Sleepytime

Our darling Belle is at the age where she is growing out of her naps..... today she didn't get a nap.... and by this evening she was soooo ready for bed. I love how she curled up in my lap as I played the piano.... okay, attempted to play is more like it. She almost fell asleep.... I love these kind of moments. They are priceless.

Bagel Panini

Here's what was for lunch today at our homestead




You can find the recipe here later on today.

Thank God for Play-Doh

This morning I am very grateful to the inventor of Play-Doh!!!!! It is the one thing my kids never seem to get tired of playing with. And it holds their attention long enough for me to "catch my breath" and blog about why I haven't blogged in a while.

Here it is in a nutshell: (by the way, none of these symptoms apply to me....yet)

*A bad cough (that seemed to want to turn into croup every night)
*Double pink eye (yes pink eye in both eyes)
*House guests, that I had to tell they were entering the pink eye zone...who handled the news amazingly well.
*A funeral for a wonderful family friend of ours
*A bad reaction to the medicine for pink eye
*Several trips to the doctors
*A pukey night
*Bright red spots in the eyes that was freaking me out
*Fever
*More pink eye
*and Laryngitis

All I can say is, Thank God for Play-Doh!

Boys Day Out

Jack went on his first skiing expedition the other day....well, if you don't include our back yard from last year, then this is his first. He LOVED it! So did daddy. You will be able to see it too as soon as daddy helps me reformat the video file.... ok daddy?

PS. Would you believe me if I told you daddy used to do ski acrobatics years ago? You know, where you do all these flips and stuff....on skis....it's true.... Daddy has never ceased to amaze me....

Monet meets Edward Scissorhands

My dear boy Jack painted the most beautiful flower for me.... and then for some reason he thought he should cut it out so he got some scissors and cut out the stem.... he stopped because the rest was too hard. I'm going to cut it out and frame it... the bug too!

Playing

I love how much my kids love to play hide and seek. It is very funny at this age.......


See what I mean?

After "trying" to find her for a few minutes I finally say, "Oh, there she is" ..... and she says..."No, don't find me....just hide!" Apparently this game isn't called hide and seek, it's just hide!


Such fun!

Last Day of the Giveaway

This is the last day to win one of the giveaway items!!! Tomorrow I will notify the winners of the contest!

Thanks for participating!!!

Finicky Foodie?! HA!!!!

It's more like FINICKY BLOGGER!!!! I'm trying to post over at my other blog (The Finicky Foodie) and blogger is trying it's best to take me to my wits end!!!! This is what's happening: I write a new post, and when I like how it's laid out I hit publish..... Here comes the annoying part.... when I view the blog and see the published post, the spaces that I had between paragraphs are gone! Where did they go?! Can anybody please help me with this?...... Anyone? ...... Anyone?

Tea Club, and why I'm so going to do this again!

Since my giveaway is all about tea, I have had tea on my mind for the past couple of days. My thoughts took me to my fond memories of the "Tea club" I started.... An idea I had about getting a group of women together in order to "fellowship", share ideas, have some laughs, and inspire one another. I even had special stationary printed up just to be used for mailing out letters to the "Tea Club" members. Unfortunately, we only met once....yep, just once! I don't know why we never met again, but I'm thinking this was way too much fun to not start up again!

Our gatherings were going to include everyone sharing some thoughts or inspiring story, or basically anything they wanted to share with the group. But for the first gathering I surprised everyone with a guest speaker....It was great. The food was good, really good... I love that my cousin owns a wonderful bakery...but the fellowship was the best part!

What an inspiring speaker!


I bought white gloves for everyone and set them at each place setting...Everyone loved it!

2 things that are never good to find in your kitchen...

#1


and #2

Introducing...

The Finicky Foodie....

This is my brand new blog.... Not that I have time for another blog.... Basically, it is a place to put my recipes and keep them organized. The recipe for the cornbread I made last night is on there. It was a super simple recipe... I love those kind (it means less time in the kitchen, and more time with my kids!). To check out the blog, just click here, or click on the picture to the right, titled "What's Cookin'...At our house"......

Hello Pilates

Did any of you put

this

on your New Year's resolutions list.....to exercise more? I fell off the wagon a while back, and my Pilates machine is feeling a little rejected. So, I had to reassure it that I knew it was NOT a laundry basket, and NOT a toy for the kids to play on, and definitely NOT the enemy! I've dusted the thing off and I made up my mind that TOMORROW I am going to start doing Pilates again. And what I really need is a workout partner - anyone want to start-up their exercise routine tomorrow? I'll cheer for you, you cheer for me.....

Here's to a healthy YOU in 2009!

My Anthem Rings

...All our hope is in you. All our hope is in you!

Churn-head

...a whole new meaning...

Tonight at dinner Jack was swinging his head from side to side... I'm not sure why I tune this stuff out but I really didn't notice it too much...but then he started choking and that's when I realized he had a whole mouthful of milk when he was doing this swinging thing...... "What are you doing?" we ask. His response: "I was just trying to see if my milk would turn into butter!"

TGIF

I woke up this morning and realized why I have been in a funk lately..... It's Groundhog Day around here!!!! You know, the movie where the guy relives the same day over and over again, like forever.... I'm there!!! Every morning when I open up my eyes the day repeats itself, just like yesterday, and the day before and the day before that.....except for tomorrow... because today is Friday!!! Hallelujah.... Daddy doesn't go to work tomorrow!!!!

The day always starts off like this.... Daddy and Jack get up first -- they are morning people-- I just can't relate to that....all that crazy energy in the morning stuff... and then Bella gets up and then she comes and gets me up. I come downstairs and I can't believe my eyes. The very room I had just tidied up the day before is a mess! This happens every day... I tidy, I sleep, I wake up, I observe a mess. THIS IS GROUNDHOG DAY, people!!!! Did I just say people? And then I always ask daddy, "Did you feed the kids breakfast?" And his response is always, "No, they said they weren't hungry." And every day, as soon as daddy leaves for work, I mean his big toe has barely touched the ground outside, I hear the "I'm hungry and thirsty" chant. Every morning. How is it that these kids of mine are not hungry minutes before daddy leaves for work....but as soon as he leaves....imagine that, they're hungry.

And everyday I resolve to do things differently tomorrow, because tomorrow I am going to have more energy and not feel sick, I am going to begin exercising on a regular basis... to get more energy, I am going to wake up before everybody else and whip up the best darn breakfast they ever had -- I'm talking a breakfast so good that they are going to brag about the wonderful mother and wife they have, I'm going to find a good vitamin to take, I am going to bite the bullet and just drive that crazy hour in order to find any good supply of organic food... in order to feed my family an all organic diet, I'm going to cook extra meals and deliver food to those who are sick or elderly and could use a helping hand, I'm going to go to bed early because tomorrow I will not have insomnia.....

......and then finally, at the end of today, the plans I've made for tomorrow fade because the kids got hungry, laundry had to get done, tidying needed to be done, I'm pooped out, and I finally go to bed. And when I wake up in the morning, I say, "Daddy, did you feed the kids breakfast?" :)

TGIF

RHG Giveaway

So here it is! My first ever GIVEAWAY! Let's get started, shall we?

Ok, so this is what I am giving away:

*6 beautiful "teacup cards" w/tea and envelopes (ranges from Birthday, invitation, thank you, and blank). These come with real tea tucked in the cup.... Sooooo cute!
*Plush "welcome" bunny....would look cute in a girls room. She's really adorable.
*2 boxes of tea filters... this is for loose tea. Instead of using a strainer you would use these....just add your tea, put it in your cup, add water and that's it ....very convenient.
*1 Tea strainer. In case you want to be a little more formal about having your tea this is the one to use.
*1 honey server, and 1 mixing spoon and spatula for whipping up your favorite treats to go along with your tea.
*1 "Things to do after I have tea" notepad with tea and teapot spoon.
*Bundle of 6 assorted cocktail napkins. Perfect for using at your next tea party!

Remember, just send me an email at myhappyhomestead@gmail.com for a chance to win. Let me know what items you're interested in. Winners will be chosen next thursday.... I'm so excited about my giveaway! Again, good luck to you!

Romantic Homes & Gardens

Several years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to start my very own little store. It was so much fun....and then the babies came along and I closed up shop. Luckily for me, I was able to sell my merchandise to another business....except for the things I could not part with.... most of them being tea related items. I had dreamed of having a little tea room inside my store so I started stocking up on all sorts of tea things.

I was in love with all of my merchandise! And thus, (despite my husband's major protests) some of that merchandise took up residence at our house. Well, it has been several years now and I have come to the conclusion that it's time to let go.... at least, in baby steps. So I thought it would be fun to have my first GIVEAWAY with a couple of little things from Romantic Homes & Gardens.

Tomorrow I will post the things I am giving away. If you are interested in any of these items all you have to do for a chance to win them is send me an email at myhappyhomestead@gmail.com and let me know which item(s) you are interested in. The winners will be selected via a random drawing and I'll let you know if you've won via email. The winners will be chosen one week from tomorrow (next Thursday, January 15th)....... If I'm going to part with my beloved merchandise, I may as well have fun doing it!!!! Good luck!!!

Of course, I just had to share with you pictures of my store:


These chairs were a favorite spot of my mother, sister, and cousin. They often came for a visit... My mother especially liked the relaxing atmosphere. I always played some light and relaxing music, mostly light classical....... pure serenity.


Look at that beautiful desk! Daddy built it...BUILT it... for me! I love him!

Some tea things

More tea things


Cocktail napkins for your tea parties

Some gardeny things

More garden things!

The Easter tree

Some country stuff...after all, I do live in the country!

Even more tea things....like clotted cream, lemon curd and scone mixes.....hmmmmm, I think I want to have another tea party...I'm kinda inspired after looking at these pictures.

I loved it when people would come in and sit down for a spot of tea!

And that chair...on the right side... it is the one I want to be sitting in right now....looking out the window at the passersby....waiving at the ones I know..... Sipping on my tea....ahhhh, sweet memories!

But I wouldn't want to own the store again.... I wish somebody else did so I could go there, have tea and a scone, and then quickly return home to these beautiful faces

Jacky and Bella.....you are adorable (even when daddy dresses you!)

Love, Mommy :)

Jingle Bells

Here it is! The kids debut, singing their favorite song..."Jingle Bells"

The Lineup

Which one of these characters looks guilty?

The charge: Getting out of bed

The offender: Someone named Bella Boo

The verdict: Guilty

The sentence: BACK TO BED!!!

Black Bean Salad

We make this salad all the time and I must warn you, it is soooo good you will eat a lot of it!




3 bell peppers (green, yellow, red), diced ...sometimes we use 2 large green ones and it's just as good.
½ cup diced red onion
1 large clove garlic, or 2 small cloves, minced
1 can (15.25oz.) corn, drained
1 can (15oz) black beans, drained
¼ cup olive oil
5 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp lime juice
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
½ tsp salt, or to taste

Combine peppers, onion, garlic, corn and black beans and toss to mix. Add oil, vinegar, lime juice, and salt & pepper and toss again. Serve with tortilla chips.

And enjoy!!!!!!

My New Year's Resolution

Simply put, very simply put. Here it is, my Resolution for 2009........

MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

Broad? Yes. Simply stated? Yes. Easy to implement? No.

I was reading from "My Utmost For His Highest" today and thought I would share this part with you:

One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, "What do you expect to do?" You don't know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to "go out" in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely.

As a Christian, I want to fulfill my purpose in life, the purpose for which I was created. And although I may not know what that purpose is, I may only have an inkling of what it is, it doesn't matter that I know. I just know that I have to be willing. And I am willing...because I want to make a difference.