One Fine Day in February

It all started with a beautiful sunrise...

Monkey Bread Gets Brownie Points

This past Sunday we decided to stay home for church.  Since 8 out of 9 of us were sick, it seemed like a pretty good idea. : )  Elijah ended up preaching and it was sweet.  But before church, we needed to eat.  So, in keeping with my Miss Motivated self, I decided to attempt to oblige Noah's request for "Monkey Bread."  I used to make this all the time back when I shopped at Aldi and bought those cheap refrigerator biscuits.  But I haven't tried it since I became an extreme tightwad.

Well, I have been seriously missing out!  This was soooooo much better!!

Spring Has Sprung!

 I just found these beautiful photos on my desktop this morning.  Graci took them yesterday.  She'll probably be putting them on her blog soon, but I couldn't resist sharing them with you.

  Yay Spring!!!

Miss Motivated Returns

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything very philosophical.

I'm gonna blame it on the Happy Light.

 It's true.

There I was in a full-blown winter depression, waxing eloquent on all that is wrong in the world, feeling pretty darn miserable, reading articles about SAD and believing every word....   and then it happened.

 I decided that enough was enough.

Celebrating Patience

 I was gonna write a big long serious post about Patience for her birthday.  I was going to tell you about the amazing story of her birth and the scary three weeks spent on bed rest, and the dreadful induction three weeks early.  I'd tell you about the time I was sent to the hospital for several ultrasounds, an overnight stay and a possible emergency C-section several weeks early, all while my husband was away at training with the army.  And then I'd mention how my midwives came to the hospital to pray for me, and the next ultrasound showed everything was perfect and they sent me home.  And then I'd tell you how the cord was around her neck and my midwife did such an amazing job with the delivery.  And how some things that seem to be going so terrible end up so great. 

Van Moments, The Sound Off

I warned you...  : )

     Yep, we're nerds.

       

Getting Into Chickens

Well, it looks like it's time to start chickening.  According to the displays in our local Tractor Supply Company (one of my favorite stores, by the way) it's time for peeps.  Since I'm already up to my eyeballs in eggs, I'm not going to order any right now.  We'll probably let our hens hatch a few just for fun, though.  But just in case you're thinking about getting ready to raise your own laying hens, I thought you might like to see my collection of ideas that inspired us to get our own chicken operation going.

A Little Miracle

Today is my baby boy's 5th birthday.  No more babies in the house.  Just little men.

You may or may not know Benjamin personally.  But his story is amazing, so I'll tell you a little bit of it.

Although all of our kids are roughly two years apart, there's four years, almost exactly, between Ben and his next oldest brother.  Those were really significant years.  Those years held the greatest sorrows and the happiest miracles of my life.

Benjamin's name means "Son of My Right Hand."  He's a miracle.

How to Surpass Them All, Part 2

OK, so what if you're not The Proverbs 31 Super Amazing Woman?

What if you’re not Mrs. Dugger?

  Or "Total Mom", Hannah Keeley?

What if you’re just a regular mom like me?

I mean, geez, some days I don’t do ANY of those things in Proverbs 31.  And none of my kids play violin!  What a guilt trip, right?

So, here’s what I’m thinking....

A Twisty Tie Engagement

On this day, twenty years ago...

I got a twisty tie engagement ring.

Making Weird Slimy Laundry Soap

Can't wait to wash something in this stuff...  ???

I mostly made this stuff out to curiosity.  I'm pretty happy with my cheap laundry detergent that smells good.  But since this is the trendy thing to do these days, I had to join the club.  I'm still not convinced.  But I do love saving money and this was SUPER easy to make.  It turns out a lot like Nickelodeon slime.  Or worse.  I'm still not sure how that happened.  It's a chemistry thing, I guess.

Anyways, here's how you make it, if you are curious like me:

Easy Ottoman Slipcover

Winter is a great time to do some little home improvements.  I mean, you're stuck inside anyways.  Can't lay out on the deck or pick flowers, which is what I'd rather be doing.  So... This month I'm busy being crafty and organizing my house.  I do it every year, about this time, when I'm dying to work outside with dirt and power tools.

Here's an easy project that you might like to do.  It's crafty AND cheap.  And useful.  What's not to like?
You may have seen something like it on TV, but they always go too fast and I end up forgetting about it.   So, I just sortof figured it out on the fly...

A Tuscan Kitchen

Thanks to your great ideas, I am once again inspired!  Yay!  I thought I'd collect a few pictures here to share with you.  I love this Tuscan theme for the kitchen.  It's also the perfect way to incorporate all my random old furniture and to cover the ugly fake brick walls!  Stucco!

Let's Just Be Honest People

Have you ever seen the movie "Apollo 13"?  I'm not sure why, but I've seen it about 20 times.  Anyways, there's a scene where the astronauts were all buckled in their spaceship, getting ready to blast off to the moon, possibly into oblivion and the news reporters are interviewing their wives.  One of the wives had been through the whole ordeal before and the other one was brand new to the terrifying experience.  Right before the reporters arrived, the wise, older wife smiled confidently and said to the younger, "remember, you're proud, happy and thrilled."  Guess what the younger wife said when asked how she was feeling?  Yep.  She was proud, happy and THRILLED!

Really?? Why couldn't she just tell the truth?  "I'm pregnant, terrified and about to throw up... but I'm also very proud."

Happy Birthday Elijah!

Today is the first of the February birthday extravaganza!  Elijah is NINE!

Ruthie made him a special breakfast...

Holy Guacamole and Other Random Things...

I had lots of ideas for upcoming posts that I was going to share with you.  I had pictures to go with them.  I also had the strangest thing happen to my computer.  Somehow iphoto has mysteriously vanished from my cyber world, taking all of my pictures with it.  This is one of the many perils of having so many children.  We never quite know who dunnit.

Easy Homemade Noodles

We just got done making a big batch of homemade noodles.  Have you ever tried it?
I used to think it would be hard to do, but...

They're really, super easy.  And cheap.  And delicious.

A Decorating Emergency

 I'm desperate here.  I seriously need help.  Your help.  What I'm about to show you may shock and disturb you.  It's pretty terrible, I'm warning you.

First off, you must know that I love my house here in Kentucky.  I love my land and woods and porch swings.  I love my back porch and front porch.  I even like my mud room.  The problem is my kitchen.

It's actually my fault.   I ASKED God for a house with bad decorating.

Why You Shouldn't Homeschool

On my fridge there's a list of the Top Ten Reasons to Homeschool Your Children.  It's been there for years and I read it almost every day.  They are very good, important reasons.
There's also a bazillion books and articles out there telling you about all the joys and benefits of homeschooling. So, just to be fair, I thought I'd tell you why you shouldn't do it.
Yep, you heard right.
Brace yourself.