Saturday, March 31, 2012

My Life in Pictures - March

Goodness!  Another month has flown by...I can't believe it is April!!  This past month was a challenge for me.  I'm not sure why, but I lost all my motivation to do anything!  (You may have noticed that by my lack of posting!)  Taking a picture a day was no different.  In fact - I'm amazed it happened at all...but it did, so here I am to share My Life In Pictures for March.  I hope you enjoy them!!

March 1 - How 'bout a little corn with your butter, Princess?  We LOVE our corn around here.  And can't wait until we get some fresh from the garden.  The drought cooked most of it last summer, so our taste buds are craving it something bad!!

March 2 - Tween Monkey's basketball team made it to regionals!  They are soooo pumped!  We stopped for dinner before their first game.  I don't think they like the camera at this age - if they do, it's only so they can practice their "teen angst" look!

March 3 - I'm working on a hand-painted project for our new house...if we ever get a new house!

March 4 - I was going to make fajitas so I bought a whole bunch of tortillas.  Then I ended up not making them but still had a whole bunch of tortillas.  The amazing hubby had the idea to make them into a sweet and crunchy snack for the monkeys. They were TASTY!!  

March 5 - We are updating a corral on the farm, so the amazing hubby dug holes while I kept the auger straight.  Then he mixed concrete while I kept the posts straight.  TEAMWORK!!

March 6 - Monkey Boy had his first baseball practice today.  Excited does not even begin to cover it.  His best buddy at his new school just happens to be on this team, too, so that doubled his excitement!

March 7 - Had some yogurt and bananas that needed to be used, so I put together some breakfast smoothie freezer bags so we could make them quickly.  They are yummy to our tummies!!

March 8 - Made the Pioneer Woman's chicken parmesan.  Everyone loved it, had seconds and left me with the cleanup!

March 9 - Princess wanted to paint so we got out the watercolors today.  Super easy project - used coffee filters (whole) and used the watercolors to paint circles around them.  Then we cut them in half and taped them to the door.  One of the plusses of the coffee filters is you can see the rainbows from both sides of the door.

March 10 -  Cinnamon rolls (from the tube) + waffle maker = Dinner for Monkeys

March 11 - I am struggling with the kids in a couple of areas (namely, respect and kindness) so I thought this would help us both.  Something that I learned though is that God isn't judging me on my results.  He just wants me to keep doing His will and not grow weary in well-doing... (Galatians 6:9)

March 12 - Sometimes it drives Princess crazy that she doesn't get to go to school yet like the bubs.  Those are the days we do "homework" for her.  She is so smart!!

March 13 - Did I mention I don't like nuts?  Well, I found this recipe for Pecan Crispies and decided to pulverize the pecans so I wouldn't have to bite into one.  They were so good - why didn't I think of this before?!

March 14 - Homework for the Tween Monkey.  He doesn't have near as much fun as Princess does!

March 15 - We have the best orthodontist EVER!  They have cool glasses to shade your eyes when they lay you back and PSPs to play while you are waiting.  The boys don't complain AT ALL!!

March 16 - Today was ballet day, but I was running late so we didn't get to go.  Instead, we got dressed up and did ballet in the living room at Grammy's house!  Almost as good!!!  And I used my new Instagram app - what do you think?

March 17 - Had a get together with friends from church and Monkey Boy got his game on at the ping-pong table...Yes, McKenzie - I did just take your picture! :-)

March 18 - Yummy!  I took a lot of pictures of food this month!!  This is a new recipe - Salted Caramel Bars.  I tried them out on my church friends at lunch today and they were a hit!  No nuts, no chocolate...delicious!

March 19 - It rained all last night and this morning.  When the sun came out, Princess had to get her rainboots out and go puddle jumping!  Look at that splash!!

March 20 - The boys got their eyes dilated and Monkey Boy was trying to see what it looked like.  Instead of going to the mirror like a normal person, he took a picture of himself with the camera.  Just go with it...I do!

March 21 -  The Kansas cousins were in town for Spring Break.  The kids spent most of the day outside, but took a break for "coffee time" and watched a Ghost Hunters International episode.

March 22 - "unless"...Did you see the Lorax?  I had never read the book, but fell in love with the movie.  It had a great message.  Unless you do something, who will?

March 23 - Went to the museum with the Twinkies and Nanny.  It was a big, Big, BIG day for all!

March 24 - I'm quitting my Bare Minerals.  This is my new foundation brush.  I've never used one before, but I really like it!  I think I'm a convert. 

March 25 - The Hunger Games... Have you heard of this book?  You have?  Hmmm...I guess I'm the last to know again!

March 26 - The amazing hubby had to channel his inner lumberjack in order to repair some fence today.  I just got to sit back and watch.  I love my job!

March 27 - Do you notice anything strange about this cow?  We drove up and both were amazed at the faux-hawk she was sporting...Had to take the picture and show Monkey Boy (that is his signature hair style).  I wonder how she did that?!

March 28 - Well, now I'm addicted.  I read all three books over a span of 4 days.  Yes...they were good.  Now I have to go see the movie!

March 29 - The lavender on my front porch smells so great.  I'm thinking of drying it so I can smell it all year long.  Anyone know how to do that?

March 30 - I love this candy.  I don't usually pick it up at the store, but they've been running commercials for it and I'm a sucker for advertising!

March 31 - The kids spent the afternoon in the garage throwing darts.  (This was a good game - some of the darts ended up stuck in the wall!)

So - that was my month...How was yours?

Love you all,

Rulissa

Friday, March 9, 2012

Confessional Friday

Hey, y'all! I'm linking up today with Leslie at A Blonde Ambition blog for Confessional Friday...so let's get confessing!!

1. I LOVE musicals... Grease was on AMC last night (twice) and I could have watched them both! That being said, I have yet to see an episode of Smash! and I don't watch Glee. I adore their songs, but I was put off by the content so I never got into it.

2. I think I was born in the wrong decade. Give me the '50s - fashion, music...love it! I know they had their own issues, but give me a time with poodle skirts, sock hops and milkshakes at the diner...

3. And totally unrelated... I don't like nuts. It's completely a texture thing because I love the flavor. BUT (I'm a little excited about this) I found a recipe for pecan pie that doesn't have pecans!!! Crazy, right? I'll try it and let you know!

4.  Typos drive me crazy.  Especially mine!  I hate it when I publish a post (after I've already read it 47 times) and notice that I used "where" instead of "wear".  That just makes me look like an idiot!

Anyway- that's all I'm confessing today...See you next time!

Love you all,

Rulissa

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Tween Speak

Do you have a teenager or an almost teenager? Well, I do. He's a tweenager.


I can tell you that, so far, this is NOT my favorite stage. I'll take the Terrible Twos ANYDAY!!!! We get a lot of fighting, door slamming, eye rolling, etc.


But the language! That is what drives me bonkers! (I'm a word girl, remember?) This is some of what I hear on a daily basis...

"Uh-huh"
"Fine"
"Okaaaayyyyyy"
"Sure, Mom"

But I realized something today as I was dropping him off at school...

When I say "I love you" and he says, "Uh-huh," what he really means is, "Thanks, I need to know someone cares."

When I ask how a test went, he always says "Fine." But, what he wants to say is "I aced it! Thanks for helping me study those vocab words!"

And when his dad tells him "I'm really proud of how you played and stayed tough," the response we get is "Okaaayyy." But what he really means is, "Gee, Dad. It means a lot to me that you come to my games and are so encouraging. A lot of others dads don't do that at all!"

But, my favorite is when I ask him to be a good example for his siblings and he says, "Sure, Mom," and then...he actually is a good example.

Now, I'm not an adolescent psychologist or anything, but I think, if we all took a second to understand the meanings behind the words, there would be much fewer fights, and door slams, and eye rolls, and... Know what I mean?


Anyway- I wish you much luck with your tweenager! I know the definitions will change, but now I'm ready!!!

Love you all,

Rulissa