Chocolate dipped peppermint sugar cookies

Christmas party #3 = 4 dozen cookies.

Mmm... enough said.

Homemade Donuts

I needed a dish for a Christmas party I'm attending on Friday evening (one of 3, in 2 days, eek!).  So I found this recipe http://www.littlebitfunky.com/2011/11/what-i-made-for-monday-naughty-donuts.html and decided it was easy and delicious.  Mine look a bit more cinnamon-y.  The kids had fun helping for the kid-friendly parts.

They couldn't help with the frying, of course, so I sent them up to their room as an added safety measure.  Also, so they wouldn't distract me into burning them.  While they were up there, I snuck these in for them.

It doesn't get much easier than that.  They were delicious.

Besides, who doesn't love sprinkles?

Little Blessings

A few weeks ago, my son Jeremiah turned 5.

He got some birthday money and decided to place an order from Toys 'R' Us.  They were having a deal where you could spend $25 on animal planet toys and get a free T-rex.  Since he wanted a shark from them, this was perfect.  So he ordered:

 

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So some time passes, and I got an email saying they couldn't fill his order and cancelled it.  I knew he was going to be upset.  I almost didn't tell him, and I thought I could try and hunt the stuff down.  I was afraid they wouldn't have it or that I would have to spend our money, and then I realized I would be cheating him out of a life lesson anyway.  He needed to learn that things like that happen sometimes.  So I told him what happened. He just got this kind of sad look and said "Ok."  (Think Eeyore)

I told him after our book club that day we could go to the store and see if they had them there or look around and see what else they had.  I got another sad ok, but he didn't complain or anything.  :)

So we headed to Toys 'R' Us, in a torrential downpour, no less.

We had a good time looking around.  They love browsing the board games.  When we came to the right aisle, we found that not only did they have both of the items, but they were still doing the sale!  He could still get his free T-rex!  He was excited, and we were happy to see that he got to get the toys he wanted after all.  The lady at the register was having a great talk with them, and she told them it was her birthday that day.  When the total came up, it was $5-6 more than I thought it should've been.  I said, "I think the T-rex is supposed to be free, that's an odd price?"  Since the T-rex was $11 it didn't make sense.  Well, what happened was that one of the toys (I believe the shark one) was on sale.  So it didn't add up to $25.  So we decided to go find something else to add.  So we went back and found a $3 dinosaur (another T-rex of course).  We came back up to the register.  I joked about how these were the hardest birthday presents we've ever had to get!  No sooner than I said that, she says "These are on sale too!"  So we had to go back and pick ANOTHER $3 toy, since they were half off.  Jonathan picked a dragon.  So we went to the register for the 3rd time.  At last, we were able to purchase the toys.  It ended up being $1 LESS than it would've been online.  So even though it took us a lot of work, and for awhile Jeremiah believed he may not get his toys, he ended up being blessed with 2 extra toys!  He came home with all of this for less than $30.

It was also a nice little reminder that sometimes when things don't happen the way we planned for them too, we develop a negative attitude.  We might get sad or angry.  Why is this happening to me, God?  When just around the corner, there lurks a greater blessing from Him.  Which is one of the reasons we are supposed to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).  Yes, I got all of that out of dragons, dinosaurs, and shark toys.  Also, I forgot to use his $3 birthday coupon.  I guess that means we have to go back again someday.  LOL

How does your garden grow?

Well it was only a matter of time.  Being a mom to an ever growing family, I have finally decided I should learn how to *ahem* garden *ahem*.  I'm not an outdoorsy type person.  I would prefer to never actually have to step outside and that nothing from the outside be brought inside, in my own perfect world.  BUT, the time has come.  So, I have gathered up some pumpkin seeds.  They are now drying on the bookshelf, soon to be awaiting spring.

So what are your gardening tips?

What a great day

We are having a great day with school today.  It's not that anything out of the ordinary happened.  It's just that the kids know what to expect now, and they have gotten to where they can do their worksheets independently.  Even though they are working on our roof and it is LOUD, the boys were able to take their worksheets to their room and complete them while Ella helped me fold laundry (meaning she handed me stuff from the basket).  Lila sat contentedly nearby and put herself to sleep. I'm not saying every day is (or will be) like this, but it's nice to see them fitting into a routine.  I was just happy to accomplish something other than school today!!  Yesterday was a bit crazier, I mean just look at this crew!

 It's good news for me, because I need all of the "free" time I can get.  My sister and I are gearing up for a craft fair in November, and there are crafts to be crafted!

So if you are local (Toledo area), make sure and hit me up for the info, and if you aren't I do mail orders as well.  Here's my page!  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baby-Kisses-Bowtique/102517639810231  There will be taggie blankets, baby legs, bows, bow holders, jewelry, and anything else we can dream up in the meantime.

It's good to know that just because we have a crazy day at home, it doesn't mean the next day won't be calm, cool, and involve a clean(er) house and some crafty fun!  It could be that encouraging bible study we had last night about building character in the midst of spiritual warfare.  Despite all of the things some of the ladies are dealing with right now, they are still able to be an encouragement to others and able to come together and have a very blessed time.  Praise the Lord for great fellowship and friends!!

Home schooling

Well we've survived our first week and a half, although I believe we may be a little sillier for the record.

We've had a great time sliding into our routine.  They've learned so much already.  I think we are going to have a great year!  They were working on one of their journal assignments in the picture above.  We've been doing a Question of the Day every day, and believe me, the answers have been enlightening.  We studied butterflies last week.  All 5 of our butterflies were able to emerge, and can you believe I didn't even get a picture?  Maybe I'll go see if one of them is still hanging around.  We released them into our flowers in the front yard.  They were beautiful, but I'm in no hurry to do it again.  Let's just say it was grosser than I expected.  This week we are studying the moon, but it hasn't exactly been cooperative.  Every time we go to look at it, there are too many clouds!  It's been such a blessing for us to have this time as a family.  I wouldn't trade it!!

Also this week, Jonathan had his appt. with the allergist.  He's such a trooper, nothing seems to faze him.  He had to do a skin test.  Nothing can keep this kid from his math!

They determined that he has asthma, as well as the cat, dog, and mold allergies we knew about.  He has a couple of inhalers, allergy medicines, and an airflow meter to use.  All of the kids think the air flow meter is awesome, and Jonathan and Jeremiah are just thrilled that he can be back in their room and eat normally again.  Everybody is happy.  :)

Only a matter of time

Well, it was only a matter of time before I slacked off on my blogging.  Truth be told, I couldn't for the life of me remember my login info.  Anyway, I'm back now!

Due to the fact that it's been, eh hem, 7 months... a lot has happened.  The short version is, we had a beautiful baby girl.  Here is Lila Rebekah:

The long version is:

I learned how to make baby legs.

My oldest turned 6!

I created an army of penguins.

I got bigger...

We went to the circus, which caused this.

Jeremiah broke his collarbone.

Ella stole someone's pancakes.

Jonathan completed his soccer season.

Jeremiah did a lot of this, while his collarbone healed.

My husband, Joe, turned 30 *gasp*, and we had a surprise party.

Jonathan had surgery. 

Jeremiah managed to give himself a black eye in his sleep, and he didn't even know (seriously).

Jonathan graduated from kindergarten.

He kept losing teeth.

I got even bigger...

The boys took some swimming lessons.

Then I got really big.

We became a family of 6.

MawMaw Sue came to visit.

We had a party.

The guys went camping in Illinois.

Jonathan finished the 1st grade.

Lila looked really cute while she slept.

We went to the beach!

We started the school year!

Last, but not least...

I found my blogging login info, hehe!

Stay tuned.