Interesting. No P.

The other day I was reading a home/food blog and the post had about a dozen dream bedrooms from Pinterest.  They were lovely and dreamy and made me want to take a nap even though I had just eaten breakfast.

At first I thought 'Oh I should paint the walls and the bed frame and search for new bedding and ..................and then I stopped myself from going down a very dangerous path.  I love my bed.  And my bedroom.  We have the comfiest mattress and I love the checked quilt from my Grandma's house and the yellow duvet I scored thrifting for $2.  And why my computer doesn't acknowledge thrifting as a word is beyond me.


Our bed did have another rail, but it broke because it was our favorite place to sit and floss our teeth.

And yes we have a lovely stairmaster in the left hand corner.  Funny, none of the dream bedrooms had one.  And that glass of water, it's from the bathroom sink.  See, I can go up & down fake stairs for 35 minutes, but go down 15 real stairs to get good water from the fridge, too much effort.

 
And then there's the misplaced LaZboy.  It was in the nursery but got shoved out to make room for all of Ethan's Lego's.    My feelings are still hurt that he'd rather play than be rocked to sleep.


So there's my bedroom.  It's not posh or fancy.  No one is ever going to pin it.  But I love it.

Green

I am so hopeful that this will be the year I have a successful garden.  I have grown a few things in the past, but I really didn't know what I was doing.  My mom helped me plant some seeds and some baby plants and lo and behold some of them took.  And some of them didn't.


I decided this year to get a jump start and plant in these little boxes.  All from seed.  I put them out during the day and lovingly bring them in at night.  I water when they seem dry and talk to them to make them happy.


I will replant them all in about a month into a raised garden in my backyard that Glenn built a few years ago.


I am most excited about my Watermelons.  If they take I will be the happiest person in the world.  Delicious, organic, freshly picked juicy watermelon cold from the refrigerator is the best thing about summer.


A good friend and gardener extraordinaire gave me all of the supplies and helped me with tips to ensure a successful garden.  I told her she would get sick of me because I will be calling at all stages to get advice.


In return I am helping her grind grains and teaching her bread making techniques.


I am definitely getting off easy.


I hope in a few months my garden will be overflowing with tomatoes and cucumbers and my hill will be bursting with watermelon and cantaloupe.


But you know me, if nothing takes I'll be forced to create my own green treats in the kitchen.

And buy a watermelon every day of the summer.




*****Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your kind words of understanding on my Monday post.  Through reading so many of your uplifting blogs I have been inspired to be more open and it's truly wonderful.  

The Whole Truth

I tend to be pretty rosy on this here little blog of mine.  I am in love with my kids, I am obsessed with  my  our dog, it's always sunny, let's cook up a 10 course meal blah, blah, blah.

And while that's true, there are other truths as well.  Truths I can't leave out because I want this blog to be my whole life.  The good, the bad, the scary and everything in between.  This is my life journal and I don't want my kids to go through trials later in life and after reading over their childhood, our life, to feel that their parents can't relate.  That we never went through hard times.

The old me would have waited until Glenn landed the perfect job and then spread the news.  The new me realizes that's unfair.  To myself, my kids and anyone reading my story.  

Since September when Cisco had their huge layoffs, Glenn has kept busy doing concrete sales.  That has ended and lucky for us we are in the midst of Tax Season so Glenn will be busy once again preparing taxes.  He has things in the works as far as a job but nothing solid yet.

We are living off our severance package, some money from concrete jobs, Tax Return Jobs, our own Tax Refund, and pretty much just living frugally.

The old Marie would have been a constant stress case freaking out everyday and tossing and turning at night.
The new Marie is relying on faith that everything will work out as it should.  Glenn & I (mostly Glenn) are smart and hardworking.  We are doing what is right.  We are prepared and putting ourselves out there for any opportunity that comes our way.  We are raising righteous children.

I still make time to let my kids know how much I care.  Chocolate always seems to do the trick.

Take them to the park and let them explore.

Love watching Brutus soak in the sun.

Take Ethan to baseball practice and feel that of course he's a star in the making.

Make granola.

And watch my kids soar.

We're happy and healthy & life is being completely enjoyed by us all.  I am a lot more tired than I was at 20, but I am also a lot smarter.  Smart enough to know that we'll be fine.  All that is really important to me in this life is my family.  And they're not going anywhere.

I am a child of God.  I know Him and I most definitely know that He knows me.  He has a plan for us.  Bigger and better than anything we could have planned for ourselves.  Our part is to keep on working hard and doing what's right and he will meet us there.

I know this because I feel it in my bones and in my heart.

And that's the truth.

Valentine Crush

I had to buy oreos.  When my kids saw them on the counter they knew something was up.  I don't buy oreos.  But I needed them to make THIS......

I only buy highly sweetened, hydrogenated oiled cookies when I can mix them with a ton more sugar, candy, lots of unnatural oils and fake flavors.  Yup that's my criteria.  But really, it's much, much too precious.  How could I resist making this popcorn?!

Look at these tags!!!

I have a weakness for popcorn when mixed with sugar.  Or butter & salt.  Or plain.  Any which way really as long as it's homemade.   No Cracker Jack or Crunch & Munch for me, I am obviously way too fancy for that.

Every single ingredient in this popcorn may have made me cringe.  But at least I made it with my own 2 hands.

Plus, did you see how cute it is?

Cupcake Wars

I rarely make cupcakes.  I know, weird.  I am much more a cookie person.  Cake will always be my last choice.  Cobblers, crisps,  pie & ice cream will always get first dibs.  The fun thing about cupcakes though is they are just so darn cute.

I had about 30 people here on Saturday night for dinner.  It was actually my sister who was hosting after her son's baptism, but since I have the biggest house she asked to have it here.

I woke up at 5am Saturday morning to start cleaning and baking because I had to attend a Scouting function at 8 am.  Ethan is not old enough to be in Scouts but since I serve in Primary in our church sometimes I have to attend Scouting events.

I left the remainder of the cleaning in the capable hands of my children.  Teaching kids to clean is time consuming, frustrating and tiring, but as they get older it is so paying off.  I came home to an immaculate house and cupcakes that needed frosting.

These are not just any cupcakes.  They are S'mores Cupcakes from Annie's Eats and for a non-cupcake eater like myself, I have to say they were AWESOME!

They have a graham cracker crust on the bottom layered with  melted unsweetened chocolate topped with a rich milk chocolate cake batter ending up with a roasted marshmallow cloud.

I realize that sometimes these descriptions sound way better than the actual treat.  Not these cupcakes.  These pictures don't even do them justice.

My sister told me she was bringing another dessert.  She didn't.  On her behalf she is a single mom working full time and packing up her house to move this weekend.

So that left us with 30 people and 24 cupcakes.  There might have been some pushing and pleading involved to see who had to share.

These kids love and appreciate yummy food.  These kids scrubbed toilets, mowed lawns and wiped down cupboards all morning. These kids have learned from their momma to pounce when dessert is served.

These kids got their own cupcakes.

Q & A

1. What was your first concert?

   - Beach Boys at an amusement park as a kid.  My first concert with Glenn was Pearl Jam.

2. Are you a cat or dog person (or neither?!?!)

   -PUPPERS!!!!!  Especially my Brutus, Broo Broo, Broody, Bruticus, Comfers Cozers Puppers.

3. What’s your favorite vacation destination in the continental U.S.?

   -Hawaii

4. Who is your celebrity crush?

   -Chris Rock, he kills me   Michael C. Hall (aka Dexter) cause he's awesome  & Johnny Depp for his acting chops

5. What kind of car do you drive (and what kind of car do you wish you drove)?

  -I drive - Minivan with electric sliding doors.   I wish I drove - Minivan - cause it has electric sliding doors

6. Have you met any ‘real life’ friends through blogging?

   - No

7. Would you rather shop for groceries or clothing?

   -Groceries.  I don't need any clothes.  Groceries and yummy food get me much more excited.

8. List 5 things that you keep in your fridge at all times.
 
   - At least a half dozen variety of nuts, unsweetened almond milk, organic milk for the kiddos, chopped and washed lettuce for lunchtime salads, leftovers.

9. What is your ideal career?

   - I am living it.  Taking care of my home & family, volunteering at the school, going on walks with Brutus, cooking and reading Cooks Illustrated while eating lunch.  Who knows how long I can be a kept woman, but I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

10. Can you (or could you ever) play an instrument?

   -I totally rock the Cymbals & the Triangle

11. What’s your favorite hot beverage?

   -Pero made with almond milk and a little brown sugar, heaven on earth.

The Long Goodnight

 "You have to be ready to listen whenever your kids are ready to talk".

I am not sure when or where I heard this, but even though I wasn't a parent at the time it rang true and I have always remembered it.

A few nights ago was one of those times.  Ethan wanted to talk.  He talked.  And talked.  He also listened. And talked some more.  I think I was in his room for over an hour.  Usually when I tuck the kids in I am itching to get on with my night and whatever I need to do.  But it was too sweet a moment to miss out on.

We talked about prison and how you get there.  Ethan is a very cautious child and wanted to make sure he wasn't going there anytime soon.  He asked what they did everyday in jail.  He asked what they ate.  Immediately after asking that he looked at me and said  "Rotten eggs?" 

He asked "If the world is made up of gas, how do we breathe?"  I am not sure I even understood the question.   I told him to ask Emry. 

He wanted to know when he was going to be able to speak Spanish like his Dad.

He threw in a favorite joke of our families right now.  "Why does Snoop Dogg like to drink soda?"  Fo Fizzle.
(We've made up countless variations of this joke.  Why does Snoop Dogg like to BBQ?  Fo Sizzle.  Why does Snoop Dogg carry an umbrella?  Fo Drizzle...........etc. etc.)

He wanted to know if he could make Legos appear in Heaven.

He talked of us getting married someday.  Yup, me & him. 

He told me to remember that he would always love me more than I love him.

He told me how pretty I am.  (see why I stayed there so long?)

When he was done he said  "We sure did talk a long time".

Fo Shizzle!