It's in the genes...

I adore flip flops. I wear them 12 months of the year. Now that might not mean much if I lived in Arizona, or another warm state, but considering I live in the frozen tundra it is actually quite the feat. I grew up going outside with either bare feet or sandals (it was very warm there), and the dislike of socks or shoes has also stayed with me to this point. (Interestingly enough I love *buying* shoes.)

I bought the girls their first pair of flip flops last year, when they were one year old. They were the kind that had the strap across the back to help them stay on, and they were perfect.
This year, they have several pair, all of them having that strap across the back. Well, the strap on one particular pair kept coming off of the back of Emma's foot, and I had to stop literally every few feet to pull it back up again. Finally, one day when we got home I had had enough, so I took a pair of scissors and cut them off. I had no idea if she would be able to talk in them without it, but it was time to try.

She took to it like a duck to water...immediately started walking around and feeling very proud of herself. Both Kate and Emma l.o.v.e. shoes, especially their flip flops (otherwise known as "schlops"), and they request them as soon as they wake up in the morning. I know the feeling. :)

In case you were wondering what I do all day...

Seriously. Not one meal can pass without my kitchen floor being mopped. Many of the messes occur as they are eating, but when they get the urge to start dropping, throwing, or pushing food onto the floor on purpose, the real fun begins. The other night they were practicing their curve ball with their hash browns, and another particular favorite to throw is ramen (as featured above).

I think maybe I need to put them to work!

10 Reasons I LOVE Summer!

1. Flip flops--LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I also don't have to dress my kids in coats, hats, gloves, and boots to go anywhere--YAY for sandals!!

2. All the yummy food! BBQs, fruits and vegetables, delicious salads--there are so many good things to eat in the summer. I can actually sit down with half a watermelon and eat it all myself! (I can't believe I just told you all that!)

3. Fires in the firepit in the backyard, roasting marshmallows and cooking tinfoil dinners. Yum.

4. The beach! Our favorite beach is about an hour and a half away, and we go several times each summer. We really love it there--perfect water, sand, and even lighthouses! It's a tradition to stop and get ice cream on our way home, and walk along the boardwalk where the boats are docked. It's wonderful!

5. Traveling, exploring, and camping--whether it's a short day trip, weekend getaway, camping, or exploring our town, there are so many fun things to do and see. Our annual camping trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes is one of the highlights of our summer, and we all look forward to it each year.

6. Getting together with friends--there is always a reason to see friends and hang out with them in the summer. Day trips, park days, BBQs, bike rides, swimming, hanging out in the backyard watching kids play, movie nights...I could go on and on and on. I have the BEST friends ever--I'm such a lucky girl.

7. Homemade ice cream. This brings back so many memories of my childhood--my mom always made ice cream on the 4th of July, and I still relate it to that day. We have also carried on that tradition, plus we make it lots more than that!!

8. 4th of July is my husband's favorite holiday, and mine next to Christmas. Parades, BBQs, fireworks, homemade ice cream, good friends, and the celebration of our country and its freedoms--

9. All the green everywhere--I am especially happy to see it after a very long winter of bare branches and "brown"ness.

10. It's not cold. :)

There can never be any doubt...

that I really love my husband. Today I did something that neither he, I, nor, quite frankly, anyone that knows me that I would ever do. Yes folks, today I actually made banana bread.
Now, you may not think that it is that big of a deal, but for me, it was HUGE!! I totally hate, despise, and abhor the very sight, smell, and texture of bananas. When I was around 5 or 6, I ate an enormous amount of dried banana chips in one sitting (my mother didn't know...), and since then, I can't stand to be in the same room with them. Since becoming a mother, I have made some sacrifices for my children, and I do buy them at the store and encourage them to eat them. I just have to buy the really green ones. :)

Poor Rick only ever gets banana bread when my mom comes to visit, and takes pity on him. She always makes it when I'm out of the house, so I don't have to smell it.

This morning Rick asked me to please not throw out the dark bananas (he knows me well), because he wanted to make banana bread while I was at YW tonight. Rick is no baker, and I suddenly realized the depths of his desperation. So, I decided that I would try very hard to make it for him this afternoon as a surprise.

How am I doing? Well, I made it through. I held my breath as I mixed the bananas with the butter and eggs, and I almost threw up only once...maybe twice. I also put chocolate chips in. :) I came close to not putting them in, because I didn't want to waste anything chocolate on something banana, but I figured Rick and my kids would love it.

I know it will be worth it, once Rick comes home and is TOTALLY surprised! Here's my mom's recipe...you'll just have to take Rick's word for it that it's good. :)

BANANA BREAD

1 1/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda

Whisk together in small bowl.

1/2 c. butter, very softened
2 bananas, very ripe
2 eggs

Beat these together with a mixer. Add flour mixture and mix well. Pour into a loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and coated with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.

Happy Memorial Day!

What a perfect day! It truly was, including the weather. We started off the morning by going downtown and meeting friends to watch the parade. I love small-town parades--full of people you know, and fun, homemade floats. The kids always come home with bags full of candy, and love waving flags, sitting with their friends, and watching everything go by. It's the epitome of small-town America, and a wonderful way to celebrate.

We all met up again later that afternoon for a BBQ at the park--we grilled hamburgers, and enjoyed yummy food that everyone brought. I tried a new recipe for Picnic Potato Salad, and it's my new favorite! Baked beans, pasta salad, watermelon, chips, and delicious cookies and cakes were all on the menu. There were games of soccer, kickball, football, sand volleyball, and horseshoes, plus some kite-flying, and kids and adults alike were in heaven. We talked, laughed, played, ate, and just enjoyed the perfect day and each other.

Farm Living

Would you ever want to live on farm? I would! A big white house, with a porch that wraps all the way around the house, a red barn, fields and trees, a creek in the back, horses...

I took my kids to visit a friend yesterday that lives on such a farm. They LOVED it. They saw baby sheep, bunnies, chickens, planted a few lima beans in the garden, blew dandelions, roasted marshmallows over the firepit, saw gigantic beehives, played in the hose, watched flowers being planted, and ran around the yard after the cat, all in about an hour and a half. I actually had to make them come home with me! Ryan also went upstairs to the "Lego attic" with the young boy that lives there--yes, that's right-a whole attic dedicated to just Legos and Playmobil. This kid was in heaven! (So much so, that I have not one picture of him!)

The weather was perfect, the air smelled like a mixture of smoke from the fire, good dark soil, and flowers. I think I'm a country girl--as long as the city isn't too far away...:)

A bargain...and a HUGE first!

The worst class I ever had in my whole life was 8th grade Home Ec. I really liked the cooking and baking sections, but when it came to sewing my whole being rebelled. I wasn't good at it (the teacher also confirmed that), and I didn't like it. I attempted several projects, and in my efforts to get an A, I did give it my all. The sweatshirt I made my sister for Christmas was complete with one large arm and one tiny arm--I didn't realize that a serger would cut off the material in addition to sewing it. The pillow cover I made was far from perfect, although my sweet mother kept it in our living room (perhaps as a small reminder that there was possibly some hope for my homemaking skills). The bookmark I sewed did meet the requirements of different stitches executed, but I don't think I even kept that.

Needless to say, I haven't ever been much on the sewing front. That experience stuck with me--I have shied away from anything to do with it since, and I have done amazing things with duct tape, hot glue, and double stick tape. However, over the past few years, there have been many times that I have wished I could at least perform a simple stitch--curtains, bags, hems, Halloween costumes, and the list goes on. As a mom, I have continued to add to the list of reasons that I should at least have a basic knowledge of a sewing machine.

I had this conversation with a good friend last week, and I told her that at the beginning of the year I made a goal to learn how to sew in 2008. I really wanted to find a good, basic machine I could learn on. She also volunteered to teach me how, and I quickly took her up on that. This particular friend is also the shopping queen of America, and she finds unheard of bargains. I have had her on several occasions,call me and fill me in on a great deal or sale, and then proceed to put something on hold for me until I can get there. I totally love it. Well, the very next day, she called me from Target, and she had miraculously found a Singer, originally $100, for $22!!! It's definitely the machine for me--simple, with a few different stitches and a buttonhole function. Even if it lasts a year, it will be worth it!

If you had asked me even 5 years ago, I would have never thought this day would come. Rick has also expressed his skepticism, but that was after I told him I would be hemming all his dress pants from here on out. :) I think I will start a little simpler than that. Wish me luck everyone--I think I'm going to need it.

Our house!

Welcome to our home!

.....

Front entry and stairwell:







Great Room: (next stop, new couches :))




I had to show the armoire that Rick made for me--it turned out just how I wanted it. It makes me laugh though, because he made it to fit up to a 47 inch tv, and we just have a small one in there for now. It looks kind of funny, but it works!


Music Room:(through french doors off entry)




Dining Room and Kitchen:






Mud Room, Laundry Room, and 1/2 bath:

You'll notice that I have some baskets missing in the lockers. The original design called for 3 on one side, and 2 on the other, and that's how many I ordered. When they were making them, the measurements were such that they did 4 on one side, and 3 on the other, so I'm now waiting for more baskets. :)








UPSTAIRS

The girls' room:






Craft/Guest Room:




Ryan's room:

He chose his own paint color, and his quilt (okay, I gave him a few to choose from :)). I think he did a great job!


Kids' bath:

My favorite thing about this bathroom is the really cool blue and white tile that I found. I designed the rest of the bathroom around it, and I love how it turned out. I also love hooks instead of a towel bar--so much easier for little ones!



Playroom and Toy Closet:

Please ignore the fact that I have some major organizing and decorating to do here--





Master Bedroom:


Master Bath:

I'm so happy with the the slate in the double shower and on the floor--I really love how it turned out.


(I don't know what the weird thing is on the back wall--it really is all the same color of paint!