Happy 4th of July 2010

Do something fun this weekend!


Make cute flags from popsicle sticks!


Decorate your toes!

Shop for some Scentsy wickless candles!


Eat yummy cake!

On the Bookshelf

A friend recently gave me a book she recommended titled A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. She thought I would enjoy it since I had recently read The Glass Castle for MOPS book club and Half Broke Horses that was recommended by Charla, both by Jeannette Walls.
I will be starting it tonight- has anyone else read this one?

I just finished Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner this morning. I usually love the Jennifer Weiner books, but this one was not one of my favorites of hers.

Our next MOPS book club selection is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. I'm looking forward to it as well because two of the girls in book club have already read it and loved it! Have you read it?

Last but not least... I finished I Will Carry You by Angie Smith a while ago. I had preordered this as soon as it was available and started in the day I got it. Loved every minute of her story as well as her blog. A total tear jearker... she is such an amazing person with a love for the Lord that is contagious.

A few recent cakes

I recently helped a MOPS friend with some of her cake decorating skills. She had some of the basic cake decorating tools and the Wilton decorating books but had asked me for some help on a few things such. I spent a few hours helping her to the best of my abilities and she finished with a really good looking Batman cake for her son's birthday. This pic was taken with my cell phone so it isn't the best. I'm looking forward to seeing what Shari does with her future cakes and hope she sends me some pics- she is moving to Australia soon!



I tell you I get some strange requests for cakes. I had one for a Medicare card for a man turning 65.

This flower one was for confirmation last Sunday. Their mom had their memory verses printed out and was going to stick them onto this one.

I can't remember if I posted this little one but it was a USA cake. They preschoolers at my house have been learning about the USA at school. This little one wanted USA on his.

Book Update- Kindle vs. Nook

Recently I posted about reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls for my MOPS book club. One of my blog world friends posted a comment that I should also read another Jeannette Walls book called Half Broke Horses.

I enjoyed Half Broke Horses but think I liked Glass Castle a little more. It was neat to see how they connected however. Thanks for the recommendation Charla!


Last night I started Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. I have read and enjoyed several Jennifer Weiner books so I'm really thinking I will probably love this one as well.



Another thing about Charla is that she got a Kindle for Christmas. I have really been thinking a lot about getting one of these fancy pants reading devices. Hubby said I can use some of our tax money to get one for myself because he knows how much I love to read.

So, recently I have been looking into the differences between an Amazon Kindle and a Barnes and Noble Nook.

I have read articles comparing / contrasting the two, looked through reviews, and thought and thought about them.

The thing is... I don't purchase books very often. Usually, I get my books at the local library. I also look for several books at garage sales.

The last two books I got from the library- Half Broke Horses & Best Friends Forever are each $10 each in e-book form. That is $20 I could save instead of buying the books.

So now I am torn...I really want one, but don't want to spend the money on the books because I would buy books all the time!

Do you have an eReader? Which one do you have? What do you think of it?

5 Question Friday

I am going to participate in Five Question Friday from My Little Life. I found this last week and was couldn't wait til Friday so I could join in.

Here are the questions for today:

1. If you could, would you go back to high school?

Heck no. I hated high school and in fact I graduated a year early. I was only 16 and it was one of the best decisions I have made.

2. If a genie appeared and granted you two wishes, what would they be? (And, no saying "more wishes".)

My first wish would be for a baby, but I think I actually would rather have a uterus again so I could have the fun of getting pregnant, taking a test, telling my husband, and experiencing pregnancy again. So...the first wish is a uterus. Isn't that funny!

My second wish would be a winning lottery ticket. They say money can't buy love, but I do think it could buy me a lot of things I would like...new cars for both of us, a bigger house, student loans paid off, a motorcycle for Matt, a fancy pants camperk endless trips to Target...... I could go on and on....


3. What kids show do you secretly like?

Lets see.... that really is all I watch each day, but I can't say I really "watch" any of them. I might go with Handy Manny. He is just a nice guy.

4. What is your beverage of choice?

Right now I am on my second glass of wine but it might be a close tie with Diet Coke. Depends on the time of day.

5. What is something that you would change about yourself (or are working to change in yourself)?

You know what I really want to change? I would like to fix my feet. I am really self consious about my feet. They are so dry and ugly and I can't find anything to make them nice and soft. Hubby has very soft feet- totally jealous.

Top 2 Tuesday-

The Undomestic Momma has asked us for our favorite things about summer. Even though I don't like the hot hot days that we have in the midwest here, there are lots of things I do like about summer.



1. My birthday is in June and I love to start counting down about 6-8 months early. I love having a birthday get-together with friends. This summer I will be 32. Last year we had only been in our house for about 3 weeks and I actually don't remember what we did! For my 30th birthday, we got together with several friends and couples at a local winery. It was such a great night!



2. I also love spending time outside with friends for dinner and/ or drinks. Grilling out is one of my favorites for summer food! We are working on our (little) backyard a bit at a time to get it into a cute little spot for hanging out.


A few other things I love about summer are:

Garage Sales
Flip Flops
Camping
Pool Time
Gardening
Thunderstorms
Iowa State Fair



Be sure to check out The Undomestic Momma for more summer favorites!

ebook for Mother's Day

Favorite Crafts Blog has published one of my projects in their Mother's Day eBook. You can download the eBook for free and it is filled with easy peasy ideas that you can make for some great gifts.

One of the great things about this is that it features 20 different crafty bloggers. What a great way to check out some new blogs while looking for some ideas for mom.

Chelsey Hill of Pretty My Drink
Pat Sloan of Pat Sloan
Fawnda Norman of Fireflies and Jellybeans
Terri Ricioli of Terri Ricioli Designs
Sarah Surface of householder/surface
Vanessa Valencia of A Fanciful Twist
Little Birdie Secrets
Joan Gorman of Nini Makes
Molly Kozera of Bit O’Shine
Terri O. of Super Simple Crafts
Jennifer Juniper of Hope Studios
Alla Koval of My Little City Girl
Amber Dyer of Everything Except the Grill
Amy Anderson of Mod Podge Rocks!
Becky Kazana of The Fab Miss B
Betz White of Betz White
Rachel of La Fuji Mama
Niki Meiners of Niki Meiners
Cristin Frank of The Eve of Reduction
Vicki O’Dell of Creative Goddess

Bookshelf

I just finished The Glass Castle- a memoir by Jeannette Walls. This was a selection for our MOPS book club. I loved it. The author tells the story of growing up with her family. I thought it was so easy to read and get in to. I did however not like that it really was a memoir and that Ms. Walls went through some of the things she did growing up. It made me sad.



Tonight I am starting a book that I saw in a catalog at my grandma's house. Being the spoiled one that I am, gram ordered it right up for me. It is called Service Included by Phoebe Damrosch.

The Harper Collins site has this to say:

Warning: May contain material offensive to vegans, pharmaceutical lobbyists, and those on a low-sodium diet. Animals were harmed during the writing of this book.

While Phoebe Damrosch was waiting for life to happen, she supported herself by working as a waitress. Before long she was the only female captain at the four-star New York City restaurant Per Se during its first year. Service Included is the story of her obsession with food, her love affair with a sommelier, and her amusing, eye-opening, and sometimes shocking experiences in the fascinating, frenetic, highly competitive world of fine dining.

Sitting down at a restaurant table will never be the same.



And tonight B got to read his new book (also from the book catalog at Grams) William and the Magic Ring by Laura Robinson.

How fun was this- it comes with a flashlight and is called a shadow casting bedtime story. You flip the pages and use the flashlight to create the images on the wall as you read each page.




Page 1... William goes to bed...he hears a noise and looks at his bedroom window (not quoted)


He sees a crow with a magic ring outside his window....


A jackel wants to steal the magic ring from the crow...so he can be king!

What are you reading?

My Man Tag

The Undomestic Momma has a fun game of tag for us today- Enjoy my answers and then TAG- YOU'RE IT!



*our happily ever after badges at WDW- So happy to be wearing them ;)

The Game of Tag about your MAN:

Who is your man? Matt

How long have you been together? married 7 years this summer

How long did you date? about 8 months

How old is your man? 34

Who eats more? That's a close one- LOL!

Who said "I love you" first? he did - I'm stubborn like that

Who is taller? me by about an inch

Who sings better? he can put on a better karaoke show than me...

Who is smarter? I am... and I'm always right!

Whose temper is worse? his- he gets way crabby too!

Who does the laundry? me

Who takes out the garbage? we both do

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Well, what is the right side? If you are laying in bed... he sleeps on the right. If you are standing at the foot of the bed facing it...then I am on the right.

Who pays the bills? he does- once a month -after payday

Who is better with the computer? probaly about the same



Who mows the lawn? he loves to!

Who cooks dinner? both- but I hate to!

Who drives when you are together? he always does



Who pays when you go out? him

Who is most stubborn? um...probably gonna have to say me.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me?

Whose parents do you see the most? mine, but we are lucky to have most of our family close.

Who asked who out? He had gotten my number from a friend and called and left me a message on my machine.. I wondered what he was calling about - did he want to go out with her???



Who proposed? him

Who wears the pants in the family? I do ;)

Prayers for Hogan

A few days ago I started following this blog- Hogan is a week old today and was born with Trisomy 18. I encourage you to stop over and leave a few prayers for their family.

Top 2 Tuesday- Favorite Magazines

Today on The Undomestic Momma we have been asked to post our favorite magazines.

My top favorite is People magazine. I love that it comes out each week and the stories they feature. It is not all gossip stories and hollywood news... it also features stories on everyday people and top news stories. Whenever I am going out of town or on a trip, I always pick up the latest issue of People to keep me busy!



My second favorite is probably Family Fun magazine. I love the ideas in it for creative ideas for kids and families. I always find something in each issue to make or do or a new tradition or idea to try out or start.



What are your favorite glossy reads? Check out others at the Undomestic Momma!

April Fool's Day menu

On the Menu: Chicken drumsticks, peas & carrots, mashed potatoes, and a cupcake for dessert!

One of my daycare mommas brought this trick in for us today. I was so amazed all day and how fun these were!

Lovin' Lisa Leonard designs

Okay ladies...another sweet giveaway on the market today for Giveaway Wednesday- another Lisa Leonard designs gift certificate. You can head over to The Undomestic Momma to enter to win a $50 gift certificate. Undomestic Momma is the same fun blog where the Top 2 Tuesday fun is! I'm so happy to have recently added it to my subscriber list!

In my last post I showed you some of my favorites (which I don't know how I could ever choose just one) that I want for myself. This one is called the friendship necklace. I have several besties who I would LOVE to give this to BUT... honestly, I tell you what.... If I was to win, I'm getting something for me so, sorry girls! Go enter for yourself!

Top Two Tuesday

I did the Top 2 Tuesday a few weeks ago and then I forgot about it the next couple times! Darn it- and I missed some good ones too!

The Undomestic Momma is asking us today for 2 random things about ourselves.

hmmm... let's see....

1. I have never had a broken bone! As much as I want a cast so bad when I was in elementary and thought it would be so cool, I never had one. (fortunately!) A bad bad sprain when I was a freshman in HS was the closest I have come.

2. One of the many things I have always dreamed of was owning a small children's book store. (Like Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail). I have an addiction to children's books and could spend all day working with them, helping kids find the right books, and doing programs and activities for kids with books!

On the Bookshelf

Last week I finished The Pact by Jodi Picoult. I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult books, even though they are usually so sad. This book made me feel very sad for the young couple in the story. The pressure they are under from their family and the issue of teen suicide. One of the hardest JP books for me to have read. Did like the book, as much as you can say that about a book that makes your heart hurt.

Next up for our MOPS book club is The Glass Castle. I am looking forward to reading this memoir on our upcoming trip to Florida.

What's on your bookshelf?

Ya'll wanna know what I want to win?

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to win a $75 Lisa Leonard gift certificate. Would you? You can enter to win at a new blog discovery MommySnacks.net

Lisa Leonard has the most beautiful personalized jewelry. I have longed for several pieces for a long, long while now. If my hubby read my blog- maybe he would surprise me with a piece someday- but, he doesn't so that just means I need to win one!

Some of my favorites are:

Family Tree

Heart strings

Sweetheart

Family Crest


If I win, I would need help to pick- they are all so awesome!

Roll Call!!!

Do you ever feel like there is no one out there in your blog world? I basically have two or three people who frequently comment but don't know who else reads my posts. I don't think I have a "focus" here- I write about a variety of things. I have two private blogs (one about our family and one about my daycare) that I write on more often. What do you want to see here? If we are friends or I know you and that you are not a creep, let me know and I can send you the private blog invite.

So- if you read this blog... leave me a comment here on this post to let me know that more than Krystal, Naomi, and Hollie read what I post ;) (Not that I don't love them!)

Selah in concert- Angie Smith speaking = Girls Night Fun!

Last Sunday I had another amazing opportunity to see Selah in concert and hear Angie Smith speak in person. One amazing group and one amazing person- wow! There were 7 of us girls from my MOPS group that went and we all had a great time. They all have an amazing voice and Alan sure can play!

Angie is the most inspirational person for me- her faith is so amazing and I wish I could have even half of it.

This video is from October when Avalon and Selah came to LaVista. Don't forget to mute the music on the blog (if there is any currently) and enjoy the last song of the night with Selah and Avalon together.

Easter Crafty fun

I put together a simple Easter party for our MOPS group today. I forgot my camera at home so I only have pictures of some of the finished projects we did.


Easter card station- we have used this a few times over the years at our Easter parties. Kiddos use their finger tip to make prints with ink or finger paint to be the eggs then decorate the rest of the basket.


Tissue paper carrots with paper grass tops


Marbled paper Easter eggs using the shaving cream technique. This was not one of the prettiest ones, but the only one we made it home with. So many people were impressed with this and thought it was so cool- it is SO simple and easy to do and the results are always beautiful! You can click here to see the ones we made for Valentine's Day. I also found some felt crosses to marker color. These had a magnet on the back already and looked like pretty stained glass.

This picture is not nearly as cute as these carrots are. I love this idea from The Moody Fashionista ( a new blog I just subscribed to- check it out!). Kids get so much candy, it is nice to hand out a half-way healthy snack. I plan on making these for the daycare tots for Easter. Her pictures are better and I tried to find green rick rack at our hobby store, but they didn't have any in green so I had to go with a few green and white ribbons. I love how bright her rick rack is on the top of the carrots.

On the Bookshelf

Tonight is our MOPS book club meeting. We have about 6 who attend regularly. We meet once every other month and the hostess gets to choose the book we read to discuss. Our hostess Krytal choose The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I liked the book, but didn't love it. It wasn't hard for me to get through or anything, just won't be going on my top faves list- (sorry Krystal!)

After I finished reading The Bean Trees last week I needed another book. I had been discussing several Jodi Picoult books with some friends on Sunday and mentioned that I have The Pact at home but have not read it. My friend Christie said it was good so I started in on that.

This one is difficult for me to read, but not because I am not "liking" it. It is about a alleged teen suicide pact between a young couple. It is just making me sad reading it.

I have always enjoyed Jodi Picoult's books- which ones of hers are your favorites? I have a few others in my pile of books that I haven't read yet.

So far I have read: Picture Perfect, My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes, & Change of Heart.

I am also looking forward to her newest book: House Rules

There was a story on Jodi Picoult in our Sunday paper last week. One thing that surprised me was that she says she answers every email or letter she gets from her fans. Maybe I will have to write her sometime and tell her that I enjoy her books!

Celebrating Spring!

All traces of snow are nearly gone and we celebrated the arrival of spring this weekend with a Robin's nest picture. The kids used watercolor paints for the eggs and then glued pieces of twine into a general nest shape that I drew for an outline for them. The preschoolers wrote Happy Spring on the top! I love how one little girl put her eggs on top of the nest like you are looking into it from the top.

In other news.... I made this beach themed cake for the weekend for a Hawaiian themed beach party