I'm glad it's friday!

Not much has been going on here, other than the fact that I woke up yesterday morning feeling so sick, stomach cramps and nauseated etc. Thankfully the stomach thing seems to have gone but I still feel like I have to throw up all the time. Hopefully it goes away soon.

Even though I felt awful today, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen, baking. 48 cupcakes!


It's our little man's birthday tomorrow, I can't believe he's turning 6 years old, where did my little baby go? So, I made 24 cupcakes for him to take to school this morning and then another 24 for us at home, it's only fair right?

The kids got to decorate them which was a huge help for me. Tomorrow will be a full day of celebration, it will start with a special breakfast of Pumpkin Pancakes which Nicholas loves, opening presents and then we'll be doing whatever the little man wants to.

We have this tradition on birthdays, the kids get to pick whatever they want to do, within the realm of possibility of course, they pick what they want to eat for dinner, what kind of cake mommy bakes (I've ALWAYS baked their cakes, since their first birthday) and whatever activities we do.

So this is what he wants:

• Pizza from Pizza Hut
• Play Rock Band with the family
• Play Super Mario Party 8 with the family
• Play GI Joe's with daddy and sister
• Go to the park

No birthday party, no big hoopla. Just a day of fun "6 year old" style. It makes me smile because it's so simple but yet it's the things that he loves and make him happy, and that's what we want.

I snapped some pics of the kids yesterday, they were wearing their new t-shirts from the Kruger National Park, and they wanted to show Tita. Excuse me while I switch to Portuguese for a second LOL

Nela, aqui estao os miudos com as t-shirts que envias-te. Adoraram e vestiram logo no mesmo dia para a escola. Beijocas!




We're gearing up for Easter on Sunday, I'm going to do a little Egg Hunt here at home as it seems we'll be getting rain this weekend. We'll also decorate eggs and enjoy a delicious Mustard Glazed Ham and a lot more yummy goodness.

But for me, the best part is watching Jesus of Nazareth. I watch it every single year and it never gets old, it always warms my heart and it always brings tears to my eyes. It also makes me think of home and my childhood, that's how long I've been enjoying this amazing movie.

You can catch it on Sunday the 12th at 7:00 pm on the TBN channel.

Oh and before I forget, here is a cute link to share with your kids. From Precious Moments, The Resurrection Story told by Katie Bennet. It's so sweet :)



I'm off, I am still not 100% and sitting here on the computer is starting to give me a headache. I'll leave you with a link to last night's dinner which unfortunately I was unable to enjoy....but the kids and Curt loved it. Crockpot Salsa Chicken....YUM!

Living Life!

So it goes, that when you think you may have some time to sit down and chat a bit, you realize you don't. You are on the roller coaster of life, going day by day and trying to grasp everything coming at you.

It's been a busy and interesting week around here. We've had some issues at the kids schools, for the most part it's a wonderful public school with very attentive and wonderful teachers, but I think that sometimes even the best schools can have their meltdowns, their little "no no's".

My biggest pet peeve is when I see children insulting each other and saying things that make me wonder "just what are you learning at home?". Look, I'm not perfect and neither are my kids, but I like to think that my husband and I have instilled in them morals and values and respect for other human beings, my children are respectful and considerate of others and would never say hurtful things.....and by that I mean, the kind of talk that makes you cringe, makes you think why a young girl/boy would EVER say something like that and think it's acceptable....

Take yesterday for example, I picked up the kids from school and I could tell that Jasmine was upset. When I asked her what happened, she said that one of the girls in her class.....fourth grade, mind you.....told her and her friend to "shut up or I will bash a hole through your teeth". Excuse me?!?!?!

As a parent do you let it go or do you do something about it? Because the way I see it, my children rely on my husband and I to keep them safe and to watch out for their best interests. So, as soon as we got home, I shot off an email to her teacher, explained the situation and told her in no uncertain terms that my daughter is NOT used to that kind of language and that I expect the other girl to apologize for what she said and that if the teacher doesn't take care of it, then I will step in and personally contact her parents.

A little bit pushy? Maybe. But I don't think so, I think that if we let these small things go, they will quickly escalate from a "bash a hole through your teeth" to something more serious.

Anyway, the teacher was very cooperative and understanding and informed me that she would be talking to the girl and her parents.



So, onto other things, there seems to be more colds and sniffles going around, a couple of kids at school have been sick at home AGAIN. So when I picked up Nicholas from school yesterday and he was running a low grade fever, coughing, runny nose and congested, I thought....NOT AGAIN!

But, last night I did the Vicks thing on the feet again.....I had heard about it before and I had done it but I didn't use the socks and now I believe that is what makes the difference. I rubbed both his feet with tons of Vicks, put on some nice warm socks and tucked him into bed. NO meds for the low grade fever, I'm tired of pumping medicine into their little bodies, unless the fever is extremely high, I don't want to resort to medicine. Anyway, within 30 minutes he was sweating, and I mean SWEATING. He must have sweated out all the bad stuff, because he woke up this morning 100% better, what a change, it's like night and day. So if you've never tried the Vicks trick...do it!


What else is going on? Oh, I got my laptop back, finally. They had to replace the power cord and the hard drive, on a laptop that was a month old. Thankfully it's under warranty. It feels good to have my own computer back, I don't mind using Curt's but you know how it is, when it's someone else's you're always worried you may break something.

I'm also working on some Crocheted Kitchen Towel holders, they work up really fast and I love their look hanging from the Oven door. With kids, they tend to wipe their hands and then the towels end up on the floor, this way, they're going nowhere.

I'll be having a little giveaway next week with some of the crochet things I've made, so if you like the cupcakes, donuts, easter eggs etc....be sure to keep an eye out for those.

I thought it would be fun to end this post with something I always used to do when I first started blogging, it kind of rounds up the day for me and helps me keep track of what I'm doing.



WHAT I'M COOKING:

Lunch will probably just be Grilled Cheese sandwiches.

Dinner is Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork. Extremely easy to make and the kids love it.



WHAT I'M WATCHING:

The Wings of the Dove from Netflix
Farmhouse
Most Haunted



WHAT I'M DOING:

Post office
Laundry
Sweep and Mop
Making flubber with the kids after school

Walking on Sunshine!

Boy did we have a huge thunderstorm last night, the lightning was so bright that everytime it hit, the inside of the house looked like it was afternoon.

I do love sleeping with the sound of rain outside the window though, you hear the soft pitter patter on the rooftop, the branches scraping against the window, the wind blowing, and you're safely snug inside your bed, it's like being in a little cocoon of warmth.

But this morning, it's all gone, the rain has left and instead we have a cloudless blue sky, the sun is shining bright but there is still the *after the rain* smell. You know the one right? Love it!

Since it was cloudy and dreary all day yesterday, I threw a beef stew in one crockpot and a Herb Bread in the other. The scent emanating from both was enough to make me almost say "forget the diet", ALMOST, but I did behave and contain myself. By the time nighttime rolled around, the rain was coming down hard while we sat around the dinner table with a bowl like this:


See that bread slice? Can you believe that it was baked in the crockpot? I had no idea you could do that, I guess I should have known since pretty much anything can be made using your slow cooker, but there's a first time for everything right? I think I'll be baking more soon, and with 3 slow cookers at my disposal I may just turn my house into a small bakery *snort*

Later today I'll post a recipe for Apple Hand Pies, they are so easy to make and the kids pretty much snorted those up in no time LOL



Remember the sewing machine problem? Well I cleaned it up really good oiled it and changed the bobbin and now it works just wonderfully (wait is that a word? I can't even remember), so I sat down yesterday while the kids were quiet. Jasmine was in her bedroom devouring books, she's become quite an avid reader which makes me so happy....and Nicholas was in the living room laying on the couch with his blanket, watching tv.

I cut out all the fabric and within 30 minutes I had made two very easy fabric tote bags, they turned out so well and one has already become my designated library bag. In fact, I took it with us to the library yesterday and got 2 compliments on it. Who knows, maybe I'll make one to give away here or make some to sell. Seems that everyone and their mother has an Etsy shop nowadays LOL Maybe it's my turn?



LOVE them and Jasmine has already asked me for one for two matching ones, one for herself and one to send to her best friend in Idaho. BUT, I also want to make some for my nieces back home, so I guess I'll be busy for a while but considering how extremely easy they are to make, shouldn't take me long.

I also want to start my Advent Calendar from Allsorts. With the kids starting school on Monday I'll have plenty of quiet time to get stuff done around here, so don't be surprised if you start seeing pictures pop up on my blog with crafts and projects galore.

Now what else is going on here??? Oh reading, of course, I'm already reading, I finished the Firstborn Series by Karen Kingsbury and while I loved them, it was sad to read the last book and now it makes me want to jump right into her Sunrise Series which are supposed to be about the Baxter family and also Katy and Dayne. Can't wait.

While at the library yesterday I picked up a few more books:

One Tuesday Morning #1 September 11 Series- Karen Kingsbury
Spell of the Highlander - Karen Marie Moning (yes it's a series but I didn't realize until I picked up the book and started reading it LOL..oh well)
Bright Captivity #1 in the Georgia Trilogy - Eugenia Price

Good books!

For today I'm just cleaning the house, probably making one or two bags and getting all the final things ready for school starting on Monday. It will be a busy morning but then I'm hoping to have some quiet time in the afternoon to visit all the blogs, catch up on email and watch some tv.

Hope you're all having a wonderful friday!