Wishing For Pine Needles

{this moment}

Joining Soulemama today in.....

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule

 

She's Seven!

Our little May flower turned seven on Sunday.  Can you believe it?  Have I really made this sweet little baby of mine seven cakes?  (This thing called time....I'll tell you!)

We celebrated quite simply this year....cupcakes for her classmates on Friday, donuts for her Sunday school friends, a few hours at the local water park, and pizza and cake with grandma and papa.  But it was enough according to the birthday girl who declared it her "best birthday ever!"

It was a lovely, sunny day with this lovely, sunny girl.  Happy Birthday, Marianne!  We love you SO!

Enjoying: Time To Celebrate!

:So grateful we all could be together to celebrate Papa's 60th the move and realizing how these gathering might become fewer and further between...

:Thinking about how it is that my parents, sisters and I spent so many years together under the very same roof and how that will soon change to four different states....and wondering where the Lord will lead my own babes someday...

:Looking ahead to a month that will include many gatherings and goodbyes to friends whose paths we were blessed to have crossed...

:...and missing them already.

:Still in disbelief that a month from now I will be writing from New Hampshire....

:...and how much there is to do between now and then!

:Thankful for my wonderful husband and children who help me daily to hold it all together...

:and our wonderful Saviour for without whom this life would be meaningless.

:Wondering how many boxes I can pack today and how much food I can use up from the pantry and how many boxes I can send to charities...

:Thankful for this space but seeing the need to post as little less in the coming weeks as we enjoy our remaining time here. 

Wishing you all a happy, happy May! 

{this moment}

Joining Soulemama today in.....

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule

 

Naturally Fun Parties for Kids - a Book Review

Recently I received the festive new book Naturally Fun Parties for Kids by Anni Daulter (with Heather Fontenot) fresh from the publisher, spent a few weeks reading through it, and now get to review it for you!

The book features twelve different themed party ideas divided out by the four season.  Each party idea is covered by eight to ten pages of recipes, activities and photographs of how to plan the party. Better yet, each new chapter (party) commences with a handy Projects and Materials section as well as a Timeline that clearly defines the exact materials and preparation time to get ready for the party.  The content of the book is arranged clearly and practically, and the projects are broken down in a manageable way.  (This is especially helpful to those of us who love the idea of planning a themed party for our children, but who never feel quite organized enough to do so!)

Each party idea has a refreshingly child-like feel to it and suggests activities that are age appropriate. In our own family, I easily found a party that would interest each of my children individually, as well as some that the whole family could enjoy together.  My oldest daughter (age 10) would love the Natural Spa Party, while my second daughter (soon to be 7) would enjoy the Forest Faerie Dress-up Party.  The Knights and Dragon Quest Party would be perfect for my son who turns 4 this summer!

Several of the parties are more non-gender specific like the Strawberry-Picking and Jam-Making Party and the Upcycle Art Party and could span a variety of ages as well.

The photography in the book is pure eye candy - beautiful and inspiring in and of itself.  Before reading through each party, I couldn't help but to flip through and look at each and every gorgeous picture!

This book is fantastic for inspiration and very creative party themes and ideas.  If you are a person who enjoys all things handmade, then this book is most certainly for you.  Between the homemade party food (great recipes included, by the way!), delicately crafted invitations and decorations, and organic acitivities, there is very little need for anything store-bought.  This is a great perk.  However, if you're a person who is easily intimidated by all things crafty, then it may be best to glance through the lovely photos, choose one of the themes and and maybe an activity or two, but leave it at that.   The clever creativity that abounds in this book isn't for the crafty faint of heart!

In a nutshell, I thoroughly enjoyed Naturally Fun Parties!  The party themes are unique, whimsical and quite refreshing.  I look forward to replicating some of the parties as fun things for our own family to do together and not necessarily even for any special occasion.  We will most likely pick and choose the acitivites, crafts, and recipes that we would like to try even if we are not able to do them all at the same time.  

As far as celebrations go, with spring and summer marking the beginning of our birthdays here, this book could not have come at a better time!

{this moment}

Joining Soulemama today in.....

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule

 

Flour Sack Tuesday - Eating from the Pantry

With a multi-state move on the horizon, my grocery shopping habits taken a slight turn.  I am no longer stockpiling.  (Packing and moving boxes of can and dry goods across several states does not sound fun to me!)

Instead, I have set a goal for myself to cook from our pantry and freezer in order to use up every food item here that we possibly can.  The trick to this, I am convinced, is being organized in the kitchen and intentional about meal planning.  This, admittedly, has never been a strength of mine.  In the past, I have relied on my mind alone to scrape together meals and remember what we have on hand.  But, oh my!  Four kids and many commitments later my poor mind can't quite hold it all together anymore.

So, after an evening with a cookbook and a spreadsheet, my first written meal plan was born.  It's not fancy by any means, but it's organized in a way that is useful to me.

This week, the meals I've chosen all come from Healthy Meals for Less by Jonni McCoy.  I've had this cookbook for a couple of years and have had success with the recipes.  They are easy and economical, and there is a "crock-pot" section which is especially helpful during this season of busy evenings.

After choosing the meals based on what I already had in my pantry or freezer, I was amazed at how little I needed at the grocery store for the week!  In fact, after shopping at two different stores, our weekly grocery total came to just $58.19!

The Costco trip came to $29.00 even, and even included more than a week's worth of Special K with Strawberries. (It's our favorite, so when Costco has a coupon for it we can't resist buying it up!)

The Kroger trip came to $31.19.  This trip really contains exactly what we need for meals this week, however, I did buy Pampers baby wipes that I got for about $1.00 per pack (it's a three-pack package) because it was clearanced and I had a good coupon.  I also picked up a few things to put in my girls' lunches, all with coupons.

Next week my goal is to bring it down even lower...anything under $58.19 and more gone from our freezer and pantry will be an accomplishment!

{this moment}

Joining Soulemama today in.....

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~Amanda Soule

 

New Pants for my Girl

Today our Lena Jane is six months old.  

(Gasp!)

And to celebrate her half of a year with us, I thought some new pants were in order.  I have owned Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings for some time now and finally got around to opening it up and trying my hand at the quick-change trousers.

And I love them!  I just love getting to pick three fabrics from my stash to make these clever little pants, which by the way, are completely reversible.  What a bonus!  This fabric is from Sarah Jane's Children at Play line from Michael Miller fabrics. 

And as for this baby girl who is affectionately known around here as "the great bean", well I am genuinely head-over-heels for her.  We all are!  So far she seems to be our social butterfly who loves everybody and is always quick to flash her big, happy, adorable, toothless grin.  Sometimes I am quite certain that she is the most joyful little human on the planet. And she makes it seem so easy!

I truly don't know what we ever did without her.  Happy six months, Miss Lena Jane!

Yarn Along ~ April 18

Yarning along with Ginny this week, slowly but surely!

Plugging away here ever so intermittently on the in threes baby sweater and loving how it's turning out! In the midst of the move and my seasonal evening job grading essay tests for the great state of Ohio, I'm finding myself fast asleep with the knitting needles in hand.  

But oh how I love having a project to go to when I do stumble across little bits of time! 

As far as reading goes, I have obtained a copy of the Hunger Games.  I just have to know what all the fuss is about!  (Truth be told, I haven't started it just yet, but I have heard that it's a hard one to put down so I'm waiting for just the right time.)

That's what I'm up to - how about you?