funny picture about siblings...

Katie found this picture she on Pinterest awhile back.  Under the picture she wrote "Relax!  I was just kidding!" .... if me & Maddie were twins, this would be exactly what would happen!" 

Truth is ... she would be correct. 

Maddie's is 99.9% the one in tears over something Katie was teasing her about.

Another reason why my blog is named "Tell Your Sister You're Sorry!"

Mama 'n Me Journals

I found this amazing idea on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and suddenly KNEW I had to do this idea!  It's a journal/notebook in which you & your child write letters back & forth to each other.  You place it on their pillow each time you write.  I found it on this site. 

Yesterday I went ahead and made my girls' journal.  It was a trial and error for me -- since I was trying to "cutesify" their journal as much as possible.  Oh well -- next time I'll just stick w/ a plain notebook.  :)

I think they turned out cute -- and I placed them on my girls pillow under the covers.  When I peeked on Maddie when she was in bed, she was already writing her note back to me.  Katie came in later and said "check your dresser before you go to bed!" -- I had letters waiting for me to read.

What makes my heart happy is to see my 13 year old finally say "this is a cool idea!"  I never knew how much I'd have to work at making a teenager accept something that I thought would be a "cool" idea.

I heart Bobby Sherman ....

When I was a very young girl... back in the late '70's, I used to listen to my mom & dad's records.  They had a record by Bobby Sherman.

Oh Bobby Sherman.  How I stared at you for lengths at time.  Your dreamy blue eyes and dark brown hair.  You were very ::swoon::worthy.  My mom would tell me I would play the record over and over and over again.

Fast forward about 13 years, and a friend and I were going through her dad's record collection.  I found Bobby Sherman's record -- and I was immediately taken back to my little Amy days -- singing "Little Woman" and "Easy Come, Easy Go" .. and "Julie, Do Ya Love Me?"   Ahhhh...

This morning I was trying to figure out iTunes (again ... this piece of software is the hardest thing for me to figure out!) -- and so I started looking up songs, and Bobby Sherman popped in my head.  Which led me to YouTube .. and I found some of his old videos. 

Helllooooo Bobby Sherman!  We meet at last again!  In my eyes, as a mid 30-something year old Mom, you still captured my heart and eyes when I watched your video.  Rewind my days back to when I would sit with the big headphones on my ears playing the record over .. and over ... and over again.

I know I kid my girls over their girly crushes like Justin Bieber ... and Taylor Lautner (Maddie still insists she's marrying him) -- but this crush happened when I was younger than they were!

Enjoy a few of my favorites from Bobby Sherman!



After watching these videos a few times..... I notice some similarities.  Doesn't he look a little like Zac Efron?

And the hair styles... aren't the boys wearing hair styles from the '70's now?!  Or late '60's?!!!

Building a Cabin .. part 6

As you can see .. I changed from "building a mother in laws quarters" to "cabin" -- frankly, I have no clue if we'll ever get to a "big cabin" -- as this will be perfect for our needs anyways.  But, this is solely my opinion -- Mike always has a different opinion than I do.

I am a little behind on cabin posts -- and have had emails from friends asking me for an update.  I haven't been to the cabin since July -- and pictures from Mike when he goes up is scarce.  The girls went with Mike the first weekend in October, and Maddie had full reign of the camera.  Beware when the camera goes with Maddie.  You never know what you're going to get.  :)

I tried to explain as much as possible on the picture itself...

No shower yet ...  funny side story:  Mike & the girls went out to eat with our friend Shaun.  Mike said the girls were dirty from 4 wheeling, so sent Katie to take a bath.  He didn't think she was very dirty, but apparently she was.  Maddie got in the bath after Katie did -- and didn't drain the water when she was done.  He asked her "did you drain the water?" she said very innocently "well, aren't you going to take a bath too?"  He said it was so funny the way she said it so innocently and sweetly...

and since Maddie had control of the camera -- found this weird picture on there.  She should know by now that Mama has a blog and posts things of her children doing weird & odd things....

Mike's ... uh ... Katie's pinewood derby car

Katie's youth group held a pinewood derby race last night at church.  She procrastinated until two days before the race to even START on her car. 

Anyways, Mike & Katie (when I say both the names, it's really Mike who did the work... Katie cheered and kept her dad company) started on her car on Monday night.

Mike & Katie (remember... Mike only) labored on Katie's car for a few hours.  Just for the record... there were NO rules for this race!  That means, it can be HEAVY!  and have axles that does ... something.  :)

Tuesday night they (he) labored on it even more -- painting the car, buffing the tires, polishing the tires -- and all sorts of stuff I have no clue what they did or even why they did it.

Here is Mike sanding down the wheels.  I could go into a commentary of why he does this, but I don't understand why he's sanding down the wheels, so it just makes sense that I don't even attempt this!

If you can see it, the car has an "airflow" which is blah blah blah (again, I tuned out at this scientific explaination of why the car has to be this way.)  Just notice how it's cut.  I never said I did well in science.

A blow dryer is always good to have to speed up the drying process...

More polishing ....

Look at those pearly shiny tires!

Mike decorates Katie's car ... she is at a loss of how to decorate it, so it is all left up to Mike to make a girly looking car.  It is not a girly looking car, let me just say that.  I think polka dots would have made it girlier -- but that is my opinion.  He did a FINE job (said in the voice of Forrest Gump) of decorating it though.

More drying.  I will note that there are no pictures of me holding the dryer --

so technically I helped too!

"Katie .... this car needs a name"

"uh ... how about exterminator"
"that's too long...."

me:  "how about Blondie..."

"sounds good"

and that, my friends.. is how this car came to be called Blondie.

Since I was not able to be here at this race (I was at another church activity for Maddie in a different location) -- Mike took the little point and shoot and snapped a few pictures of the race.  The rest of the pictures are his and only his. 

and there she goes!!!

 
In conclusion .... Katie's car was very fast.  VERY fast.  Apparently it was THE car to beat.  However, another car bumped her car and an accident occured ... wheel fell off and Katie shrieked "My dad did it!  DAD!  FIX IT!" at the top of her lungs.  She's a bit competitive her dad realized last night.  VERY competitive.  Wonder where she got that from?  Definitely not me.

Her dad is already planning her next car. 

cooking with teenagers

I remember when my mom used to tell my brother & I that we needed to learn how to cook.  She gave each of us one night a week to cook dinner.  I think it lasted two weeks.  Maybe three weeks at the most.  We were picking hot dogs on a weekly basis.  I'm pretty sure mom got fed up with hot dogs.... dealing a blow to her dream of getting out of cooking one night a week.  Sorry Mom.

Fast forward 20 years.  I'm now encouraging my 13 year old to cook more in the kitchen.  Actually -- what really happens is that I run out of time, and I tell Katie "fix dinner!  Recipe is on that blog!"

Last Wednesday night I kind of lost it.  I was running out of time to cook dinner, had to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for an activity at church that night, and I was losing time fast.  Katie came to the rescue! She made baked chicken parmesan tenders by scratch (on my recipe blog) while I was on cookie duty.  The chicken turned out fabulous. 

I had her make one of those easy Lipton rice packets to go with the chicken.  A monkey could make this .... literally.  I tell my children ALL the time "read ALL the directions!  Follow ALL the directions!" -- the directions was to bring the water & rice ingredients to a boil, then to turn down to simmer for 7 minutes.  She left it on medium high for 7 minutes.  Catastrophe!!  Black, smelly burnt rice was all over the bottom of the pan.  I lost my cool.  "What happened to reading the directions???"  She was cooking and managing Facebook at the same time.  Qualities that show she can one day be a mother and hold down two to three things at one time. 

So .... the mean mom in me reared her ugly head -- and made her clean up the burnt rice on the bottom of the pan.  I figured "this way, she'll learn never to let rice burn like that."  Cleaning up burnt rice on the bottom of a pan is HARD!!  I think she learned her little life lesson.  Actions bring consequences -- whether good or bad. 

But my lesson?  Ouch -- it was a hard one.  Don't lose the cool over burnt rice.  The damage is greater on my child's feelings than what my pan is worth. 

So ... big FAIL on my mothering experience with cooking this week.  Next week will most definitely be better. :)  Hopefully she'll cook again.  That really was the best chicken we had with that recipe!

The Green Monster Smoothie attacks!!

So .... I'm totally into Pinterest.  I've tried several recipes I've seen floating around Pinterest.  Some were definitely keepers, and some ... not so much!  I've tried a few craft ideas.... one my mom made fun of, and one my mom "oohed" over.

Just for the record Mom.... frugal is in!  Yes, I'm cheap!  Yes, I did take some paint chip samples and make bookmarks!  Yes, they are TOTALLY awesome..... and YES!  I did modge podge our initial "N" onto our pumpkin and tied a ribbon on the stem!  I.Am.Freaking.AWESOME!  I can craft again!
However... I saw a pin for "Green Monster Smoothies".  It had... spinach... in it.  Spinach?  In a smoothie?  Now, we are a total smoothie loving family.  But this one.. I had to try!  Last week I added spinach to our regular smoothies, and gave it to the family.  No one even noticed!!  They were SHOCKED when I told them spinach was added to it!


Luckily I had a pineapple on hand ... and a pear ... and spinach... and bananas.  Yesterday I made it.  It was delicious!  I'm sure chockful of sugar as well b/c of the orange juice... but man was it awesome!  Only one person in the family didn't touch it.  Mike.  Maybe the color turned him off?  I dunno, but the girls and I are in LUV!

Here is the recipe from Annie-Eats (who got it from Une-Deux Senses): 

Yield: 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

1 banana (frozen or not), cut into chunks

1 cup chopped frozen pineapple

1 pear, coarsely chopped

1½ cups orange juice

2½ cups baby spinach leaves, rinsed and dried

1-2 tbsp. honey

3 tbsp. ground flaxseed (optional)

Directions:  Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until completely smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness with additional honey, if desired. Serve immediately.

Watch Katie as she drinks her yummy concoction...

Here is the Green Monster Smoothie....

Watch as she drinks....

gulp

gulp

See Mike as he glances at us and wonders

"what in the heck is my wife doing taking pictures of Katie at 7 a.m. drinking a smoothie?

Hmmm.... she's thinking about it....

thinking...

thinking....

By golly... SHE LIKES IT!

You can't see it, but she's giving a thumbs up!

If anyone needs an invite to Pinterest... let me know. :)