christmas gifts

Here is a Gift Idea!!

This is a free printable owl calendar.  I made is for christmas gifts last year and I love it!
Enjoy
http://www.myowlbarn.com/p/owl-lover-2013-calendar.html

fall photo shoot

Here are some pics of my sweet neighbors!

I will start with my favorite...

Not bad for a five minute photoshoot!

pre-freeze harvest

It is going to freeze tonight.  That makes me sad for many reasons...

1. It is the beginning of a cold and gloomy five months.
2. I have to bundle two boys and shove them into car seats whenever we leave the house.
3. My plants outside all die or go dormant.

Today I picked the rest of my flowers and harvested some brussel sprouts.

In case you don't know how brussel sprouts grow, here are pics.

















The flowers weren't too shabby either.

Yes!  That is a George Washington vase!  We are very patriotic!

 

 herbs and mums.                                                              I hope these Canna Lillies bloom.

We ate these sprouts and they were good.  Here is a really simple roasted brussel sprout recipe:

cut sprouts in half

drizzle with olive oil until coated

sprinkle with salt and pepper (you can also add other herbs-I added rosemary)

 toss and spread out on a baking sheet

bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until desired crispness

Enjoy!

                           
In the spirit of Thankfulness, I am going to list three good things about the cold weather:
1. It includes holidays, vacation, family, one kids birthday, and lots of indoor snuggling.
2. I like the shift in wardrobe and cuisine.  More sweaters and soup.
3. I don't have to water my yard everyday.  :)

There it is.  Winter/Cold weather isn't too bad!

Operation Christmas Child is my favorite charity.  Even before I had kids, I was a box filler.  After I had kids my heart opened up to all children in a different way.  All kids need love and Operation Christmas Child gives them a tiny bit of that.
Parents of these children need love as well.  The thought of not being able to give my kids something for Christmas makes me so sad.  I not only want to fill boxes for the sweet kids who open them, but also for their moms and dads of these kids who get to see their kid smile!

This morning my MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group filled boxes for this charity.  I thought I would share the process with you just in case you felt like participating!

First step:
Get a Box- any shoe box will work

Decide if you want to fill it for a boy or girl and what age.  Then fill it with goodies! (there is more information on what to put into the boxes on the website)

Take it to a drop off location with $7 for shipping-

Here is the link if you want/need more information
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Whatevs

Today this happened while I was putting in a load of laundry...2 minutes people.

There were three options of how to handle it:
1.  Yell and freak out
2.  fall into the fetal position and cry
3.  sigh, discipline, and laugh about it

In this case I made a good choice and put my little paper elf in time out-far away from me.
He was sorta sorry and helped me clean it up.











 Parenting isn't for sissy's

summer zoo trip!

So, this summer we went to the zoo in Omaha.  It is amah-zing.  I loved it all.  The aquarium and butterfly house were my favorite.
We stayed at a lake house outside of the city.  It was peaceful and quiet.  Here is the view from the deck. 

This Macaw was so beautiful.  He/She was in the open air and I could have pet it...but I didn't Omaha Zoo officials.

Did I mention the butterfly house?

Or the aquarium?  One of my favorite animals is the Puffin.

I had never seen one until this fine day!! The puffins were so playful and adorable.  I didn't get a very good shot of them, because someone wanted to be held...which is fine with his momma.

One thing that is so depressing about zoos is the animal cages.  I loved that all of these birds had this huge area to live.  They were nesting and carrying on as if they weren't captives. 

 (to the best of my knowledge)

Just want to give a shout out to Sarah...what a good friend!!

The moral of this post is, "Go the the Omaha Zoo"

First House Tour!!

My Grandma's House Y'all!

Grandma has a unique since of style that is always fresh and timeless.  I have wanted to capture her house for a long time...

 Here is the exterior.  Bungalow....I think.  My Grandparents remodeled this house and basically gutted it.

 I love the mix of
modern and classic.

 Grandma is really good at color.  She has the gift.

She made all of those beads!!

Since my Grandma's house is so awesome, I could have added a million more pics.  You get the jist.

new beginnings

Nothing gives a mom hope like new life!
Who doesn't love tiny hands, toes, wings....that is right, wings.  We had the privilege of watching a robin family right outside our window!  Here are a few pics.  I will tell you that I risked my life to get these shots!  Our little mama bird is protective!

one day old!!

two days old!!