{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~

{pretty}

I wasn't the only one in the kitchen this past Saturday… Our oldest daughter has been such a huge help and loves working with me (or without me!) in the kitchen.  In these pictures she is cooking the bacon for the Club Sandwiches and, unlike her mother, she never burns it! ;)

She has been loving the pretty summer dresses we recently purchased from Lands End!

(Clearance Prices+Coupon Code+Ebates Rebate+Free Shipping=I'm so tempted to order more!)

She is still 10, but we ordered the Size 12 to give the dresses extra length, and so that they will fit her a little longer. We ordered the dress in Pink Hyacinth Stripe and Wood Lily Plaid.

{happy}

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Oreos!
(affiliate link, but I'm sure they are much less expensive at your local store)

I couldn't resist buying the Reese's Oreos when I was looking for Oreos for on top of our "Worm Burners." Let's just say it's a very good thing that there are nine people in our family and that they didn't last very long.  YUM!!!

{funny}

Snuggles and all his funny faces. . . That boy!

{real}

"WHAT just HAPPENED?!?"

"He blew out ALL the candles…"

"I know it's his birthday, but doesn't he know that I'm the candle-blower-outer around here?"

Don't worry Bud, we'll relight them for you!
Yep… All of them!

"That's better! Now you can cut the cake."

You can find the rest of the Golf Par-Tee pictures here. 

We are off to meet up with friends for lunch and bowling and then can't wait to welcome Captain and Ranger back home this evening!  They've been away at Quo Vadis Days (our diocesan vocations camp) all week and we miss them like crazy… Hope you all have a great day! 

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.

Picture Books and Raging Battles

Last Sunday afternoon, following the canonization of Saint John XXIII and Saint John Paul II, I happened to capture a few darling pictures of our little two year old looking through one of the books that he found in April's Book Basket.   (Note: This post contains affiliate links.) 



In an effort to "Keep it Real" I also took a few pictures of the battle that was raging just ten feet away. It was definitely inspired by a new St. Michael pillow, some new books, and the St. George The Dragonslayer Iron Whirligig we had purchased after seeing Charlotte's and had just set up outside near our garden.



It's a good thing I had a zoom lens on the camera!



Can you tell that Rose is surrounded by brothers?



She had dressed herself in two of her favorite kitty shirts layered, a long skirt, and a pink playsilk.



Bud ignored the whole thing and just kept reading about JPII!

A "Deer in the Woods" Birthday Party

On Friday our little "Bud" turned 2 years old!  He loves watching the deer in our yard, so this year I decided to give him a "Deer in the Woods" themed birthday party.   We had such a fun day with a reindeer themed pancakes, presents for our little dear, and cake!  We even finally found a Christmas Tree, which tied in with the O Antiphon for the day and made a perfect gift for O Root of Jesse. 

.: A Birthday Banner :. 

Even though I did need to simplify my original plans, I still was able to make a little banner!  I don't think his godmother would have let me get away with not having one for him! ;)   It came together so quickly with my Cricut.  I used the Winter Woodland cartridge for the deer, squares and circles, and the letters and number 2 were cut with the George cartridge.  

.: Reindeer Pancakes :. 

When I saw these rudolph pancakes I knew I had to make them for Bud's birthday!  I wasn't able to make them for breakfast so I served them for lunch instead.  They were easy to make and all the children loved them! 

While I made the pancakes, Twinkle Toes cooked all the bacon for the antlers and Chiquita washed the strawberry noses! 

Bud's favorite part, of course, was the whipped cream and chocolate chip eyes and he kept pointing to the whip cream bottle and asking for "MORE, pleee!" 

That big lunch tired him out and he snuggled up with his favorite dear for a nap while I got busy decorating his birthday cake.

.: "Deer in the Woods" Birthday Cake :. 

I really wanted to make Charlotte's White Chocolate Cream Cake, but after burning the white chocolate in the microwave and not having enough left to start over,  I simplified and just baked a yellow cake and topped it with a can of Fluffy White Frosting from the cupboard.  

For the decorations I used the same method I used last year for his Snowman Cake, and made candy deer out of Light Cocoa Candy Melts using some silhouettes of deer that I had found online, resized, and printed.   I also made some trees with the leftover cocoa candy melts and some green melts as well. I made those freehand and they all turned out interesting! ;)  Over all I thought the cake turned out really cute! 

.: Birthday Gifts :.

December is the perfect time of year for a deer themed party!  It was so easy to find deer decorations, wrapping papers, fabric, candles and more! (And most of it was 70% off already!) 

Most of his gifts incorporated the deer theme, with the exception of his  Melissa & Doug Car Carrier!   This little boy of ours points out cars every time we leave the house, and his daddy ordered this toy when he saw it on one of Amazon's lightning deals.   He knew he would love it and he was right!

Bud also received a few books (My Wonderful Christmas Tree, Over in the Forest: Come and Take a Peek, and That's not my reindeer... ) as well as a pair of pajamas and a few more toys including a Woodland Wooden Puzzle, a Forest Friends Block Puzzle, and this Tree Finger Puppet Play House! He also received a card and gift from his grandparents and some adorable Forest Friends Wall Decals from his ever thoughtful godparents!

.: Two Candles on the Cake :. 

The cake ended up being perfect for Bud and he LOVED his little deer! 

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Home Again!

 

Sean and our five youngest arrived home Saturday afternoon, on the 13th day of their trip to visit his parents and introduce our little man to his grandparents!  I'm so glad they were able to finally make the trip, but I was also very happy to have them all home again!  I didn't pick up my camera at all over the weekend (I was too busy holding my babies!) but here are a couple pictures that were taken on Saturday with my phone, right after I was nearly knocked over by Twinkle Toes, Chiquita and Snuggles who beat the little ones into the house and tackled me with hugs!  

Yesterday, as we were about to leave for Mass, Bud refused to sit down in his car seat until he saw me open the door and get in the van.  I think they all missed me too!  

{this moment}

Bud loves his ABC ZooBorns! picture book from his Godparents, especially the page with the impalas "Dee!!! Dee!!!" (deer)

A Couple Home Videos...

... because they are just too cute not to share!

Bud playing Mass on August 25th at 20 months old

Summer Daybook :: August 13 and 14, 2013

*I started this daybook yesterday morning, but it took me until today to finish... It's been a little busy!

Outside my window... 
Sunshine and Sunflowers!  We have been enjoying the (moderately) clear skies the past few days, but it looks like the smoke will be a problem again beginning on Wednesday.

I am thankful... 
that Sean was able to take Sunday off and has a break from the fires this week.  He has a project that needs to be caught up at his regular job, which will take all of this week, then he will probably return to the fire lines next week.  He is still working extra long days, but thankfully he has been able to get a little more sleep.

I am thinking...        

about paint colors.   I picked up a gallon of paint last Saturday for the three walls surrounding our fireplace.  I thought it was going to be perfect (how could it not be with a name like "October Mist"?) and I do love the color, but it just doesn't look good on those particular walls...  It's been hard to get an accurate picture of the color, but here are two that seem to be the closest, taken at different times of the day.

Morning Picture - Paint looks lighter

Afternoon Picture - Paint looks darker (and so does the whole house) but this will give you an idea of how it looks

It just doesn't seem to match the stone, and I also don't like the combination of the Cream (Yellow) and the Green.  It all looks too pastel to me.  I'm thinking either a much darker sage green, a mushroom color, or maybe one of the darker colors from the stone might look better (but I also don't want to make the room too dark)... Any suggestions? 

Learning all the time... 
This past week I had a call from the principle of the local Catholic school offering our family a very generous scholarship for our children to attend this coming school year.  The school is small (many of the grades are combined) and, if I had to put the children in school, it would be our best local option... And yet the thought made me so sad.  Home Educating is such hard work, but I do love it.  I love having the children home, I love being able to customize our curriculum to their learning styles, and they love homeschooling too.  Plus, what would I have to blog about if we sent them to school! ;)

Celebrating the liturgical year... 
the feast of the Assumption is this Thursday!  We will be attending Mass and then enjoying some delicious Assumption Parfaits after dinner.

From the kitchen... 
we came home from town this afternoon to discover a fun package that had been overnighted from dear friends in the midwest.  These amazingly yummy sugar cookies reminded us all immediately of our last visit and tide-pooling.  Come back soon, we miss you!!!

I am working on...
projects around the house.  I hope to finish before school starts. Is it possible?  Probably not...

I am creating... 
color coded checklists!  I have the oldest two boys' lists completed... Just three more grades to go! I am already starting to feel so much more prepared for this coming school year, which will begin on September 3rd.

I am going... 
to be a Godmother again, for the 10th time!  We are all so excited to be able to make the trip north this weekend to attend Rose's Godparents 10th Anniversary Mass and Celebration, which will also include the baptism of their newest little girl who was born last month!  We missed their wedding 10 years ago, since I was on bedrest while pregnant with Twinkle Toes that summer.  It is going to be such a fun weekend!

I am hoping... 

that I have a chance to make some zucchini bread this week.  Does anyone have a favorite recipe?

I am praying... 
for more rain, minus the thunder and lightning, and for the safety of the firemen.  We are also praying for some dear friends who could use extra prayers.

I am reading... 
Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing.  I preordered this book awhile back, to save for the feast of St. Nicholas, and it arrived this afternoon!

Pondering these words...
from today's page in Small Steps for Catholic Moms.  My copy is out of print but it has recently been republished by Ave Maria Press and can be pre-ordered for 24% off at the moment!

"I must anticipate the desires of others...show that we are much obliged, very honored to be able to render service. The good Lord wants me to forget myself in order to give pleasure to others."

St. Therese of Lisieux

I am listening...  
to Knee Deep!  It gets us dancing and singing along (and wanting to jump in the van and head to the ocean!) every time the smokey skies start getting to us.  ;)

Around the house... 
My mom and dad came over last week to help me hand some curtains in the living room (they match the ones in the dining/family room and were on clearance!) and a couple weeks ago the boys helped me switch around the couches.  It was quite the challenge getting them through the kitchen, but after flipping them upside down we were able to make it work.  Once we settle on a color for the accent walls we hope to find a chair in coordinating colors, as well as a new fan, table, and a couple lamps.  In the past our focus has always been on remodeling and adding on to our home, it's been fun to put a little more thought into furnishing and decorating lately.

One of my favorite things...  
home educating our children.  And color coded checklists! ;)

This week's plans...

Swimming Lessons, haircuts for a couple of the girls and I, finish creating the color-coded checklists,  Mass on the feast of the Assumption, and then head out of town for a fun-filled weekend with friends!

A little peek at my day...

A New Hairstyle for Rose!