A five star restaurant at home

Here is how you do it ladies. First watch Rachael Ray and find out "what's for dinner tonight". Then go here to pick up the recipe. Tell the kids that you're making a Rachael Ray recipe for dinner and take them to Wal-Mart to get the needed beef stock. When the kids insist on Rachael Ray beef stock...BUY IT because then they'll so this.....


OH YEAH! They set the table and helped cook the meal. Do you see the place cards? It was too cute. Just in case you're wondering what's so five star about casserole and peas....

It's this beautiful little girl right here. This dinner was evidently so special that she had to go put on her brand new spring dress complete with jewelry before she could eat.

It was a great dinner and obviously it's not so much about what you make as it is that you make it all special. Have a great day everyone!

The lonely snow covered yard.

We still miss our friends Riley and John Thomas a LOT! Their yard looked really lonely with all its fresh snow yesterday so we joined a couple of other neighborhood kids and "kiddied" it all up. And when they were done and everybody thought it looked better.... we still missed them but felt much better about it all! :)

Winter Wonderland

We're obviously southerners who don't understand snow. They weren't out there 60 seconds before both of them were laid out in the snow making snow angels. If it weren't so cold they'd have been soaked! Instead they were froze. You can't starch clothes that stiff! :)

My four legged baby.

Eat your heart out you elitist dog shows that won't let my long-haired baby in! :) She'd rather play in snow anyway!

There's an easier way I tell you!

Heads up ladies! This right here is an important discovery for women everywhere! Your lives will be so much simpler and you will thank me for sharing this discovery FOREVER!

How to mop your kitchen according to my 5 year old.
"First you take the mopper and you put some stuff in the sink and then put the mopper in the sink. Then, you take it out. You twist your little handle. Then you let go of it and start mopping the floor. And then you're done."

I know that this has revolutionized your relationship with your "mopper". I would say that we'd take donations for this little tidbit of information but with genius like this in the house we won't need college funds.

Y'all love your moppers today and have a great day!

Cool Kids Museum

I have always been a little disappointed in the area we live in because it just isn't overly kid friendly. I might be eating those words after today. We discovered a new museum in Raleigh today. If you are in the eastern half of NC, it's worth the ride. It's called Marbles Kids Museum. The entry prices are reasonable in my opinion and they offer a military discount. My kids could have stayed there all day and that's saying a lot since we have an almost four year gap between my guys and their interests are so different. We each learned something new and there were activities for both my age groups.

We even splurged for IMAX tickets today. I have always felt that these films and all the hype surrounding them was probably a waste. This would be where I open my mouth and insert both feet. WOW! It was really awesome. I love beautiful landscapes and nature in general although it doesn't really agree with me. So I was really shocked at how gorgeous the picture was. It's always a treat too seeing my kids reach out and try to touch something with their 3-D glasses on.

We had an awesome time and are even talking about a membership. We are all tired though. It is a little bit of a ride for us and we did cram a couple other things in while we were there. I think we might have to have fun at home tomorrow. :)

Christians just wanna have fun

Serving my homeschool group has put me in touch with some really amazing ladies this year. I was at a meeting recently with a wonderful homeschooling mom and she shared an interesting personal tidbit with me. Her family has a car that looks just like a police cruiser. On date nights she and her husband drive around our nice town flashing their hi-beams at innocent drivers, "warning" them to slow down.

I can hear your collective gasps. At first I was just like you, totally appalled that an upstanding woman of faith would do such a thing. :) After all, I look up to her and not just because she's taller than me! She's a homeschooler and everyone knows that we wear skirts and put our hair in buns while our kids walk in a straight line from their bedrooms to the kitchen table so I can call roll.

But then I really considered what she was doing and have decided that she and her husband are really blessing our great city because really can anybody afford a speeding ticket right now? Or an increase in their insurance premiums?

In all seriousness though, I was so touched that some Christian out there still knows how to have fun. I really don't like it that we become Christians and somehow that means that our fun is over. So my goal this weekend is to have some fun with my family. It's a four day weekend for us and I'm going to find ways to enjoy it with the people I love. And my family would like to thank my taller-than-me homeschooling friend for the inspiration.

ETA: No innocent (or not so innocent) people have ever been interrogated or harmed in the making of this fun!

Beyond Belief

My family has become baseball fans in the last year. We've been to a few Durham Bulls games and last year my Dad treated the kids and I to some seriously sweet, suite seats at an Atlanta Braves game. I surely don't know the players or even most of the teams but I do know the name Josh Hamilton. I've loved his story since the first time I heard it.

For Christmas, I bought hubby his book, "Beyond Belief". I had hoped we'd read it together but Jeff got started one night and hasn't stopped. And that's saying something for a man whose bookshelves are covered in historical non-fiction. It is well-known in my house that I am a book devourer so true to form I started it last night and finished it today. It is such an amazing story!

The really great part is that you don't have to have Josh's past issues to get some important messages from his book. He talks about love and forgiveness but he also mentions the little things like taking one day at a time and appreciating accountability for what it is instead of bucking it. It's definitely worth reading.

Educating the common butter bar

For you non-military types, a butter bar is a new lieutenant in the Army. His rank insignia looks like a bar of butter. And bless his soul, he knows as much about handling spouses as a bar of butter too.

So last night Jeff is putting me to bed when he realizes that he's gotten a voice mail. His phone is so loud that I can hear his lieutenant on the voice mail letting Jeff know of a meeting that is "mandatory for spouses".

Folks, I've been in the Army as a spouse for over a decade and let me tell you, there is no such thing as "mandatory for spouses" anything. EVER! They might "own" my husband but I can't be ordered to do squat! Asked nicely? Yes! Encouraged strongly? Sure. Forced? HA! HA! Dream on my un-educated butter bar!

As a result of this slight indiscretion, my poor husband is at work right now giving this lieutenant the "what for" because Jeff had it good. For years I have attended these meetings in his behalf because they can make him go and I felt sorry for him trudging off to a meeting for spouses that if I didn't go, he had to. "No more," I say! I will not be ordered around by an Army newbie.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Army for raising up this lieutenant who has unsuspectingly freed me from the burdens of meeting tyranny. It's a new day people! And Jeff is sooooo excited about it! :)

A new year already?!?!

I wasn't ready. The end of 2008 just flew by. We got bad and good news. We said goodbye to dear friends. My parents came out for Christmas. My kids left with them for a week in GA. So much has been going on here that I haven't even taken the time to write. I have really missed it too.

The new year holds many a promise for our family and we're all looking forward to seeing what God has for us. I have a quote on my desk that I think arrived just in time for this year. It says, "If nothing ever changed...There would be no butterflies." There is no love-loss between me and change but this little quote reminds me that sometimes change makes the most beautiful things.

Hope you have a great day!