Things You May Not Have Known

LeAnna tagged me at 10, so here I go.

1. I debated ignoring this. Then I thought that maybe I should write it on my blog to direct traffic there then decided against it. I'll probably copy and paste this and write more! 

2. Earlier this year, I finished reading my first chapter book since 2010. During my senior year at college, I dedicated myself to reading all of the assignments and burned out. I read a few books, then burned out again. I just finished Percy Jackson two nights ago and I'm addicted again. Hopefully it will last!

3. I've made a lot of bad decisions in my past and I have a lot of regrets because of them. I think it's a delayed sense of remorse because for a while I didn't care and then I thought I wouldn't be where I am now. But I think I could have learned to be me without doing some of the things I did.

4. I hate being interrupted. I'll stop talking when it happens and smile and nod the rest of the conversation. Tim says that's part of having a conversation, but I disagree unless it's an exuberant girly fast-paced thing. Actually, I get interrupted almost every time I talk.

5. I bleed blue! UK ALL THE WAY. But I don't care about watching games or if we lose. I just gloat when we win.

6. I don't like passive-aggressive facebook posts, texts, emails, or comments (although I've been guilty before). I do understand it's hard to vent outright when you're friends on FB, or when they are in person and you're not ready for the confrontation. I have made a goal to not do it, and have been pretty successful lately!

7. I'm conceited. When I was a teenager, I had a long conversation with my oldest sister and accepted some facts about myself(in particular; my appearance). I know what I've got and what I don't have and it won't affect me. Ain't nobody got time for insecurity.

8. I've slowly turned from being more democratic and having more liberal opinions to being more republican and having more conservative opinions in the past 4 years. I still struggle with a lot of things, because I want to believe in mainstream acceptance  but I can't argue with God's word. Sometimes I feel ashamed because of it, so I feign disinterest in political conversations and ignore talks or posts or whatnot (even though I read them and get upset or confused or whatever). Then I go to Granddad or Uncle Don or other trusted people and casually ask like I just wanted to know, lol.

9. I don't like living in Ohio. I AM grateful for the relationships I've made here, the church family I have and the family I married into. Most of all, I'm grateful to live with Tim's Grandparent's and see the fine example they live. You can't hide anything when you live with people and I know I've changed so much just seeing how honest and good two people can be. It's such a good living arrangement. To me, it's a flat ugly grey land full of cornfields. Last summer I finally saw beauty here, driving to and from Friends Nursing Home. I couldn't ignore the sun shining brilliantly.

10. I have mommy issues. I can't understand how a mother could put her children through the things my birth mother put us through. I am so grateful for my mom now. She helps me emotionally when I need her, tells me to get over myself when I'm being stubborn. She talks praise about me and brags on me. I just love her.


11. I love taking my kids to the library but I always end up sweating and getting aggravated and rush Sehara to leave. But I don't feel bad, it takes her 5 minutes to pick out a million books. I love to sign Carson and Madeline up for Mommy and Me time there. I've forgotten to do it lately.


12. I love getting family pictures taken. I love photos of myself, my husband, and my children. I love photos of my family and friend. I plan on having full walls! But not in my living room.I need clean lines and walls to not be anxious. Our latest photos have been through Folino Photography. She's amazing!

13. I'm an introvert. I find social gatherings exhausting and cringe at the thought of going and hanging out. Surprising, because I'm great at being around people, I can always strike up a conversation and get people to talk back. I have excellent icebreaker skills too.

14. I have to sleep for a long time after social gatherings. (Church not included) Or be by myself, take a shower, read, put the kids to bed or SOMETHING so I can have a few minutes. I tell Tim that he can't talk to me for an hour.

15. I miss being me. I decided yesterday that I'll just have to create a new me. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

16. I cloth diaper. I breastfeed, and Tim and I co sleep. I love doing all of them. Some days, I despise doing all of them. Then I think about the alternative and I mentally smack myself.

17. I'm selfish. I don't like sharing. I warned Tim before he married me. He married me anyway. Most days, I'm not too bad, then others he looks at me like he's surprised!

18. I honestly love corrective feedback about things. EXCEPT, about my parenting WHEN it's happening. Like in the middle of a tantrum or unhappy screaming kids. I'll sass you if you try to then. But after (and I really mean waaay after) I'm all ears. That doesn't mean I'll do it, or that I'll agree, but I will listen. Unless it's stupid advice. I accept feedback about me, but you have to give me a few days to think about stuff.

19. I married the most wonderful guy in my whole world. I see those articles being posted everywhere about "Boring men" and "Marriage isn't for me" and all those and think; "I've got me one of those men".

20. I'm more negative than positive, but it's an emotional goal I've been working on.

21. I give up something for a whole year, starting New Year's until the next. This year I gave up adding salt to my food (except for when it HAS to be baked into something or goes into a potluck dish). I won't be adding salt to my food anymore. There's no point. I like the taste of my food as is now.

How To Make Your Cricut Cutting Mat Sticky Again

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CRICUT BOARD STICKY AGAIN

During my darkest moments in some serious frustration with borrowing my church's cricut machine and trying to figure out how on Earth to use it, realizing the main problem was the board not being sticky enough, I realized, wait, there HAS to be a cheap solution for this...

I wanted to throw the thing. The paper kept slipping and the blade was cutting through all my precious tags for MaddiandAddiBowtique.etsy.com but you know, you can't break what ain't yours, and you shouldn't ruin your things either...

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CRICUT BOARD STICKY AGAIN

A basic swagbuck search popped up a lot of different options (Gotta earn those free Starbucks gift cards through swagbucks, link below). One I like best was using Spray Adhesive.




It's so simple, you don't even need pitcures. I even have safe Amazon links for you to click and buy. I'm that good.

Take your board (whatever brand you use, I hear there are a few), cover the frame: the non sticky part around the sticky part. It's important. The rollers go over this part and you don't want the rollers getting sticky stuff on them. I used scotch tape and regretted it, but it's all I had. You can use painting tape, or even cover it with paper.

Spray the adhesive spray around the board. Not too much in one spot (and remember, when it wears off you can always reapply more). If you spray too much in one spot, your paper will really stick. Learn from my experience. ;)  I sprayed the board I use right there on the floor. It isn't messy if you're careful. Easy Peasy.

LET IT DRY completely. It's not sticky until it dries.

Remove your tape and enjoy!






Swagbucks link: swagbucks.com/refer/JenniBrenni
It's a simple, easy way to do some basic polls and surveys to earn free gift cards to your favorite places!

***I'm part of the Amazon Associate Program. If you click on the safe amazon link and buy that item, I get a small percentage, and isn't that nice?!***

Busy Making Bows

I feel like more often than not, I'm posting about how I neglect my blog.

I've been busy! I have been trying to get my etsy shop up and running and it's a lot of work.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MaddiandAddiBowtique

The Proof is in the Puddin', go ahead and take a look at it.

I realize a few things about myself are as true now as they were years ago: I'm not a photographer. I'm just not. I try and try to get great pictures of my products and I am lacking the eye for it. I've come to terms with it, but it has to be done. It gets frustrating.

I can get caught up in bow making and ignore the noises around me. It's usually a good thing because I work into the night, but if I need to have something done during the day, it can get bad. Kids need supervision. I'm glad Carson is starting to be able to play by himself.

I miss working. I really do. I feel like I need to contribute more financially and I do, I want to, but thinking about leaving my kids is tough.

So, hopefully this bow stuff will kick off!

Carson's Lego Birthday

Here I am posting a little late about Carson's Birthday.
It was pretty good. Super stressful, but worth it in the end.

Plates on the wall: Party City, taped together

Streamers: Party City

Cupcakes: Me

Lego Heads on Cupcakes: Melted Wilton yellow chocolate on mini pretzel sticks

Bunting: Walmart or you can convo MaddiandAddiBowtique.etsy.com and have me make you a fabric one that you can hang on your kid's wall after!

 

Part of the goody bags included these handmade lego notepads that Jeanine basically made for me. I also had the party hats as part because they are a lot to do, and are really special. Big Candy bars were also involved. I didn't have enough time to get legos and bag those up, too. BOO to that.

Kayt decorated the sugar cutout cookies. I ate them all.

 

Keep in mind that I am NOT a photographer and I have is a phone camera.

Birthday boy!

 

 

 

He's already 2!

Munchkin Straws[Amazon Link] !

Who doesn't need these? Perfect for cleaning sippy cup, tumbler cups, and every other little reusable straw you have.
I can't believe I just discovered them.

P.S., I'm part of the amazon associate program. If you click on the link and buy this product, I get paid! :)

Via: Amazon

How To Make Lego Invitations

 

My little boy is turning 2 on September 18! I'm pretty excited and boy does time fly. 

We are having a lego party for him because let's face it: *I* love legos. We were thinking about Thomas the Tank but we really just don't like the message the show sends to kids.

I used the cricut to make these. I bought the primary color card-stock paper at Walmart.
 Since he is 2, we are making the little "2" brick for invitations. 

I  don't have the shapes cartridge (actually everything is borrowed, cricut and a ton of cartridges), so I used the "Jasmine" cartridge for the rectangle, and I set it to 6". I was able to get 3 rectangles per sheet, if the sheet and machine cooperated together...

I flipped the paper and put in the "Accent Essentials" cartridge and pushed shift and one of the extravagant little circles, making it a plain old circle. I set those to 2 1/2" and got 8 out of the leftover paper. THEN, I was like "oh, these look like big legos" and was able to use the hole-y side for decorations! 

I hot-glued those circles down on the same color rectangle to give it a raised effect, and BOOM, a lego invitation. 

I still have to print off the details, but I'm just going to glue that to the back.

I looked for simple "lego" stickers, but was unable to find them. If I had, I was going to stick them to the tops of the circles to make them look legitimate.

jennibrenni.blogspot.com

jennibrenni.blogspot.com

jennibrenni.blogspot.com

AND there you have it! EASY DIY lego invitations!

That Post About My Kids...

Here's that blog post where I decide to talk about my kids. It's also where I inadvertently leave out extremely important information about them and regret it later.

Sehara; My Girl; Sugar: She's a self-starter. She gets things done, almost obsessively. She relies heavily on a set schedule, minute by minute. She organizes her clothes in outfits, and folds them as so, or hangs them up as so. She'd put them all in ziploc bags but that's expensive and not very green. She likes to watch t.v. and loves curling up in a blanket during movies.
She's a reader. She can read for days and days, until her body tells her to get up and move... When she reads, she no longer wants a schedule and reluctantly does anything. She needs food, all the time. She has to know that she has food available.
She loves her siblings, deeply, and tries to whisk them away to her room, lay them (Madeline, because Carson is too active) next to her on her bed and read to them or silently. They always fall asleep.
She's a social butterfly, but has a hard time understanding that her friend's have other friends. She loves to spend the night with people. LOVES IT. She feels at home most at my parent's house. It's her house.
She's smart, but has to work on empathy. 
She's an eavesdropper and then will play coy and ask you a question pertaining to what you just talked about to confirm a plan.
She has a freckled nose and hazel eyes. Gorgeous. 
She has "long hair and don't care". Literally, I have to make her take care of that dang hair and I just want to chop it all off and throw it away. And stomp on the trash can with said hair inside and throw it out the window, then go get it and do it all over again. I require her to wear bows and she ditches those immediately.
Her feet stink. No matter how many times she washes them. I don't allow her to touch me with them, and I DON'T have a problem with feet. She inherited my hands and feet and I always feel bad for her because of that.
She's a teacher's pet. I love that.
She can make friends with anybody, any age.
People often ask me if she has ADHD, to which I reply "no". After extensively going to counseling (me) for parenting help, and reading certified ADHD material, no, she's not. Her behavioral issues that could be symptoms of ADHD are, in fact, direct results of inconsistent parenting from me. I did the best I could, though.
She goes to sleep when she's tired and is usually an early riser.

Sehara

Carson; Poochie: My sweet love. My boy. My boy that has to have a routine, as well. He has to have everything in it's place, at all times. He must do the same thing at the same time in order to function and not have a meltdown.
He goes to bed at 8 and wakes up between 7-8:30. 
He's strong, always has been. He gets things, understands people, situations, and sees past stuff to what's really going on. He rarely can be tricked or "fooled".
He always has to have a drink.
He's anxious and has to get used to new things, then he's great at it.
He's so smart. I can't wait to see what he's going to be like later on.
He's directionally adept. You can tell him to "go get that ball over there under that pillow in the corner" and he'll do it. You can point somewhere and say look at that____ and he will, he'll see it. You can explain to him a path to take to get somewhere and draw it with your fingers in the air and he'll go that way. He's amazing.
He has the biggest brown eyes with the longest eyelashes that will melt your heart, he reminds me of Lisa Frank puppy art. He is Tim's mini-me.
He's so loud! He has always been loud, but he keeps getting louder and louder.
He loves to sing. He learns well through singing and can be caught singing whatever comes to mind throughout the day. His favorite songs are "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Jesus Loves Me".
He properly uses "Yes" and "No" words, until this past week anyways....

Carson

Madeline; Sugar Dumpling; Bunny: She's a sweet girl. She has to be motivated to do something. She's needy and will whine until her needs are met (she literally would go on and on). She'd rather sit in the middle of the floor and cry until someone picks her up than crawl over.
She can crawl, kind of.
She has to be touched by people who come in the room. When Daddy gets home from work, he HAS to go over to her and pick her up or she'll kick her legs and cry and stare at him until he physically acknowledges her. One hug and she's fine.
She has blue eyes and long lashes.  She also has my feet. Poor thing. She likes to talk and is serious about her conversations. She's always loved to make noises to people and expects noise back.
She's also serious about her food. She has to be fed, a lot. Surprisingly, she's still a little thing.
Her feet don't grow fast. She can still fit in some newborn shoes.
She's very social, but isn't quick to smile. You have to work for that. She happily wears her headband without a fuss.
She's super sensitive when it comes to people bumping into her or moving her around. If she's happy she doesn't like to be bothered. We had to adjust to having a baby who loved to be cuddled but hated being rocked.  Or jiggled.
This sugar goes to bed late and wakes up late. She'd sleep most of the day away if she could. But she's a light sleeper with a loud brother..

Madeline

 

Birthday Party & Bad Chinese

We had a pretty fun Labor Day weekend. We went to a Family Movie Night on Friday at the Y, and that was horrible, the kids were way too rowdy, Tim took too long working out and didn't help me (and also made me miss any good time to work out), and we started getting mean looks from people around us. Not fun.

Saturday we wanted to get some Christmas shopping done, eat a meal, then go on a date but we didn't have a sitter. So we went to the Y, put the kids in child-watch and worked out together and with Kayt. Then went shopping and got a few presents. We met up with Kayt and Larry and all our kids to eat at T.G.I.F.

I sent Tim to the movies with his brother. I think they saw the Wolverine movie and I'm pretty sure they liked it.

Sunday was pretty uneventful. Church is always scary when Tim isn't there. I sent Sehara to sit with some friends where she took notes and behaved very well. Madeline had to go sit (she slept) with Joyce and Gail because I had to take Carson out and explain our rules for him about 20 times! LOL, CRAZY!!!

Sunday night we found a chinese place and thought it was great food, since we had been looking for a place to get our go-to Chinese from. Whenever we got it, which wouldn't be often.

For Labor Day, we drove down to Kentucky for Logan's 3rd birthday party. He had a super hero themed party and was too busy for my little camera to capture him.

Pops

Home is where your mom is!

Incredible Carson

Monday night ended up being painful. I was up all night in the bathroom, I'll spare you the details. I ate leftover Chinese and that's what came back up. So gross. Then, because I didn't get any sleep, when I did feel better come morning, I was too tired to function, especially because of the 4 hours of driving. Now Sehara has gotten sick from eating it (Tim did too, but he doesn't get sick like everyone else so it's hard to know when he is, and if it's something we should look out for the rest of us). 

I obviously didn't get to go to Ladie's Class yesterday, that would have been too much. But I felt so great by the end of the day that I did join Tim for his nightly workout, then I went swimming and sat in the sauna! So relaxing.

Catch 22's, Sleep, and Sewing

Well, there has to be something said for "catch 22's"! Where did that phrase come from anyway?

The night before last I had a delicious iced coffee, which kept me awake until 4 a.m. You can imagine I was pretty tired yesterday.
Last night I decided to go to bed earlier than 4 a.m., I tried 11 p.m., and I've been wide awake since 6 a.m.

I actually got a few consecutive hours of sleep in. So now I'm awake. But, nap time will come soon enough.
Carson goes to preschool at 9, and Sehara gets on the bus just before 8. If Carson is awake when it's time for her to leave, I'll have him tag along and we'll walk her together. He'll love that. When he sees a school bus he points and jumps and yells "SKOOLBUS!!!". 

If I am feeling energetic when I drop him off, then I may go to the YMCA to get a workout in. I've been doing good at remembering to actually go and work out. I found it's nice to walk a few miles around the neighborhood. It's been too humid for that the past several days.

I may also write some letters I've been meaning to get to. I have a few college ones that need to go out, and some friends in other places. I bought a fabulous card for Dreama. I signed up at church to send birthday cards to the Potter's Home children, so that must get done as well.

As for crafty stuff, I got a half yard each of some material I want to try out for bows and bow-ties. I thought about sewing some bibs, (I would get more fabric first) and I may get to that in the next few days. A lady at church suggested I buy batting for the middle. I found a tutorial that has a pocket on it, and I don't like that so much, so I thought about leaving it out. She basically traced a bib, and gave some extra room for a seam, put the right sides together, sewed it, turned it out, and sewed around the edges. I maybe could handle that. It wouldn't include a straight line though... But then I saw a few cute bibs with ruffles on them. Oh dear!

Well, it looks like it's Carson's lucky day! That means I need to stop typing.

Easy Bow Tutorials {Links}

As promised, I'm writing about my favorite hair-bow tutorials. These are what got me started on making my own.
When I looked at these, I swear I didn't even know how to use a hot glue gun, that's how much of a beginner I was, so they are easy-peasy.

My first ever DIY bows were Simple Bow Hair Clips, minus the no-slip grip because that was too complicated. I made so many of these!

Source: Makeit-loveit.com

Perhaps the most important and helpful tutorial I've used for making my bows is this Tuxedo Hair Bow Tutorial! As many bows as I made for the simple hair clips above, I made three times as many of these. 

I got to where I was comfortable using bigger and smaller ribbon, fabric, and other materials. I'm not so good with still-picture instructions so I had to examine and get frustrated over it. In the end, it has turned out to be my most useful tutorial...for the hot glue gun. 

Source: Randomosityblog.com

Another great, but not as simple tutorial, that I LOVE is the Sequin Headband. It takes a lot of precision and patience, but it pays off. I made the heart and I've had requests to make stars and other shapes. Plus, it has bling to it. Every little girl needs some bling!

Source: Hellobee.com

My goal is to share my favorite felt bow tutorials next! 

-Jenni

Mid-day Snack

Seems to me these days I'm forgetting to eat, and the only reason I remember is because I'm shaking or I'm craving food like nothing else. Today, I after dropping Sehara off at her grandmother's I decided it was time to eat. While it may not seem like much, this is what I consider fine dinning:

Home-grown tomatoes on eggs on a piece of toast. I added a sprinkle of basil and pepper to my eggs.

I've already devoured it! Mouth watering good.

Bad Days & Burdens

This past Wednesday was horrible for me, with a good thing mixed in. The only good thing that happened was Sehara starting 5th grade! She loves school so much and thrives in that atmosphere.
Wednesday was followed by the third night of Madeline waking up and crying every 30 minutes and having to nurse. Wednesday was the third day where I couldn't set her down without her crying and screaming for me.
It was also the day when the mustang broke. My only mode of transportation. Ugh. It wasn't a surprise though, cars like that aren't made to last forever and certain parts of the engine just need to be replaced. So, it's in the shop. 90% sure it's the alternator.
I'm a caged bird over here! I have plans, you know! I planned on going to get a diet coke that morning and dropping laminate off at my mother in law's house.

The tears flowed all day. Sometimes I feel like doing all the things I do to make sure we are living the right way, treating each other in a healthy manner, having faith and following the laws God set, treating our children like humans and spending so much time loving them, spending time with friend's and family, being a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen, is all just for nothing.

Heck, I even learned to sew to be a little more sustainable.

Then I think about Ladie's class on Tuesday mornings. We are reading "Those Who Wait". I learned that the popular saying "God doesn't give us more than we can handle" isn't accurate. Because, sometimes I just can't handle some things.
In 1 Cor 10:13, God promised us we wouldn't be tempted beyond what we can endure because with Him we can find an escape. He never said we wouldn't have burdens. HE never tempts us.  As a matter of fact, He promised that we will have burdens (not because of Him) in life.

I would like to say that while that's all good and true, it's still difficult, and it is but I have to admit that I admire honesty and loyalty more than a lot of other qualities, and His word is honest and He is loyal. I'm able to deal with life a little better when I know that I, too, apply to His promise.

-Update-
I have waited a little while to finish this post because I had to get help with the bible stuff.
It was the alternator. It's fixed now. Madeline has stopped crying all day! As a result of her three horrible nights, she has decided to sleep in her bed. Seriously. She likes to go to sleep in her bed now. Not the whole night, but half is a start.
That's where I will leave you.

Busy, Indeed

True to my word, I have been busy keeping busy. We have had such an exciting summer.

Some things that we've done:

As a family:
A BIG trip to Texas for the Pugh Family Reunion. It was amazing. The drive there was so good for us (Tim, Missy, and I) to get to know each other on a deeper level. You get to truly see a person when you are literally with them 24/7. It was great.We were gone for a week. That's a long time!

Sehara:
Sehara got to go so many places. She's been down to Kentucky, spent so much time at friend's houses. She had been to Fort Hill Christian camp. and to Berea, KY for the Eco-Village reunion.

The kids and I (sometimes Tim, depending on work):
We jetted to Berea.Which was another big deal. We have been to play-dates almost every Thursday that we've been in town. We have explored Fairborn, and a little bit of Beavercreek and some of Centerville. We still have a long list to get to. We have spent a lot of time with friends. We went to Young's Jersey Dairy. The kids love that place. We also enjoyed the 4th of July Parade. Us girls go every Tuesday to Lady's class. The kids especially love the splash pad.

We've tried new restaurants, seen some movies, gone on long family walks, explored parks

Looking at my list, it doesn't seem like as much as I thought, but when I think about it, we have to schedule things around church, and naps, sports, diapers, and all that fun stuff.

We still have some things to do:
Kings Island
Ice cream and window shopping in downtown Fairborn with Kayt and her kids.
Berry picking at different farms around here.
A weekend trip to Kelly's in Kentucky.
A weekend trip to my parent's house.
The spray park and snow cones at the Greene with Kayt and kids.
Visit with Connie and see new places,
Visit Kaylee and meet her kids,
Visit Amanda and meet Elijah,
Visit Jodi and meet her girls,
Visit Donna!
And, get more traffic to my blog!

It may take until the end of the year!

Tutu Baby Shower Invitations

So, the long awaited post on the invitations for my baby shower, a year ago.
Don't judge me.

The invitations were made with glittery card stock, a onsie cookie cutter, and a printer.
The extra stuff included satin for the tutu, hot glue & gun, sticky rhinestones, pearls on a string and some flower appliques. Not to mention a lot of time.

My friend figure out how many invitations could be printed out on one page through a lot of trial and error. We cut them up and glued the tutus on, the pearls, and flowers.

Then we added some fluff! We had a huge variety of different looking invitations and a little variety of thank you notes.

 Feel free to ask me questions! I love them!

I'm Madeline

Hi!
I'm Madeline and I love eating small pieces of pineapple. I also enjoy peas and small pieces of bread.  Like a birdie. Mommy won't give me much more because she doesn't want me to grow up too fast.  I'm almost eight months old!  I'm pleased to announce I got my first tooth today. Mommy was sure I wouldn't get them for another few months.
I adore my big brother and sister. And everyone else...

My Veggie Bake

My Veggie Bake

I'm doing a 5 day slim down program through Beachbody. It's been fun because now I have a reason to eat all the things I've been wanting to, and should have been doing.
You could consider this "eating clean" or clean eating, or whatever.

My Veggie Bake:

Cauliflower
Broccoli
Carrots sliced thinly or baby carrots
Squash cut thinly
Onion(fresh or powdered)
Garlic (fresh or powdered)
Pepper
Olive Oil
Water

Combine veggies and coat very lightly with olive oil. You only want a hint, not greasy veggies. Pour the water in the pan (obviously don't use water if you're using a flat pan, just use a little more olive oil. I use these pans so I can use less oil and more water to cook the veggies). If I have garlic cloves on hand, I dump a few in, whole. They are delicious. Minced or chopped tend to burn. Sprinkle your seasonings to taste. More is more, less is less. I prefer more, healthy, seasonings in my dishes. This is exact, I use more broccoli than cauliflower because we like it more. I've put other vegetables in, too.

I DO NOT USE SALT. We get too much of that in other foods, no need to add it. If you feel it's bland, add some spices.

Bakes at 375-400 degrees, covered, for 40-45 minutes. Take the foil off and bake for 10 more minutes to get the veggies crispy on top. If that is too long, broil them after the foil comes off but keep your eyes on the prize or they'll burn.

Enjoy!

Another Wednesday, Worded

I've been waking up late, lately and I don't like it. I had every intention of going to a senior yoga class for a morning stretch and slept through that. I eventually got up and got the kids dressed for a splash pad date with their cousins. The clouds parted and the sun beamed like it was meant for us to be there.
They played for almost 2 hours! What fun! I love to go there, it's right beside the YMCA. It's free and 5 minutes away.
Back to the house for lunch and nap time, and that was great by me! Madeline fell asleep without even a peep in her bed and Carson walked me to his bed so I could sing his good-nap song. Sehara was Sehara and asked me a billion questions when I didn't feel like being awake, much less answering them.
I took Sehara to jazz, then picked her up and got us all to church in time. I even made a Kroger pit stop in between all of that.
I really missed my husband throughout the day. It's such a long time for me to go without him. I mean, but he's working, so I am definitely not complaining. 
We got some nasty weather alerts and I'm going to bed, while Tim and Sehara watch the Justice League cartoons.

Busy Keeping Busy

The summer is just kicking off and it's already as busy as I hoped it would be.
Marybeth graduated high school, and she's off to BCTCS, branched off of UK. It's not too far from my alma mater, and that's always an exciting thing...
Sehara has been busy keeping me busy with all of her activities, not to mention the things I have planned for the little ones and myself & Tim.

Let's see, I got my hair cut! It's pretty good looking, easily managed.

I made it down to Kentucky to see my sissy graduate high school and brought Madeline along. Sehara had too many expensive activities to be present for. Carson got quality time with Grandmother. I did miss them though.  While down there, I got quality time with some family members and it was much needed. A girl needs her parents and sisters and brothers every once in a while.

We have been purposefully busy with church activities, and Christian play-dates. The splash pad has been a huge hit with my kids (kind of). I have a stack of letters laying here next to my computer that need to be mailed off. The public library offers wonderful free programs that I'm taking advantage of.

Tim took a police recruit test, and I hope and literally pray often that something will come out of it. I guess I should be more specific: I want him to get accepted into the academy.

I don't have a phone right now and I feel so cut off from my friends and family, lol. The one thing I never really wanted and I realize it's hard to manage in these days without one. So, it is what it is.

I have become addicted to candy crush. Nothing else needs to be said about this.

That's been our summer thus far. Actually, is it even technically summer yet? You know what I mean.

A Busy Saturday

My day has been so busy. I made a goal for this summer to keep busy with my kids, providing them ample opportunities to develop social and physical areas.
So this morning, we had Carson's swim lesson in which he has greatly improved in regards to comfort in the water.
We took a long, hot shower, then it was Sehara's turn for swimming. My girl has progressed from the beginner class, which I shouldn't have put her in, to the advanced class. I think they are called the "sharks". She has always been a water bug.
Madeline stayed with her Auntie Jeanine for the swimming because Tim had to work and I didn't have anywhere to put her.
We rushed back to the house for a quick lunch full of nutritious foods! This was the point where Sehara decided she wanted to argue with me about a picture in the paper. Not that I argued back, but she kept going. She threw away an opportunity to have a sleepover with Elli.
Right after that, we had her soccer game, where we ran into the tail end of Garon's game and got to see Kayt, Larry, Addison, and Garon for a few minutes. Kayt gave me her leftover cookies and those saved my life and her waistline. I'm a good friend.
Sehara performed so well during her game! Her team gets better every week!
Melanie, Gabe, and Hunter came out to cheer her on! She loves visitors!
I grabbed a diet coke, and we went back to the house so the kiddos could nap. I dropped my brand new and fresh diet coke on the carpet!! UGH. I soaked it up while Carson played on the stairs (a no-no). He wouldn't go upstairs! Madeline had soaked her diaper and onsie and she was starving. I got everyone up, plopped her on the bed and got Carson in his bed. I fed Madeline and messaged a friend(the mother of Elli to let her know Sehara wouldn't come and why).
So now, I have started a soup for dinner. Chicken is thawing and Tim should get off work in 30 minutes. I'm so excited! I miss him.

I also wanted to point out that I did something great last night. I love to help people out, and not be recognized, usually. But here's where I'm going to pat myself on the back because it has to do with helping AND avoiding sin. I donated my time and some money for a friend, and went to do physical activity to show support (it was a group thing). When I handed the money over, I was told to wait so I could get some raffle tickets. I wondered what for, because I didn't understand and I asked about it. I very politely said, "No thank you, I am just donating money and I don't need the tickets!"

Look at me, actually applying lessons from the Bible to my everyday life. In case you're wondering, raffle tickets are a part of gambling. But we won't dwell on that.

I know this post misses my pizaz and flare, but here it is! I didn't fill in the cracks, and there's a lot of them. I'm not asking for a super mommy reward or any of that junk. I'm just telling ya about my day thus far. ;)

FlashBack Friday: Paris, France

My friend, Kari and I on our excursion to Paris for a week before summer classes stared in Denmark. Enjoy!

My Favorite Headband/Bow Holder Tutorials {Links}

I have been busy making hairbows and headbands and all this D.I.Y. stuff and I wanted to give credit to where my inspiration comes from. I dislike taking credit for doing things when they aren't my idea. I'll be blogging pages with links in them to share with my friends where these things came from!

Firstly, these are by far my most favorite tutorials for headband and hair bow holders! I altered mine(and I'll blog about those later) to the way I liked them and how they'd work best for me.

Photo from: The Paro Post

 I loved this one because you can put everything on it. And it's pink, so that's a plus. For the tutorial, click here.

Photo from: *lyssa beth*

 These headband holders are perfect for Sehara and I, they suck for Madeline. Preferably, if the headband is open, these are great. If not, you have to pull one over all of them and it just ruins my whole day. Presentation is almost everything and this is maj! For the tutorial, click here!

Photo from: Simply Modern Mom

 This one is for open headbands, as well. I love it because it's simple and cute and that's fine with me. For the tutorial, click here.

Photo from: tinkerwiththis

I can't even talk about this one, because it's simply stunning. Not only is it gorgeous, but it's PERFECT for baby headbands. The clothes pins are the best way to hand up Madeline's headbands. When I go to pick one out, I look at the width of the headband, and what it is made out of (along with the color, and whether it's a bow or flower, blah blah) and the clothes pin allows me to actually see that. I haven't made this one yet, it's definitely on my list though. For this amazing tutorial, click here!

My Box

I have immersed myself completely into my husband, my family, student loans, house searching, the Bible, church, Ladies class, friends and family (not really in order). I've done this slowly for the past two years. I was confused and angry and mean, anxiety was written all over my face when I graduated. I had left a friendship horribly, left a religion, and stepped away to a new scenario.

I mean, I came out pretty well. I have some more tools in my belt. I have a great relationship with my husband and love him and my kids too deeply to describe. I have made new friends, lost some, and made newer ones. I understand the Bible better, even though I get confused with a different doctrine sometimes. I took a step back from "the world" without knowing it and zoned in on me. I let myself feel everything I needed to feel. I have figured out honesty is best, and know how to speak it.

When I realized I didn't know anything that was happening out there, that I wasn't making friends around town, and that I basically didn't have any substantial long term goals, honestly, I was okay with it. I soaked in it. It was freeing. I loved being able to see things from an unbiased view.

There's always something that knocks you off your feet though. We were visiting with a friend and I realized I didn't know anything new. I mean, shoot, what a great way to feel so stupid: when you're conversing with a group of people. Ugh.

It's all great and dandy to know and love yourself and all this great stuff I'd been working on, but sooner or later I have to figure out what's going on around me. The thing is, I think I can do the things I have been doing and figure out how to learn some other things. What would it hurt to read some books every now and again? How about helping out and volunteering, or toting my kids around at the library more, to sports, and school functions. Exposing them to the harmless, and appropriate activities. Gosh, maybe whip my behind in shape like I've been wanting to for a year and a half?!

Maybe, since I have all the important stuff together, I can step out of the nice, tight square box I so willingly like to sit in.

Family, Zoo, Driving, & Church

My little family and I went to Kentucky this past weekend. We picked Sehara up on the way down, from Carrollton and made it to Buckner.

Saturday morning, we went to the Louisville Zoo. We met up with our friend Josh and his daughter, Mira, and his family. Boy, has she grown! I love seeing my friends! My goal is to try to meet up with as many as I can, when I can.

The trip to the zoo confirmed that we do need to go ahead and purchase that double stroller I have been wanting. I'm even willing to put my single strollers in storage! (I love my babytrend jogging stroller) It's officially not just a want, but now it's a need. :D

We spent Saturday evening back at my parent's house. Went grocery shopping and made the best tacos and fajitas for dinner. We ate too many donuts, but had fun. Tim and Daniel took the shutter off the house and cleaned up. Daniel invited Tim to bowl (Daniel's on a bowling league) and they had a blast.

Sunday morning we hosed down the front porch and scrubbed the bricks and pebbled area right in front of the door. It felt great outside and we all just lounged around on the front porch while the kids played on the swingset.

We left a little before 3 and got stuck in stop and go traffic for over an hour and made it back to Fairborn and church 2 minutes before it started. Sehara packed in shoes (and left another pair in KY) in her duffel, Carson had gotten his shoes muddy and and wet his whole outfit. We were a mess when we pulled in the parking lot. But we made it!