Monday Munchies: Simple Snacking Surprises.

So, occasionally I'll see something like this:

 or this:

....and I start feeling pretty crummy about the lame Wheat Thins or Goldfish I threw in a baggy at my kid just before heading into the van.


And while it is awe inspiring and really nice for a party or special occasion to spend an hour creating a snack masterpiece that will be devoured in approximately 5 minutes, I've discovered that just a little twist on an old (and inexpensive) favorite can result in a big smile and an unspoken understanding of love between me and my kids.


So, break out the Pretzel sticks.


Sometimes (especially for family movie night) I give my kids pretzel sticks for a snack.  After Easter we had lots of egg candy lying around.  When I dumped a few pretzels into the bowl and it looked like a nest, I put a few Robin Eggs chocolates inside and voilà! An exciting bird's nest snacktime was born.


Since our first bird's nest snack, I have tried a few different twists with things we have on hand. Marshmallows also make a fun surprise in your nest.  And sometimes I arrange the pretzels to look like a little bonfire with a few marshmallows stuck to the ends like we are going to roast them on the fire. The kids LOVE this! 

While I hope to keep aspiring to a level of superior child snacking such as this:

My kids are pretty happy with our little pretzel nests and pretzel bonfires.  What are some simple snacking favorites in your family?

Thankful Thursday: Mercies Anew!

Every morning that breaks

There are mercies anew

Every breath that I take

Is your faithfulness proved

And at the end of each day

When my labors are through

I will sing of Your mercies anew!

(© 2001 Sovereign Grace Praise)

The sun came up fiercely today--it broke through the curtains and I was reminded just how much I have to be thankful for.

This morning we drove to school without music or distracted chatter about Legos and the Backyardigans.  We had real conversations about baby calves that we passed in the field and the gorgeous Queen Anne's Lace that grows wild by the road.  We laughed and when Griffin gave his brother a big kiss before he headed out the van door, I couldn't help praising God in my heart for mornings like this. For mercies anew.

This week I'm thankful for so many things. 

~For more blessings in our lives in the form of new babies born into our family.

~For cool mornings and soggy dew.

~For a bountiful garden in the backyard.

~For an amazing husband and daddy who cares for us.

~For a 2 year-old who hysterically gains independence each day.

~For my big kids who are helpful and seeking and growing.

But most of all for this.  A reminder that even when it is foggy and rainy and the sun isn't shining, God and his mercy is constant!

And Your mercies, they will never end

For ten thousand years they’ll remain

And when this world’s beauty has passed away

Your mercies will be unchanged

Mother's Day: One-Memory-a-Day Journal

My children are growing fast...way too fast. And they do cute and funny little things every day, which I am already forgetting. 

So I gave myself an early little Mother's Day gift this year: a One-Memory-a-Day Journal.

Confession: I am a wanna-be journaler. Truth be told, I am actually a wanna-be Memory-Keeper in several areas. Don't ask me how far my children's Baby books have progressed (one is unopened!) or how my scrapbooks are going (the photos are all there in Photoshop...not printed, not laid out digitally for a Photobook...just waiting...) And even my great intent to keep separate journals for the kids of all their funny antics is basically still a pile of notes on calendars that I need to get around to copying over to actual journals...

But this one is different. It's not intimidating at all. The goal is to write at least one sentence from the day. It keeps track of all the sweet little happenings that may not be Big Firsts or hilarious stories to share at future family get-togethers...just happy memories our family will cherish reading when the kids are grown.

I grabbed a little journal at Staples and started it May 1. So far, I'm still on track!

If you have young children or need a gift idea for a new or young Mom for Mother's Day, give her a cute journal with the instructions to jot One little Memory a day.  She will love it forever!

Kid Creativity: Bounce Back Game Time.

Sometimes a new game will spring up when we least expect it. I love it when my kids come up with something entirely on their own; I'm always happy to help point them down the pioneering path.

Since it was blazing hot by 9 a.m. on Saturday, our only outdoor option was to pull out the tiny inflatable baby pool and splash around.  After a while my 6-year-old got bored with the little pool and started looking for another outdoor option.  


We have two boys in our house, so we are constantly bouncing with bouncy balls. There are balls in every shape and size, from the least bouncy to the bounciest.  I don't mind a bouncy ball one bit.  I will take 10 totes full of bouncy balls over 1 harmonica or drum any day.


My boys have been on a ball kick lately and it is something that they enjoy playing together--even with their four year age gap, so that's nice.  Since we have an endless supply of bouncing balls around the house, I let them bring a few outside and bounce them around. Eventually the bouncing balls found their way into the baby pool--large target. Then we started hunting for smaller and smaller targets: buckets, totes, cans.  I finally remembered my awesome stash of yogurt containers that I had in the pantry.  I have been saving them because they are just too great to throw away (*cough hoarder *cough) and yesterday we finally put them to use.

Once we set the yogurt containers around the baby pool, we circled them with chalk and put various numbers to represent points at each spot, depending on how difficult we thought each shot would be.  Next, we drew a line for him to stand behind while throwing the bouncy balls and he drew a scoreboard for each player.  

Once the game was all set up (which was really the fun part anyway) it was time to play.  Griffin had fun bouncing the ball and attempting to steer the bounciness into the small yogurt containers.  It was a challenging game and he was very excited even if the ball simply touched the container.  Of course he also had to keep moving farther back.

Games are everywhere.  If you encourage your kids to run with their own creativity, you'll be surprised how far they go with it.  The yogurt/pool/bouncy game might not make it onto the shelves of Toys-R-Us anytime soon, but I had a great time creating something from nothing with my boys.  What is a fun game that your family created or modified lately?

Thankful Thursday: A Trip to the Home Beauty Salon.

This morning was low-key.  I managed to sleep in until the glorious hour of 7 a.m. Shockingly rare.  I enjoyed my coffee and some reading time.  The kids have played nicely and we managed to get a few things organized before we head over to school for lunch duty with Griffin.


I was sitting on the floor watching my daughter accessorize a stuffed elephant when my little guy came over and asked if he could brush my hair.  Sure, why not. 

He started out gently and carefully brushing the back of my hair and gradually became more emboldened until I'm pretty sure he brushed away part of my left ear.  Instead of screaming I started laughing which only caused him to brush harder and crazier.  


He always keeps us on our toes--full of joy and finding adventure in every task and every moment.  His moment of hair-brushing glory ended shortly after encountering this tangle on Maddy's head.  He needs a little more practice in the art of gentleness.

As these simple moments pass, I am reminded that I am fortunate to be home with my sweet babies to cherish these casual mornings.  I am blessed to see the joy in little faces, the discovery of new adventures, and even the tiny disappointments and daily failures.
I love these kids.  I'm thankful for these mornings and know that they are fleeting.  And as the calendar fills and Summer draws near, I'm reminded to "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4. 
Not just sometimes. Always. What a challenge!

**top photos by Maddy, age 5**

Jump Starting My Week.

Yes, even weekends can be crazy.

Sometimes it's impossible to get caught up on things over the weekend, and I rely on a lazy Monday to get things back on track. Yesterday was supposed to be our lazy Monday, but shockingly, things don't always go as planned.

We have been staying busy lately, which might partially explain my lack of blog posts. As school and everything else winds down, we have also found ourselves doing things such as:

Easter.

Learning to ride a bike.

Repairing a deck.

This awesome Mud Run with mom friends.

And on and on...

So yesterday, on our supposed lazy Monday morning, when I chose not to shower and get ready for the day before conquering breakfast with the kids and school, it is no wonder that the engine wouldn't turn when we loaded up at 7:35 in the morning. 

It's no surprise that the battery was dead as a doornail, which by the way—have you ever wondered what that saying means? Look no further. 

And it was unusually chilly yesterday morning; as I unloaded kids (2 of them still in PJ's) from the van and called my husband at work, I kissed lazy Monday goodbye. As I waited for our sweet neighbor to come with jumper cables, I scrambled to dress my little ones more appropriately for the weather and switched myself from PJ pants to jeans.

While we rushed over to school, then on to Goodyear to switch cars with my husband, followed by 3 consecutive shopping errands, I struggled to keep perspective on our Monday turn of events. While I worried over the fact that I might run into a familiar face in public with my ragamuffin kids and my day-in-the-life-of-a-mommy attire, my kids joyfully sang and played in the backseat and played eye-spy in shopping carts.

I am realizing more and more that these trivial upsets in my routine shape me more than any lazy Monday ever could. How can I really rate a dead car battery, a tardy kindergartner and an annoyance in my change of plans in the big scheme of things? I keep thinking back to one year ago when our little guy was hospitalized for viral pneumonia. 

It was scary; it helped pull everything into perspective for us. It reminded us to be thankful for the truly important things and people in our lives.  And you can bet we held them all a little closer and tighter that week.

I think of my friend Sarah who is a passionate advocate for the people of Sudan. I think of those woman and children near the Nuba Mountains who try to avoid bombs and famine while I sit here typing in my house, stressed about surviving until Season 3 of Downton Abbey.

http://www.bareearth.org/

I have to keep my own undesirable situations in perspective, and learn what I can from each tiny trial.  And as our crazy Monday morning finally culminated in a spectacular moment of triumph when Mason used his potty in the front of the Camry in the Post Office parking lot because we were out of other options, I had to laugh.

And even though I'm pretty sure I sent at least one exasperated text yesterday morning using words like “blerg” and “annoyed,” I'm very thankful for these lazy manageable Mondays. And even though Mondays are the potholes in the road of life, it's true, these tiny potholes are molding and preparing me for who knows what. It's not very hard to recover from the inconvenience of a dead battery and a trip to the store in Pajamas and no make-up.  I'm still trying to keep the big picture in check, remembering that these little warm-up stretches are hopefully making me more flexible for future, bigger potholes.

Toddler Toy: Upcycle a Wipes Tub

This Huggies wipes tub was just too cute to throw away! I decided to recycle it into a fun little activity for my 2-year-old. (Incidentally, I recommend the Huggies tubs over other brands because of the rubbery opening that is softer on little hands.) Ever left your toddler alone with a tissue box or wipes tub...to come back later and find it had been emptied one-by-one? Yeah. The fascination of one little white corner appearing after another...

To fill my tub, I pulled out a bunch of fabric scraps and cut rectangles about the size of a small paperback book. I tried to find different colors and textures--velvet, satin, flannel, and corduroy.



Then I cut some different shapes--oval, triangle, circle, heart, and square. I even pulled out a couple of my son's favorite old t-shirts that were in the rag bag because of holes or stains and cut out the front picture. This is a great option for anyone who doesn't have fabric around. The nice thing about t-shirt fabric is that it won't fray around the edges either.



If you knew your child would play with this over and over, you may want to go to the trouble of hemming the edges of your cloths. I didn't bother.

When I gave it to my son this morning, he had a lot of fun with it and got some good practice naming his colors and shapes. To keep it interesting, we made up games, such as "Find me the green cloth!" and "Sort the shapes."

It's a quick "toy" to make, and something that can be pulled out for Quiet play when Mom needs to make a phone call or fix a meal!