Getting a Handle on Things

I know that I said I was off to do laundry, but I really must share this one picture before I log off! Okay heading down to attend to my laundry before I melt into a puddle and ruin my laptop!

We're Leaving on a Jet Plane

It's a big week around here. Midweek we are heading out on a short vacation. It will be the kiddos first trip in an airplane and our first big trip since the arrival of The Little Man. Needless to say, I'm a bit nervous about the whole deal. We have a three and a half hour flight and then about a three hour drive once we arrive in Portland. I've packed a bag of goodies for Princess Pigtails--the last two months of Animal Babies and Highlights High Five that I snatched out of the mail before she saw me--that girl is almost as bad as her mama about magazines, some books, a new coloring book and a paint with water book, couple of toys, etc. My hope is that I have enough things in there to keep her occupied at least until we get through security!

We also bought a new battery powered DVD player for the trip and picked up a few new movies, so if everything else fails, we can always resort to the entertaining antics of Curious George! Although, I have to say that I am pretty pumped about the Season 1 of the Muppet Show DVD and the copy of Mary Poppins that I snagged while we were at Best Buy on Saturday. We also bought her a set of child size ear phones--which she is so excited about!

I've got a million things to do before we leave, so I'd better get back to my laundry and my checklists. Thanks for stopping by and if you think of it--say a little prayer for us this week that we would have a seamless trip!

Things I Love Thursday--Norwex

Happy Thursday, Everyone. Once again, Jill over at Diaper Diaries is hosting a Things I Love Thursday so I feel obligated to share!! I have a new "thing" I love! I recently received some products from Norwex from my parents. Among the few items I now own are the universal microfiber cleaning cloth and the antibacterial window cloth.


Here's the deal to say wash the window in your screen door. You wet the microfiber cloth with water. Fold it, wipe the door down and follow with the window cloth. I was skeptical--but holy cow people! The results are awesome. I've now used it on the mirror in the bathroom and to clean up the nose and little hand prints from the bottom panes of the windows with the same great result. And really, can you get any easy than that? Easy, safe to use around the kiddos and not harmful to the environment. The cleaning cloth can be used to clean all sorts of surfaces--I actually also used it to wipe down our leather couch. The best part? When you need to wash it--drop it in the washer. The only inconvenience? You are not to wash it with items that generate lots of lint--like towels and it's not to be exposed to fabric softener. And I suppose it is an inconvenience that you have to order through a rep. But really? Totally worth it.

So that is one thing that I now love. Head over to Diaper Diaries and check out other items that you can't or shouldn't live without!

A Fine Day For A Picnic!

Here's a recap of our weekend. Happy belated 4th by the way! Last Friday, we headed to my parents' house to celebrate the 4th, my dad's 60th birthday, my mom's birthday (belated), my birthday and the baptism of my niece and nephew. It was a great weekend. We enjoyed the fireworks in the bug-free comfort of air conditioning. Talk about speaking my love language!

A little less than three years ago, my parents moved back to northern Iowa. I say moved back, because now after twenty some years of living else where in Iowa, they are within twenty five minutes of the town where we lived when I was in elementary school. On Saturday morning, we loaded up and headed to one of my favorite child hood parks for a picnic. It was a glorious day with lots of sun, a warm breeze and very few bugs--the absolutely perfect day for a picnic!

As you know, parts of Iowa have experienced some pretty devastating flooding this summer, and parts of northern Iowa are no exception. In fact the park where we picnic-ed was underwater just a couple of weeks ago. Although it was not as lush and scenic as normal, it looked pretty good considering! And we had so much fun! Here's a few of my favorite pictures from our picnic at East Park...

To quote Princess Pigtails "This is so fun!!"...

Princess Pigtails and her Daddy...

All ketchup and attitude...

Works For Me Wednesday--Easy Recipes

I'm back with the recipes that I promised. Both are favorites that I grew up and are super easy!

Tuna Chow Mein Noodle Salad
Very easy, tasty and perfect on a summer day! But as a warning, I must disclose that I've never actually measured the amounts for the ingredients, so please understand the approximations.
Two cans of tuna
grated carrots--probably 1/2 cup or so
diced dill pickle--approximately 1/4 cup
mayo--approximately 1 cup or so
Stir together and refrigerate. Immediately prior to serving (or they will get soggy) stir in about two cups of chow mein noodles. Serve on a leaf of lettuce. You could certainly embellish on the recipe--add chopped celery or water chestnuts, etc.

Oven Pancakes
I first had a version of these while staying with family friends as a child.
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 400. Spray sheet pan or cookie sheet well with cooking spray or coat with melted butter.
Beat eggs slightly in a medium bowl with a wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in remaining ingredients until just mixed. Pour into sheet pan.
Bake approximately 25 minutes or until puffy and deep golden brown. Serve immediately drizzled with melted butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar. (Some recipes call for drizzling with lemon juice instead of butter.)

So there you have it. Two super yummy recipes that won't keep you in the kitchen all day! Enjoy! For more easy recipes, head on over to Rocks in My Dryer!

Just a Couple of Things

A little bit of randomness this morning--hope you don't get whiplash!

1. The Little Man has mastered the roll from his back to his tummy and back over to his back!
2. This week's Works For Me Wednesday over at Rocks in My Dryer is sharing recipes that use
five or less ingredients. You can bet I'll be back shortly with a recipe or two to share!
3. My Blackberry came Monday night. So far, I'm loving it. Still need some more time to get it
set up so I'm not driving off the road trying to figure out my new phone! But I think it's going
to be the start of a beautiful thing!
4. Beachy Mimi tagged me last week for the six word meme. I guess the origination of the idea
was the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous &
Obscure by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser. The book apparently includes a story that
Hemingway was once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words
were, "For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn."

I've spent more time on this than I care to admit. Apparently I have writer's block or brain block or something. This is all I could come up with in six words. "Because I'm the Mama, that's why." That's it. That's all I've got.Sad. Queen B came up with like ten or fifty. She is obviously more clever than I.

I'm supposed to tag five more people to keep the meme going. I'm going to tag Jill over at Minnesota McGregors, Laura at My Crazy Kiddos and then who ever else wants to play...
Here are the rules:
1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it to your blog and link back to the person that tagged you.
3. Tag five people at the end of your post and leave a comment on their blog inviting them to participate!

Have fun! And stop back later for a few recipes!

Perspective

Perspective. Some times it's hard to gain. Other times it smacks into us relentlessly like choppy waters against the side of a boat.

Yesterday was a day that found me grumbling and generally crabby with the days events. Sweet Princess Pigtails once again had a random fever and her glands were swollen. Not really any other symptoms, but I was not comfortable going forward with our plans to go to the beach with some friends. So, we were here all day. Princess Pigtails was questionably sick and understandably whiny all day. Whiny makes me crabby.

DH was, by no fault of his own, later leaving the office than I had hoped he would be. Later leaving equates to worse traffic and a longer commute putting him home later than I expected. I try to be understanding about these things. But last night? I was crabby about it. It cramped our time for dinner as a family. I could make excuses about the day wearing on me and that being one more thing. But those would just be excuses for me choosing a poor reaction.

I had a final planning meeting for vacation Bible school scheduled for last night. The hope was that all six of us that have been involved in the planning process could be there. We were not all there and in reality it was fine. But given my attitude for the day, I was crabby about it. Big shocker, huh?

I came home and wallowed in my crabbiness to DH. (Who once again listened and tried to encourage me...) And yet, I went to bed with that nagging feeling. You know. The one where the Lord is gently nudging you to give to Him and let it go. But I wasn't ready. I guess I was having too much "fun" grumbling about how bad my day was and how disappointed I was.

Then this morning my mom called with news that brought perspective upon me with frightening speed. A young woman from a former congregation that my dad served had passed away from cancer yesterday morning. She was 25 years old. We've been praying for her and her family during this 2 1/2 year battle, reading the updates on her CaringBridge site and wondering when she was going to finally get some good news.

Her healing came in God's perfect timing and in His perfect way. The Good News did come. Not in the manner that our human minds and hearts hope for but in a way that our souls unexplainably understand. She is with our Lord now. She is pain free and the struggles she endured as a result of this journey have come to a close. Faith allows us to mourn and celebrate her life and faith simultaneously.

While I was whining, grumbling and complaining--Brittney was called Home. While I was lamenting about how the day could've, should've gone--that dinner was quick, my darling child was whiny and people missed a meeting--a family began mourning the loss of their daughter.

Tears streamed down my face upon hearing the news and the deafening sound of the waves of perpective burned my ears.