Happy Birthday, Belle.

Six years ago today, I was holding a tiny baby girl in my arms wondering, "What in the world am I going to do with all this hair!" (I still ponder that same thought most every morning.) She was beautiful then, and now... no words can describe my six-year-old's beauty. She is tenderhearted, loving, kind, unselfish, gorgeous, precious, sensitive, sincere... I could go on and on. Most of all, she loves Jesus and is not at all ashamed to tell you so. I am so crazy about Ava Isabelle Slaughter and wholeheartedly admit I am unworthy to be her Mommy. Thank you, Lord, for my precious baby girl. I love her so much.

Since her second birthday, I have been deliberate in getting a "birthday picture." (Her first birthday got away without one, but I do have a picture of her eating her cake. What mom doesn't, right?) Anyway, stay tuned for this year's picture. It's been so rainy, we haven't been able to get outside. But here is 1-5. Enjoy, and if you see her, wish her a happy birthday.

Farewell, Dear Friend

You were a dear friend, Old iMac, but a new day has dawned.

Old Mac.

New Mac. Isn't she beautiful?

Image

Since early February I have lost around 13 pounds. I hide weight well. It’s a genetic gift. But trust me, I needed to lose the weight. Everything about my pregnancy with Jeb was a struggle… even losing weight after. So… I should be proud of myself, right? Applause. Streamers. Shouts of joy. But I’m not celebrating. Instead, I just want to lose more. And more. And my question is… Can we, as women, ever be content with the way we look? For a while, I was feeling pretty good about myself, and then I allowed the images I see on tv to convince me once again that I just don’t measure up. I’m thirty-three and still struggle with self-image issues. Hello again, junior high. Are you kidding me!?

And how in the world do I help my girls not fall into this horrible trap? Already they say things like, “Mommy, I only want to eat healthy foods so I won’t get fat.” Seriously?! Where are they hearing this because it’s not from this house. We still watch Dora and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! The Disney Channel is years (if ever) away. Are other little girls their age already thinking this way and talking about it at school? I cannot imagine my beautiful girls growing up the way I did thinking I was never good enough or skinny enough or pretty enough or smart enough. I want them to know how to walk into a room with a humble confidence. Or is there such a thing?

Just things I'm thinking about today. I normally don't ramble, so I think I'm entitled to one good rambling post every now and then.

Cupcake Family Tree

Today we celebrated Matt's grandmother's 80th birthday. Gran is so special, and the girls and I wanted to do something fun for her to remember. Then I saw a cupcake book at Erin's and knew immediately what I wanted to do. The final decision--a cupcake family tree. We did a separate cupcake for each family member, and though the cupcakes didn't really bear a striking resemblance to anyone, it was still a lot of fun.

Here it is--Gran and Grandpa's family

Gran and Grandpa. (I love Gran's glasses.)

Pat and Sarah's family. (Owen is my favorite.)

I got a little carried away with Sarah's hair.

Gigi and G-Pops.

Jeb eating his cupcake self.

Our family. Belle's hair is a little big, too. I think I captured Matt's likeness though!

What a crew. (This was taken after LOTS of playing...hence the sad-like appearance of the children.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRAN! We hope you had a great one.

More Boy Child

I realize the boy child in our family gets more blog face time. In my defense, I'm home with him all day every day. Plus, he's super cute.

So, yesterday the girls and I faux hawked his hair, then went to Lowe's. Fact: People stare at little boys with faux hawks. Which is probably why it's so much fun. Here he is... my brilliant, gorgeous, secure-in-a-faux hawk baby.

Recipe for fun

RECIPE FOR FUN

1 empty diaper box
1 piece of rope
1 pink cape
1 baby
1 patient Daddy

Poke hole in box. Tie on rope. Place baby in box. Drape pink cape over baby's shoulders and secure into place. Place end of rope into patient Daddy's hand and tell him to walk until baby lets him stop. (Warning: Patient Daddy may be walking for hours.)

Easter Contest Results!

Fun. Fun. Fun. You guys did a great job with your Easter creations. I have had several people tell me instead of 'entering', they were waiting to see what everyone came up with so they would have some ideas for next year. I think you gave them some good ones. Here they are...

Sarah and Lynlee made cakepops!

Leanne and her little redhead cuties did bunny cupcakes.

Alissa and her THREE boys did bunny cookies.

Michelle and Katie made resurrection cookies. These are cool. You need to check them out.

Melissa made these yummy cookies. Seriously, with the photography? So good.

Kate and her boys did a bunny cake!

Annie and Courtney made a peep nest!

Robyn and the twins also did cakepops!

And the girls and I didn't officially 'enter', but I wanted to post our creations anyway. We did a variety of cupcakes, my favorite being the bunnies!

I searched far and wide to find an impartial judge... someone who doesn't blog or know those entered. Finally, I asked Matt's grandmother's friend (who actually just got a computer) to do the judging. I sent her the pictures with no names attached, explained all the creations, and asked her to pick a winner. There was no other judging criteria other than 'pick the one you like the best.' And after much deliberation, she chose...

...Kate and the Floyd boys' bunny cake! Congrats, Kate. I will get you your cookbook, and I hope you enjoy.

Guys, thanks so much for playing along, and I really, really hope you had fun celebrating Easter with your kids. I really believe those little moments will be the ones they remember for a lifetime.

HAPPY EASTER!

After much contemplation, I decided to get the kids all dolled up and take them to church yesterday. Matt is playing James, son of Zebedee, in the Easter drama (though he refers to himself simply as 'J-Zee'). There was one performance yesterday and two today, so I am by myself with the kiddos. Yesterday was perfect for Easter outfits and taking pictures... high in the 60's, sun was shining. Today is miserable. Cold. Rainy. Windy. Dark. Yuck. So, pretty much, taking them yesterday was the best decision I have ever made. High five to me.

This morning the girls and I stayed in bed until 9 and read the resurrection story in John. They asked a million questions and were so precious. When Jeb woke up, we kicked it into gear and after eating breakfast, dyed Easter eggs. I had planned on doing it the old fashioned way with vinegar and food coloring, but instead, opted for the time-honored, traditional Paas dye kit. It has been a great morning.

I still have links coming in on the cupcakes/cakes/cookies contest, and we have some really fun ones. You have until tonight. There's still time. The cookbook is really good, but you don't want to let this Easter get away without building a fun memory. Get busy!

Contest

Keep sending in your links! You have till Sunday!

No remorse.

Remember this?


Well, yesterday, I tried to coerce an apology out of him. This is what I got. Absolutely no remorse. Just evil, evil laughter.

Belle, Me, and Baking

Belle was playing with my camera yesterday. I'm pretty protective of costly equipment, but she's actually interested in photography and not bad at it. So I let her. She was snapping away while I sat at my computer writing... or being frustrated at my writing. This morning, among the MANY pictures she took (mainly of stuffed animals and Jeb), I found this one. I love it because I think that's probably how I look 98% of the time while I sit here staring at this screen. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. Then when I am writing, if it doesn't click or if something doesn't feel right, I get so frustrated. And Belle caught it on film. Love it.


On the baking front, I hope you all are formulating your ideas! We have already had our baking night, and it was so much fun. The girls absolutely loved it. I'll just give you a sneak peek. Don't want to give too much away.


Get busy and get cooking. I'm excited to see how many (if anyone) will participate and what we can come up with.

Easter fun with the kids Cookies/Cupcakes/Cakes Contest

I really want to be that mom who does special things with her kids on holidays. All of the holidays. Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Valentines Day, Easter. I want to make memories. And the truth is, I sort of suck at it. I mean, I try hard, but I'm pretty hit or miss. C. Maybe C+. I want to be an A.

The thought occurred to me this week that my girls are 5 and 4, and I have never once colored eggs with them. Not to mention I have never done any sort of fun Easter baking. Awesome, huh? Way to go, Super Mom.

So, I thought I would try to give us mommies a little incentive to do something fun this Easter with our kids. Instead of writing today, I sat down at the computer this afternoon and searched the 'net a bit for some ideas and found some adorable ones for Easter cupcakes, cakes, and cookies. I found a million ideas with one quick search, so I know you can too. Here are some of them.






(That last bunny is a little scary. See? You don't have to be a professional.) Here's what I'm proposing. Come up with your own (or totally steal) an idea for Easter cupcakes or cakes or cookies to do with your kids. Then take a picture and add them to your blog. After that, leave me a comment on this post with a link to your blog. I'll go to your blog, collect the pictures, and add them to my blog in a 'Contest Results' post next Saturday. I'll find a completely impartial judge to do the judging. (Not Matt.) The fun part is that Matt's sweet mom volunteered to supply a for-real prize. This homemade candy cookbook... and it's awesome. I have one and have nearly worn it out.


I know we are all super busy. I pass myself coming and going. But I also know that the littlest things can be the most meaningful to our kids. I did pine cone turkeys with my kids two Thanksgivings ago, and they still talk about it.

And just to get us started, I'm issuing a DIRECT challenge to a few friends. So, Jill, Annie, Robyn, Lori, and Leanne, you guys get busy and start us off right. Yes, I'm serious. I'm doing it, too. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO ENTER! Mommies, Grandmommies, or even if you don't have kids! Go bake!

FREE TO GOOD HOME

Free to good home. 1 yr old male child. Not potty trained. Messy but cute. Sleeps great. Liked him till today. Comment if interested.