Month: April 2013

  • Fashion Tip Friday ~

    A song for your weekend. 
    HERE     

    ..and for fashion tip Friday.
    Things that shouldn’t be.

    “Phat Dude” written above your pocket, and in a size 2XL?
    Now, for those of you who don’t know what “Phat” means….{Pretty Hot And Tempting}
    I’m sure some woman out there thinks you’re “Phat”,
    but there really isn’t a need to let the rest of the world know.

    Padding in the upper regions of a little girls size 7 dress.
    First off, that neckline…sheesh! Second, Really? REALLY??? Size 7!!! 
    {and No! I’m not joking…this was in the little girls section with similar dresses!}

    I don’t know if this makes me more angry or more sad.

    Salami should not be worn as a face mask.
    Just sayin….

    It’s going to be warm(ish) and SUNNY!!! this weekend. Finally.
    Tonight Jeff and I have a great big date..we’re picking up a new screen door. Tomorrow morning I have plans to take my girls out. (while Jeff installs my new door ;)  Tomorrow night Jeff and I are getting together with my good friends from high school. I can’t wait, I miss seeing them. My girls are happy to have Auntie Caitlin visit for the evening. Jeff’s parents are visiting Sunday after church.

    How about you? Big weekend plans?
    Happy Friday.

  • We stepped back to 1902.

    School yesterday took place at the Old Stone School House in Midway Village.
    Miss (Auntie) Caitlin was the teacher for the day. Dressed for the part, the kids all loved her.

    My girls were in Heaven! What little girl wouldn’t be?
    Little House on the Prairie come to life.

    They wore their “old fashion” dresses and bonnets.
    The denim coat is a bit of a stretch..but it was chilly out. ;)

    Their school day was just as it would have been in the early 1900′s.

    After school  we took a tour of the town.
    The Blacksmith, the Church, the General Store…..

    …and all of the kids favorite, The Jailhouse!

    I love old houses, and buildings, and antiques.
    There were a thousand things I wanted to take home. and a couple of buildings I would love to live in. 

    Interesting little fact : The hotel in this old little village used to reside in my town.
    They moved it quite a few years ago…wish it were still by us instead.

    Hope your week is going well.

  • It seems to be the trend.

    Today was (yet again!) chilly and rainy.
    The day was spent in sweatshirts and lazy clothes. We finished school pretty early.
    We baked Praline Apple Bread from a recipe my Grandma sent in the mail. We loved it.

    After seeing a picture on instagram, I was inspired to surprise my girls.
    Old albums seem to be all the rage right now.

    Sam and I went up into the attic and dug out my old Fisher-Price record player
    and a stack of records. Records that I listened to when I was a little girl.

    {The record player was a Christmas gift from my Grandma. I was five years old.}

    Favorites?  My Strawberry Shortcake records from 1981. (one even has a picture on it)
    I remember going shopping with my Mom, she let me pick out any record I wanted.
    I chose Strawberry Shortcake’s Exercise and Fun Album.
    Maybe I should try working out to that tomorrow. Ha! 

    I told the kids to be SO careful because the records are worth SO much!
    Then I checked on ebay. $2.99-$8.10.   So much for that retirement plan.
    Record investments are not the way to go folks.

    It’s still raining. We have a fire in the wood stove. 
    Happy evening to you.

  • Friday.

    An upbeat, Country, Inspirational song for your weekend.
    HERE

    Today it snowed. hailed. rained. and was windier than windy could be.
    and even though our Saturday is only a high of 45…it’s supposed to be sunny! 

    From the iPhone.

    I don’t need one, but….. {anthropologie}
    Why I don’t want to visit the Grand Canyon with my husband and boys. {fearless}
    We weren’t supposed to exchange gifts. {he said one rose doesn’t count}
    Coffee/Brownie/Strawberry Frap {grocery shopping pick-us-up}
    Empty lake, lonely canoes. {hoping soon}
    World’s Biggest Strawberry! {my reliable sources tell me}

    *What ever happened to those fashion tip Fridays?
    Maybe I should bring them back.* 

    Happy Weekend.

  • Rated PG-13. Love Birds.

    My youngest three were pretty excited that they had captured a bird taking off from the branch.
    “Mom! The bird landed on another bird and then was trying to get off for a minute and then flew off.”

    I spared you the actual “trying to get off” photos they took.  
    Hmmm…that last sentence can be taken a couple different ways.
    Okay, lest the wording of this post becomes too X-rated, we’ll move on.

    Pretty much the entire northern half of our state is under water.

    Chicago has a sink whole. Three cars fell into it! {Photo Here}
    Brookfield Zoo closed for the third time in it’s history. It opened in 1934. {Zoo Info}
    My favorite hot dogs in the whole world are under water. {Gene & Judes}

    Thankfully we didn’t have any major problems in our house…
    except a storm window left open in the bathroom that leaked down the wall.
    We’ll just blame the kids for that one. ;) *cough, cough*

    The kids spent much of the day playing outside in mist and puddles.
    Sophia and two of the little boys next door collected a whole pile of worms.
    They named them…Fluffy and Shorty were two of their names. They showed me how cute they were.
    (I don’t like worms..unless they are in my garden. :)  

    Basketball continued as it always does.
    Rarely is there a day where the ball isn’t dribbled and shot.

    Happy Thursday to you.

  • I’m going to copy Rachel.

    Just a little Miscellaneous Monday with my friend Rachel.
    Do you know how many times I had to spell miscellaneous before I got it right? Ha.
    It’s one of those words that always stumps me.

    We’re still wearing scarves and boots around here. Snow is in the forecast for Friday.
    Flurries..but nonetheless, the “S” word has been mentioned.

    Saturday morning Sammy spent a while making us fresh squeezed orange juice to accompany breakfast.
    It’s time consuming, (when you have seven people to make it for ;) but worth it.

    Boston. The runners, after such an accomplishment. The spectators, there to cheer people on.
    Such a sad, sad situation. 

    I started a new pocket book with my girls today. They loved it. I loved it.
    I’ll write more about this another day. 

    Much needed haircuts for two boys are happening in my dining room.
    (I think their barber is pretty handsome.)

    We broke tradition and had pasta for dinner tonight instead of yesterday.
    Jeff nearly had a heart attack. It’s the one thing he likes to remain the same..pasta on Sunday.
    (who’s the Italian one here? ;)  

    ….and that’s all the miscellaneous (spelled it right the first time!) I have for today.
    Happy new week to you.

  • Must all my titles start with rain?

    I have been reading lovely spring stories of being outside and planting flowers and eating ice cream in sunshine and curtains blowing in warm breezes….all while sitting by my fire-filled wood stove.

    Rain falling, wind whipping and a little snow in the forecast for tomorrow.  
    Windows still shut from winter and blankets are needed during quiet reading time. 
    Inside is cozy. and here we are…..inside.

    Soon enough it will be hot and sunny and months will pass and I will be excited all over again to sit by my burning, wood stove while cookies bake in the oven. So content I will (try to) be.

    April showers bring May flowers. and I love flowers. :)

    Jeff was home today from work. It made our morning feel like Saturday.
    I made strawberry-stuffed french toast {with real maple syrup} and bacon. 
    Our house smelled like the weekend…a nice little midweek perk.

    We didn’t get dressed until almost lunch time and
    a documentary on Auschwitz took precedence over math this afternoon.

    If you have Netflix, it’s definitely worth the watch.
    We didn’t get through each episode, planning on finishing them up this week if we have time.

    We have been reading and learning about the Holocaust the past few days.
    I have learned so much. I thought I knew a lot about it…I didn’t.
    It was such an evil, evil place in history. 

    Soon pretty daisies will be blooming again.
    Until then, I will enjoy my fire and hot cup of coffee while watching
    cold raindrops smack against my window. :)

    Happy day to you.

    *Great Stuffed French Toast ideas.

  • It rained that day.

    We didn’t care. We were getting married!
    That was sixteen years ago last Friday. 

    In the great, big living room in my parents old house,
    wearing my Grandmother’s wedding dress from the 1950′s, Jeff in a rented tux….we said our vows.

    {OH! I love him SO much!!}

    Our parents took our kids this weekend. Jeff’s parents the boys, my parents the girls.

    We had the weekend alone.
    We did many very exciting activities without the children, like….

    …purchasing new ink at Best Buy.
    …making a few returns at The Home Depot.
    …eating gigantic cheeseburgers.
    …finding a new book for our girls at the teacher’s store.
    …getting new light bulbs for the basement.

    Can you imagine anything more romantic than light bulbs?! ;)


    We actually had a great, great weekend.
    I believe the clock was ticking twice as fast as usual, Saturday seemed to fly.

    I’ll tell you, I wasn’t ready for our time to end.

    Sunday afternoon we met Jeff’s parents (and sister and her family) at Catigny.
    It is such a lovely place to visit. and even though nothing was in bloom yet, it was still beautiful.
    We had a wonderful time walking the grounds. 

    We toured Robert McCormick’s house and went to the war museum.
    If you have never been…Go! take your kids, go yourself, go with a group. It is such a neat place.

    It’s $5 to park your car…everything else is free.
    Pack a lunch and spend the day.

    If you have boys (or girls), they will be in heaven climbing all over the many war tanks.
    Summertime the gardens are beautiful! and in the fall…Gorgeous! 

    The girls spent the day with my family hiking and having a grand old time.
    They are still over there sewing with my mom and running through her woods with my brothers.
    They want to move in with my mother. They said they don’t miss me, but they still love me. ;)

    Hope your week was off to a good start.
    Our day started off rainy, then the sun came out this afternoon.

    The rest of the week is looking to be rainy and chilly. This is April in the Midwest. 
    and I’m okay with it. I’m okay with it. I’m okay with it. (maybe if I say it enough times I will believe it :)

  • An upward trend.

    Have you ever looked at a ten-year chart of the price of gold?
    If you go back ten years, it looks like a fairly straight line with a constant incline.
    Values rose seven hundred percent. But if you look at a monthly chart, and especially a daily chart,  the line jumps up and down like it was going nowhere.

    Raising your sons and daughters is a fifteen-eighteen-year process.
    There will be ups and downs, so that ten years from now the chart will show a significant upward progress toward raising up sons and daughters with strong spirits, filled with wisdom and the grace of God.

    The frailty of human flesh will create a drag on our idealism, but
    “Keep they heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”
    (Proverbs 4:23)      -Micheal Pearl, from Training Children to be Strong In Spirit.

    If you’re having a bad day or going through a trial with your children, remember, God is faithful.
    Parenting is a tough job, and sometimes you’ll feel like a failure. (and we’re going to fail at times!)

    That is why we are so in need of God’s grace. He always supplies our spiritual needs. 
    We need to seek Him. Trust in Him. Rely on Him.

    Even though I will be faced with ups and downs…I am going to keep my focus on an upward trend!

    Nice weather here…Finally! 
    Off to the bike path with the kids, then dinner must be made.

  • We were cold.

    1. Sliced oranges at Easter breakfast.
    2. Sunrise breakfast/church service.
    3. I finally learned to french braid..now my poor girls are forced to wear them often. :)
    4.”Moooooom, how many eggs are we allowed to find?”
    5. Good buddies…my little brother/my son.

    While Easter pictures in catalogs boast of sunshine and tulips blooming and green grass and white sandals on little girls,
    here in the Midwest we donned warm jackets and wellies due to mud and snow left on the ground.

    Today is sunny, and it should be in the 50′s towards the end of the week. Yippee. I can’t wait to plant flowers.
    (not that I’ll be doing that anytime soon…but I’m thinking about it ;)

    Hope your week is going well. Happy Tuesday to you.