Madelyn's Birthday Bash . . .

Madelyn is 6 years old!



The cookies she got to share with her class at school. I know it looks like I had the kids decorate their own cookies, but actually I have to take credit for the phoenomenal craftsmanship.




The birthday girl and her candles



The birthday cake up close and personal, again showcasing my artistic skills.



She was really excited about presents and enjoyed opening several books and puzzles that night.

Finish It Friday

For this week's installment of "Finish It Friday", I am happy to report that I regained control of my ironing basket, and it currently sits empty, after a full four weeks of adding to it and ignoring it. I usually know it's time to tackle the ironing when it's the dead of winter and the only shirts Adam has to wear to work are short-sleeved. However, last week I got so tired of seeing the mountain sit atop my dryer that I took it all downstairs to the basement storage room that sits dark most days. I felt much better not seeing that huge to do pile everytime I walked in or out of the garage entrance (which is where the washer and dryer are located). And happily, I only felt kind of guilty knowing that the pile still existed, just not in my constant sight. But now, guilt be gone--I'm free at last!

I'm thinking next week's project will be something fun, not that the last two posts of mending and ironing haven't been sensational, but, you know :)

The Long and the Short of It

You know how some days you just wake up needing a change? Well today was one of those days for me. My hair has been the same for a while and, as I was getting ready this morning, I decided that today was the day for a change. A big change.

I took Parker and Meredith and got them all set up with snacks and prayed that they wouldn't make a scene for however long this was going to take. I told the stylist what I wanted and showed her a picture of how my hair was cut about two years ago, which was a short A-line bob that I loved. She looked at my hair, which has grown quite long, and asked if I was sure I wanted such a drastic change. I assured her that I did and so she said,"Let me measure because if we're cutting off more than 10 inches this cut will be free." Sure enough, it was 10 inches exactly! So, I got a cut that I love for totally free (except for the tip that I gave her) and I was able to donate to Locks of Love on top of it all! So that's the long and the short of it.

P.S. The picture on the left is how my hair was two weeks ago. The picture on the right is the one that I took to have her copy, and she did it exactly the same.

Leapin' Lizard Flies Again!

Leapin’ Lizard is the small bike that Madelyn passed onto Parker earlier this year when she got a “new” bike. The bike acquired this name because the phrase is scrawled across the bike and it is littered with neon geckos. Parker was doing well riding it with the training wheels and on Saturday Adam decided to take the training wheels off to see how he would do. At first Parker screamed one of those nervous, but delighted, screams and as he got the hang of it he started to say, “I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” Starting and stopping is still a little rough (several bushes in the neighborhood bear the distinct imprint of a littel boy and a bike!), but he feels quite pleased with himself with good reason. Long live the Lizard!

Finish It Friday

I hereby declare Friday on my little blog planet as “Finish it Friday.” Ever since I can remember, I’ve needed deadlines to help me get things done. When I was a teenager my mom told me she should have named me Scarlet (of Scarlet O’Hara and Rhett Butler fame. She was notorious for saying, “tomorrow is another day”). I started making to-do lists back then just because I liked to cross things off, in fact I would sometimes add things to the list that I had already completed just so I could cross it off (Am I the only one who does this?)! To this day I have a to-do list that has several carry-over tasks from previous weeks. Right, as if I’m suddenly going to like tackling that ironing pile or putting patches on kid clothes. Therefore, I will hold myself publicly accountable to get at least one thing done by each Friday that I haven’t yet completed in a timely manner! I look forward to using this deadline to get fun projects done too and I can’t wait to share it electronically and cross it off my to-do list!

This week I start with one of my least favorites, which is of course why it has been on my list for 6 weeks running: mending. Madelyn and Parker both had pants that needed patches, not because they’re worn out, but because they’re brand new and I don’t want them to get worn out quite so fast. Now that it’s substantially cooler they need the pants, and this week I finally got around to it. Admittedly, not the most thrilling start to “Finish It Friday,” but the mending is done (for now)!

What have you finished lately?

"I Do It!"

She has yet to pronounce the words, but Meredith is no stranger to the concept. Weighing in (as of a week ago) at 20 lbs , she can hold her own with Madelyn and Parker. This morning Meredith and Parker were in the shower and it didn’t take her long to figure out that being in the warm water stream was much preferable to being in its chilly overspray. Since Parker was in the water, she first squawked at him, and when he didn’t take the hint, she shoved him! I’d like to say that I’m not sure where she picked up that move, but unfortunately I’m quite sure she’s seen that before between Madelyn and Parker!

In addition to maintaining her water rights, Meredith now insists on feeding herself. I had been letting her do the non-messy foods like apples, pretzels, pieces of bread, etc. while I continued to feed her things like oatmeal and chili. Using the aforementioned squawk, she lets me know at every meal now that my services will not be needed. It takes twice as long, but she usually gets more food in her mouth than she does on the floor, so we both end up happy.

My baby is officially a toddler!

Falling for Michigan

I absolutely love living in Michigan—especially in the fall! Being from the West, I never knew much about the Midwest, much less thought I’d live here, but I’m so glad I do. I love sweaters, windy days, warm drinks, “fall drives,” cider mills, and pumpkin patches. Michigan provides the perfect fall backdrop for all of those favorites. The leaves on the trees are just starting to change here and it is magnificent.
Adam has had the last two days off. Today we took the kids and went to Verhage Cider Mill. It was fun to see how they make the cider and to enjoy some of the fresh doughnuts. We also bought some apples and had our first attempt at homemade applesauce; we’ll definitely be doing this again! Getting the apples prepared is a little work, but then you just toss it into the crock pot with a bit of sugar and cinnamon, and a couple hours later it is a heavenly concoction! Here’s the applesauce recipe I found on recipezaar.com:
4 lbs apples, cored and sliced thin
1/2 cup sugar (I used ¼ c. white and ¼ c. brown)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I added nutmeg too)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Directions
Mix apples (about 12 cups) with cinnamon and sugar and put into crock pot.
Pour water and lemon juice over apples. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
Stir the apples (they should turn saucy with a few stirs). It you want a thicker consistency just leave the crock pot on the high setting with the lid off for about 30 minutes.
This is pure delight straight from the crock pot, cold from the refrigerator, or someone even suggested using it over ice cream with a bit of caramel sauce. Apples have never had it so good!