Twirls 'n Curls

Here are a few pictures of what summer looks like at our house:   Yesterday was a lollipop-lickin', garden pickin' day. They talked me into letting them have an outdoor bubble bath...why not? And here's what summer sounds like... Linsey:  Mama, is it ok if I play with my pretend kitties? Me:  Sure, I guess...?? Linsey:  Ok...(comes back a minute later, excited)  I gave my kitties some milk! Me:  Was it pretend milk? (panic rising) Linsey: (whispers in my ear)  Yes, but don't tell them it was pretend!!     Hannah:  I'm si-i-i-ck! Me:  What's wrong?  Hannah:  I'm sick because I don't like to go to bed!! *FYI, she went to bed...2 hours later, her eyes are peeking over the covers when I check on her.* Me: Did you take a nap? Hannah:  Yeth. Me: Did your eyes close? Hannah:  NOOOOOO!! Hope you have a great 4th of July, the best holiday EVER! (okay, so maybe it's my birthday too...) Hop...

Linking up with The Miller Racing Family for the first time on Wordless Wednesday!  Here are a few pics from Natalie's first birthday party when we were on vacation:

During our recent trip to the Midwest, several things were forgotten.  My husband, who never leaves anything anywhere it doesn't belong, somehow left his Rayband prescription glasses at a restaurant in Chicago.  Ouch.  (When he does lose something, he does it well!)  I wisely refrained from commenting.  A couple days later, I left my phone charger at the hotel we stayed at in Michigan.  Tom wisely returned the favor and said nothing.  From all collected reports, I've heard that we also left a pair of chonies and a Beauty and the Beast hair clip.  For five of us, I'd say that's pretty good.  But being home for the first time in several years, I realized I'd forgotten several other things: I forgot how cool thunderstorms are - I love rain!  But I also forgot how bad the resulting damage can be.  My parents' area had hurricane-force winds while we were there, and 80 trees had fallen onto power lines just in their small town.  Th...

Linkin' up with my friend Jocelyn for a " Tempt Us Tuesday " recipe swap.  Only I'm trying not to bake so many sweets because I find that's how I wind up eating them - does anyone else have that problem?  ...so here's a great main dish that always seems to go over well. We have people over, like, all the time.  At least several times a week I find myself staring at my recipe books, thinking, "What did I make last time this family came for dinner?"  Or worse..."Does everyone in town talk about the fact that I almost always make lasagna the first time we have someone over?"  Silly, and vain, I know, but that's how my mind works.  I even used to have a book listing what I made whenever we had people over, but then I lost the book...anyhow, this yummy Mexican Lasagna is a nice change, and not quite so rich as its Italian counterpart:  Mexican Lasagna 10-12 tortillas 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef 1 1/2 t. cumin 1 T. chili powder 1/4 t....

  It's Miscellany Monday, time to think of all those tidbits that haven't made it into your blog but you feel the need to share anyway :) 1.  Weddings make me all romantical.  We went to a wedding for a dear friend from college last night.  The best part was enjoying it all with just my husband, we had a babysitter all afternoon and evening!  I felt like Cinderella.  It was gorgeous.  And expensive.  And ethnic.  We were the only white people on the groom's side - we actually got asked if we were seated on the wrong side!  2.  For a treat, sometimes I let the girls have "banana splits" for breakfast.  We chop up bananas and strawberries, then put yogurt and sprinkles (sometimes a little whipped cream) on top.  They get so excited, they don't even realize it's mildly healthy!  Now if only I could convince Tom to eat one too, I could get out of cooking breakfast entirely! 3.  I <3 Scentsy candle w...

We just arrived back from Chicago, visiting my side of the family.  We had tons of adventures and misadventures, and I promise to let you in on those later!  For now, here are a few highlight photos and lessons we learned along the way: When life gives you more than you think you can handle, go ahead and give it your best shot anyway. Don't complain about your food...it could always be worse! Fun is always better when it's shared. When your road gets a little slippery, don't be afraid to ask for help. You can do anything you put your mind to, as long as Grandpa lets you!! In the real world, even princesses have to clean toilets.   And finally, remember that sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs... In order to find your Prince Charming. (Seriously, we found out later they did in fact kiss the frogs..."But don't worry, Mom, they didn't turn into princes!")  Hope you're having as great a summer as we are!!

My girls have all become obsessed with some crazy stuff recently.  Veggie Tales, I understand.  Princesses?  Sure.  But since we did a homeschool lesson on dollar bills, Linsey has been obsessed with George Washington.  This has gone on for more than a year now.  She says stuff like, "And when I go to heaven, I get to meet George Washington!"  Then she stops and looks at me, "Mama, is he dead?"  "Yes sweetie..." Hannah, on the other hand, is obsessed with monkeys.  She LOVES Boots the monkey from Dora the Explorer.  And she'll play the Monkey pre-school game for hours on the iPad, it's the only time she sits still (we're def taking this on the airplane when we go on vacation!).  And she loves, loves, LOVES Curious George. So the other day, these two obsessions collided at the breakfast table. Linsey:  George Washington was so amazing!  Was he the leader of the whole world, Daddy? Tom:  Not the whole world, but...