Inspiration to Creation: All about Flowers

Pinterest has become my new favorite place on the internet.  Its window shopping at its easiest.  Lots of inspiration there:

Inspiration: Nestofposies.com Felt Flower Wreath

Creation: Aimee's Felt Flower Wreath

My wreath looks like it was a lot easier than the one I was inspired by.  I actually did most of it in the car in the Laser Quest parking lot while waiting for Noah to finish up at a birthday party.  I wrapped a styrofoam wreath with 3 rolls of striped black and white ribbon (to make sure it was completely covered) and then cut felt squares into spirals.  I wrapped the spirals into flowers and stuck a silver ball-headed pin into the middle.  That is all.  When I got home, I did glue the ends of the ribbon down but the flowers without glue.  Easiest wreath ever.

Inspiration: Blue Sky Confections Paper Plate Wreath

Creation: Aimee's Paper Plate Wreath

Ok, so my paper plate wreath is not as cool as the other.  But this was a lot of work and my hands still smell like coffee.  Allow me to explain.  First, you take 50 cheap paper plates, soak them in coffee (hence the reason why my hands still smell like coffee), ball them up to wrinkle and lay flat to dry.  Then you cut them into spirals.  After this step, you burn the edges with a candle and I tried, but I kept setting the plate on fire.  (I had a dish of water near by) so I decided to skip that step.  Then I ran out of hot glue sticks, which you are supposed to use to glue the flowers onto the wreath.  So I decided to just wrap ribbon around the rest.  I glued pink pearls in the middle of some of the flowers.  I may make some tiny changes before hanging it up. Hers is a halloween wreath, mine will be for winter.  I'm happy with it and that's all that matters, right?  Although hers is really, really cool but I bet it took her days. Just saying...

In keeping with the flower theme, here is one more picture.  I finally, finally like how my fireplace looks.  I arranged the dried flowers and branches and love how it looks in the room.  (The black balls in the fireplace are for halloween.  Seth was a little concerned: "Why are there black balls in the fireplace?"  Hee)  Next week, I'll show you what I hung up on my blank wall. 

Have a great day!



Inspriration to Creation: Stenciled Tree Curtains

Inspiration: 

Last spring, I bought two books about the art of printing.  One book is titled Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils and Silk Screens.  One project that the author, Lena Corwin showed was stenciled "wallpaper."  She made tree stencils and then painted them on her wall to look like wallpaper. 

Creation:

I took that idea and made curtains for my living room.  Last winter, I took a few pictures of my two trees in the front of my house.  I traced the outline of those trees, took away the many, many small branches, and then made three stencils (two big, one small) out of the tracings. 

I bought 8 yards of a natural-looking fabric (basically a thicker muslin) and cut out two rectangles and got to work with two shades of blue:

Then I sewed the rectangles onto the bottom of the hemmed curtains.  It was by far the easiest curtain project I've ever done, minus the trouble I had with my sewing machine. (Thanks to my mom and Seth for the help in getting it fixed!)

Here they are, framing my heavier, shorter curtains in the living room:

I love how they turned out!  Now onto my next project... :)

august is over, on to september*

I wish I could say, "Happy Fall Y'all!" like I always see those painted signs say but alas, it is still stinkin' hot here. And I'm done with it.  I'm done with the heat, the heat index, the 7 day forecast saying more 100+ degree weather coming, ugh!!!

Really, I didn't come here to complain.  I did want to post because I haven't so here I am.  We are about to have a little 5-day vacation from school (They have Friday, Monday and Tuesday off) and the boys are so happy.  Just when you get into a routine...

Stopping myself from complaining. 

I think most of us are getting over the cold but Seth is just now getting it.  Poor guy.

I donated some clothes today at one of those red bins.  This red bin was in the parking lot of a daycare and of course, I parked right in the way of a parent dropping off their child.  She gave me the meanest look.  I was thinking, "But I'm doing a good deed!" It was punished though for sure.

Well, this is a bummer post.  So...

I leave you with another Flag Football picture.  Rhett had just gotten the ball and then ran it for a touchdown.  Woo!

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!



From "On to September" by Dear Nora

nothing is sweeter than with you*

Good Monday to you! I'm happy today. 13 years! Yea us!  I made Seth a picture cd using a song that is my very favorite ever.  It is called Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and describes perfectly what I feel for my sweet husband.  The chorus goes:

Ahh. Home. Let me come home.

Home is wherever I'm with you.

Ahh. Home. Let me come home.

Home is where I'm alone with you.

I'm a lucky girl.  ♥

In other news....

This picture will tell you how our weekend was:

It was busy and went too fast as usual.  However, I will say that those 2 and a half hours we were outside on Saturday afternoon was pretty awful.  The boys did great at their flag football game and I think had a pretty good time.  But it was so so so hot and humid.  I drank down 2 bottles of water and a half a gatorade and I was just sitting!! We were so sweaty and wet and I hope to never relive that experience.  When I got in my car after that games, the thermometer said 116 degrees.  I know it wasn't that hot but it did feel like it at times.  Whew. 

I will say I did enjoy using my camera! It does great for capturing the action.  I was a little afraid for it cause it got so hot, but I would put it in a cooler bag for awhile and luckily it survived.

Here is Noah:

Don't you love his green mouthguard? :)

Rhett got to play quarterback some and was cool and collected.  (Well, maybe just collected):

He also caught a pass perfectly and scored a touchdown!

Sunday came and Rhett came down with a fever, so he is home with me today.  (Feeling better but you have to be fever free 24 hours before going back to school.  I think it would be fine, but I don't want someone else breaking that rule, so I won't either).  I hate that he is already missing a day of school though.  Seriously. I guess you can't help it.

The bus situtation was a little better on Friday but you know, everything has its positives.  I have met so many neighbors and have become friends with a few of them over this bus thing so you just never know.  :) Plus Noah actually rode his scooter to the bus stop this morning with a friend and her parents and that is big in itself! haha.

I hope everyone has a great day!

*I love you Seth! Thanks for everything you do.  Happy Anniversary.

I may see the sun rise

*fresh blueberries, thrown in homemade pancake batter.  What could be better?

7:02 am. That is the time when the bus comes to pick up Rhett and his bus stop that is no longer right out the front door.  It is actually .42 miles away if we want to be precise.  (The school does apparently). 

7:02 am.

If you know me, or even read this blog a little bit, you know that I don't get up early.  Being a stay-at-home mom has afforded me the luxury of (gasp) sleeping in until 8 am or so.  Especially now that the boys are older and get up to watch tv before wanting breakfast (at least in the summer). 

Even during the school year, Rhett and Noah didn't have to be at school until 8:50 am.  We could get up at 7:30 eat cereal or frozen waffles, get dressed, and make lunches and be out the door by 8:25 or 8:30.  (And this was when the bus stopped right in front of our house around 8:15 am) 

You can see where I'm going with this. 

I don't claim to be a morning person but have recently realized that probably nobody really wants to be a morning person.  If given the chance, wouldn't anyone want to sleep in a little later? But most don't have that choice.  And now I won't either.  So I have a choice to make.  Either drag myself out of bed, realizing I woke up late, hussle Rhett out of bed, get him to gobble down breakfast and yell at him to hurry up, and we all leave feeling mad and streesed, or I wake up, make a nice* breakfast for the family, have everything ready, wake up Rhett and when he comes down stairs, everything is calm.  Seth can probably take Rhett to his bus stop and then I can do the same for Noah, whose bus doesn't come until 8:28 am.  If I look at it that way, instead of "Aww, I have to wake up early.  Do I have to? Can't I sleep in???" then the choice is easy to make.  I know when I was a child, I never felt hurried or harrassed or stressed in the mornings.  I want the same for my children. 

It won't be easy to do, but it is something I feel I must.  And I know the rest of you must be rolling your eyes, thinking, "Aimee's finally joining the grown-up party" and all and I apologize if you are but isn't this one of the purposes of a blog: a kind of personal enlightenment confessional?

So there you go.  A change is coming.  A better me may be emerging.  I may become, gulp, a morning person one of these days too. 
I

*By nice, I mean, not cereal every day.  I can fix pancakes like the picture above, more often.  I can make french toast.  I have several recipes I want to try out that I can make ahead of time (ham and cheese crossants, anyone?) so that should help too. 

a lesson in following the directions

*Our version of Sour Plum Ice Pops, with added blueberries, as per Noah's request

I have a popsicle cookbook which I bought last summer and have now just gotten around to trying a recipe.  These taste quite delicious, but are not easy to remove from the molds and are a little slushy.  I think I should have frozen them for awhile, then put the sticks in.  Just like the instructions said to in the book.  ;)

I want to try another recipe soon, but also am planning on making cheesecake bars.  I'll let you know how those turn out too. 

Here is the recipe for these icy treats:

Sour Plum Ice Pops
from Ice Pops by Shelly Kaldunski

1 1/2 lb underripe red plums (I used very ripe, better eat them now plums, so it wasn't as sour as I think it should have been.  I also just now realized that I only used 3 plums, when it says "about 7 plums."  Hmmm, no wonder they don't look as dark as the picture in the book.)
1/3 c superfine sugar (Put your sugar in the food processor first, then turn it on for a minute.  Your sugar will be superfine then.)
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of salt

Cut the plums in half and remove the pits.  Place plums, sugar, lemon juice and salt.  Pour in 1/3 cup of water.  (Aha! Another thing I did not do! Probably why they aren't coming out.  Wow, I am so glad I am blogging this recipe.  I'm learning one thing after another.) Process until smooth.

Divide mixture among the molds, cover and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.  If using sticks, insert them into the molds when the pops are partially frozen, after about 1 hour, then continue to freeze until solid. 

So, in conclusion, if you do not want super sweet, slushy ice pops, then don't do what I did.  :)

blah, blah, it is hot, blah

This is turning into a strange summer.  One of those summers that the only thing anyone ever talks about is the weather.  How hot it is (very, very, very), how much is hasn't rained (little to not at all in months!), when it could rain again (people are actually hoping for a hurricane!), when it will cool off (January?)...and no one seems to mind talking about it.  It is just all there is.  Front and center, in everyone's mind.

Did you know there is actual research that says people's seratonin levels drop in heat, therefore making people crankier?  There are stories about how baseball umpires are ejecting more players when the heat rises.  Then there are stories about how cities in Texas are running out of water, literally. 

Here in Tulsa, we are under voluntary water restrictions, which means, to me, stop watering your lawn in the middle of the day, right?  I guess not everyone thinks that though.  Our neighborhood association still waters the public lawns in the middle of the day, which just irritates me.  They are the ones who sent everyone an email telling us about the water restrictions!  Sigh.

I guess people talk about it because we are hoping it is just a fluke.  As in, it won't last much longer.  The heat will go away soon, right?  (Not for us--we are under heat warnings until Saturday).  The rain will come again, surely? I know I'm not the only one hoping so.

***

In lighter news, Rhett is reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  I'm beyond excited for him.  Last night, he read the first ten pages and said, "This book is awe-some! I can't stop reading!"  Love!

We watched Captain America this weekend, so we are all ready for Avengers, which comes out next summer.  I never thought I would watch so many superhero movies in my life.  Perk of being a mom of boys I guess.   :)

Have a great day!

a weekend away with my sister

This past weekend was so much fun!  I loved getting to see Krista and hang out.  It had been too long.  I really didn't take that many pictures but we did a lot. 

The photos we did take are from the Segway Tour of Charlotte.  Segways are the funnest way to travel for sure. 

Here are two beautiful pictures of my sister and me:

But, really, we do look awesome.  These were taken before we were allowed to get on them.  You should have seen us once we were though, zipping along.  I was amazed at the muscles you use in your feet, legs and back.  I don't know how much we learned about Charlotte (the tour guide was fun, but didn't know much) but honestly, I didn't care. 

We went through one of the oldest cemetaries in Charlotte and it was segregated.  Here is a poignant headstone that our guide pointed out:

This one was interesting as well:

The man was killed by a lion! 

We went through beautful parks and greenways and made our way to Uptown (which is Charlotte's Downtown) and I had to take a picture of this for the boys:

The Carolina Panther! This is emabarrassing to admit, but Krista and I couldn't remember the name of the NFL team that plays in Charlotte.  Had no idea.  When the tour guide said something about the Carolina Panthers, we both were like, "Oh yeah!"  So yes, here is the panther.  Looks kind of scary.

We also went to Ikea (spent 3 hours there!), and did some shopping at a mall and basically did things that you don't want to do when your kids are around because it is too much work.  It was great!

Hold On*! We also watched Bridesmaids and laughed and laughed.  So funny. 

I can't forget to say that I also saw Krista's husband.  He was there for a Heroes Comic convention and so I didn't see much of him but it was nice to catch up.  He has a new blog called The Temple of Kemple which showcases his art. Pretty amazing if you ask me.

But it is back to life.  Rhett is at Vacation Bible School (Noah refused to go) this week.  We'll probably go to the pool a lot because its hot, hot, hot.  Rhett also wants to go to church camp this weekend but I think I missed the deadline on that one.  Oops.  He won't be happy with me but I think we may get to go to a baseball game on Saturday, so that will make up for it, hopefully. 

I'll leave you with something that Krista made.  It is my favorite thing ever:

Isn't it adorable? I love it.  And he is waving! Aww... Be still, my heart.  :)

{thanks, sis for a fantastic weekend and my owl.  thanks, chris for getting the boys awesome comic books! they've been busy drawing their own after reading the ones you got for them.}

*a surprise from the movie-one of my favorite (girl) bands from the 90s had a cameo.  Can you guess which one?

oh what beautiful webs they weave

Yesterday, we watched a small spider weave her web.  I assume it was a she, but we kept calling it a he, so who knows?  The wind was whipping the web back and forth and it looked like the spider was on one heck of a thrill ride, but she still continued until she was done.  Then she went back to the middle to wait.  It was pretty amazing. 

After it got dark, we climbed up onto their fort to roast marshmallows (with candles-it was funny) and to begin reading Tom Sawyer.  We only got through the first chapter and then I had to explain what happened because the language is such that we all are not used to (pantaloons, anyone?) but I have to admit that I started laughing when Tom and the boy dressed in the pantaloons were fighting over whether or not Tom would beat him up lick him. 

Tonight we have our last baseball game. Rhett is ready for a break from baseball (as we all are).  And then tomorrow, I am flying to Charlotte, NC to see Krista and Chris! I can hardly wait! Right now I can't decide whether or not to bring my good camera.  It is kind of bulky so I think I'll take my older, smaller one.  I am also trying to fit everything into a small "weekend" bag.  I don't think "weekend" bags were made for women but I'll try. 

I'll leave you with this:

I took some photos of the solar lights hung out on the fort, where we roasted marshmallows.  I wanted to mainly to work on taking photos at night.  This is without the flash, on auto.

 This one above is on manual, and after working on shutter speed and white balance and ISO.  I can see why people need tripods when taking photos at night because the shutter speed is very slow.

So slow that you can't move or it will blur.  But I did this one above on purpose.  I shook the camera as I took the picture and this was the result.  Kind of cool.

Ok, enough of the boring light pictures.  Hopefully, next week I'll have some of Charlotte.  Til then, have a great weekend!

Being boys i.e. Captains of Adventure

Well, I talk about boys

Don't ya know I mean boys

Well, I talk about boys, now

Aaahhh, boys

Well, I talk about boys, now

What a bundle of joy!

                                -from the Beatles "Boys"

Don't you just love boys?  The drink mustache (I think its Sunkist), the sunscreen residue in their hair, the sweaty sideburns...

the freckles that dot their faces, the wide, holey smiles, the cool shades...

Day 1 of our Summer Adventure included getting new sunglasses because this is Rhett's first time to wear the ones he has always wanted to wear with the rainbow lenses.  So excited! Rhett wears his contacts most days now, unless I'm not there to help him put them in.  This, we are working on.   We also went on a picnic at the riverside.  This will be an ongoing adventure because the boys really want to explore the river but today we were not in a good spot.  We walked down a small trail, slid down a small hill (even me), and looked around at the trashy and stinky water.  Like I said, not a good spot.  So, I hoisted the boys back up and they pulled me back on the trail (Rule #1 of being a good Captain of Adventure:  Always help the smallest person up a hard spot to climb first, then they can all help pull the biggest.  It worked really well.  Thank goodness or I'd still be there at the waterside!) 

After walking around the playground a bit, we then decided to go back home and play Beatles Rockband where we jammed to some good tunes, including the one at the top of this post.

Now, we are taking a break and waiting for Seth so we can go swimming at the pool. 

Ahh, summer...

Oh and we are working on getting along with each other also.  See how well its going?

a wish list for summer 2011

Here are some things that would make this a really great summer:

• Roasting marshmallows (from Rhett)-actually Rhett has wanted to do this for months now.  I think we will try to do it today or tomorrow
• Reading Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn with the boys
• Getting Noah to wear something other than his black underarmor shirt (you know, the one he wore in the picture in the post below? Well, he wears it every other day) and wind pants. 
• Playing tennis with the family (I have a picture in my mind:  All four of us go out and hit the ball around and it is fun and we don't have to chase the ball when the kids hit it over the fence or use 10 balls because they all hit the net...Rhett and Noah have a tennis camp at the end of the month!)
• Noah learning how to play golf (because he really wants to)
• Taking a trip to see Krista (oh yeah, this is happening!  Three days and counting...)
• Getting to see some cousins (the boys already saw two of their cousins this weekend and had a great time)
• The mornings stay cool outside and then the evenings cool down so we can go outside and not be stifled by humidity and heat (I know, I live in Tulsa.  This one isn't happening.  But I can dream, can't I?)
• Going to the mountains once this summer
• Doing art projects with the boys
• Taking lots of pictures
• Getting to see some old friends that I haven't seen in awhile
• Watching movies (HP! HP! HP)
• Enjoying the long, lazy days of summer (this one should be easy)

What are some of your wishes for this summer?

last day of school-year 2011

                       

After a crazy night of tornado threats which ended up being mostly a windy thunderstorm for us (but sadly, not for others), the boys finally went to bed, too hyped up to sleep.  Today is the day they have been looking forward to for a month!

I don't know what this summer holds for us so far, but I do know it will involve plenty of pool time (although it needs to warm up a bit for me to get in), reading books (the boys and I are going to read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn together), watching movies (Harry Potter!) and hanging out. 

What about you? 

little of this, little of that

All day today I have felt like I am forgetting something important. 

I am paying bills, so that is not it.

I know about Rhett's yearbook signing and pizza party lunch, which parents are not invited too, so that can't be it.

I checked on Facebook to see if it was someone's birthday.  It is, but not a close friend.

I even looked on my blog archive and did find out that yesterday was my grandparents anniversary.  Oops. 
But still, that feeling...

I am sure I will remember it.  Probably when it is too late. 

In other news:

Rhett:  His graduation was a real ceremony:  a speech from the principal, a song (which didn't make me cry, only because I really couldn't hear it), each child's name being called while they walked across the stage to get a diploma.  Many, many parents and grandparents, looking as proud as they can be. 

Noah:  Noah's new fascination is annoying his brother.  He knows exactly which buttons to push too.  Fortunately, Rhett doesn't get mad quickly and thinks most of it is funny.  Unfortunately, if Rhett turns the tables around and does the same thing, Noah turns into Mr. Hyde quickly.  That kid.

Oh and perhaps the most amazing thing that has happened to me, game-wise, in, let's say, ever:  I was playing Words with Friends with my brother and was losing pretty badly.  Then I played the word JOCK, with a triple word score overall and the K on the triple letter score and it totaled 120 points.  120 points!!  I am not saying that this is anything but luck and I have no doubt that this will never happen to me again so that is why I am telling you now.  :)

this has been a lot of fun

I was thinking this morning about how I would begin my blog post and I thought of That 70's Show episode where the gang goes to Canada to get beer, then Fez loses his Green Card and they get caught by the Canadian border guard.  Leo (who is played by Chong, of Cheech and Chong) answers all the Mounties' questions with the same question, for example: 

Mounty:  What are you doing in Canada?
Leo:  What are you doing in Canada, man?

It is hilarious (and I know I am not doing it justice by writing about it here) and anyway, the reason I thought of it was because I imagined you, my blog reader, saying, "Where have you been lately?" and my immediate response was, "Where have you been lately, man?" 

But to answer your question (that I imagined you asking), I have been reading.  And sewing pillows.  And cleaning carpets.  Some other things too.

Books:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is such a good memoir. It is a story in the same vein as Angela's Ashes (alcholic father, very poor growing up, ect) but didn't make you feel as sad because of her tone.  This book I read for my book club, which was last night at my house.  I made pinwheel sandwiches and brownies and it was so fun to sit in a group of women and just talk. 

I will admit, I never wanted to read this book.  It looked boring to me.  And then the movie came out and Robert Pattinson stars in it and all of the sudden, it looked a little less boring.  ;)  So I read it and kicked myself that I didn't read it before now.  Love, love, love this book. 

And my new obsession:  The Mortal Instruments series by Cassadra Clare.  These books remind me a little of Harry Potter (in a good way, not a totally copying-sort-of way.)  A science-fiction/fantasy/romance (my favorite combo) story about supernatural beings, both good and evil.  Really love these books.  I think she wrote a trilogy, then decided to write six instead and the fourth book has been just released. She also has written a prequel about The Mortal Instruments so there is that too.  Plenty to keep me busy during the hot summer months.

Today:

Rhett has his graduation ceremony today.  His elementary school only goes through 4th grade.  I do know they are going to show a slideshow and sing a song, a combination that will no doubt make me cry.  I really try not to cry but I can't help it.  Kids singing brings tears to my eyes and I have found it doesn't matter what it is--the kids' choir sang for Easter at our church and tears streamed down my face, when Rhett had his musical and sang about pioneers, I cried at that too.  And slideshows--forget it.  I'll just bring plenty of tissues and try not to embarrass myself. 

A funny: (not meant to embarrass my hubby)

I tried a different recipe for my brownies for the book club meeting last night.  While Rhett was eating one for his dessert last night, he told Seth, "These taste different."  Seth didn't know I made them and he thought for a split second that maybe, just maybe, they were "special" brownies that one of the book club ladies made.  So he tasted it but decided they were fine.  When he told me about it later, I asked if he would have known what "special" brownines tasted like and he said that surely he could have.  Then I asked if he really thought one of the women could have done that!  He said, "I don't know them!"  We had a good laugh.  The more I think about it, the more I laugh.  And, strangely enough, it reminds me of That 70's Show because there is always a point in each episode that they are sitting around a table, getting high and laughing.  Stranger still, I have referenced that show twice and I really never watched it while it was on and hardly watch it now. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

i'm tired of thinking of titles

It's May! Only 18 more days of school for the boys. They are ready! I haven't posted any pictures in awhile, so here is a few for you:

Boo is 6 months old now.  She is a smart, stubborn dog but a great watch dog.  A couple of weeks ago, it was stormy outside, with hail and thunder being the worst of it.  Boo thought the thunder was trying to get us, so she sat down in our entry way, facing the door, fully alert.  We have never seen her sit that long away from any of us before so it was pretty funny. 

I wanted to show Rhett when he was singing with the 4th grade, but had to blur out the other kids so sorry for the weird picture.  I think they were singing, "When I first came to this land" and it was such a cute song. Here is a snippet of the end:

When I first came to this land

I was not a wealthy man

Then I got myself a son

I did what I could

I called my son "My Work's Done"

I called my wife "Joy of My Life"

I called my horse, "Lame of Course"

I called my cow ,"No Milk Now"

I called my shack "Break My Back"

Still the land was sweet and good

I did what I could.

The musical was all about the pioneers of Oklahoma.  They sang the state song at the end and I have to say that Oklahoma has the best state song ever.  It is so joyful and peppy. 

Here is Noah with his class when they were singing a Spanish song about body parts (hands, feet, mouth, nose).  It was cute too.  Again, sorry for the blurs but I always have to show when Noah is smiling like that.  He has blue hair because of his Suessical the Musical.  He wanted to be wild and crazy, like a Who.  :)

We've had  rain (Thank God) and many days of cloudy skies the last two weeks of April.  I love clouds and the promise of rain.  It has rained out a few of Rhett's baseball games, so we are going to have to make those up but sometimes it is nice to be stuck inside doing nothing because of the rain. 

One day, I went out and our sky looked like giant cotton balls.  It was really cool. 

I will leave you with this short quip:

The boys have been busy with school but on Friday, they did get a day off because they went to work with Seth, where they learned about volcanos and earthquakes.  Then I met them for lunch at a great, greasy hamburger joint (seriously, yummy!) and while we were eating Noah was complaining about something that wasn't pleasing him.  Rhett tells his brother, "You know, the sun does not rise and set on you alone."  Before I could tell him I was impressed with that, Rhett's very quick-witted brother fires back, "Rhett, I will rise and sit on you."  We all just burst out laughing.  It was just so funny and just so Noah to say that.  Even Rhett admitted that it was a great comeback.

Have  a great day!

sharing a list of loves today

I wish I could say that I was so busy last week, that it flew by so fast, I totally didn't have a chance to blog.  But, that really isn't true.  I was kind of lazy last week.  Fighting allergies, the blahs, whatever.  Anyway, here's hoping this week will be better.

Things I'm loving right now:

Netflix.  We have an account now and I am so loving it right now.  I can watch things on my IPad while the boys are watching something else on the tv! Right now, I am enjoying 30 Rock (can I say that I love that show and have never watched it before now? But it is so funny) and we've already enjoyed (or not depending on what it was) 4 movies.  4!  I feel like I have to break up with Blockbuster though.  Imagine, will you, me sitting Mr. B down and giving him a coke from his own chilled beverage holder that is at the checkout counter and saying, "Look, I know we've had good times.  You were there during my True Blood marathon.  You had some great movie selections.  And in the last couple of years, you didn't charge late fees.  But, you are pretty expensive.  And there is that whole bankruptsy thing going on...I mean, how long are you still going to be around?  Plus, your "guaranteed" titles weren't always there.  In fact, more often than not, they were all gone.  So, this is good-bye.  And good luck."


My Aladdin water bottle.  Since moving to Tulsa, I started buying bottled water again and  until recently, just didn't care.   Then I started feeling guilty again so I stopped cold turkey but found I wasn't drinking enough during the day.  I basically filled my glass half full then drank a sip, then forgot for an hour or two.  Plus, you can't really take a glass with you whereever you go.  So I tried filling my Camelback water bottle up with water but (and this is where I reveal something weird about me that I only recently figured out) I don't like drinking water from anything but clear cups or glasses! Because my blue Camelback would just sit there, untouched too.  Instead of reverting back to bottled water, though, I bought a clear water bottle, which is also BPA free.  So I am happily drinking water again. 

The fact that there is only 6 (or maybe 7) weeks of school left.  Yay! I am looking forward to summer, very much so. 

My sister Krista's crochet critters.  Look on her blog (link off to the side) and you too will fall in love with the cuteness.

Have a great Monday!

3 projects, 3 pictures, 3 wishes

You really may not care at this point, but Round 2 in the Dogs vs. Me battle of the garden has begun.  I decided to try a garden fence.  I found a white garden fence (cheap, cheap, cheap!) at Wal-mart, but spray painted in black so it wouldn't be so noticeable.  And standing from afar, you can hardly see it although when you can, it doesn't look so bad.  The dogs sniffed it but then walked away.  Maybe the spray paint will be a deterrent for awhile.  I'll keep you updated because I know you really do care.  Haha.

Have I ever showed you the shark that I paper-mâchéd? I don't think I have.  So here it is in all his friendly glory:

It hangs in Noah's room and his room is officially finished.  It is painted a lovely green, has a collage of picture frames that hangs above his desk, his bed is diagonal facing, just like he asked and there is a Mario-Luigi t-shirt stretched over a canvas (easiest project ever!) that hangs by his bed.  Here is a shot:

My favorite is the framed art that hangs above his nightstand.  It reads, "You are an Original"  and that is Noah exactly. 

It is so beautiful outside right now so here is what I'm wishing for this weekend:
1. I want to play tennis with the boys
2. I want to grill something and eat outdoors
3. I want to take some pictures of my family

Have a great weekend and Happy April! 

setting myself up for a fail

Good afternoon. If anyone is counting, it is Dogs 1 Me 0 as far as the garden is concerned. Somedog (I'm not naming names, but a not-so-little puppy has dirt written all over her face and fingernails) totally ignorned the Boundary dog spray and went right for a plant in one of my pots and also one of my grasses. She totally dug that up and took up some weed fabric along with it. I had that tacked down! She also pulled up some plastic that was under pea gravel which was by the air conditioner to keep the dogs away. (I read that they don't like the feel of pea gravel under their paws. I guess that was wrong). So, wait, that means it is Dogs 2 Me 0.

Sigh.

After blowing a fuse, I am calm now, the garden is halfway back to normal and the dogs are put away in the laundry room. I realize that I was just asking for it by planting grass. What dog doesn't like grass? And mulch? And apparently, fabric? Back to the drawing board...

Mangos.  Delicious, yummy fruit.  I found them at Sam's.  We've yet to eat all of them but we are working on it.  I took this picture last week when it was sunny.  I don't mind the clouds, really, I don't, but I do wish it would rain if there were clouds.  And spring is the only time with decent temperatures to enjoy here in humid Oklahoma.  Summer is coming up fast and the hot temps await. 

Wow, I really trailed onto another subject there.  I was going to say that I'm working on taking photos inside with no flash and I have found that lots of light is helpful.  Everyone probably knows that so I won't say anymore on the subject.

I'll end this post on a good note:  This morning, I awoke to the sound of my boys laughing.  And that was a really nice way to start the day.

Bye for now...

i really love my two goofballs

I took this about a month ago.  I took several pictures of them and believe it or not, this is the only one that they are both smiling a little.  The others they are making funny faces or pouting (Noah) or I can see pink gum (Rhett).  Yes, they are goofing around but don't they look adorable doing it? :)

If I can ever get us up and around on a Saturday, I would love to take some family shots in our living room.  With the light coming in from the windows, it really is beautiful.  Maybe someday.

I'm cold today.  I haven't recovered from this weekend where we sat in 35 degree weather watching Rhett's baseball tournament.  Every two minutes, Noah would say, "I really wish we could go right now."  And I would say, "I know.  Me too."  But still we sat, huddled underneath a blanket and freezing our you know what's off.  I am beginning to think Mother Nature doesn't like baseball. 

Speaking of cold, the ice cream experiment is a breeze.  hee hee.  Seriously, so easy.  All you need is:

1 gallon size freezer bag
1 quart size storage bag
3 cups of ice
3/4-1 cup of ice cream salt
1/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 t vanilla


1.  Add the sugar, milk, cream and vanilla in the quart storage bag.  Seal securely.
2. Put 3 cups of ice into the gallon storage bag.  Add 3/4 to 1 cup of salt to the bag of ice.
3. Place the sealed quart bag inside the gallon bag and seal the gallon bag securely.
4. Gently rock the gallon bag from side to side for 10-15 minutes or until the contents of the quart bag have solidified into ice cream.
5. Remove the quart bag, open it and serve!

You might want to wear gloves for this.  The bag gets really cold! Also, make sure the quart bag is sealed, otherwise your ice cream will taste salty.  One boy had really salty ice cream, but he ate it anyway. Blech.

The experiment was too see if the temperature of the ice got colder or warmer when salt was added to it.  It really is kind of cool (forgive all the puns) to test it out. 

The ice cream didn't get too hard but the kids liked it that way.  They used straws and had milkshakes. 

I think I'll do this with my kids this summer because it was so easy.  Enjoy!

C25K Week 2 Day 1 reflections*

Yesterday, I went to the gym. It was kind of spontaneous, well, actually, the buying of new sneakers was spontaneous, the guilt that followed was self-generated.  (As in, I just spent good money on a pair of good work-out shoes, now WORK OUT or else!) So, to the gym I went in my new shoes (they are the Sketchers Tone Ups which, judging by my sore butt and inner thigh muscles, really work.) and I began my Couch to 5K program again.  And I found that it really wasn't that hard, this running and walking on the treadmill thing.  I actually enjoyed it.  I would walk and read To Kill A Mockingbird (again) and then run and think about things like "Wow, my neck looks old." (I saw my reflection in the tv monitor) and "I can't believe I named my dog after a man who stabbed his dad with scissors."  and "But doesn't Boo Radley redeem himself in the end?" and "I can't believe its been so long since I've read my favorite book that I don't remember these things." and then it was time to walk again before getting to deep into thought.

It really went by fast.  30 minutes, 165 calories burned (is that really it?) and I was out of there.  I also had energy to go back to work in the back yard for awhile. 
I have decided I must go back at least 3x a week.  And only read To Kill a Mockingbird then because that will motivate me. 

I have also decided to start using night cream on my neck.  Or is that too much information for you?

*I need to tell you in full disclosure that I started C25K last month.  Since I walk/ran only once a week, then took a couple of weeks off, I am only on Week 2 when I should be, oh, much farther.  But I didn't have the shoes.  Now I do.  ;)