and then there were two...

has it seriously been over a week since i wrote last?! wow! how lame can i get?! please do NOT answer that, really don't....

i have a totally good excuse for not writing: it was the first week of school!!! this has been huge! Mr.'P' is now officially in junior high and playing football (whoa!) and lil' Lou-Woo Girlie started third grade at a new school here in our quiet town, Fly Over Country, USA (she's brilliant!) and this has been quite the adjustment for Big 'K' to do preschool each day at home and no bubba or sissy... then there were just the two of us....

the evening before school started, i stole the big kids after dinner for a special treat

did you know that it's the little things that kids remember? the little walks down the street and seemingly simple conversations, the snuggles and holding of little hands are the moments that they remember, not the gifts or pricey gadgets. i know this because my posse would tell you that one of the best times ever was eating ice cream at sonic when they crawled through the moon roof and ate on the roof of the truck. and this was like 2 or 3 years ago. crazy, huh? so i drove 'P' and Girlie to sonic for 99 cent sundaes (yum-o!!) and i let them create another memorable moment :) on the roof of the truck in their pj's...

and i'd like to say that i got a picture of my eldest before i was allowed to walk halfway to the junior high with him, but then i'd be a liar instead of a completely forgetful and silly mama who has broken her streak of first-day-of-school pictures.... however that walk to school on monday was magnificent! i was so excited that he let me walk with him and i was kicking myself after i quickly hugged him and gave his fuzzy head a rub that i forgot my sunglasses to cover my teary eyes as i headed back to get my Girlie ready for school, too.

she wanted to walk to school, as well. this is the first time we've ever lived close enough to do this and it is apparently the coolest thing ever to walk to school!! (giggle) so after much careful preparation, she adorned herself (with some primping assistance from mama) with her most favorite new outfit and i strapped 'K' into the stroller and headed off to third grade...

i'm so a fan of this super adorable frilly, sequined skirt.... kinda want one of my own... seriously

so we headed inside..... it was an anxious moment for her, i could see her biting the bottom lip a little and so i reminded her how incredibly kind, smart, sweet, caring, fun, beautiful she is as we walked the new halls to her class. might i add she has the most amazing teacher this year, it is sure to be a wonderful success. and after five days, it is almost being to feel normal and not new... and this mama is overly relieved for God's grace in giving the right teacher and class, everything

you noticed the fabulously gorgeous school bag my daughter was carrying, didn't you? i thought so, i could sense your envy from here (hee, hee)...

yep, i made it for her.... and wow, it was one of the most frustrating projects i've taken on as of late. i wanted to throw my sewing machine about 6 minutes into the whole dang process, but after i shed a couple tears of frustration one night i persevered and came out with what she believes to be the "most beautiful bag i've ever seen, mama"... ya, that made it worthwhile

Big 'K' and i are working on the letter 'A' this week, 'A' sounds and 'A' words, also on concepts of big and small, short and tall and his very favorite: cutting on the lines!!

i am trying to finish a couple 'jewelry frames' that were ordered, and one is completed and the other is going to be done by the end of tomorrow if it kills me!! okay, it won't kill me but no one may get fed until i finish :) and i have about 5 more frames to complete so i can officially open my etsy webstore for Flooded By Grace Designs (lots of Yay!!!)

so do you forgive me for ignoring y'all?

oh, good!!! now it is bedtime for this mama who is worn out and in need of about 14 hours of straight sleep.... i do realize i'll only get about 6 but a girl can dream, right?!

be blessed.....

what's cooking?!

so i've been tweeting about my oatmeal cookie obsession lately (if you don't follow me on twitter, just click on the link on the right sidebar) and the obsession has yet to subside... yep, at 10am this morning i was whipping up another batch.

hey! don't judge me! it's oatmeal, people! it's heart healthy and whole grains are very, very good for you.

anyway.... since i have been completely lazy on sharing our weekly menus and new recipes with you (bad mama blogger....), i thought that i would give you my super fabulous oatmeal cookie recipe, well it's my mama's but she won't mind at all if i share with you :)

preheat your oven to 350 degrees (i almost always forget to do this, so i eat way too much cookie dough while i wait for my ancient oven to heat up)

you'll need:

2 sticks of butter (softened) and yes to make them incredibly delicious it must be real butter

cream butter with 1C brown sugar and 1/2C sugar (i use organic raw sugar but granulated is fine, too). once you've creamed those together and taken a couple tastes, just to be sure :), then add 1tsp pure vanilla, mix some more. then grab 2 eggs from your chicken coop out back or the fridge, whatever :) and beat those in (one at a time) with your butter/sugar mixture.

good so far? great...

in a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients: 1 1/2C flour (i use half unbleached white and half whole wheat), 1tsp baking soda, 1tsp cinnamon and a pinch more for good measure, and 1/2tsp of salt.... stir it all together

now stir in the dry ingredients, about 1 cup at a time... oh hold on i have to take a bit of my cookie, oh that was good.... into the butter/sugar/egg. your dough will be nice and thick but it is of course missing something: oatmeal!! now just using my spatula or wooden spoon i stir in 3C of oatmeal (i do not prefer the quick cooking oats, i like the big old fashioned oats, i love the texture it adds to my cookies

yea! you've done it!! now just plop down some of this amazing mixture on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, okay you don't have to use the parchment paper, but i do and it's my recipe, to there :) bake at 350 for about 8 minutes, and viola! you have the most amazing oatmeal cookies this side of the mississippi!!

now i have been experimenting with little additions to my cookie dough such as white chocolate chips or walnuts or even dried cranberries.... and while all of those are yum-o, i still just love this simple recipe without all the bells and whistles. and for all you freaks who ruin a perfectly wonderful oatmeal cookie by adding raisins (YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!!), i don't want you're commentary about how you added raisins and it was fantastic, gross :)

okay, i am off to clean up the kitchen after feeding five children (yes i had two extras today) this colorful, yummy, and simple lunch....

some all natural vanilla yogurt, with honey wheat pretezel, slices of nectarines and a drizzle of raw honey..... yum, yum, yum... enough said :)

my belief is: if it looks colorful and appealing to the eye, then the posse is more likely to eat it without any complaining

and the hot dogs are actually turkey dogs without any preservatives or anything artifical, organic mac-n-cheese (so good), grape tomates and baby carrots with cottage cheese... easy, cheap, and so healthy i can hardly contain myself!!

be blessed today!! let me know how you liked the cookies.... i'm off to put the toddler down for a nap (praise the Lord!) and then i have like a million jewelry portraits to create...

Not Me! Monday

do you feel shamed for eating five, no two, okay five oatmeals cookies for a snack while blogging before bed? is a mountain of clothes spilling out of the laundry and yet you just keep walking over it like it's not there? don't fret, my dear! Not Me! Monday was born out of the brillant mind of Mrs.MckMama as a way to air our less than perfect mom/wife moments and live to tell about it... you can link up and join the party at her blog by clicking here.....

okay, where to begin....

i did not spend last weekend completely obsessed with reading new moon because if i didn't find out what happened with bella and edward i might conbust! nope, i am a total grown-up and wouldn't allow myself to get so caught up in a silly book... ahem...

i seriously needed to get to the grocery store last week and i would never torture my children plus my niece and nephew by dragging all five of them to FOUR different stores. i am always super fun mama and would not dream of threatening telling them to just be good for a little bit longer. and no way ever was it my teenage son that i had to get on to (repeatedly) for chasing his little brother up and down (and up and down, up and down...) the aisles of the store, he is always the model child teen and would never require me to impose potential embarassment if he didn't stop chasing Big 'K' all over the place!!!

and certainly i did not find a stray kitten in my truck just this morning! as i was heading out the door at 7am to run by the store before going to lil' Girlie's school to take muffins for a teacher breakfast, i definitely did not hear any faint meowing but just dismiss it and start the truck anyway. and then after running to the store and then back home (cause i forgot something) i did not hear more manic meowing this time. and if i had heard this i didn't start searching for the tortured kitty, only to follow the cries to be coming from under my truck. i did not immediately get a horrible sick feeling in my tummy with the thought of mangled kitty in my engine.... so i did not cautiously open the hood searching for said kitty.....

and i did not find this cutie kitty stuck back in the corner of the tahoe's engine... nope...

so what say you?! what haven't you done this week :)

and don't forget to enter my twilight contest!! click here.... i'm going to close comments at 6pm CST tonight

be blessed y'all!!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. proverbs 3.5-6

it's my twilight ponderings.... and a contest!!

with a new (old) home to clean & remodel, an amazing Man, three babes in my posse and never enough hours in the day to feel like i've even made a dent in my ever-mounting projects for home & kid's school, i have no right to take on some time-consuming obsession...

...but that doesn't matter because i am over-the-top hooked on a saga of books: twilight!

now don't judge me!! yes, i believe that the author wrote these books with young adults in the starring roles meant to appeal to teens and young(er) adults, well in my opinion most precisely written for women... however, after reading the first two books (twilight and new moon, just so you know) i know that this series was designed with the adult woman in mind.

okay, okay, you may not agree, but here's my thoughts:

my teenage son wants to read these books, but i am saying "no" for now because the love and passion that bella and edward express (not sexually at all, in case you were wondering) for each other is so deep and emotional, and the author did a phenomenal job of conveying the desire and engulfing love these two souls have for one another, there is no way in the world that my teenage son or daughter could even begin to process or understand that kind of love. i wonder how many adults could fathom love to strong that it consumes all of your heart, that so selfless that you couldn't imagine living without the other half of your heart...

it could have been subconscious, maybe not, but it is of course the cry of most woman's hearts to have a man that is so completely out-of-this-world obsessively in love with all of you and the author has created this guy, edward, that is so totally amazing in his protective nature and the intensity with which he loves her, bella. it is the propensity of the female heart to yearn for a man to love her with such infatuation and the early to mid-thirties woman is a prime candidate in today's society, in my humble opinion.

every girl wants those moments that makes her heart beat faster, butterflies in her stomach, to be pursued, to be protected, to be rescued, to experience passion, a love affair that is exciting....

i have stumbled with these feelings and thoughts for the last three weeks, my hunger and fascination with the storyline, you know a great book will consume your thoughts, i love that about reading... anyway, so i have this astounding marriage, not bragging and it's not without work, i can't boast about something that is all the plan and blessing and grace of God :) but even with a strong, wise, warm, sheltering and might i add insanely handsome Man, that doesn't mean that i'm not intrigued and romanced by a storyline in which the girl is shadowed by a man whose love is so overwhelming.... a woman wants to be overwhelmed, ya know? and when you're home with kiddos all day, working and juggling babes, trying to get everything checked off the to-do list, the same day in and day out routine, all the heart-pounding drama has settled into monotony....

is it wrong to say that i miss being purused? while i would never, ever, ever trade my life, this beautiful blessing.... but i love this story because it reminds me of the first time i saw my husband, i remember our first kiss, what it felt like when he took my hand for the first time, how i used to get butterflies when i saw him across the room, how much i missed him when we were apart, when i realized that i would never be able to live without him....

i think this story, the movie, lots of other stories and movies too, place false expectations and desires into the hearts and minds of girls and woman, expectations and fantasies that the majority of relationships can't ever live up to.... that's why it's a story, but i am still drawn to it for the simple fact that i can't resist an amazing love story that highlights the good and bad in people, how when we truly give ourselves to someone how much power we are giving them to edify our soul or break it....

i could keep going, i do truly love twilight.... you know you wanna love it too :)

this story, these characters are appealing to me, so very appealing.... but i don't think i'm the only thirty-something wife & mama. so i refuse to tolerate you're giggling that i'm completely ravenousness with these books, take the step pick it up the next time you're grocery shopping, seriously your can buy these books anywhere.

hhhmmm... if you haven't ever read the books then i have a contest.... now this is totally off the top of my head.... tell me (reader's digest version, please) your love story, good or bad. i'll pick my favorite and i'll send you your very own copy of the first book in the series, twilight!!!

alright, can't wait to read your stories.... let's say this contest is on until monday morning, okay?

be blessed!!

oh, by the way, i'm team edward!!

running to and fro...

okay so besides my obvious addiction to all things twilight, and by the way i have an entire post about my thoughts on twilight and if you don't care i do understand but you are totally missing out!! ahem...... anyway, we have been busy, busy, busy here in fly over country, USA.

my big kids go back to school in only 2 weeks!! i can't believe it's flown by so quickly! so last week we took our annual trip out and about to buy school clothes and shoes and hang out...

one of the many places we shopped was the mall....aaagggrrrhhh....i despise, loathe, dread the mall. something about taking three kids of varying ages, different opinions and wants, having to go into more stores than i want just to say "no" to most things, attempting to avoid all the candy, cookie and pretzel vendors, ugh! however, they were all mostly good, okay 'P' and Girlie were, of course, good....

...but 'K' on the other hand was having a rather difficult time following directions. however he and 'P' had an amazing time riding the escalator over and over and over.... and then as he bunkered himself under some shelves of jeans, his sweet sis sat next to him humming and chatting until, well see for yourself...

yep! it was way past naptime and i was totally fine with it, as least he wasn't running around pulling clothes off the rack :)

and by the way, jc penny was having an amazing sale, and no they didn't pay me to say it, but WOW! you should totally check it out...

i've also been creating several jewelry portraits for my sweet readers who won them plus a couple as gifts and i am developing a business plan and site to sell Flooded By Grace Designs... it is sure to be wonderful (i hope)...

i really liked this design with a delicate pink frame, the vintage pink roses in the background, sweet pearls with purple button accents from which to hang necklaces or rings...



and this one was a requested pink and brown palate....

and i have to say that i loved how the varying shades of pink paisley ribbon on the inside of the frame popped against the background & the frame, but i'm kinda of biased :) more importantly, what do you think? i'm really curious...

so as i prep our lives for a kid in junior high, one in third grade and lastly our little one for preschool, i am experiencing glorious anticipation about what the Lord is bringing to our lives and how He will use me... praying that He will equip me, make me worthy of the calling He has on my life.

seriously, i'm writing out my thoughts on twilight for debut tomorrow, so you won't want to miss this one....

love y'all! be blessed.....

i have a problem...

i was so excited about all i had to blog about last week!! more home videos, my thoughts about honesty, a yummy cookie recipe contest..... then i was finally introduced to the first twilight movie..

...so i had to read the first book...

...which led to devouring, in a very obsessive-conpulsive manner the second book (new moon, if you didn't know, because i didn't know 10 days ago)....

...and i'd love to write all sorts of really profound and inspiring words for you tonight....

...but i'm watching the movie, new moon, because i have all sorts of issues about how wonderful edward is...

...so we'll talk tomorrow, okay?

thanks for understanding :)