The Secret to Having it All......

Monday, June 22, 2015

VBS 2015 - Day 1

-VBS 2015-

Camp Discovery

Grades 3 & 4

Teacher: Lulabelle

Helpers: Susan, Hallie, & Alyssa

Day 1

Lesson:

God Makes David Bold (Jesus gives me courage.) 1 Samuel 17:1-51

Snack:

Lulabelle did a big tray of fruit & cheese kabobs, I made s'mores cupcakes. Our theme this year is Camp Discovery, so I have a feeling there will be LOTS of marshmallows and Hershey bars eaten this week.

I made chocolate cupcakes w/ marshmallow frosting.

Easy Marshmallow Frosting

1 stick butter (room temperature)

1 cup confectioners sugar (10x)

1 - 7 oz. jar marshmallow cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together butter and sugar until creamy. Stir in (by hand) marshmallow and vanilla. Mix well. Put in piping bag (or in my case, a ziploc bag with the end snipped off) and frost. Top with graham crackers crumbs and chocolate.

I also saw a cute idea for the punch...."BUG JUICE"....which I copied. :O)

Craft:

We made bird seed feeders!

I <3 Pinterest! :O)

Music Time!

A good first day of VBS!!!

Saturday, June 20, 2015

[boat ride]

We took a boat ride after dinner. It was a little choppy (and hot), but I can't miss an oppertunity to be out on the water. We spotted TONS of birds and I got some pretty good pictures.

birthday wishes....

Happy 20th Birthday NATHAN!!!!

What a sweet, loving, smart, handsome young man you have grown to be. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital. Dr. Lindsay decided to put me in a week early (since your brother had been so big and came so quickly). You weighed 9 lbs. and you were 21.5" long. What a big boy!! Your Dad was in the delivery room when you were born, and your Gran, Pop, and Bub were waiting to see you. You were a very good baby (except for those few weeks of colic). For the first year or so, you were very quiet and easy going, but by the time you hit your 2nd birthday, you came out of your shell! You had the sweetest personality, but boy could you get fiesty! You have always been strong willed and let's not forget your schedule! You have lived by the clock since you were old enough to read the time on the microwave......at 3 yrs. old!! Your favorite toys were TY Beanie Babies. You had hundreds of them, which you ripped the tag off as soon as you got one (you said they didn't look real with the tag on). :O) You loved the Lion King, and animals - of any kind. For several months, you went around with a rope tied to the back of your belt loop, letting it drag behind you. You said it was your tail. LOL So cute!!! You lived in your pjs and were content to stay home most of the time. You were 4 when you learned to ride your little bike. You said "Mom, I'm going to ride my bike to Gran's house", I told you that you hadn't learned how to ride without training wheels yet, but guess what?, after a little push, you rode your bike all the way to Gran's that day! Once you started Kindergarten, you found out there was a whole big world out there that you wanted to see (this ended your wanting to stay at home in your pjs) and you were constantly on the go, wanting to be outside all the time. You loved to go fishing, crabbing, and looking for bugs. You had a pet turtle and later you got your own kitty, Jaxson, who you loved to death!! You were a very determined and concientious child (still are). You respect your Dad & I, as well as others you are in contact with. You love your family and show us every day. Even though there are 7 yrs. between you and your Bub, you have grown so close, especially after our family trip to FL. You love sports...I know you must be the biggest Bears, Orioles, Lakers, Flames fan in the world. When I close my eyes and picture you in my mind, I see my sweet boy with an Orioles jersey on and a glove & ball in your hand. You love spending time with all of your family, and really enjoyed going to your Gran & Pop's house. You even gotten Pop back into watching sports again! You have been such a joy to us! You keep us on our toes at all times, when we tend to go with the flow, you are the one who keeps us straight, you always have a plan. You are silly one minute and super serious the next. You tell us every day how much you love us and always kiss us goodnight, what a way to end the day! You graduated from high school and two months later you had a job on the tugboat. In less than two years, you have already obtained your AB and tankerman's ticket, and will begin training on the barge soon. We are so proud of you and are anxious to see what the years ahead have in store for you!

Nathan, I hope you know just how much we love you!!!

Hope today is special, just like you!!
We'll celebrate when you get home next week.

Happy Birthday!!!!

Mom & Dad

xoxo

Friday, June 19, 2015

5 on friday: cleaning tips

Cleaning Tips & Tricks

(1) Daily Cleaning

Using a timer is my best trick for keeping on top of daily cleaning. I spend less than an hour a day on cleaning, but have finally found the secret to keeping the house clean & tidy!

I set the timer for 10 minutes per room and get going!!

I normally start in the laundry room, starting a load of clothes, folding and putting away any clothes from the dryer. I Swiffer vacuum the floor, shake the rug, and Glass Plus both doors (as needed). One day a week, I mop the floor.

Move on to the kitchen, I unpack/pack the dishwasher, Swiffer vacuum the floor, shake rugs, and take out something for dinner. One day a week, I mop the floor. I wipe down the counters daily as I do the dishes.

Next, the bedrooms (usually just ours since Nathan is gone 2 weeks out of the month). Daily=make bed, once a week=change sheets, vacuum, and dust.

For the living room, daily=Swiffer vacuum wood floor and straighten up, once a week=vacuum area rug, scrub floor, and dust.

For the front room, daily=straighten up, once a week=vacuum and dust.

Bathroom: daily= wipe down with Lysol wipes, once a week=clean!!

This absolutely works for me, especially since starting back to work. I hate coming home to a messy house and this is a quick & easy way to keep the house clean and tidy!

(2) Spring Cleaning

I found the best way to Spring Clean the house this year: Clean One Wall a Day. It took me several weeks to finish the entire house, but it seemed less overwhelming and it allowed me plenty of time to do other things with my day.

I only cleaned one wall a day. That's it. Of course, that meant that I spent about a week in each room.

Ex. I started in our bedroom.
Wall #1 / day 1 - wipe down wall, wash window, clean blind, air curtains, clean out nightstand.
Wall #2 / day 2 - wash all bedding and remake bed, wipe down wall, clean out second nightstand.
Wall #3 /day 3 - closet (clean out and organize), wipe down wall, organize dresser.

Wall #4 /day 4 - wipe down wall, organize file bench, and clean out armoire.

On Friday /day 5, I cleaned the ceiling fan and vacuumed the floor.

I spent no more than an hour or two a day cleaning and the rest of the house wasn't a mess like it usually is while I'm Spring Cleaning, plus I had time to other (more fun) things with my day!

I started after our vacation in February and finished the whole house and attic before starting back to work. Doing one wall a day made Spring Cleaning seem less overwhelming and I did a really thorough job without spending all day cleaning.

(3) Homemade Reusable Dryer Sheets