Memories and S'mores

I have quite a memory.  I remember birthdays and anniversaries.  I can look around my house and remember when I received gifts and who gave them to me/us.  My memory serves me well at work and around the house.  It also gives me wonderful reminders of those I love. 

Tonight, while grocery shopping, a recipe came to mind that my Aunt Nancy used to make when we had camp outs at her house in the summer.  I picked up the four ingredients and whipped it up tonight. 

I love how memories attached to things, songs, places, etc can take me back in time, especially when it means remembering special people who are no longer with us. 

In memory and honor of my Aunt Nancy, I will enjoy the frozen s'mores in my freezer with my kids who never had the privilege of meeting her. 

Image found online,
where I also found other versions of the recipe

Frozen S'mores

Graham Crackers
Cool Whip
Chocolate Chips
Mini-Marshmallows

Mix one container of cool whip with desired amount of chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows until well mixed.  Break full graham crackers into squares.  Spread cool whip mixture onto one graham cracker square and top with a second graham cracker square.  Wrap in tin foil, plastic wrap, or place in a small ziploc bag and freeze.  Enjoy once cool whip is firm!

Mother's Day Blessing

CAUTION: Mommy bragging to follow...

I have the most thoughtful and adorable son who absolutely melts my heart!  

On Sunday night when I got home from my trip, he gave me the card below.

The personal note reads:

"Hi mom, first I want to tell you what I want to do with you.  First I want to bring you to Victoria's for lunch. Then bring you to Color Me Mine.  To you Mommy.  From Luke and Nora"

Brent told me that Luke picked the card and came up with the idea of lunch and Color Me Mine all by himself.  He told Brent, "Not all presents need to be things, sometimes it can be doing something together."

Melt my heart!

Then, on Monday, he gave me the gift he made in school and the gift he bought me from the Mother's Day Store.  

The above reads:  "My mom is magnificent.  My mom is awesome.  My mom makes good food.  Mom is my mom.  Mom makes yummy food."

Love it:)

He picked this ring out for me at the Mother's Day Store and told me the following:  "I had $4 to spend, but I didn't think you would like anything at the $4 table.  I found this ring at the $2 table and I thought you would like it."  I told him he understand the heart of giving perfectly...it's not the price that matters, but the thought that counts:)

Luke has made being mommy the best job ever.  His kind, generous heart blesses us and others daily and he's pretty cute too;)  

Thank you, Luke, for making Mother's Day so very special!

 

One of my favorite pics of us:)

 

Annual Family Events

Two of my favorite family events are coming this weekend! 
 

Oxbow SpringFest

Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo are just out side of Rochester and Byron.  The park is a beautiful, wooded, county park with hiking, camping, etc and the Zollman Zoo is a lovely little zoo with animals native to Minnesota.  Spring Fest is a fundraiser for the zoo and has lots of fun games, crafts, silent auction items, etc.  The advertisement states:

Saturday May 18 – Friends of Oxbow’s Annual Spring Fest from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Bring the entire family out to Oxbow Park’s Zollman Zoo for a day of food, fun, and games. This is the Friends of Oxbow’s biggest event and you don’t want to miss it. There is something for everyone including: animal feedings, kids games and activities, as well as a silent auction.

 

Transportation Fair

The transportation fair is genius!  Bring a park full of trucks, buses, and any other vehicle/tractor you can imagine and let kids explore.  Another free event that we love:)

http://www.peoplesrec.com/community/paiir.html
http://www.rochesterce.org/paiir

We've thoroughly enjoyed both of these events with Luke through the years and I'm looking forward to kicking off Nora's years of attending this year:) 

 Hope to see you there!

Wranglin Websites Continued

A couple months ago I wrote a post called "Wranglin Websites" and I knew I'd think of more websites to share, so here they are!

• Map My Run - A great site for finding the distance of your walk, run, or bike ride.  I believe you need a to create an account (or log in via Facebook), but it's very easy to use.  We use it all the time at our house to decide where we'll walk or run.  (Brent also used Geodistance.com, same idea.)
• Live Better America - Love this site!  I can't remember how I found it, but I've been getting recipes off it for years.  My favorites are the "healthified" recipes that are formerly less healthy recipes tweaked to be more healthy.  The recipes usually have what I would call "normal" ingredients too, which I like. 
• Missus Smarty Pants - I have been following Missus Smarty Pants' blog for a couple years and finally decided to subscribe to her website too (for an annual fee).  Her blog has a lot of good tips on style, shopping, and closet organization.  The subscription includes a body analysis (determining body shape), color analysis (determining which colors are best for your skin/hair/eye color), weekly articles on specific style topics, and weekly shopping guides where she suggests clothes that are good for your body shape.  I've only had the subscription for a few weeks, but it's been fun so far!
• Etsy - This a great site for shopping homemade goods.  I learned about it several years ago when my friend got the jewelry for the wedding party from a vendor on Etsy.  Now, I know several people personally who sell their homemade items on Etsy.  It's a genius idea to create a platform for small, at-home business to sell their products. 
• My Coke Rewards - Do you drink Coke products?  If you do, you should collect points.  I just started this past year and I should have been doing it for years.  You can get lots of free stuff with your points!  (Again, you can create an account via Facebook.)
• Wholesome Homemade Baby Food - Great site with info on making your own baby food.  I loved it while I was making it for Nora and wish I had known about it when Luke was a baby. 
• Huggies - Another great place to collect "points" to get free stuff.  I have to buy diapers so I may as well reap any benefits I can, right?:) 

(By the way, if you don't collect your own Coke Rewards or Huggies points, I'll gladly take them off your hands:))

I also follow a few blogs regularly that are lots of fun:

• The Small Things Blog - Kate has some great ideas on hairstyles (including tutorials), makeup, style, organization, decorating, etc.  I love her classic, laid back style and she has such fun hair ideas!
• iHeart Organizing - Jen is an organizing and decorating machine!  Oh, and did I mention she's also all about DIY.  She has great ideas and shares all of her home projects and how-tos.  There are days I read her blog and feel like a real organizational failure, but most days she is an inspiration and I find fun ideas:)

Happy Web Browsing:)

The Wonder of Being a Mom

I have been a mom for over seven years.  I have been a MOPS mom for six years.  It is because of emails like the one below that I love MOPS and all it stands for.  Wishing all of my fellow moms, grandmas, and great grandmas an early, very happy Mother's Day!     The Wonder of Being a Mom

by Sherry Surratt, mom of two

I sat in the darkened hospital room holding my son Michael after his early morning feeding. This was the day. The day we were scheduled to go home, just me and my husband, with total responsibility for a 7 lb. 2 oz. squirming bundle. What was the hospital thinking, letting me go home when it was so obvious I didn’t know what I was doing? I remember thinking only one thought — I hope I don’t screw this up.
Looking back now, I realize that I knew more than I thought I did. When Michael cried, I fed and changed him. When he was restless at 3 am, we paced the hall carpet together, me stumbling sleepily in my nightgown and him gazing around wide-eyed, spitting out his pacifier as quickly as I put it in. When he didn’t want to eat his vegetables, I cajoled him with the “ooh, here comes the green bean airplane” move.

We go way back, me and this boy of mine. This six-foot-tall man who is now a husband and dad to two little girls of his own still melts my heart when I look at him. I didn’t screw it up. He’s a grown adult who makes me so proud I feel as if my heart will burst.

The wonder of being a mom still amazes me. One day you have no children and then you do. You anticipate and worry and wonder how you will ever handle it all. And then they appear and you can’t imagine what life was like before them. As if they had always been a part of you.

God’s plan for us as moms is magnificent. It’s full of wonder and delight and a love so strong, you almost can’t bear it. It’s full of sleepless nights and tantrums that set your teeth on edge, but with just one toothless smile or a single “I love you mom” the tired edge melts away into sheer delight. You look at your child and with pride think, “That one’s mine. And he’s perfect.”

Exactly the way your heavenly father thinks about you.

From MOPS International, we wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day, and may it be full of many moments of wonder and delight.
Sherry Surratt is the CEO and President of MOPS International. She and her husband Geoff have two children and two grandchildren. She is the co-author of Just Lead! A No Whining, No Complaining, No Nonsense Practical Guide for Women Leaders in the Church.

Spring Fun with Friends

It may have snowed over a foot on May 2nd, but by May 5th we were out and about enjoying the 60 degree weather with friends (though you'll still see remnants of the storm:))

 

Little miss in her new sun hat

Pretty boys sunning themselves

Basketball in the driveway...
these two can't get enough

Evan showing off his skills

I believe it was the boys against Brent

Erik is ready to roll!

Emma and Nora ready for a walk

Shorts, snow piles, and snow ball fights = May in MN:)

Even big wheels can get stuck in the snow;)

Checking out the pond

Again, the snow makes an appearance

Momma and little lady

Eli requested a picture of his snowball:)

Lately...

I've gotten behind on my High Five for Fridays!  Life has been good, but we've had some busy Fridays.  Here is my effort to recap a few weeks...

4/14 - Third tooth bites the dust
(First one gone from the top)

Luke and Ethan had the same teeth missing for a few days
(until Ethan lost his other top tooth)

Nora had a three session baby swim class through Community Education.  She and I enjoyed the class together.  She was super busy kicking through each class.  There is no fear of the water present in this baby!

Getting ready for Nora's her first swimming lesson

Love this expression:)

This picture is a good indication
 of why we call her "goober":)

Luke being goofy with this too big pj pants

Nora has graduated to eating table food with us and she LOVES it.  She's always been very aware of what we've been eating and now she can join in.

Enjoying waffles and bananas for breakfast

Peek!  I'm awake from my nap:)

Love this face:) 

Luke had a great time at the Gibbs School Carnival with ALL of this cousins!  Good times:)

Gibbs School Carnival Fun!

Luke climbing with cousin, Annalise

Checking out Daddy's hair

Playing patty cake with Daddy

I especially love the pic below because Luke and I had a tradition of me reading to him while he was in the tub.  Now he's carrying on the tradition for Nora:)

Luke reading to Nora during her bath

Little miss is on the move...backwards that is.  She can wiggle, push, and roll her way to where she wants to get within a room pretty easily now.  But, she's not yet crawling.  

Someone backed herself into a corner

Pretty lady dressed for a beautiful, warm day
outside at the Arbor Day Celebration

Worn out after the Arbor Day Celebration

Nora loves being on Daddy's shoulders
and examining his face:)

Love it!

Luke is finally big enough to ride his "big bike" from Papa and Gramma.  He's loving it and doing great!

Luke trying out his new, bigger bike

He loves it!

Big girl in her cute blazer:)

May 2nd...puke...

Big girl is getting too big to sleep the short
way in her crib without bending her legs