Before and After

This summer, I have had a LOT of time to sit in my backyard while watching my kiddos swim. I've been making a list of how we can improve our yard and the back of our house.

The other day, I realized that our kitchen window could look so much better.

before

Sooo . . .now it looks like this.

after

All it took was about $30 worth of supplies. ($20 for the shutters and $11 for the shelf on clearance at Hobby Lobby . . . I already had the pots)

This is what it looks like from inside our kitchen.

Nice to look at while I'm doing the dishes and counting my blessings. :)

Easy Bruschetta

We had some good friends over tonight for a swim and a poolside barbeque. I made bruschetta for the first time. It turned out really well, I think!! Here is how I did it. (with the help of Whole Foods Market . . . I love that place almost as much as I love TJ's . . . almost)

I bought a tub of their delicious heirloom tomato bruschetta mixture.

I also bought a French baguette that was already sliced.

I brushed olive oil on one side of each piece of bread and put in on the top rack of the oven at 450* for about 5 minutes. (olive oil side down)

Then I took it out of the oven and put the slices of bread (olive oil side up) on a platter and put the bruschetta mixture on each one and served it immediately.

Oh yum . . . and fresh!! It had just the right amount of garlic and cilantro in it.

SO Easy!! And delicious!!

If you don't have a Whole Foods Market to help you out, you can find all kinds of bruschetta recipes online when you Google it.

(p.s. that is not really my picture of my bruschetta . . . I didn't take one because I was too busy with my company to think about taking a picture . . . I just found one on SimplyRecipes.com that looked like mine.)

Summer Saturday

At 4:00 in the morning, I never would have guessed that Jake would still have his game today, but the horrible storm passed and everything dried up. They ended up losing, but they fought hard and the score was close. I am always so proud of Jake and his team.

After the game, we did a lot of swimming.

I am so thankful for our pool!!

We have really used it a lot this summer.
We are having some old neighbor friends of ours over for dinner tomorrow night.

I am trying to decide what to make.

I'm thinking about making bruschetta for an appetizer. (I've never made it before.) I'll let you know how that turns out. :)

I think we will just have grilled cheeseburgers with all the fixin's, strawberry spinach salad, chips, fruit, and s'mores for dessert.

I love summer . . . entertaining is so much easier when you can grill and eat outdoors!

I Heart Trader Joe's

If you know me at all, you know that I love to shop at Trader Joe's.

I love their unique and healthy food, their friendly workers, and the cheerful atmosphere in the store.

It just makes grocery shopping . . . fun.

(and their prices are reasonable, too!!)

Here are a few of my latest finds:

Fresh basil . . .

isn't it pretty??

Sparkling Berry Lemonade . . .

perfect for sipping on a hot summer day.

Fresh peaches . . .

don't you just love how they are packaged?? They are soooo fresh. The kids LOVE them.

(so do I)

Blueberries!!! . . .

so many of them for not so much $$

(these didn't last long)

Sweet Potato Fries . . .

these were delicious with grilled steaks!

I always try to find something new to love at Trader Joe's and I am always successful. I love that store!

More Baseball Fun

Jake's team won tonight!!

They played a team that absolutely creamed them two days ago. This time we almost slaughter-ruled them!

What a difference a couple of days make!! :)

These sisters of the players get a lot of time to play together during the games. :) I'm thankful that they have each other. (they play with Luke as well) They are supposed to have a game at 9 in the morning tomorrow, but unfortunately, it is supposed to rain tonight and in the morning.

It's too bad, because we are ready to play after a great win!!

Yummy Granola Recipe

I got this recipe from my friend, Polly, at www.YogaIsYummy.net . I make it at least 3 times a week. We use it as cereal and we also like to make yogurt parfaits with it.

Yumm!!

1 tbsp salted butter

1/3 cup peanut butter OR almond butter

1/3 cup honey

tsp vanilla

3 cups thick cut oats

Melt first 4 ingredients til smooth. Mix with oats. Bake at 375* for about 10 - 15 minutes. (I bake it for about 10, stirring after 5 minutes so it doesn't get too brown.)

Wheaton Saints Win!!

Jake's team WON two games in a row!!

He is #2, second row center, with his hands on his hips.

You go, Jake!!

Paper Clutter

A couple of weeks ago, my mom helped me go through a TON of my paperwork. (thanks, Mom!!)

For some reason, this is one of my biggest areas that I need help with. This morning I read this in one of the blogs I follow (http://www.centsationalgirl.com/) :

“Paper clutter causes stress because our paper represents things we need to do (such as pay the bills) or things we may want to do (use this coupon to get a new pair of shoes) or things we think we should do (donate money to the Heart Association) or things we’d like to do (read about the plight of the honey bee and figure out what we can to help) or things we want to remember (this ticket stub because the circus was so much fun).

Therefore, each piece of paper has a sense of obligation associated with it. A stack of paper nags at you, “You should be doing something about me…” which makes it very difficult to relax or even work in a focused manner when you’re in a room piled high with stacks of paper.”

I agree!!

That's my problem!!

There is an online workshop available to help me solve my constant paperwork problem here.

I'm trying to figure out if I am going to take it!

I'll let you know!!

* * * * *

Aren't these roses pretty? I picked them from my garden.

I just love having free flowers all summer!

:)

Caroline's Butterflies

Caroline was one happy little girl when she saw this box on our doorstep!
She ordered 10 caterpillars from California and waited patiently for two whole weeks for them to arrive.

I wonder what the mailman thought.

:)

Then she waited patiently for them to turn into chrysalids. (I had never heard that term before these came in the mail . . . I always thought it was chrysalis's . . . I think both are correct)

Anyway . . .as soon as they all turned into chrysalids, we attached them to her butterfly tent.

In about 10 days, they all began to hatch!! ALL of them!! How wonderful! They were Painted Lady butterflies.

Caroline enjoyed taking them out to "play", then she let them go (one each day).

It was really a great experience to watch the miracle of metamorphosis. God is amazing . . . to be able to change an ugly caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly like that. Just think of what he can do with us, if we let Him.

:)

Caroline's Cast

Caroline is doing really well with her cast. Thank goodness it is waterproof!

What a blessing!!

I think I am doing pretty well with my 30 day "No Mumblin, No Grumblin" challenge. (Today is Day 4 already)

Life is so much better when I try to focus on the positive instead of the negative . . . try it, you'll like it!

:)

Being Positive (about broken bones?)

Today, John and I were excited because for the first time in a LONG time, we were going to be able to go out to dinner alone.

Someone had offered to watch the kids and John had received a gift card to eat out for an end of the year present.

Perfect . . . free babysitters, free dinner.

BUT, about an hour before we were supposed to go . . . .I can't believe it . . . Caroline broke her arm . . . again!!

She was swinging from the pole on our little swing set and she jumped down, landed wrong, and broke her left arm.

:(

I am trying my best to be positive about this.

It is kind of ironic because just this morning I decided that I was going to try to not complain so much about things. My favorite radio station (K-Love . . . I am sure you all get it, too) is having a "No Mumblin', No Grumblin' 30 Day Challenge". They have been talking about it for some time now and I think they are on day 21. I have loved hearing about how this challenge has been making such a difference in their lives.

Soooo . . . I decided I must try it and I happily declared this morning that I was officially starting my complaint-free 30 days.

OK . . . then this happened.

I thought of the challenge right away. I decided that I needed to be positive and handle the situation without feeling sorry for myself, blaming anyone, or being angry about it. Everything went much smoother that way!

I was shocked, actually.

I really believe that life IS better when you count the positive things (blessings) instead of focusing on the negatives.

Some positive things about Caroline breaking her arm today:

* it was a buckle fracture instead of breaking the entire bone

*she got a short cast instead of a long arm cast

*her cast is waterproof (swimming can still happen!!)

* I found an orthopaedic doctor that I love

*the doctor and his nurses stayed in the office extra long to take care of Caroline (we called 15 minutes before they were closing and they still told us to come on in. . .they would wait for us) This was a HUGE blessing because it is Friday and we would have had to have waited all weekend for her to see an orthopaedic doctor (been there . . . not fun)

* it was her left arm

I could easily make a long list of all the negatives, but I won't because they are obvious and it wouldn't do me any good, right??

Caroline is doing well . . she picked out a pretty purple cast (I'll post a pic tomorrow) and she is liking the extra attention. We went out for dinner (with the kids, of course) and came home and watched a movie. And now she is sleeping in our bed. (breaking your arm does have perks, you know)

I encourage you to try the "30-day No Mumblin', No Grumblin' Challenge." It's fun, really!

Some Things I Love

I love how sitting in a "cool fort" in the trees for hours while their brother plays looong baseball games is actually fun.

I love this little boy.

I love this big boy.

I love togetherness and camaraderie.

I love simple things like Popsicles that make life a little happier.

I love dads who love their kids.

I love that Jake's team won a game on Sunday.

I love watching Jake play baseball and I love that he is learning important life lessons this year.

SUMMER

Well . . . it is officially SUMMER!!!

Here is Jake on his last day of fourth grade with his adorable teacher, Mrs. Mulsoff. We really like her and we are going to miss her. Jake had a great year!We decided to celebrate a good school year at the kids' favorite restaurant, Maggiano's. (they LOVE their fetuccini alfredo!)

The waitress put a candle in Jake's ice cream for all A's on his report card! What a great start to our summer break.

Sneak Peek at Family Room

OK . . . we have been very busy, so the family room is still not completed. We are loving how it looks so far, though. I kind of like taking my time to do the finishing touches. That is definitely my very favorite part.

I LOVE these curtains that I found at IKEA. (the Matilda curtains) I love how they brighten up the room and I also love that they come in a super long length so I can hang them close to the ceiling and they still have material left to pool on the floor. They are exactly what I was looking for.

* * Thank you, Kimba, from A Soft Place to Land (http://www.asoftplace.net/ ) for the idea!!* *

Aren't they lovely??

I love this fun birdhouse that my neighbor gave me for the room. (can you tell I love the color white?)

Here are the new baseboards that we put up after the board and batten was installed. (I LOVE how it turned out!)

I decided to try some vinyl letters on the wall and I was completely delighted with the results. I told John that every room in our house is soon going to have vinyl sayings on the walls. (Unfortunately, he didn't give me the OK to do that . . . shucks!)

I will post more pics soon . . . people have been asking me for "after" pictures, but I don't want to show the whole room until it is completely finished. Soon, very soon.
Oh, by the way, don't you just loooove these peonies that I got from my neighbor??? God is such an artist! Beautiful!! I am going to plant some of these in our back yard for sure!!

Please stay tuned for my family room "after" pictures. We just need to figure out how to mount a TV on a brick fireplace. Details.

Summer Fun

Today, Caroline had a play date with her good buddy, Alie. We were so happy that the weather was nice enough to swim. (it was chilly this morning!) We keep the pool at 85*, so the kids were pretty happy in the water. :)

Caroline brought out a couple of her butterflies. (she had ten caterpillars and ALL of them hatched . . . I will do a post on that soon)

What a fun play date! We are looking forward to many more this summer. :)