Meet Pepper

After our last hamster died a year ago . . . I promised myself we would not get another one.

But then I noticed that something was missing in my sweet Caroline's life. 

She is so happy when she has an animal to care for.

I thought a hamster would probably be less of a commitment than a dog.

It is kinda cute.

Favorites on Fridays

Favorite Lip Gloss:  C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries

Well, as many of you know . . . I turned the big 4-0 recently.

I received several fun gifts from my sweet friends.

One gift was a set of three lip glosses from Bath and Body Works.

I had no idea that I was going to like them so much.

They are very, very minty, which I love.



I keep one in my junk drawer in the kitchen.

Mentha Lip Shine

100% Natural Mint

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I keep one in my makeup case.  I like to put the lip gloss on several minutes before my lipstick.

Mentha Organics Sheer Lip Tint

Just Blushed

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And I keep one in my purse.

Mentha Lip Shine

Vanilla Mint

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I didn't have chapped lips at all this winter because I was always putting on the lip gloss! 

I just love how they smell and feel.

It's the little things, right??

:) 

Spring is in the Air

What a wonderful day it was!

It has been such a long winter, hasn't it??

Today's warm weather was so very needed.

We've been cooped up way too long.

I'm so excited that Spring is actually on its way.

I was beginning to wonder if it would ever come.

My outlook on life seems to be so much brighter when the weather is nice . . . is that how you are, too?

We are dogsitting for our neighbor's sweet dog, Josie.  Luke says he doesn't like dogs . . . do you think he means it?

Blessed

What has happened in Japan is devastating.
Beyond words.
It's hard to sit here and not know what to do to help.

Simple things we have are such blessings.
I almost started to complain about the cold this morning and then I stopped.
We have a warm home.
A bed to crawl into at night.
A cozy kitchen to bake in.
A piano to practice on.

Beki at The Rusted Chain is doing something to help the people in Japan.
She is selling these "Blessed" necklaces and for every one she sells, she is donating $10 to World Vision.

I'm going to order mine right now. 

It will be a good reminder to me of how blessed we really are.  Order yours today, too!!

(Go here to order!)

Favorites on Fridays

I decided to start doing Favorites on Fridays again!!

Favorite Kid Shampoo : Circle of Friends

One day as I was giving one of my babies a bath, I was reading all of the ingredients listed on the bottle of baby shampoo.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate just didn't sound good to me and I found out I was right.  (If you are interested in reading about the dangers of these two ingredients, look here.)I know that some of you will think I am a little crazy being worried about stuff like this . . .
you're right. :) 
I am. 
And that's OK. 
We all have our "issues".


All of Circle of Friends' shampoos are tearless, made with natural botanicals, and are FREE of Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate.
They are a little pricy, but they last a long time and I think it is worth it. 
And they come in really cool fragrances.  Our favorite is raspberry, but they come in chocolate, pineapple, banana, mandarin orange, blueberry, and even root beer!

 

In the summer, we use their swimmers' shampoo to help with the chlorine damage.

The little boy on the bottle even looks like Luke. :)

We get our shampoo at Kidsnips, a fun place for kids to get their hair cut.  But you can also get them here.

p.s.... I am not getting paid for this endorsement. (but maybe I should be??)

Under the Sea

I was going through some old pictures and came across Caroline's fifth birthday pictures.

She wanted an "under the sea" theme.
This cake was super easy to make (the "sand" was brown sugar)and I loved how it turned out.

Here are the stairs leading down to "the ocean" . . .

. . . and here is "the ocean".

I taped white Christmas lights all over the walls of the basement, then I covered them with blue plastic tablecloths (they came in a huge roll from the party supply store.)  The kids made fish to hang up everywhere.
I also hung streamers and balloons all over the ceiling to make the girls feel like they were under water.

(I obviously had way more time and energy then!!)

We played a few games.  The favorite was the "fishing booth" . . . Jake was hiding behind it and when the girl's line would come down, he would attach a prize (stuffed ocean animal) on it.

I think Caroline had fun. :)

I can't believe how much she has grown since these pictures . . .she is 8 now . . . time sure does fly.

I can't wait to start planning her ninth birthday party.

What will the theme be????

CAN

I just had to share this with you.