Yea!!!  

Pinterest was a nice addition to our family Valentine's Day tradition.  I'm happy I added those little details, and enjoyed the fact that the kids liked them too!

Day 16: Regrowing Food from Scraps

Last year, I worked very hard to produce a beautiful garden.  It was beautiful, green, and lush.  But, it lacked one thing.  It wasn't fruitful.  I was so disappointed when my beautiful tomato plants bore no fruit.  That's right.  Not even one tomato.  I was successful in growing basil, mint, and rosemary...oh and about 25 little strawberries, but that certainly isn't enough to feed a family.  Considering I planted seven tomato plants, three cucumber plants, eight green bean plants, two strawberry plants, and a couple of melon plants, I should have seen more fruit than I did!

This year, I am hoping to have more fruit.  A couple of weeks ago, I came across a pin that explained how to grow food from kitchen scraps.  I thought, "Why not?"  I would love to grow things from my scraps and perhaps not have to buy those items anymore.  About ten days ago, I followed the directions on wakeup-world.com to regrow celery from a celery stalk.  It is so simple!  I just put the stalk into a dish of water and filled the water up to cover all but a half inch of the stalk.  I made sure the top of the stalk was moistened on a daily basis.  Within a few days, leaves started to grow out of the stalk.  Now, about ten days later, there are little shoots growing up to form a new stalk of celery.  I planted it in moist soil and I am hoping to enjoy our first regrown celery in a couple of weeks!  It already smells so good!  Owen is very excited as well.  He loves watering our little plant everyday.  Next, I'd like to try regrowing onions, garlic, and potatoes!

Day 1

Day 7

Day 10

My little helper.

Day 9: At Home Paris Date Night

I love my husband.  I love dating him.  With three kids, sometimes it's hard to get out of the house on an official "date."  This is why I love the idea of at-home date nights.  Don't get me wrong, I like to be taken out on the town, just like any other girl, but this is a nice alternative if babysitting is lacking or it's raining and you just feel like being cozy with your hubby.

Troy's birthday gift:  A year of dates!

In August, my husband turned 40.  I wanted to do something unique and special for his birthday.  With the help of Pinterest, I came across the idea of giving him a year of dates.  The blogger (Find Joy in the Journey) who first posted about this did one date night a month.  I decided to do two---one at-home and one away from home date each month.  It was a lot of work to pre-plan and pull this together, but it was so much fun.  And, here we are, months later, still having fun with this gift!

Our candlelit dinner.

An extra dinner guest showed up.

January's at-home date night was Paris Movie Night.  The "date" really started with the kids awake.  I put my PJs on and when Troy came home from work I handed him his PJs to get comfortable.  I then took him into the kitchen and treated him to a candlelit dinner of tomato soup and cheese and bell pepper paninis while the kids watched Curious George in the living room.  Of course, we had Owen visiting us throughout dinner, but it still was romantic.  We then had a "PJ dance party" with the kids so we could wear them out and send them to bed.  Oh, yes, I had fun at the dance party, but it served many purposes!  We sent them to bed and the "date night" continued!   I made chocolate fondue and we watched Charade, which is one of my favorite movies that takes place in Paris.  We had so much fun and the fondue was a very special treat!  We went somewhat healthy with what we dipped---strawberries, marshmallows (only 2!), graham crackers (only 2---and natural ones at that!), and some clean eating cookie dough bites, which will be tomorrow's post.  We drank orange flavored mineral water out of a wine class, lit candles, and sat fireside to enjoy our fondue.  As I said, SO MUCH FUN!

Dance party---wearing the kids (and the parents) out!

The Paris-themed movie

Fireside Fondue

Us!

I have really enjoyed dating my husband.  All the ideas on Pinterest are a great help to get creative and cheap ideas!  Please visit my "30 Days of Pinterest" board to see all the ideas!

Day 5: Dosage Chart on Child's Medication Bottle

The chart is sloppy, but you get the idea!  Useful, indeed!

This is one of those things that I think, why haven't I thought of that?!? My little Owen is sick with an ear and throat/tonsil infection. We picked up medication for him yesterday and so I decided to apply a tip I learned from Pinterest. Instead of trying to remember or guess how many doses your child has taken, you can draw a chart right on the bottle. In my case, I drew a horizontal chart, ten across for the ten days Owen is supposed to take the medication, and three down for the number of doses he takes a day. Handy, isn't it? I'm 100% sure this will help me in the task of keeping track of doses. I'm so glad I came across this pin!

He takes medicine like a little bird.  :)

The 11pm Pooper

It was about 11pm last night and we had just finished watching an episode of Dowton Abbey. Troy went to go check on Owen because he had been running a high fever hours earlier. He then called me into the hall almost crying and laughing at the same time. There, at the end of our hallway, was Owen. He was asleep, sitting up, like a drunken solder with his sippy cup laying beside him. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was terribly sad, under the circumstances, but at the same time, looked extremely funny! I then scooped him up in my arms to discover that he had a pooper diaper. He had come into the hall to squat in the corner and do his business. He was silent about it, as he tries so very hard to be, so we didn't hear him. He must of fallen asleep right after finishing up. Sweet little Owen. That is a story I want to remember. I regret not taking a photo!

Owen Speaks

Last week, Owen approached the fine young age of 19 months. He has been talking for a while, saying sentences here and there. I will say now that it is official: Owen is talking. I can no longer keep up with all the new verbiage he is saying that we understand. His discovery of his communication skills is priceless! Yesterday while I was putting Madelyn down for her nap, I heard Owen in the kitchen saying, "Table! Table!" Then I heard his little feet shuffle into the hallway and soon he was by my side, pointing to the kitchen and saying, "Table!" I followed him to the kitchen to find our kitty, Olive, on the table as he excitedly exclaimed, "Kitty (almost inaudible "on") table!!!" I then said to Owen, "Oh! The kitty is on the table!" He grinned, nodded, did a little dance with his feet and clapped his hands at the discovery that I had understood what he was communicating. It melted my heart!

Sweet Last Memories

Thankfulness Day 27

My Grandma Teddy holds Owen several month ago.

My mom told me today that my Grandma Teddy is now in a full coma and that she only has a few days left.  My heart is grieving and broken.  I suppose that is normal.  We (grandchildren) spent a lot of time with our grandparents growing up.  We have so many memories.

In recent years, mainly, after growing up having kids, I haven't visited like I used to (every school break, pretty much, for a week at a time).  My siblings and I would take turns going to each grandparent or aunt's house.  I am so thankful for all that time I got to spend with my grandparents, and I know that growing up that close to grandparents isn't always the case.

I was able to visit my grandma with the kids several times just recently because I wanted her to remember us as long as possible (she has Alzheimer's).  On one of those visits, Madelyn found a kitty stuffed animal in a closet and ran and showed it to my grandma.  My grandma grinned and said, "Do you want it?"  Madelyn hugged the kitty tight and nodded "Yes."  My grandma then gleefully grinned, as she enjoyed giving such a sweet gift.  Madelyn now carries around and sleeps with that kitty.  At the end of our last visit, less than two weeks ago, the kids and I were giving her hugs goodbye and as I held Owen up to her, Owen reached out and gave her a kiss.  He saw that it pleased her and gave her another one, and another one, and another one.  That affection from her great grandson left her with a sweet, satisfied smile on her face.  Those are my last memories of her.  I am thankful for those last sweet memories of my grandma.

As I go see her today, in her comatose state, I want to remember her just as I saw her last.  It is never easy to see someone so close to death, especially a loved one.  Please keep my family in prayer, specifically my dad, who, being an only child, faces loosing his only parent left.  He is having a hard time, understandably.  Pray that he his grief is overwhelmed by Christ's sweet comfort.  Please pray for my sister as well.  She spent many of the last several years living with and taking care of my grandma.  She moved up to Washington for a new job in September and needs to get down to see my grandma.  Pray that the company she works for is gracious and that the funds to travel become available.  And just for the entire family in general.  I'm sure you know.  Death is never easy.

Time with Family

Thankfulness Day 19

Today I am thankful for time with family.  We get the opportunity to visit my brother, Michael and his wife, Genevieve, and their little daughter who is just Owen's age, in Utah for the week of Thanksgiving.  It is such sweet time whenever we get to spend time with them and I look forward to every minute of it!

My Kid's Smiles

Thankfulness Day 18
God gives us so much more than we deserve. My kids are so much of a blessing as it is, but every time my kids smile, that little blessing warms my heart. I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for these smiling faces and in awe of the God who made such beautiful, happy smiles!

My Children's Good Health

 Thankfulness Day 16

Yesterday the kids all saw their doctor for a check-up---Jackson for his five-year check-up, Madelyn for her 3-year check-up and Owen for his 18-month check-up.  They all are healthy kids!  I know that good health isn't a given.  I thank the Lord that He, for the time being, has blessed my children with good health!

Jackson covers his ears as Owen gets 5 shots.  They did them quick and Owen forgot about it in about 10 seconds, but they is never fun to watch or hear.

All the kids' percentiles.  Owen, for now, is pretty short.  No wonder his pants are too long! (Correction on the percentiles-  I just recalculated Owen's and Madelyn because they seemed slightly off.  Owen is in the 51 percentile in weight, not the 95th, and in the 14th percentile in length, not the 9th.  That makes more sense!  Madelyn's was slightly off.  She is in the 77th percentile for weight and the 55th for height.)

My 18-Month Old

Thankfulness Day 13

Today my little Owen is 18 months old.  EIGHTEEN MONTHS OLD!!!  My youngest.  My baby.  My last.  I knew it would go fast, but I didn't expect it would go this fast!

So here are a few things that he likes/loves/hates:

Owen's favorite food is ketchup.  It's not a "food," it's a condiment, you say?  Tell him that.  He also thinks ketchup is a hair gel and prefers to do his hair whenever he eats it.

He still loves his teddy bear.  Naturally, he calls it, bear!

He loves, loves, loves to drink, but hates, hates, hates milk!  He will drink water or apple juice-tinged water, but really nothing else.  I even tried vanilla almond milk with no prevail.

Owen loves sitting on the couch and watching Curious George with his brother and sister.

He loves his brother and sister.  They make him smile and laugh.  It is so sweet.

He loves splashing in the tub, even though his sister hates when he does it.  I think he likes to get her riled up sometimes!

Owen loves to run to the van when we are leaving like a big boy.  He doesn't want me to carry him!

He loves to climb and run.  Both of these things give him a lot of bumps and bruises on his head and legs!

Owen is a little cuddle bug.  I cherish this because I have a feeling this won't last!  He loves to cuddle when he is tired and is so good about giving hugs and kisses.  He has an extremely sweet and happy personality.

The words Owen likes to say are in another language for the most part, but he does say words here and there.  Night-night (nigh-nigh), bear, bye-bye, Mommy, Daddy, Poppy, Nonna, Ivy (I-eeee), Jackson (but I can only make it out sometimes), Madelyn, kitty, doggy, train, ball, please (peeese), bath,  cookie, train, and diaper are several of the words he says now.  Today he said his first (English) three-word sentence.  I asked him where his sippy cup was, and he shrugged his shoulderd and said, "I don't know," as clear as day.  :)  I wish I wasn't the only one there to see it!

Owen loves to wrestle with his daddy and brother and sister.  He has started to enjoy tickling his siblings as well.

He likes to rehearse what different animal sounds are as well as where all his body parts are.

He likes to sit on the hearth of the fireplace and "read" books.

Owen loves to be BUSY!!!

Well, after all that reflection on my little boy, I have to say that I am so thankful for my little Owen.  He is such a precious gift.  I can't imagine our family without him!  He has given us so many moments of joy and continuously pours out so much sweetness.  I love him so very much!

God's Healing Hand

Thankfulness Day 6:  God's Healing Hand

When my kids scrape their knee or get a paper cut, I tell them, "God made our bodies to heal.  Your scrape/cut is starting to heal right now.  Isn't that wonderful?"  I sort of give them a toddler and preschool-friendly explanation of hemoglobins and all that.  But seriously, I am thankful that God created our bodies with the ability to heal.  I was able to take off Owen's steri-strips today and it was  an amazing difference from what his little head looked like 6 days ago!

It may seem like such a small thing, but to his mommy, that deep cut was a big deal 6 days ago!  And I am very thankful that God healed my little boy's head!

My Sweet Kids

Today I am thankful for my kids.  They are all three so different and I love them all so very much!  Jackson is smart and witty and constantly contemplates the world around him. Madelyn is sweet, with a little sour and silly thrown in.  Owen is my happy little cuddle bug who wants so much to be like his brother and sister.  I thank the lord for these three blessings everyday.

Recently, Troy's show interviewed Keith and Kristyn Getty for Haven Today Radio and he brought home their new CD.  The third track on the CD is called A Mother's Prayer.  The lyrics are so precious because they explain exactly what I desire and pray for my children.  In the beginning of the song, I love the words...

"I pray your little frame grows strong
And that faith takes hold when you are young.
This is my prayer for you."

The song continues...

"This world is not as it should be,
But the Savior opens eyes to see
All that's beautiful and True.
Oh may His light fill are you are
And the jewel of wisdom crown your heart,
This is my prayer for you."

And towards the end of the song,

"May my mistakes not hinder you,
But His grace remain and guide you through.
This is my prayer for you."

The song says it all.  I love my kids so much and I want them to know the sweet love of Christ.  I thank God for the opportunity to love my kids by showing them the love of Christ.

A Month of Thankfulness

In these days leading up to the wonderful American holiday of Thanksgiving, I'd like to take a little bit of time to express what I am thankful for.  I'm hoping I can do a post everyday or nearly everyday because surely, I am thankful for so many things!  So here it goes...



God's Sovereignty & Graciousness

I am so very thankful for God's sovereign reign over everything.  Of course, there are times in my life when I feel I have no control and that my world is falling apart at the seams.  It brings me great comfort to know that God is holding all those seams together.  Some of the things that happen from day to day don't make any sense to me, and, on the other hand, some things seem to make sense.  Either way, the God who created the universe is in control of it all---even the "little things."  Wow.

Not only is He the all-knowing, all-powerful God, He also is so very gracious.  For example, yesterday, as I was busy prepping for our church's Reformation Night event, Owen fell off the kitchen bench and split his forehead open to the bone.  Blood was squirting, yes, squirting everywhere and I immediately knew no bandaid was going to fix this.  Panic struck as I reached for my phone and dialed Troy and called him five or six times before he picked up.  I quickly gathered extra clothes for Owen and changed my own (we were both bloody) and waited a couple minutes for Troy to arrive (while Owen screamed until a big lollipop I found in the pantry called him down).  In the meantime, Jackson and Madelyn calmly and quickly got themselves dressed (this never happens) and we all left for the doctor in no time at all.  In the end, it was a deep cut that needed several steri-strips and glue and Owen was (almost) as good as new.  When I got my thoughts together and knew my son would be fine, I began to think, very selfishly, WHY TODAY???  I am so busy today.  Why did this happen today?  And then it hit me.  If this happened just a few days from now, I couldn't have called Troy to help me get all three kids to the doctor so we could get Owen's head wound fixed up.  He would have been on a business trip across the country.  FORGIVE ME, LORD, I immediately prayed.  THANK YOU for being so gracious in your timing of this little mishap!  We are also so thankful it was just a bad cut.  No concussion.  No more injury.  Just a scary looking cut.  To quote my husband, "God is gracious.  Always."

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  2 Corinthians 12:9

Troy turns 40!

A week before Madelyn turned 3, Troy turned 40.  He had a hard time deciding what he wanted to do to celebrate the beginning of his 4th decade.  So, two weeks before the big day, he decided on a party! (Yea for Pinterest!)  We had close friends and family come to celebrate with Troy, which was hard.  If he could, Troy would have invited a lot more!  Nevertheless, he had a blast!  Here are some highlights of his party and his birthday!

The chalkboard has been one of my best purchase out of the Target dollar section.

 One request of his was bottled coke...you know...the Mexican ones with the real sugar!

 A movie themed seemed to be fitting for Troy, so behold the "backyard film theme!"

 Striped bunting and hanging mason jars.  

 Troy's mom was kind and rented a popcorn machine for the party.  We were so glad she did!  It was such a fun thing to have!

 Homemade yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

 Semi-homemade red velvet cupcakes. (I made the frosting and added some "special" ingredients to the mix!)  I made all the toppers in Adobe Illustrator.

 CAKE!

 Getting ready for the showing of Pee Wee's Big Adventure!

 My 40-year-old hubby doesn't look 40, does he?

 About to blow out his candles!

 Us.  With Cake.

 One of my favorite scenes...

 Silly boys.

 Good friends.  Just missing Scott!

 I gave Troy a year of dates for his birthday!  Looking forward to going on them!

 In N' Out!

 We ended Troy's bday weekend with a trip to the park.  The kiddos enjoyed it...

...and so did Troy!