Happy Birthday to Mary, my cyber friend!

Today is Mary's, over at Hope Echoes, Birthday.  I just wanted to shout out and tell her Happy Birthday.  My friendship with Mary is unlike any other.  I've never met Mary face to face, yet I have spent many hours praying for her.  We've never had dinner or gone on a walk, yet she has been a strong influence on my heart.  She has taught me many things, and her example has helped me grow in my journey with Christ.  So today I thank God for the gift of Mary.  I hope her day is filled with love and joy.  If you have a hankering, stop over and wish her a Happy Birthday!

What I've been up to. . . .

Ahh, a moment of computer time.  A moment is about all I have these days.  What's new that is taking up my days you ask?

1.  The General has started his high school journey.  Actually I feel more like the one in the hot seat.

2.  The General is running cross country with the local school district.

3.  Bubby is now an official kindergartner.  The great thing, he really doesn't require a lot of teaching.  He's absorbed most of the information you need for kindergarten on his own.  The down side, he's the only one in the house excited about school.  He gets upset if we forget to do his workbooks.  (For example, we've been on a field trip, so I skip the seat work.).  The only other kid dorky enough to love homework around here?  That would be me, as a child.  ;)

4.  Princess is a dancing machine.  She's now up to 2 ballet classes a week, with one jazz class, and Nutcracker on the weekends.  It is a lot of time at the studio, but she loves it.  So far we seem to be able to manage as a family, so dance on my beautiful girl.

5.  Nutcracker season is here!!  Right now I'm pondering why this doesn't make me cringe and become overwhelmed.  I realize I actually find the experience enjoyable.  The benefits and joy she receives from being a part of this production far outweigh the time and effort we put in.  Of course we are at the beginning.  This may be like child birth.  As soon as it is over, you focus on the great gift, and push the pain to the back.    I haven't had to deal with the late nights and all encompassing rehearsal schedules yet.  I'll get back to you in December. . . .

6.  I am facilitating the bible study group this year.  We are studying James.  Talk about conviction.  This one isn't so deep in history and theology, but oh does it hit the heart.  Right where it needs attention.

Fortunately God gives me what I need to add these things into our home schooling journey.  I'm humbled at His confidence in my abilities, because sometimes I just feel like surely someone else would do a much better job than I can!

Happy Friday my friends.  I hope this finds you all well, and enjoying the busy corners of your world.  May God hold you close in your trials, and dance with you in your joys.  Please leave me a comment, and let me know how you are.
 
Until the next moment,
Tami

Us Momma's Gotta Stick Together. . .

The other day I was struck by a few comments I read on a FB post.  A friend's daughter recently had a baby, and was posting about the frustrations of trying to figure out the sleeping patterns of a new baby.  We can all so relate to this topic.  A few ladies piped in and said things to the effect of, "I hear you sister!"  Then one commenter said something along the lines of, "You are a bunch of whiners, I've had it much harder.  When you have experienced this, we can talk."
I don't know this person, so maybe it was an inside joke.  Maybe they have a very good rapport, and this comment isn't offensive to the new momma.  Since it wasn't my comment, I didn't say anything.

BUT, it has been in the back of my mind.  I wonder, why it is that women feel such a strong desire to pull each other down?  Life isn't a competition of who has the most, whose kid is the best, or who has the crappiest life.  Isn't it supposed to be about our journey, and helping each other on the way?  Isn't the goal to get to heaven, and take as many people with you?
Sure if someone is a constant complainer, and doesn't seem to have the ability to see blessings in their life, a gentle reminder may be what they need.  Jesus did teach to go to your brother if there was a problem.  One of the beatitudes is to educate the ignorant (my memory paraphrasing).  We are called to hold one another accountable.  However, I think many times we are all so eager to point out the wrongness of others, that we forget the other half of the equation.  When we see something we are called to correct, we are to do so in LOVE!
Ladies, and gents if you fall into this category, we have got to stick together!  Raising children is HARD!!  It is long, arduous work.  (My husband likes to point out that it really isn't difficult. . .that is if you don't care.)  I mean, we have high hopes for these babes of ours.  Personally, my goal isn't to get them out of the house at 18.  It isn't even for them to be successful in this life.  I'm working for eternity here.  I am called to raise them for heaven.  And that, my friends is no small order.
So what exactly do I think will help?
A)  Simple compassion.  When that new mom is whining, yes whining, about how tired she is with her first baby (oh, we all did it) and you have two, three, or four children running around the house, be empathetic.  Don't squish her with, "well if you think that is hard, wait until you have. . ."  Try to remember what it was like when you were learning the ropes.  This compassion was beautifully modeled for me by my sister, Jody.  When The General was a toddler, making me crazy, she never judged or treated me poorly.  She listened with love, and offered suggestions and hope.  Remember my sister has 5 children, the last three only 4 years and some change apart.  (Yep, I whined to a woman homeschooling 3 children, with two tots running around.)  Never did she put me down or gossip behind my back.  She mentored me, and I'm forever grateful.  
B)  Think of life as learning, not competing against one another.
C)  Assume the best in one another.  If someone offers a tip, think they are really being kind, not saying you are incompetent.
D)  Grace. . .God covers us in His unending grace each day.  We need to share this awesome gift with one another.
Sorry to sound so preachy.  I just know how much I  appreciate women who have given me the emotional boost I have needed on a rough day.  I also know how challenging it can be when I run into one of the mommas who needs to "show me" their superiority.  This is really a waste of their time.  Believe me, I am so very aware of my imperfections.
I just think it is really important that. . .
US MOMMA'S STICK TOGETHER!

F is for Fabulous

Fabulous is exactly how this dessert tastes!

Do you have a summer get together coming up?  Don't know what to bring?  Look no further, this is the perfect summer dessert.  The best part:  IT IS SO EASY!

Step 1:  Make a standard pan of brownies.  I enjoy the Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix.

Step 2:  Mix 2 packages of cream cheese with one large jar of marshmallow fluff.  (I like to use my mixer, so it gets all creamy and smooth.)

Step 3:  When brownies are cooled, frost with the fluff you made in step 2.

Step 4:  Top with sliced strawberries.
(You will want to rinse and dry the berries.  If they are wet, the juice runs.  That makes it look less than fabulous.)


There you have it, a simple dessert to wow your summer guests.

Enjoy!

Remember the letters are from The Alphabet Photography Project.  I'm woefully behind, but will do my best to catch up to my dear friend Lorri over at The Mac and Cheese Chronicles.

Summer. . .UGH!

I am a summer person. I love the nice warm, even hot weather. I love to wear shorts and t-shirts, go swimming, grill out, and sit out on the porch sipping ice tea. The carefree days, oh how I love them. Field trips and time to get to the fun things we don't have time for during the busy school season.
Somehow, I'm not sure what has happened, but my idea of summer is gone. In its place I have children running about the neighborhood with friends, popping in for a quick bite. No one wants to leave their friends for park days with fellow home schoolers. Then there is the grumbling over chores and school work that needs to be completed. (Yes, I'm a mean mom. I make them do some work over the summer.) Dance camp, golf clinic, piano lessons, trying to remember to sign up for swimming lessons for poor little Bubby. All of it has sucked the joy and carefree out of my summer.
Then in the same instant I feel guilt. One of the families from our Catholic Home School Group is out on the East Coast. Not one, but two of their children are having major brain surgeries. They would give anything for boring days at home, chasing after their children and all the messes.

I think my problem is I haven't found a good rhythm for summer here in the PNW. In DC the hot summer days would chase the kiddos in for a little respite from the heat in the afternoons. Then we would snuggle up and do our reading. After a bit of learning, we would reemerge from our cocoon, ready to play for the rest of the day. Out with the other children would come the other moms, and we would sip tea and knit. Or just enjoy our time together.

Maybe I'm a little homesick for my time back in DC? I know I sure do miss those friends, and the simplicity of life we shared. It is strange to think it has been 2 years already.

Maybe I'm just a little sad that my babies are growing up so fast. Instead of trips to the zoo or Puget Sound for exploring, they prefer the company of their neighborhood pals. Times are a changing here for the Nomads. Wow, I think it is time for this girl to get her new groove on!

Bubby's Big Day

Our little man turned 5 last month. To celebrate we threw a little surprise party for him. It's his favorite kind. Whenever I would ask what kind of party he wanted, "A surprise party mom!" would be his answer. The surprise here is that we actually pulled it off. You should have seen the joy on his face when everyone jumped out. Since he is crazy about Disney's Jake and the Never Land Pirates, we went with it for the theme. Ahoy thar matey! The cake turned out so well. Best part, IT WAS SUPER EASY! Simply bake a box mix cake. Flip it out of the pan, frost with a fluffy frosting of your liking (using blue food coloring for the water side). For the sand we used crushed vanilla wafers. Add a few gummy fish and a Playmobil Pirate Set, and voila! You have yourself a stinkin' cute pirate cake. (If I do say so myself. ;)Notice Bubby's pants. By the end of the party he had slipped into his comfies. I cannot keep regular clothes on that boy. The second he walks in the door, he sprints to his room to change into jammy pants.

**A couple of money & sanity saver tips:

1) Go with what you already have. We already had the pirate costumes for our family. All I had to buy for an all out theme were a few party streamers and eye patches for the other kiddos.

2) Be creative and make your own cake. It doesn't have to be rolled fondant to be beautiful. Our best luck has been finding small toys, not cake toppers, more like action figures to arrange on top of the cake. This makes for a really cute cake, and part of the gift for the birthday boy. Other years we've used the action figures on the cake for party favors.

3) Keep it simple with food and drink. This year I baked up Tombstone pizzas. I was going to get all gourmet, and my wise husband pointed out that kids really don't care. He was right. They loved my cheap pizza and grapes.

4) Have fun and don't fret. Although I had the ideas for this party bouncing around my head for awhile, I only spent one morning grabbing the things I needed to pull it together for that evening. Children don't need perfect. A few friends, some cake and candles and they are over the moon. Sometimes it is us adults who let things get out of perspective.

Enjoy, I know Bubby sure did on his big day.

Gratitude moment: Thank you God for the resources to bless my children with fun parties. Thank you for the convenience of stopping at a few stores that carry everything I needed. I am blessed.

Bubby Talks. . .

At dinner the other night Bubby says to his daddy, "Daddy, guess what you do when you lose your way? . . . You get back up again." This prompted us to a rousing game of, "It's never to late. . .to get back up again." "This is love calling. . .love calling. . .out to the broken." You TobyMac fans out there will recognize the lyrics from, Get Back Up Again. Not only was this a fun dinner (Really every dinner with the Bubster is fun. The kid is hilarious), it was heart warming for us as parents. To hear our little boy, sharing such wisdom. Sure, it may just be a catchy little song today. But think about the songs you can still sing verbatim from your childhood. Isn't it great that Toby Mac has put something so powerful and meaningful out there, so God has been etched on the heart of my boy? Somehow, my recall of Where Oh Where Can my Baby Be seems so unimpressive.

E is for Enormous. . .

as in my belly.


This week is Bubby's 5th Birthday, so I'm a bit nostalgic. Here I am a few weeks before he was born. Can we say ENORMOUS? Wow. I hurt just looking at that picture. No wonder my belly doesn't look like it did back in the early 90's.

The lovely letters come to you in honor of my friend Lorri. Remember, I'm playing The Alphabet Photography game over at Mac & Cheese Chronicles.

D is for Discomfort

I'm playing the Alphabet Photo game with my friend Lorri over at Mac and Cheese Chronicles. In honor of the letter D, I give you The General. He just got his braces on today. While it was really cool. . .for about an hour, the discomfort has set in. I think this may be a really good life lesson for my boy.

Why I don't blog. . . .

Remember when I proudly announced The General's latest hobby? You can click here to check it out.

Well, each little movie that he puts together takes hundreds of photos. Guess where they go? On the hard drive. We all share one computer, so that means the same hard drive that I have my bloggy photos on. Did I mention hundreds, actually it may be thousands of photos? (I'm not joking.)

Not that I was a prolific blogger before, but now sorting through all the stop frame photos hurts my head. I honestly don't have that kind of time to scroll through all of his creativity.

If anyone has great tips for keeping the uploads from one camera, and one computer separate, please let me know. It may greatly improve my blogging status.

C is for cookies.

One of the best things about my husband returning from deployment, his chocolate chip cookies. I was going to post his recipe, but upon further consideration it would be pointless. You see, he has a special magic with the cookies. In the past 15 years of marriage I have tried, and tried to replicate the perfection of his chocolate chip cookies. To no avail.

See the perfect shape. The crinkled top, with just the right mix of crisp and chewy. Ahh. . .I'm off to find a glass of milk. Can't you hear it? The cookies are calling me.

**Remember my friend Lorri over at Mac and Cheese Chronicles is hosting this Alphabet Photography Project. Click on over and check it out.

A little something for you folks that are snowed in. . .

I'm hearing murmurings that most of the country is snowed in. This may mean that some of you with little people might be needing a little diversion.

I bring you Homemade Play dough.
The ingredients are simple.

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 tsp. cream of tartar

2 tbsp. oil

2 cups water

few drops food coloring & extract for color and scent.

This is pretty easy to whip up too. Princess made a few batches for Bubby the other day.

Mix dry ingredients, add water stirring until smooth in sauce pan. Heat slowly until mixture "lumps" together. Knead until consistency of Play dough. Keep in tightly closed container in refrigerator.

**The recipe says it will last 1-2 weeks, but we've had it last for over a month. Just watch for mold.
From our house to yours, happy snow days. Enjoy, I know Bubby has sure enjoyed this special gift from his big sister. (He hasn't been snowed in, just rained in many day this winter.)

B is for Bubby: The Alphabet Project

My friend Lorri over at Mac and Cheese Chronicles invited me to join in an alphabet photography project this year. Stop by her blog and read all the details. She's such a sweet friend, she's letting me play along, even if I'm late.

So here's to catching up. . .

B is for Bubby's soft Brown eyes:

This was taken with our Nikon D40. A bit clunky to lug around, but I love the close ups I can get. To capture their little fingers, lips and nose. Oh, those eyes and that sweet little smile, you melt my heart little man.

The Making of an Angel

Remember, WAAAYYY back in December, when there was talk of Sugar Plums Dancing in our heads? Oh the joy of Nutcracker. Princess, had a delightful time. Since January is the month that we celebrate the birth of our beautiful girl, I thought this tribute was a nice follow up.

Step 1: Hair. Can it be that my beautiful little girl no longer needs help with the ballet bun? I don't know if I should cry, or be over the moon happy with this new independence. I'll get back with you on that one. ;)

Step 2: Make-up. So fun on day one, but by the end of the show the glamour had worn off. She was pretty tired of scrubbing the gunk off each night.Step 3: Getting into the costume. Putting on the hoop and dress. Look closely at her face. She has a mesh bag over her head. It keeps the stage make-up off those beautiful white gowns. I'm telling you, the ladies that run the show are amazing. They have thought of everything, down to the tiniest detail.Steps 4&5: Halo and wings.And voila. . .Our Princess is an Angel. (That is Grandma with our girl.)We already knew this. . .It all started here. . .

Happy Birthday Princess!