Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder...

Hey friends!  Well, I've been out of sight, out of mind for about six days now...but who's counting?  I didn't intend on taking another extended break, it just sort of happened.

B and I have had a lot of doors open and close over the last couple of weeks, so we have been in deep prayer, searching the word and reflecting (sometimes even speculating) on what GOD may have in store.  We don't have answers, but there is a peace in the waiting.  We've transitioned from, "Lord, please provide!" to "Lord, you have shown us your provision and now, let us be filled by every word from your word." 

I wrote more about it Here on the FaithBlogs site.  Sorry, if that seems like a shameless plug...it's really not...I just want to share what HE is doing.  He's merciful friends.  I pray each of you experience the width, depth and vastness of His mighty love for you. 

I'm not going to insult you by pretending that each of you are not, in some way, experiencing a struggle deeper than mine.  But as my best friend Sarah and I say to each other...pain is pain.  Struggles are still struggles.  They look different for each of us, but the impact at the core of our very soul is still the same.

I pray that His goodness and mercy washes over each of you. 

Take heart...your redeemer Lives.

Let's Go Fly A Kite...

A few days ago we had a beautiful (windy) day...So, what did we Jackson's do?

We went to a park to fly a kite...

The Little Mr. took a turn...

And then it crashed, so it was my job to get it fly ready...

We got it soaring, and the little Mr. was on the chase...

The little Miss was in awe of this weird thing in the air that was taking up so much of our time...

But, then she realized how much fun it was to chase...

So, how long was the song, "Let's Go Fly A Kite" stuck in your head while looking at these pictures?

Well, get it out of your head and go EMBRACE THE CAMERA with Emily today!

T.T.T...

It's been a while since I've done a Thrifted Threads Thursday post...mostly because I've been in a clothing rut, and haven't felt like being creative.  But, after a few nice days, I felt renewed inspiration, and broke away from the same old cardigans I'd been using as my standbys all winter...

 I remembered I had this fun, thrifted jacket.  I sort of wish I would have paired it with a different colored tee...but you get the idea.  What do you think...should the tee be tucked in?  I couldn't decide, so I left it out...it's more comfortable that way...

I also broke out my wide-leg jeans!  Yay!  I read a few blogs that said they were 'in', and I couldn't put them on fast enough.  The whole skinny jean/leggings thing has been a bit hard for me.  I love the way they look on other people, but had a hard time getting them to work for me.  So, I'm going to ditch them for a while, and dig out my wide-leg pants for this spring.

I love when trends come full circle.

Jacket:  Abercrombie, Thrifted $3

Scarf: $5

V-Neck Tee:  Target

Jeans:  Gap old???

Shoes: Target $4

Little Miss Adventures...

I need a weekend to recover from my weekend.  The little miss was in rare form, and all I can say is she's been...adventurous.  For the past few weeks, we've been faced with the challenge of her climbing out of the crib and potty training.  I suppose she has both mastered...which leads to our challenging weekend.

I'll tackle the first subject:  Crib Adventures...
For the past couple of weeks, we've gone to get the little miss up in the morning, only to find her precariously perched on the crib railing...just sitting there waiting.  It freaked us out enough, that B decided he would teach her how to climb out of her crib so there would be no more, 'bird on a wire' moments.  Great for deterring roosting, not so great for deterring scaling.  So, we were up at all hours of the night because the little miss decided it was time to wake up...at 2am.  She came running into the hallway exclaiming, "Pee-Pee" so I took her to the bathroom and then ushered her back to bed.  A couple of minutes later she stood in our doorway, "lululuyah?"  she wanted me to sing her favorite lullaby...so, I rocked her and sang, then took her back to bed.  Two minutes later she was standing in our doorway again, "nak peese!"  I told her no snack it was bedtime...then again took her back to bed.  Finally, she came yet again, "Hiiiiiiiiiiii!"  So, I brought her in bed with us where she chatted, rolled, stood and flipped until she finally gave up and fell asleep between us.

She woke bright and early Saturday morning, but was thankfully in a fairly good mood despite the late night partying.  I, on the other hand, was a mess, but decided to make the best of the day.  Which, leads us to our second adventure...

Potty Training...
In all honesty, the miss has got it down.  She was so easy to train, and has been doing great (although she is not able to stay dry at night...but, she's not even two yet, so that will come).  Anyway, she's done really great overall.  But, something went awry Saturday afternoon.  She suddenly stopped playing and exclaimed, "Ouchie" which is code for, "I have to pee now!" and took off for the bathroom.  I got her situated and briefly left the bathroom to get something...which was the wrong thing to do.

All of a sudden I heard her exclaim, "Uh-oh!"  Upon entering the bathroom, I was shocked at what she accomplished in the short time I was away.  The little miss had managed to finger paint with poo all over herself, the bathroom floor and toilet and was beginning to make little poo footprints.  Friends, I was so grossed out, that taking a picture of the crime scene was not even an option (I'm sure you are all breathing a collective sigh of relief).  I picked up the little miss (trying to touch as little of her as possible) and placed her in the tub, then turned on the faucet.  I began mopping and disinfecting every surface while the little miss played in the tub and supplied commentary of her artistic endeavors, "Veva ucky." "Poo-poo toes." "Uh-oh poo-poo."  "Yay!  Poo-poo floor." At which point she stood in the tub and pointed to a spot I had missed...thanks, doll.  You're a gem.

I got her cleaned up (nearly loosing my lunch in the process), explaining that playing with poo was dirty and yucky.  I can't believe I had to tell my daughter not to play with her poo.

Anyway, the rest of the weekend is a bit foggy...I think she finally wore herself out, as she's been sleeping much better, and all bathroom ventures have been stricly supervised.  I think my brain is a bit traumatized....

So, how was your weekend?  I hope it was adventurous...though not Jackson style.

Spring Cleaning...

I. Love. Spring.

Seriously.  I love everything about it.  New grass.  The sun.  The fresh smell of the air.  Flip-flops (when the temp hits 60 degrees).

I don't even mind spring cleaning.  In fact, it puts me in such a good mood to cast-off winter by giving the house a fresh scrubbing. 

Today, I'm tackling my upholstery.  With little ones (and light furniture) it seems by winter's end, I start casting sideways glances at my couch, noticing that hint of dinge (is that a word?) from little paws.

I couldn't take it anymore and pulled out my trusty upholstery cleaner recipe and went to work.

Seriously, this homemade upholstery cleaner works amazingly well, and it costs mere cents to make!

Upholstery Cleaner:

1 Cup warm water

1/4 Cup clear dish soap

*I use Palmolive Pure+Clear because it smells amazingly fresh and it's gentle*

(This recipes is enough to clean my couch and three upholstered chairs)

Directions:

Place ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until stiff foam appears.

*Or, in our case, let your almost two-year-old stir it with a plastic spoon...it just might take a while*

Use a clean cloth to gently apply the foam to the fabric.  Apply more foam to heavily soiled areas...

As the foam in the bowl begins to deflate, leaving behind extra liquid, simply beat it with the mixer again to get more foam.  Once you have applied the foam to all of your upholstery, fill a bowl with cool water and rinse the fabric by gently wiping the damp cloth on the fabric (being careful to not soak your fabric).  Change the water frequently if it becomes dirty.

At this point, let your upholstery air-dry (you can point fans on it to speed the process up).

I've been using this recipe for about a year now, and will never go back to the commercial brands. 

Do you have any cleaning tricks up your sleeve?  I would love to hear them!

Happy Spring Cleaning everyone!

*You may want to do a test spot to be sure the cleaner will not fade fabric...although, I have not had this issue.

**This cleaner is very concentrated, and it does burn if you get it in your eyes...not that I would know from personal experience...

This Is Where He Plays...

It's a built-in buffet...

It's a lego town...

It's a race track...

It's where his make-belive comes to life...



This is where he plays...

Slide Adventures...

Today was a gorgeous day in the Midwest.  When I saw that bright yellow orb in the sky and felt the warmth, I knew I couldn't continue sitting in the pile of kleenex that took up residence all around me.  Yep...I traded last weeks virus for this weeks sinus infection...but that wasn't going to keep this girl down.

So, this afternoon, B and I piled the kiddos in the car and took ourselves to a park to run, let the sun shine on our pasty faces, and feel the breeze.  On the way to the park the little Mr. piped up from the backseat:

"Mommy...do you like slides?"  "Yes, I do."  "Did you like them when you were little?"  I was wondering where we were going with this.  "Yes, I liked them when I was little."  "How about when you were eight, nine, or ten?"  "Yep, I liked them then too."  "Then, what color were they?"  Ummmm...that was a lot of years ago, and I began wondering how to answer this, and why it was important. 

As I was quickly trying to come up with a color, I suddenly remembered the one bad slide experience I'd had.  I was about eight years old and I was climbing up this twisting metal slide when all of a sudden a kid came barreling down the slide, knocked me over and I landed face first on the metal, knocking my two front teeth loose.  Dirt and tears were streaming down my face as I ran to find my mom.  I remember she picked me up and carried me to the car, and then everything was a bit fuzzy after that.  I remember popsicles to ease the pain...confirmations from many adults that the teeth were saved, and my fear of large slides for a very long time.  The little Mr. piped up again, "Mommy...what color was it?"

"It was actually metal buddy...it was a big, twisty, metal slide."  He was quiet a bit and then he said matter-of-factly, "Oh, that sounds old and not very fun."  I instinctively touched my tongue to the back of my teeth and replied,"Actually buddy, it was really fun...they don't make slides like those anymore."  "Because they're super-old?"  "Yeah...because they're super-old."