Sparkling Attitude

I was sitting here going through an old devo notebook from 2009 and found something I thought was worth sharing. I had totally forgotten about it, which is why I always sit with a notebook during devo time so that I can be reminded some day. And considering my stinking attitude the other day I thought this was pretty fitting. 

I was reading "Women of the Bible" at the time and here is the page:

Now my head is spinning with ideas on how to put this reminder somewhere on my jewelry box so that I can be reminded daily, or at least on the days I leave the house and actually open up that box.

Breakfast Bar

A few weeks ago we were in the mood to make these, my girls and I. We didn't have all of the ingredients, but we weren't going to let that stop us. We went pantry shopping and found some other yummy things to throw in the mix and came up with something delish! I'm not sure they would make it back on the Eating Well web site, but they sure made it into our family cook book. Here we go:

 

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon flaxseeds,we used the regular dark ones but I would love to try the golden ones soon.
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 cup Reeses puffs
• 1/3 cup craisins
• 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/3 cup chopped raisins
• 1/4 cup organic creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup organic sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Follow the directions in the provided link above. These are great to have for the mornings on the go.

P-U Stinky!!!

What stinks? 

Could it be the fact that E woke up at 6 am!!! this morning and woke up H too? 

Could it be the urine that leaked through H's diaper, again? (Seriously, she leaks through every other night. She's wearing a night diaper and she has 8 lbs left before the next size.) 

Could it be the passion fruit juice left on the ottoman by my 4 year old for my 1 year old to reach, and spill all over the floor and the clothes I just put her in? 

Could it be the broken pieces of glass all over the sink (and some on the floor)? 

Could it be the attitude of my 4 year old demanding to always get what she wants? 

Could it be the results of H's reflux on the clothes I just changed her into? 

Could it be the fact that H fell asleep in the car on the way to the dr's office (which I knew she would since it was her nap time) and then after me being very careful not to wake her up to bring her inside, the receptionists were really loud and woke her up? 

Could it be the result of H's reflux that had landed on me and the fact that I just now, at the dr's office realized that I smelled of vomit? 

Could it be the nurse giving me the shots too far to the center of my arms leaving me with sore, bumpy arms?

Could it be the fact that I had to give E a time out at the dr's office since she broke the rules we had just discussed before entering the building? 

Could it be the lunch (tuna) smeared all over my 1 year old's face and hair? 

Could it be the fact that I had to give her a bath before nap time since I was not about to put tuna baby down on freshly cleaned sheets. 

Could it be the toy microphone echoing in E's hands during H's nap time?

Well, as you can tell I'm having "one of those days" today. And although all of the above things mentioned stinks, literally or figuratively speaking, the thing that stinks the most about today is my response to the day, my attitude. That broken glass I mentioned above was from me being mad at E for leaving yet another glass out for H to spill so I threw it in the sink. Yeah, it looked like crushed ice, that's how much it shattered. How can I expect my 4 year old to make good choices when mine are clearly bad? I just can't seem to shake this attitude today and with each added thing it's not getting any better. So I sat down for a quick minute to see if any blogs were updated. Because that's what you do when you're upset at everything, right? Well, of course the only thing updated I hadn't already read was from this Godly woman. Not what I felt like reading right then and there but I clicked on the link anyways and Oh. Did. I. Need. Her. Blogpost. Today!!! I think she wrote with me in mind. Well, since she has no idea who I am, that I even exist, or read her blog it was probably written through her, by God, with me (and others like me) in mind. Check it out to see what I mean...

Chowder - iPhone Meditaion

I never thought I needed an iPhone. And to be honest, I still don't think I need it, but oh, do I enjoy it. Like the time I had to wait in line at Walmart for almost an hour. To buy something for $8. And I know I could have walked out of there without my item, but I had been searching high and low for it so I didn't want to risk it being out of stock later on.

A while ago I discovered another perk. I recently started memorizing Bible verses in English. I figured after being here for 8+ years it's about time to switch to English, right? This is where the iPhone comes in handy with all its apps. I have a few different Bible apps, all free ones I think. But I mostly use this one:

What I really like about it is all the different versions available. So when I go to read a new verse I look it up in a bunch of different versions. Not to find the one that best tickles my ear, but to find the one that is easiest for me to understand. Being a foreigner and all that... Now I have been doing this for a few months and recently come to realize that this process actually makes me meditate on the verse for awhile. Reading it over and over again and kind of looking at it from different angels. I love it! So much that I just had to share it with y'all. It's like breathing in happy air. If that makes sense to anyone but myself I don't know. I might have just lost most of you right there so with all that said... yay for the iPhone, and more Yay!! for the Word of God!

It's Personal - Celebrating ONE

My baby turned ONE last month and we had a little party for her a couple of weeks ago. I thought I would guide you through her special day. 

You are cordially invited...

 

Are you getting hungry? Just dig in!

We had crackers with cheese and pepperoni, veggies and dip and some fruit and berries. The guests were also munching down some Swedish bullar (those are the cinnamon/cardamom rolles you might spot there. They are not covered in salt. It's sugar. Pearl Sugar), popcorn balls, chocolate dipped pretzels, yogurt covered raisins, biscotti, and oreo cake pops.

If you're getting thirsty and are wondering where on earth that hot chocolate bar is I must admit that I forgot to take pictures of it. But it had whipped cream, instant coffee for all the mocha fans and marshmallows. I forgot the crushed peppermint canes at home. 

What about the birthday girl, you might wonder.

She was stunning as always.

Yes, I made my walker crawl, just so I could get some pictures of her little behind. I'm in love with those bloomers, what can I say?

I made the tutu myself, but the onesie and the bloomers are from Marina's Monogramming. She was great to work with. I highly recommend her!

Look at that cake! It was gorgeous. And soo delicious! I hope I won't offend anyone when I say that I normally prefer Swedish cakes over American. They just taste better. But this one tasted just like a cake pastry thing from home and I actually had seconds. If you ever need a cake I can recommend my baker friend! Just let me know.

The birthday girl is gorgeous too! And messy. Just like she's supposed to be.

Her tutu was never put back on after the cake, but with those bloomers, who cares?

Her sister kept decorating cookies all day long. They were shaped like snow flakes before I baked them...

Sorry about the random snowflake in the middle. I made these huge snowflakes out of poster boards and hung them from the ceiling, but forgot to take pictures. So I snuck one in here. It's from when it was drying in our basement. Oh, well.
 

 I don't mean to kick you out, but if you're leaving please grab a party favor. 

Gluten free, white, sparkly, homemade playdough for the kids,

Chocolates for the adults and

Puffs for the little ONEs.

Now all I need to do is schedule a photo shoot with my favorite photographer and I can make and send out some thank you cards.

Thanks for stopping by our Winter ONEderland!

Something to do - Play Makeup

Do you have a daughter that likes to play with your makeup? Do you have makeup that you don't use because someone once gave you a box with totally not your color eye shadow? Or something like that. I do. And while hopping from link to link to various blogs using my iPhone I stumbled upon this great idea to turn my box of wrong colors into play makeup for my girl. If I would have been using my computer I could have put a link to the original post, but like I said, I was on my cell on some blog I normally don't follow. Totally would though if I were to stumble upon it again.

The whole idea is to pour some sort of glue on top of your makeup and let it dry. Most glues dries clear, make sure yours does too. I used Stampin' Up's crystal effects. There will be air bubble to pop. Just use a needle. Be careful not to push the needle down into the makeup itself as it can smear into the glue. Mine didn't and I hit the makeup a few times. As you can see on my picture I wasn't able to pop all of my air bubbles. The glue dried too fast and I had to stop popping bubbles or they would turn into holes. But my girl doesn't care about them anyways.

Another little tip is to be patient. Don't touch until completely dry, which can take hours, or you can end up with finger prints. I totally messed up with one of the squares before it was dry, leaving a big dent in it and I was bumming, thinking I messed up the whole project. Not fun considering it's quite time consuming. But I guess crystal effects is my friend. It healed itself over night. Yay!

Now I really feel like running down to the dollar store to pick up some cheap makeup and make some more. She could use a blush, right?

Yummy for my Tummy - Snack Time

I was looking through the pictures I took with my phone in January to see which ones to save and which ones could go and found a picture of my snack. Kind of random, you might think, but I find myself taking pictures of my food all the time. And this one made me hungry so I'm definitely on my way over to the pantry and fridge to dig out a couple of plain, unsalted rice cakes, some roasted red pepper Tribe hummus and some cucumber. And sprinkle with a tiny pinch of kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper. My mouth is watering as I'm writing. Just look at the picture and you will understand why. Yum! Or Mums! (See, I snuck in a little Swedish lesson for you there.)

Ok, so I'm drooling. Gotta go!