Pretty as a Picture

I've been wanting to get a canvas print for a while now.  I was originally thinking about getting one of the whole fam but I'm wondering if we'll ever take a good photo together in the next 5 years.  So, now I'm thinking maybe getting one of each of the girls individually.  Canvas People is running a Black Friday special for 1/2 off and free shipping.  What do you think of these?  

Grandparents Day

Last week Brooklyn had grandparents day at school.  She was so excited to have her Grandma and Papa join her in her classroom and was even brave enough to get up in front of the whole school (we're talking preschool to 12th grade here) and say what she loved about her grandparents.  My kids are beyond blessed with a godly heritage and such loving grandparents.  We are so thankful for them!

Persimity Snicket

There are lots of things that I remember and cherish about my Grandma.  Of course her amazing cooking and the tastes and smells involved with it are among those fond memories.  One of the things Grandma always had in her freezer and would pull out  in the evenings when we needed a snack was persimmon cookies.  It is really strange how you can take something that looks like an orange tomato and tastes bitter, dry, and makes your tongue itch and turn it into a tasty cookie.  Leave it to those Central California farmers to figure it out.
So this week, Ellie and I got our persimmons and went to work.

 

Ellie's comment when we cut it open, "Mommy, it looks like a sunset!"

 

We had to use craisins instead of raisins.  And yes, I'm sure that would be a big let down to my raisin farming grandpa, but we were all out.  Unlike the days when we got all the free raisins our freezer could hold and had stem a whole cup of them when we got in trouble.

 And here they are...spicy sweet, and cakey...a yummy fall cookie.  Now go make some of your own.

OCC

It is very easy for kids to get caught up in what they have and what they want- especially at this time of year.   So in an attempt to teach my girls to be thankful and content with what they have and to be generous and compassionate with others, they got to bless a needy child somewhere in the world though an amazing organization called Operation Christmas Child.  The girls watched a video showing kids from all over the world who had very little receiving shoe boxes filled with gifts and love. We then took a trip to Target and filled a shoebox with items a little girl would need and enjoy.  Brooklyn made a card and both girls pooled their money to pay for shipping the box.   And now, we are excitedly awaiting news about where our box went and who we were able to bless this Christmas.

American Girl

 BEFORE

AFTER

Brooklyn got a hold of an American Girls Doll catalog this week.  Talk about outrageous.  These dolls cost $100 each and have accessories and clothes that cost 4 times as much as real people clothes.  Luckily, she is still at an age where she can't tell the difference between name brands and knock offs, and her Target version of  the American Girl suits her just fine.  The only issue is the hair from the Target dolls just doesn't hold up the same as their high class counterparts.  So we had a completely tangled mess on our hands.  What would you expect from a Google search "how to untangle doll hair"?   Probably not a teenage girl who has over 12,000 followers on her U tube site featuring all things American Girl.  Comical to say the least.  But more comical still was the fact that I spent a good portion of Saturday steaming and flat ironing a doll's hair.  Her head got far more attention than mine has gotten in a long time.  But check out the results...nothing short of amazing.

PS- please pay no attention to her lazy eye.

The Spross Family

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com Check this out...kinda fun right?

So you think I can dance?

Ellie has officially entered the world of ballet (she has been dancing unofficially for quite some time now however).  It has become her own special thing.  "Brooklyn goes to school now, and I go to ballet," she'll tell you.  She absolutely loves it.  Although we are not sure if its the dancing or the costume that thrills her so much- you know she wears one every day- we gave up on getting her to wear real clothes weeks ago.   Once I brought her the wrong tutu and she refused to dance.  We left after 15 minutes of the teacher prodding her to participate and her sulking and pouting.  On the way out she says, "Now remember mom, next time you bring me the one with the attached tutu."   Like everything else in their lives, she is a completely different girl on the dance floor than Brooklyn was.  Let's just say she dances to her own rhythm.  Her "elmocital" is coming up- that's where she dances to an Elmo song at her recital, and I can't wait to see what she's going to do.  For a girl who has been known to stop dancing to check her teeth in the mirror and to sit down mid routine to inspect the tappers on her shoes, this should be interesting. 

I feel like I am constantly loading and unloading the dishwasher.  There are always dishes in the sink that need to be loaded, and more dishes in the washer that need to be unloaded first.  Like so many other tasks around the house, it is never ending.  Clean it to get it dirty, to clean it, to get it dirty again.  And the top rack especially gets a work out with all the plastics the little ones use.  Dozens of plastic plates, sippees, cups, bottles, spoons, etc. in only one day.  And you know the darn things will somehow get turned upside down in the middle of the cycle, no matter how you wedge them in, spilling dirty, soapy water all over the clean dishes below.  But...I've gotta love it, because there will come a day (sooner than I realize) that the only plastic on the top shelf of the dishwasher will be Tupperware dirty from leftovers since I can't figure out how to successfully cook for two.  So bring on the sippees...they are worth every wash.

Baby Mia

Almost 2 weeks ago a beautiful baby girl made her way into our blessed family...my newest niece Mia Blake.   Brett and I got to be her first visitors in the hospital and then got to see her and her proud parents again tonight.   She is perfectly tiny with the cutest lips and more hair than my girls ever dreamed about having.  Welcome to the family Baby Mia...we love you already!

QBM update and more

For those of you who didn't make it to the Queen Bee Market this weekend,  I'll update you...and let you know the next one will be sometime this spring so you won't miss that one!  Of course there were lots of amazing vendors selling their wares.  Including Julie and Lindsey, who unfortunately were heading to lunch right as we got there.  You can't avoid me next time ladies!  I loved browsing all the goods, but was especially impressed with the display set-ups.  Let me tell you, these ladies are so talented.  I couldn't resist a bracelet from Allora Handmade (in plum, my new favorite color) and some cute clips from Funky Vintage Kitchen (in gray, aqua and yellow, my second, third, and fourth favorite colors- I sound like my 5 year old now).  I have to say, it was much more fun being on the buying end of things rather than on the selling end like in craft shows of yesteryear.

And in other news, check out Blessed Little Nest to see whose entry is featured on Life Made Lovey Monday.  Yeah!

Headed here...

Headed here today...been looking forward to it for months.  Maybe i'll be brave enough to talk to my blog buddies!

On the ball...

Leighton's new favorite toy...a ball.  She can actually pick it up and throw it to us.  I'm sure plenty of little boys half her age are doing this, but we're pretty impressed with her skills.  Especially considering neither of her sisters ever had any sort of interest in balls.  Maybe she is the one daughter to inherit Brett's coordination and athletic ability.  Watch out WNBA.

breakfast vs. dessert

So here was my breakfast this morning.  Delicious Swirled Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars and french press coffee with pumpkin spice creamer.  Funny thing is, it was also my dessert from last night.  I've come to realize lately that breakfast and dessert can actually be one in the same.  Its completely acceptable and you don't have to feel guilty about it.  Most sweet breakfast foods have the exact same ingredients that desserts do, with just a different name.  For example:
For breakfast: Swedish pancakes, for dessert: crepes
For breakfast: coffee cake, for dessert: cake
For breakfast: scones with whipped cream and lemon curd, for dessert: lemon mirangue pie
For breakfast: muffins, for dessert: cupcakes
For breakfast: fruit torte, for dessert: fruit pie
For breakfast: waffles with whipped cream and strawberries, for dessert strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone.
Catch my drift?  So next time you wake up with a hankering to finish last nights dessert for breakfast, go for it. And if it makes you feel any better, just call it by its breakfast name.

My niece Adina had the most amazing birthday party this weekend.    UP has been her favorite movie form the first time she saw it and she insisted on having an Up party (which she has been looking forward to for months).  Her daddy built a prefect model of the house from the movie and the filled hundreds of balloons to attach to it.  Grandma made the cake, of course, and Adina's  mommy used tons of creative ideas to make the day extra special.  I'm sure she'll blog more about it soon here.

Lost tooth ...literally

What do you do when your daughter wakes you up at 5 am with the words, " Mom, the tooth fairy didn't come!"?  Whoops.  It was bad enough that I set her tooth on the counter in the morning, only to completely forget about it and knock it off some time during the day....never to be found.  Then I forgot to write the note explaining it to the tooth fairy. And to top it all off, I also forgot to fork over the cash.  So here is Brooklyn's explanation to the Tooth Fairy in hopes that she will somehow find the tooth and come after all.  Well, she may not have found the tooth, but at least she remembered to leave the cash this time.

What's weirder?

What's weirder, the fact that it was in the 90s today and we go tot play at the beach in November, or that we ate at Jack in the Box for dinner (I'm talking sit down in the dining room here folks- can't say that I've ever done that before)?

30 Days of Thankfulness

 I love advent calendars.  Growing up we had several Christmas advent calendars that would not only help us count down the days to Christmas, but would allow us to focus on the true meaning of the season each day.  So this year, I decided to start a similar tradition during the month of November as we consider being truly thankful for our many blessings.  I looked online for ideas but didn't see much that I really liked, so I decided to try to create something out of my very own crafty brain  (for once).  I dug through my scrap piles and found as many fallish fabrics as I could-  and just made it to 30!  It was pretty time consuming...serging each pocket, then sewing it on, ironing on the linen number fabric, stamping each number by hand... but I was really happy with how it turned out.  And I love that it is full of fabrics I've used before... several from my nieces baby bedding, some from the girls' dresses, one from a bib for the girls, a dress for my sister, a nursing cover for a friend, a baby blanket for a sweet boy...

Brooklyn will be the official family writer for November 2010.  I am loving her desire to write and can't get enough of her invented spelling.  So today we were thankful for "familey".  And while I'm on the subject, I really truly am thankful for my family.   Brett and the girls are the biggest blessing in my life.  I have seen many people I love struggling in their marriage relationships and with the desire for children, and I am so very thankful that God has blessed me so greatly with such a loving husband and three beautiful daughters.  And I know "that to whom much is given, much is required" so I continue to make it my aim to be the wife and mother God created and desires me to be.

L-O-V-E V-O-N-S

Okay, its official, I love vons.com delivery.  It was a very unique experience on many levels.  For one, I felt like I was going back in time to the old days when grocery delivery was the norm.  You know, the teenage boy brings the groceries in a cardboard box to the back door.  And for another, I felt like I was living in a different social class- like I was rich and had a servant who did all my shopping and dropped it off at my door (actually they leave it all on the counter for you).  My only complaints are the hamburger buns were smashed and 4 items were out of stock (2 of them being major necessities- OJ and bread- sorry Brooklyn no PB&J for lunch tomorrow).    But all in all it was a dream.  And they aren't even allowed to accept tips!  Thank you Vons- and your ingredients for life.

Groceries...check!

I just finished my grocery shopping in less than 30 minutes (including making my weekly menu and grocery list) and I never left the house. I've been dying to try VONS delivery and finally took the plunge (thanks to a coupon for free delivery and $15 off).  I usually don't shop much at VONS because the prices are higher than Target/Walmart/Henry's but the free delivery was definitely worth a shot.  So far the whole thing has been quite delightful.  Very easy to navigate the site, choose the items, and schedule a delivery time.  Usually the charge for delivery would be from $6.95 to $12.95 depending on the delivery time window.  The prices were surprisingly comparable to Target (and I saved myself at least $50 by not heading to the clothing or housewares sections there!) This may be the whole new me...I'll let you know how it actually turns out tomorrow between 7 and 9 (my delivery window).