The Big Cook

This morning, when we were in the frenzy of getting ready for church, I was looking for Ellie Mae and Hannah. Hannah was still sleeping, and Ellie Mae crawled into bed to cuddle with her. You can (kinda) see Hannah's head underneath Ellie Mae's 'baby'.....a great way to wake up?

On Saturday, I got together with some friends, and we did what we call, "The Yummy Big Cook". We made 124 meals in 6 hrs., so we each got to take home 31 meals. We have done this a number of times before, and this time, we made meals that are better for bbq-ing. Here are some pictures of the day:

Karen had to chop a ton of onions in the food processor, so she donned the "Onion Googles" so she wouldn't be crying the whole time.

Here was are, making enchilladas....

Unfortunately, I missed the picture of Conni, looking like she just butchered a cow, with raw meat all over her apron, and literally up to her elbows, while we did the hamburgers...good times, good times! Thanks, ladies!

Here's a couple of other pictures.... Hannah had a musical production at school, and she was a golfer. Her she is in her 'getup'....

Remember I told you about the show we were in? Well, here's a picture of the booth that we had. My excellent idea was to do wooden spoons with our logo as a giveaway....a HUGE success. It was fun to do for a couple of days, but not something I would want to do all the time. Yup, working definately cramps my style!!

A Grown Up

This week, I am going to try and be a grown up. I am not really looking forward to it, though...

Art is in a trade show this week for designers and construction industry people. He has a booth, and has asked that I come and help out with it. So, alas, I will go. I am kind of looking forward to it in that it kinda seems like a grown up thing to do.... that is, work. To spend two days with people who are bigger than 4 ft. tall, and have grown up conversations, well, that sounds kind of appealing. The idea that I can go and grab a drink without getting 4 other people drinks, well, that sounds pretty great too! And, we have chocolate yummies to entice people over to our booth, so I can make myself sick on that!

The part that I'm not really looking forward to is that life still continues on even when I'm not around. By that, I mean, my other responsibilites do not stop just because I have 'work' to do. They just continue on. And on. And on. And I will have to try and fit them in, somewhere...

Thankfully, we've had 2 people offer to take our girls while I am at the show (thanks, Fried & Nat!!), so I don't at all have to worry about the girls having anything less than a smashing time!

So, I will try my best to be a working Mom this week - well, for 2 days at least! Oh man, I just realized what time I will have to get up tomorrow morning...

Something to live by

I was eating my Dove chocolates today (thanks, Mom!), and here are the sayings that were inside...

1. You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
2. Success is the sum of many small efforts.
3. Create peace for yourself.

Dove has some good stuff to say.... So, I am going to 'create some peace for myself' and have my girls clean up the basement...

A Rant

I've had a couple of rants lately, and here's one of them: Why is it that we expect our children to learn things on their own? They can't! We must train them!!

This always seems to come up when we are potty training. We have potty trained all 4 of our girls in a day (or less). Seriously. When we trained Hannah, some friends said to me, "Just you wait until the next one!" And we waited, and then Abby was trained in less than a day....as was Molly....and now Ellie Mae. People will say to me, "You are so lucky! They trained easy!" Let me tell you something, friends. It wasn't easy. It was intense. But it was a day. And we TRAINED them. It's not called potty TRAINING for nothing....They must be TRAINED! It's like anything else in their lives. Children (or adults, for that matter) aren't naturally sweet and gentle and kind and sensitive to others....these are qualities we think are important, and so we TRAIN them up in these things....

Proverbs 22:6 says, "TRAIN a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.". That's what we must do, as parents. We need to not only discipline them, but also, we need to TRAIN them. These are 2 very different, very separate things. Proverbs 23:13 says, "Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.". First of all, let's talk about this wording. "...if you punish him with the rod, he will NOT die." So what this verse tells us is that if we do not punish them with the rod, they will die. Yikes! Those are pretty high stakes, if you ask me! I want my children to live...eternally, with Jesus. So that means, the Bible tells us, that I need to discipline them. I also want my children to walk with the Lord all the days of their lives. So, I need to train them. I need to be both proactive (training) and reactive (discipline) with them!

Don't you think that the Lord deals with us, His children, in these ways? We have times of both training and discipline. Both can be hard and uncomfortable and not fun, yet both are necessary for our growth. First of all, God trains us in new areas, and then the testing comes, and we see where we fall short, and if necessary, God disciplines us. Again, training and discipline. How merciful He is to give us the training first....and that is what we must do with our children....train first, then discipline. How cool that God gives us a road map for how to deal with our little ones!

So, there you have it, my rant for the day...

Diaper Free Home

So, for the first time in about 8 1/2 yrs., we are a......

DIAPER FREE HOME!! It`s been a long haul, but we`ve finally made it! Art potty trained Ellie Mae on Tuesday while I was at school with Hannah and Abby. She was a bit more stubborn than the other girls, so it took a little bit longer than the morning. Now, however, we are done. YIPPEE!! Done with diapers. I can`t hardly believe it....

A hot Toddy

Today, my grand husband woke up feeling icky. So, after sitting around on the couch all day, napping, while I worked my butt off to get caught up on my bookkeeping (I'm not bitter!), I decided to make him a hot toddy. Word on the street is that it's good for when you're feeling yucky. A simple search on google leads me to 44,700 recipe ideas. I have chosen one, and will try to see how it turns out. Truth be told, I chose one that looks easy... What would be easier is if I have an idea how to make this thing.... Any recipes anyone wants to share with me? Old family secrets, perhaps?

Ellie Mae's Birthday

On Sunday, we celebrated Ellie Mae's birthday. Here are some pictures to mark the day. First of all, here's her first thing in the morning....scarecrow hair and all....it's CRAZY!

And, of course, the after shot...
Our friend, 'Miss Rhonda', asked me what to get Ellie Mae for her birthday. I reminded her of Ellie Mae's love for shoes. Consequently, she got her a couple of pairs of shoes, which she plays with for hours each day. This is a fairly normal view of her during the day....she loves to take her pants off, and I often cannot find them!

Ah yes, the messy face, cupcake shots....

And that's a wrap, folks. My baby is now two. And now, onto the pottty training....