Blessings Around Us

In the past year there has been so much turmoil in my life that sometimes the blessings of each day went unnoticed.  Thankfully, I am not alone.  At some point in everyone's life, blessings of the day will be taken for granted and under appreciated.  So today I decided to try to look for the hidden blessing around me.  It was an interesting challenge to myself and I have a greater appreciation for the little things around me.

Here are some of the blessings that I found:

• The smell and taste of cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven
• A sunny day that helped to melt the snow
• Having the opportunity to be stuck at home with the family all day
• Watching pumpkin and princess string beads on pipe cleaners
• Watching princess pick out the just the star beads from an assortment of beads
• Finding time to read a few devotionals online
• Watching my husband take pumpkin on a winter walk through the neighborhood
• Holding princess while we played with purple play dough and made butterflies
• Grandma dropping by with news from church and talk of a sewing project
• Watching a movie with my husband during the children's naptime (a mini-date)
• Not having to cook supper because my wonderful husband brought home a pizza
• Finding time to set out clothes for tomorrow
• A friend stopping by for a visit
• An early bedtime for pumpkin

Looking forward to more blessings tomorrow!  Especially if it means that I will get the use of my car again sooner than later.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

Favorite things are a constant in life.  Sometimes they do change a bit, but for the most part they stay the same.  

Purple Coneflower

  So, here are a few of my favorite things:

• Nature
• Prairie
• Family
• Cooking
• Plants
• Ladybugs
• Photography
• Owls
• Fresh Clean Bedsheets
• Friends
• Chocolate Cherry Cokes
• Turtles
• Kettle Corn
• Christian Music
• Lima Beans
• Music of Bach
• Strawberries
• Fiction Books
• Fresh Bread
• Botanical Books
• Cabbage Rolls
• Peach Cobbler

Obedient Plant

  Follow the link to listen to the Sound of Music iconic hit My Favorite Things- Lyrics & Music

Nighty Nighty Princess

Night time around here can be interesting at times, but we try to have some routine in our evening schedule.  

Princess's routine consists of getting a bath in the toddler tub with a lot of splashing around.  She loves to dump water from an old restaurant promo cup that we use when we rinse her hair. Occasionally, when we are not looking she likes to pour the water onto the bathroom floor and down the heat vent.  It is always an adventures with a toddler!  She has a grand time in the tub.  She says "done" when she wants out.

Next we head to her room to get into a pair of comfy pjs and finish off cocooned into a sleep sack.  We typically reading a story or two.  Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise and Beddy-bye Baby by Karen Katz is among the favorite pick list.

Princess in her snowman pjs

  We say our prayers before snuggling into the toddler bed:

God Bless Mommy

God Bless Daddy

God Bless "Pumpkin"

And God Bless "Princess"

Amen

She always sleeps with puppy and so sweetly rubs her hand back and forth over the fitted sheet as she sucks on her thumb.  

If they could only stay this sweet forever!

Princess and the Strawberry

We attempt to feed our children healthy food.  But alas as hard as we try, typically they resist eating the good food.  This occurred with both pumpkin and princess about the time they both reached 18 months.  I am hoping that with a bit of age they will eventually outgrow this non-preference for healthy food.  They typically resist fruits and vegetables to my dissatisfaction.  Granted they will eat french fries and applesauce, but I want so much more variety for them.  The problem arises with pumpkin, he refuses to try new foods and will often refuse to eat food that he has once loved (like ham, chicken, green beans).  Princess will see pumpkin refusing his food and tries to follow suit.  

Healthy foods that my children love include yogurt, green olives, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheerios, string cheese, bananas, applesauce, pudding, and wheat bread.  Of course, they also love chocolate, bacon, fish sticks, turkey hot dogs, chicken nuggets, french fries, milkshakes, cookies and cupcakes, which are not quite as healthy for them.

I believe that at least a little sample of everything that I serve during our meals should be present on my children's plates.  This evening our meal started off with pumpkin shrilling and shrieking because he had a few chunks of strawberry on his plate.  My husband gallantly saved his son and removed the strawberries, so he would be free to eat his bacon and french toast.  Personally, I would of left the strawberries on there regardless of the tantrum.  So now my job of getting princess to try the strawberries became more difficult.  

I forked my own strawberry and licked it a few times with a big smile on my face trying to make a game out of it, then gobbled it up.  So princess decided to at least try to lick the strawberry.  After a few licks, she decided to maybe try it and then gobbled it up with a big smile.  I succeeded in getting her to eat about four chunks of strawberry, which is a real feat.  I was successful this evening with my little princess.  Hope is once again restored for the future.

 
  

The Game Plan

Every Friday night the thoughts arise of "What should we do this weekend?"  Being a working parent of course I want to do something fun and interesting with my kids.  But sometimes the logical side of me screams out "Do the dishes.  Do the laundry.  Run the vacuum."  Weekends have a tendency to feel like a tug-of-war.  Sometimes I'm more tired from the weekend than I am from the week.  

Since the outdoor temperatures are predicted to be in the single digits, we will stay within our humble abode at least for tomorrow.  The thought has crossed my mind of having pumpkin help me make chocolate chip banana bread.  I'm afraid to have princess help with that process for the time being, since we rarely make it through a meal without covering ourselves with our food.  Pumpkin and princess delight in stringing beads on pipe cleaners, so I may have to break the beads out of hiding tomorrow.  Of course, we will have to dive into the bag that holds our library books about colors and shapes from last weekend.  Princess has really enjoyed the book entitled Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton.

Princess sporting supper across her face right before bath time

Another point to consider is menu planning.  For dinner one evening this weekend, maybe something simple like french toast, bacon and fresh strawberries.  I also have some pork steak to cook, maybe we will have a carrot dish and a garden salad on the side.  I do enjoy cooking and new recipes, but at times my two little ones can make it more of a challenge than a joy to cook.  For example, my little princess (a typical toddler) delights in weaving in and out of my legs when I am trying to accomplish a task in the kitchen. 

Well whatever we end up doing, I am sure that we will have a good weekend.  Maybe if the temperatures get high enough, pumpkin can go out sledding with daddy and princess can have some one-on-one time with mommy. We will see.

A Lesson From Black Ice

Black ice is kind of like life.  Black ice can happen to anyone and just like life it does not discriminate.  Black ice can cause you to fall in an instant and there is no way to stop it.  When you suspect black ice ahead you should be cautious, but strive to reach your destination.  Just like in life when we fall, we have to stand back up and give it another try.  Everyone has their good days and their bad days.  Life is what you make of it.  

 

As we made our way to the garage this morning both the pumpkin and the princess got to experience black ice firsthand.  One moment standing, the next moment arms are waving through the air trying to grasp something anything, then finish with landing on the little pootie.  In little ones this usually elicits tears, but I had a tendency to laugh.  It may sound strange, but you really have two choices once you fall and the same true with life.  You can either laugh or you can cry.  I usually choose to laugh. 

Memories & Recipes

For Christmas my grandma had given all of us grandchildren a cookbook.  Of course it is not just any cookbook, one of my mom's cousins had created the book in the memory of my great grandma.  My great grandma was a truly remarkable woman and even to this day I think of her as a role model.  I was so blessed when my mom gave me my great grandma's wedding band to have as my own wedding band.  So in essence, I always have a piece of my great grandma with me.

My great grandma (left) and one of her sisters

Anyway, the cookbook was sixteen years in the making and the recipes came from recipes that she had given family and then her own treasure trove of recipes.  I remember when I was high school, just a year or two before great grandma past on.  She came for a visit and taught me how to make chocolate pudding from scratch.  She sat next to me as I wrote out the recipe card, which I still have in my recipe trove.  I am so thankful that I have some of my great grandma's treasured recipes that I can share with my children.  

It did get me thinking, I really do not have many of the recipes that my mom cooked while we were growing up.  Of course, it is way too late to ask my mom for them, but I figure that I can ensure that my children have the recipes that I cherish and love.  So last week, I decided  that each week I will try to jot down one recipe for both of my kids.  Hopefully by the time they get married, they will have a treasure trove of cherish family recipes to share with children.

Snow What Fun!

The pumpkin and the princess both enjoyed the winter wonderland in our yard this afternoon.  As luck would have it, our new sleds arrived by UPS yesterday.  

Pumpkin is finally old enough to sled on his own and was gleeful to take the hill alone.  

Princess has a few more years of sledding with daddy or mommy and giggled on most of her trips down the hill.  

Unfortunately, this snowfall was not good for packing, so we will have to wait once again to build our first snowman of the year and look forward to it with delight.

Pumpkin Goes To The Dentist

 Since I have inherited cavity prone teeth, which plague mom and grandpa over their lifetimes, we are more vigilant of our kid's teeth.  Our pumpkin went in for his second visit to the dentist today.  He was such a good boy and I was very proud of him.  

He listened to the hygienist and allowed her to clean his teeth without fuss.  He choose the chocolate flavored tooth polish and bubble gum flavored fluorite and he was so excited.  He enjoyed the whole process.  Of course, no cavities!  Pumpkin got to pick out a new toothbrush and choose the Sponge Bob toothpaste.

The dentist came by to check his teeth and even counted the teeth out loud for him.  One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!  Ten teeth on top.  One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!  Ten teeth on bottom.  The most exciting part of the visit was going to the treasure chest to pick out a treasure for being such a good boy before we left the office.

New Beginnings

This past year was full of its ups and downs.  Of course, the downs for once out weighed the ups.  Relearning how to live life without mom and grandpa has had its challenges at times, but good has also shone through.  It is amazing how much you take for granted when it comes to family and once you realize that you no longer have the opportunity of time it can be heart breaking.  


Dealing with mom and grandpa's illnesses and deaths, then planning both of their funerals have brought my grandma, my little sister, and I much closer than before.  My little sister has instituted Family Dinner Night once a week, which is the brightest shining joy from the turbulent year of 2010.  Other joys also filled 2010, our pumpkin started preschool and our princess celebrated her first birthday.   


I was hoping that 2011 would spare our family from sickness, but alas my dad's cancer has returned.  After crashing from mom's defeat of cancer, we are once again taking the roller coaster ride of uncertainty and waiting.   So we must hope for the best and pray that this year will be more joyful.   Besides, God never gives us more than we can handle and he has a reason for everything even if we cannot see it.

May mom and grandpa help tend the gardens of heaven