Appreciation

We had a really busy weekend. It's kinda a mixed bag when we do. On one hand, we usually are doing things that we love or at least doing things with people we love. However, on the other hand, when the weekend is over, it's over, without any downtime to relax. Then, Monday rolls around and my hubby is off to work.

Sometimes I feel a little guilty that I get to stay home with the kiddos. He drives off to work everyday while I'm comfy cozy in my jammies. I love being a stay-at-home mom. But, I know that my hubby would love to be home with the kiddos all day too. And, if there ever was a great candidate to be a stay-at-home dad, my hubby would be the best.

On days like today when I feel sorry for my hubby as he treks off to work after a busy weekend, I try not to focus on feeling guilty. I try to focus on being grateful. It's really not hard at all to be grateful for the life that I have. I have a fabulous husband who works his butt off so that I can be home with the kids. He is my best friend whom I trust 100%. He makes me laugh, comforts me, and supports me in more ways than I could ever count. We have two great children. They bring such joy to my life. Everyday is a new adventure with the two of them. I look forward to the years that lie ahead for our little family. I am so grateful for the love that our family shares. Yes, I am indeed grateful.

Today, I looked up some scriptures to help me keep an attitude of gratitude. Here's a couple that I found...

Colossians 3:15:
Be ye thankful.

I Thessalonians 5:18:
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Psalm 92: 1,2:
It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:To show forth Thy loving kindness in the morning,and Thy faithfulness every night.

Lost in the Translation

OK, so I'm behind in my blogging. Yep, it's rather frustrating. I've been putting what I learned in draft. Sometimes I write a little to get my thoughts down in a rough form to be revisited later. Other times, I upload the pictures so that when I do catch up, I'll have the pictures to remind me of what I learned. On really lame-oh days, I just put a title, assuming that when I see it in draft form, it will jog my memory and I will write about what it is I learned under that title. The latter is what I did for today's post. A little over a week ago, I learned about something to do with "Lost in the Translation." Today, I have no idea what that means. See, lame-oh! I'm sure it has something to do with my daughter's attempts to communicate with my hubby and I and our inability to thoroughly understand her meaning. But, for the life of me, I can't remember what it was. So, rather that getting even farther behind in my blogging, I am going to hope that one day I remember and I will come back to this post and update it with some really cute story about by daughter talking and my husband and I completely misunderstanding her. If not, then I guess that today I learned to never post a title only and hope to remember what it means a week later. Hmmm, dementia does run in my family...scary!

Avacados

Today, I was going grocery shopping and I wanted to make Guacamole. My hubby loves it and I have come to really like it myself. (It's been a long road to get over being so doggone picky!) Well, the grocery store only had VERY hard guacamoles...the kind that teach you patience. Today, I didn't have patience. I figured that with my determination and the help of my food processor, the avocados would surrender to my will and become mushy. They did not. I was terribly mistaken. After fighting with one avocado for much too long just getting the peel off and digging out the pit, I placed it in the food processor. What I got looked like uncooked couscous. So-o-o-o, we did not have guacamole tonight. I learned that I need to have more patience and that unripened avocados do NOT work for making guacamole. Duh!

Boom Box

Drum roll, please...

...the Baby Boy's birthday present is finally done!

We weren't sure that he would know what to do with it but he started playing his boom box before he even had the paper off! As soon as he tore through the paper and saw the guitar strings, he started strumming away! Whoo-hoo!

As he tore through the paper, he would stop and examine all the noise makers. He loved the drumstick. It is just the right size for his little hands. He is using it to bang on the box like a pro!

I am really proud of how this turned out. My husband did such and excellent job! Here are more pictures of each of the sides of the finished product...

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy! Enjoy banging on your boom box and filling our home with your bangs of joy!!! I love you little buddy!

Country Pie

Today I made a really easy dinner. I pulled out an old copy of Kraft Food & Family magazine. It's the Holiday 2004 issue. In it, I found a recipe for Country Pie. It only has four ingredients...that's my style! The only modification I made to the menu was that I used shredded Cheddar Cheese instead of Velveeta. We don't really like the flavor of it and I think it's rather expensive. I'd rather spend the money on real cheese. Anyways, it was very easy to make and all four of us enjoyed the meal. Since it's Thursday, we had dance class tonight followed by eating outdoors at the picnic area next to her dance class. I packed up the meal and brought it with us. Afterwards, it made a really easy meal to eat picnic style and it sure beats PB&J sandwiches. I would definitely recommend this recipe!

furoshiki

Today I read about furoshiki. I had never heard of this before but I LOVE origami and this is so very similar. I had to go to the store today anyways, so I picked up a couple of bottles of wine for my husband. He loves wine and I was anxious to try furoshiki...we both win! I followed the directions for Bin Tsutsumi 2 or the Bottle Carry Wrap 2. I was very pleased with how it turned out. Not only did it look pretty in it's wrapping, the bottles can actually be carried securely like this. The knot at the top creates a very nice handle for carrying the bottles. Oooh, I can think of a million uses for the different furoshiki carries!

Bandana Pants

Following the directions on Blue Yonder for Bandana Pants, I made my daughter a pair today.

They are so-o-o-o-o simple to make. All you need are two matching bandanas, some elastic, and your sewing machine. They are too cute on her and she is actually wearing them. She LIKES them! Miss PickyPants will actually wear them and she says they are very comfortable.

I used the left over material to make a matching scrunchy for her hair. No pattern for that...just guessed at it.

She wants me to make more pairs for her. She has big plans for all the colors that she wants. She says she wants to wear them every day. And, when I called them pants, she looked at me and said, "Look, Mommy, they're a little short. Let's call them Capris." I had no idea she even knew that word but apparently she does and she knows its meaning. So, yes, dear sweet child. I'll make you more bandana capris.