Storytime

I used to read to the kids every night before bed. But we have the same books and I really got tired of reading the same ones over and over and over again. (really need to get some new books)

It was then that I remembered we used to do story time with Matthew when he was little because we would giggle at the adorableness that would come out of his mouth. 

So I've started back up this tradition of storytelling with David. 

We usually do the back and forth storytelling. I tell a little bit until he feels like filling in. 

This was his story the other day. 

A:Once upon a time, there was a little boy named...

D: DAVID!!

A: David and his mommy decided to go into the garden to pick some vegetables for a salad!

D: then they found a worm!!

A: yes, they found a worm and David picked it up and the worm crawled all over his arm.

D:  then David climbed on da worm and they flew away!! (makes flying noises)  Then the worm fell out of the sky!! (AAHHHH!!!) And David broke his foot.

A: So then his mommy picked him up and took him to the doctor to get his foot fixed. The End.

D: Awww....Phank you Mommy.

Hats and Scarves

Matthew has been wearing this hat and scarf combo for the past couple of days. I rather like it.

The hat he acquired from his Uncle Bear and I made the scarf especially for him.

 He's been quite camera shy lately so when I suggested we take some pictures and he agreed, I was shocked. 

Not so surprisingly, he totally hammed it up for the camera.

 I had to get David in on the hat/scarf fun. They both pull it off so well!

 I only wish David had been wearing a different shirt. But this was an impromptu photo shoot so I just tried not to let it bother me too much.

 *kissie face!!!

This last one is a Matthew original. He decided he needed a mustache to complete his look. 

Gotta love him!

Donut Heaven

About a week ago someone in my little family suggested making homemade yeast donuts. I don't remember who it was, maybe my dear husband who is well known for his massive sweet tooth. Either way the thought of  homemade yeast donuts  instantly had us all drooling. Matthew signed up to be my side kick in the donut making process. He was instantly ready to get in there. He even went and washed his hands without having to be ask. (he's getting so big! *sniff*)

I had never made donuts, much less yeast donuts.  I may be kind of weird, but I can't stand anyone (mostly my children who demand attention) in the kitchen when I'm trying a recipe for the first time. I just need to be able to concentrate so that I don't waste food if I botch it up. There's a lot of pressure there. I never like throwing away food. Even though we now give the veggie scraps to the chickens and the meat scraps to the dog. But those scraps aren't nourishing my family...so yeah, pressure.

Attempt #1 you're supposed to heat up the milk, sugar and butter on the stove until the butter melts. Well I didn't consider that the milk mixture would get screaming hot and kill the yeast when I poured it in there. That was a flop. Didn't rise one little bit. 

Attempt #2 heated up  the milk mixture and then let it cool for about 5-10 minutes. I also made sure to watch it so it didn't get as hot as it did last time. 

Nope, that didn't help either. The yeast died and I was left with dough that was hard as a rock. I wanted to throw it at someone!! But I didn't, I simply threw it in the compost pile. 

After the second attempt I decided to do some research. Matt was concerned that my yeast was old and that's why it wasn't rising. So I checked online and found a little experiment

Take couple of teaspoons of yeast and sugar and add them to a glass of lukewarm water, Let sit for about 5 minutes. If it starts to foam then you know your yeast is good!! If not, well then it's time to restock.

I also found out that the milk mixture needs to be between 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Attempt #3 I took my newly discovered information and put it to the test. I dug out my candy thermometer and put together the milk mixture. I was shocked to discover that it took almost a half an hour to cool down to 90 F after getting everything melted. I just wasn't expecting that. 

Matthew then joined me in the kitchen. I felt pretty confident it was going to work this time. David was not allowed in the kitchen at that time because he becomes very needy and demanding. (I want a drink! No milk! I want water......umm, no. I want milk!) It's a bit tiring. Luckily Matt was home and swooped in to distract David with toys and good ol' rough-housing.   

Matthew and I measured and mixed. Then the hardest part. THE WAITING!!

(Would it rise!?! Would it fail?? Only time would tell!?!)

We waited an excruciating 60 minutes. I tried not to go into the kitchen during that time. And if I did, I did not make eye contact with the covered bowl sitting on the counter. 

The timer dinged (Matthew practically informed the entire neighborhood) 

SUCCESS!! THE DOUGH HAD RISEN!!

I won't bore you with the rest of the cooking process.

 We fried them up and topped with warm chocolate frosting. Oh yeah, they were divine!!

Matthew had just polished off his second donut when he practically floated into the kitchen proclaiming "I think I'm in Donut Heaven!"

Once I figured out all that I was doing wrong, they didn't take too long to make.

It looks like we may have the start of a family tradition on our hands. I can handle that.

Momma's Hot Cookies!

The local church here in Parnell had a Bible School for all the kids last Monday. It was a 2 hour event and even David was able to go. That meant a whole 2 hours with no kids at the house!!

Afterwards they had little performance we got to watch. David ran over and sat in our laps as soon as we were in sight. So he just sang in our laps. We spotted Matthew hanging out with his local buddies, they were singing with very goofy expressions. *sigh* What can you do...

We were then led down to the play area where they had made cookies and decorated hot pads while they were there. This was my favorite part.

Yes, that says "Momma's Hot Cookies."

That coupled with Matthew's hilarious smug look makes this whole thing priceless.

I couldn't love him more.

David enjoying a cookie with his baker's hat. He was very serious about the cookies.

Then Matt put on David's hat, because it made us all laugh.

David holding his beloved hot pad that he lovingly decorated.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Who needs TV with silly shows when I have unlimited entertainment right at my fingertips?

When David and Matthew are in the room (and are both in a good mood, this is key) it's like comedy hour at our house. They can really ham it up and it's hard to resist joining in on the fun.

Recently we held a "laughing contest" while my mom (aka Nana) was here. In case you don't know what that is, it's when you square off with an opponent and you each do whatever it takes to make the other person laugh without laughing yourself. I can't remember who won or lost, only that Nana lost within seconds of squaring off with Matthew. It was fun. We are never without an abundance of fun at our house.

I would like to say that I have truly been blessed with some amazing kids. It's an honor to be their mother.

This is David's rendition of Itsy Bitsy Spider

New Friends and Inspiration

A big THANK YOU to our friend Gina for introducing us to our new friends.

Gina had been pestering us for MONTHS to meet some friends of hers. They are family with 3 kids around our kids' age. But that's not what makes this awesome.

The reason Gina had been wanting to get us all together is because the husband, Jeremy, plays guitar. (and very well I might add!)

Matt has been a singer for years. But due to well...LIFE, he hasn't had much time to pursue his love of music.

Jeremy came over last night and they sat down and played around with some songs for a couple of hours. It was so lovely to hear my dear husband sing again. I had missed hearing him sing.

After he left we got the kids to bed and Matt watched his nightly episode of The Glenn Beck Show.

This particular episode was about Courage. Mr. Beck is gearing up for his Restoring Courage rally.

He told a story about how he recently had to deal with bullies.

His young daughter wanted him to go watch a movie at the park with her. He and his family went and as they were watching the movie someone "accidentally" kicked a bottle of wine, splashing the back of his wife's shirt and soaking the blanket they were sitting on.

His young daughter also had some people yelling unkind things to her.

The jeering continued until the end of the movie. At the end, when the Beck family got up to leave, those same bullies applauded their departure.

Now, he said there were a lot of GOOD people there, but nobody spoke up. Nobody told those bullies to cool their jets and just watch the movie!

I hope if I ever see someone being bullied, adult or child, I will have enough COURAGE to tell them to stop. I'm not a very outspoken person, but I believe in treating each other equally.

No matter what that person does or believes in, they are a human being, just like you and me.

You may not agree with the choices they are making, but it doesn't mean you can't show compassion towards them. You never know, it may be the only kindness they see all day.

So I kind of got off subject there, but I felt it was important to say.

The reason I wanted to share the COURAGE story is because after Matt watched that he went to the kitchen and did something I hadn't seen him do in YEARS! He sat down at the kitchen table and wrote a song! Jeremy came over today and they worked on putting the song together. I was very impressed with Matt's words. He inspires me to continue to pursue the things I love.

HE IS AWESOME!

Here is the song he wrote.

Courage to Conquer

The light shade has been pulled

shut because I can't watch the

hate anymore. The building of this nation

has been shattered into pieces.

Is there anyone to stand back up

to fight this disillusion?

I'm sitting alone, feeling the grief of a

million people dying. I pray to God

and the answer is clear to

stand up for what I believe in.

Even though I feel alone there

are others that are sleeping.

Wake up! Wake up!

Wake up because the

battle is coming. It's nothing new, but

it's my time now to raise the flag again for freedom.

Ask yourself, what do you believe in?

If you don't, you'll be deceived then.

Oh America the beautiful, God shed

His grace on thee, but now we've become

disillusioned that freedom is just free.

But oh America, sweet America, this

freedome has been taken. Lift up

your voice and sing with me as the

war continues brewing. And if it's blood

you want, then blood you'll get, but my

children will be free. Because you are few

and we are many, there's no chance you'll succeed.

Matt said this is just one of many songs that he will be writing, and that he may be adding more to this one.

I hope they continue to write songs and play them. I'm fine with them jamming in my living room (with kids running all over the place) as long as they can provide some songs for me to get happily stuck in my head.

Did I just turn into my husband's groupie? Yes, yes I did.

Muddy Cousins

This afternoon, I was charged to look after my own boys plus my nephew, Atom. No big deal, I thought. What's one more kid?

What I didn't realize is that a group of boys means mischief, especially if that group of boys are cousins.

I had been watching them from the kitchen where I was happily making homemade marshmallows. (They are delish!)

I peaked out once and they were digging in the dirt.

I peaked out again and they were washing the dirt off with the water hose and spraying each other with it.

I walked out the third time and found....this.

I had a moment of mental freak out where I said to myself "Their Dad/Uncle Matt is going to KILL them!! It's right in the garden area!!" But then I realized nothing was planted there and they were just having good um...clean, fun.

They wanted to go in right away and take showers but I insisted on taking them to the back and hosing them off first to get the top 30 layers of mud off first.

(I got no enjoyment on setting the hose sprayer to jet and watching them squirm, gotta get that dirt off somehow! *wink!*)

Super Goobs!!

There isn't really a whole lot to say about this picture. Basically...I got bored. I decided to start playing with my makeup. It was supposed to be a masquerade mask. I pranced around the house showing off my handy work. David kept looking at me strangely. He said "Mommy?? Mommy??" I knelt down and he gave me a big hug. I asked him if he would like to be a superhero. His face lit up and he sat still all of 2 minutes while I quickly drew on his face.

Matthew, always willing to one-up his brother, said "I can sit still for a long time!" So he sat down, told me his mask idea and I got to work.

My husband was a poor sport and wouldn't let me touch him with the makeup. I didn't pout though. I'd already had my makeup fill. Plus my boredom had been cured!!

Fun with Play-Doh

For Easter this year we got the kids some Play-doh. In the past I've tried making my own only to have David almost immediately try to eat it.

I felt he had matured some since so we decided to try it again. It was like love at first sight. Matt showed him how to make little worms by rolling a piece between his hands. He then spent the next half hour meticulously rolling little worms. It looked like my bed had been invaded! Ha!

Afterwards Matt (the husband) was playing with the play-doh and started applying it to the kids. The end result...Harry Potter kids!!

Matthew and David both donned their father's glasses to complete the Harry Potter look. Matthew found a stick and it instantly became a wand!!

Next up...wall art! This face thing was made by Matt and Matthew. Enough said.

David was inspired by the face thing and tried to make one himself.

This was the end result. I live with a bunch of goofballs!! But I love every second of it.

Quick product review: It's been a few years since I've bought Play-doh. I noticed that they changed the formula. Here's what I like.

~it doesn't become hard as a rock if you leave it out for 5 minutes.

~it doesn't meld with the other colors when you create.

~it doesn't stick to surfaces, or leave a color residue. (which is why I allowed the wall art. They cleaned it up afterwards and you can't tell it was ever there.)

Overall I am very pleased.

Invasion!!

The things we do to make our kids laugh...

The other night the electricity went out in our neighborhood. We had put the kids to bed about 30 minutes prior, so David was sound asleep when it happened.

Matt and I were busy lighting candles and finding flashlights when Matthew came down saying he couldn't sleep. The blackout had him a little freaked.

Matt, in an attempt to "lighten" the mood, started joking to Matthew that we were in the middle of an alien invasion. It started to make him feel better so I went ahead and took it a step further.

I whipped out the foil and fashioned some crude alien invasion hats for us. You know...so the aliens can't read our minds!!

We had fun sitting and posing on the bed. We sent him to bed about 10 minutes later. He felt much better and the electricity came on soon after that.

Hello little birdie! No, you may not eat my sunflower seeds.

One morning we all went outside with intentions to spend the day in the garden. We did, mostly until it got too insanely hot to be out there. Before we got to work I was called over to the sunflowers to observe something. Matt and Matthew had spotted a couple yellow finches snacking on our sunflowers. So I ran inside, grabbed my camera and proceeded to stalk them so that I could get as close as possible to get a shot. I actually got a couple until my little rhino (aka: David) decided to stomp and sing his way over to them. They promptly flew off. But it was still pretty cool to see what had been munching on our sunflowers. I had noticed a few days before that something had been eating them. Now I know, and I don't mind, they are very pretty birds.
Along with the birds we also had a hummingbird and some really pretty butterflies. But those were way too fast for me to capture with my camera. It was really serene sitting there watching the birds and butterflies that morning. At least until the afore-mentioned rhino showed up. Oh well, he's a cute little rhino.

And here he is, my little rhino. He climbed into the strawberry patch and just as I was getting ready to get onto him he throws his arms out and proclaims "TA-DA!" There was nothing I could do at that point besides take a picture. Sometimes he's just too cute for his own good.

After I was done taking pictures of the birds I discovered my next subject. It was an opportune time to get pictures of the boys. They were both dressed and in pretty good spirits.

Matthew was a good sport posing with the flowers even though he thought they were "kinda girly"

Farmer Matthew ready to go, grass in his mouth and all.



Of course David couldnt' have cared less about all of this. He was just happy being outside and stomping through the grass. I picked a flower for him to hold and he did just that, allowing me to take pictures of him. I kept trying to get a picture of him smelling the flower, but he was too quick for me. Then of course because he saw his brother doing it, he was pretending to eat his flower as well.

Of course no photoshoot is complete without a few goofy picutures.

David watches his brother like a hawk! He is consistently mimicking any and everything Matthew does. It's pretty darn adorable.

This is what I get when I try to get my boys to pose with flowers for too long.


After taking pictures of the boys I went around our property to take pictures of this years garden. I always like to look back at the year before and see what we did that yeaer. This year we decided to extend our garden and have 2. One in the front where the old house used to be, and one in the back where we had it last year. We made the one in the back slightly larger.

The front garden, these are our tomato plants.

front garden still, our corn stalks and zucchini plants.

here's a shot of our back yard looking down from the front. These are our sunflowers and zinnias that line the back fence.

Our first harvest of the season. This is not all of it, just what was ready at the time. We have red and yellow potatoes, carrots, and red, white and yellow onions.

My sweaty farmer man. Thank goodness I'm the one that likes to take the pictures cause I'm pretty sure I looked just as sweaty.

Fishing!

We went fishing today! As you can tell from the picture below, David was beyond excited when we got there.


Matt went fishing last night with the Young Men from our church and was inspired to try again today. You see, he didn't catch anything yesterday. But he came home with 3 bass that 2 of the young men had caught. So we went to a local spot that Matt knew of to try again.

This is what David did most of the time we were there. Sat on a blanket and sipped orange soda. He was very content to say the least.

Unfortunately we came home empty-handed. Not so much as a nibble! I did, however, catch a tree and some grass. But I'm not sure if that counts. At one point, I put my fishing pole down to take a break. David took this opportunity to snatch it up and try his hand at fishing. After all it didn't look that hard! "All I have to do is stick this pole-thingy in the water. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!"

Matthew getting some last minute advice about casting from Dad.

As you may be able to tell I did more picture-taking than fishing. I've never been a patient fisher, but I just couldn't pass up this beautiful landscape. I just had to snap away!

Our sweet, adorable, ornery 2 year old. Always keeping us on our toes.

This kid is getting older every time I look at him. It's so hard for me to believe he will be 10 this August. I've never kept ANYTHING alive that long. I love having him around. Between him and David, we are always entertained!

I think this is my new favorite picture. I may be a little biased though, I think he's a pretty handsome dude.

And lastly, a short video of David "fishing."