Monday, January 31, 2011

The Latest Happenings

A stomach virus has been running rampant in these parts. I was so hoping that it would just skip right over us. No such luck. When Katie came home after school last Thursday, talking about how Sam got sick in the cafeteria, I just knew that we would be next. Sure as the world, Katie got sick Friday night into early Saturday morning. I have to say that it's a very aggressive virus. Poor baby, I didn't think she would ever get a break and it left her extremely weak by Saturday morning. Thankfully after a good rest, she was right back to her old self. She didn't like the fact that she was quarantined in her room for the rest of the day. We didn't want to risk Colton or anyone else getting sick. I knew I would come down with it because that's what moms do.

I kept Katie and Colton home from church yesterday because I didn't want to take any chances. I think the other mommas would have appreciated me for it. I know I would if it was my child being exposed. Katie was doing so well. You never would have known that she had been so sick. It was such a beautiful day Saturday and Sunday with temps in the upper 60s and lower 70s. We disinfected the whole house, but I was raised to air out your house. So, we turned off the heat pump and opened all the windows that we could. I love the smell of fresh air. I thought too it would do Katie and Colton good to get outside and breathe that fresh air and get some sunshine on them. They loved getting outside because it's been quite a while since we've had the chance to do so, with all the cold snaps. We thought we dodged a big bullet last night, the virus was out of the house with only one person getting sick. Peggy and Millard came over to see how Katie was feeling and spend some time with the kids. I made a big pot of spaghetti, side salad and toast. I think it was the first time Millard and Peggy ate ground turkey in the meat sauce, instead of hamburger. I think they kind of liked it or they were being nice getting seconds. Everything was good and as I was giving Katie her bath, something came over me like I knew I wasn't right. I finished getting Katie ready for bed and I warned Doug that I could be getting sick. Sometimes, I don't think Doug believes me when I tell him that I'm not right. He always starts the long list of questions. Bottomline, I just know these things and when I finally do get sick, I have to tell him "I told you that I wasn't right."

I got Colton laid down for the night and as I'm getting myself ready for a long night of unhappy times, I hear Colton in his room - sick. Ugh! I knew this was not going to be pretty. I finally came down sick and then I hear Katie getting sick. Ugh! This is not pretty for Doug. Bless his heart, I felt so bad for him. I'm trying to help Doug clean up Colton and it's not making things easier for me. Needless to say, we all got the blessid virus and are recovering today. I believe this was the worst stomach bug that I've gotten in a very long time. Oh my gosh!

Besides getting sick, this is what I've been up to. My mother will be celebrating her 74th birthday in the next few days. A few of us have reservations at a Chinese restaurant in honor of her big day. My mom loves Chinese and Mexican food, but she hardly ever gets to go to one of these restaurants with my dad because he is not a fan at all. So, the only time she gets a treat like this is if one of us girls take her. I think she'll enjoy. My sister convinced me to make mom a ruffled felt heart wreath as well for her birthday.  Do you remember my Heart Felt Wreath version?  I wasn't expecting to get sick, so I haven't gotten my material and supplies yet.  I've got to get on the stick.  I think she'd like one of these wreaths to hang on her door.

I've been catching up on my blogs that I follow.  I just love seeing other people's ideas and craftiness.  There are so many talented women out there.  I love Bakerella's website!  I'm always excited to see what new creation she has whipped up for us.  I had to share these sweet Valentine treat tags with you.  If you are not the cake pop connaisseur, I think these tags would look great on lollipops.  She has these tags for all occasions.  The pdf file is free to download. 

Click HERE for instructions and downloads.  Happy treats! 

I've been slowly reading my new book, "Roses" by Leila Meacham.  I'm currently at the point where Mary Toliver is remininscing of when her father passed away and all the events that followed.  This early in my reading, I have so many questions.

I'm still trying to work on Colton's birthday party decorations.  I've got some ideas for Colton's cake, but I still may have Walmart make it.  I ran out of scrapbook paper for my dot garlands.  I came across paper globes.  Have you seen these before?  I LOVE THEM!  I'm so hoping to be able to make them.  They seem fairly simple to make.  I was poking around in new blogs and discovered these paper globes.
The creator of this jewel is Heather Bailey.  I believe Heather used origami paper or scrapbook paper to create these globes.  To get her patterns and instructions, you'll have to click on her link, scroll down to the subtitle on the right side "Free Patterns".  It has a list of hot links to what type pattern you're interested in.  Click on "paper globes" and the pdf files will come up. Click the second pdf file from Heather.  I think she made a mistake on the first file because nothing comes up.  One of the blogs that I walked into, which I can't remember the name now.  Anywho, she made a bunch of these globes and hung them from her ceiling on her baby girl's first birthday.  I think that would be a grat idea for Colton's party.  Now, I've seen these paper globes made from colored paper plates before as well, I just don't remember where I've seen them. 
Doug brought home some movies to watch this weekend. 


This is such a nice family movie.  We all enjoyed watching it and I've always liked Diane Lane. 


Viewing the previews, I thought this movie would be just silly.  I love Steve Carrell.  I have to tell you that it was silly, but hilariously silly.  Doug and I laughed so hard.  It's a must see. 

Mirya

Friday, January 28, 2011

My Children

Raymonda
Mrs. W likes to switch up the Spring Galas between one big production and the individual groups. This year is big production year and this ballet will be based on the Russian performance "Raymonda". Still being new to the whole ballet world as a future Prima Ballerina's momma, I have to do research on these productions.

According to Ballet Encyclopedia, the synopsis goes as follows:

Act I: Raymonda, who is betrothed to Jean de Brienne, is celebrating her birthday. Jean, who is expected to arrive the next day, has send some presents in advance. One of these presents is an embroidered portrait of himself. First, however, Abderman arrives and tries to court Raymonda. Raymonda then dreams that Jean comes down from his portrait to dance with her, however, when she wakes up she finds that Abderman is there again to "renew his amorous proposals." Act II: The festivities continue, and Abderman asks Raymonda to dance. Then, he and his accomplices attempt to abduct her. However, at that moment Jean arrives with his brother, the King of Hungary. There is a duel and Abderman is killed. Act III: There is a feast at the castle to celebrate the marriage of the two lovers, and much dancing.

Katie and her class will have the honor of being the Spanish guests in the performance and I L-O-V-E their costumes.  Mrs. W has changed costume companies.  She measured all the girls for their costumes a few weeks ago and several of the girls (groups) have already received their costumes.  Katie's group hasn't received theirs yet, but I can't wait to see them.  Mrs. W has a board displayed inside the studio with pictures of costume examples.  Here's a sneak peek of Katie's Spanish costume:


School Girl
Eventhough, Katie seems to be practicing with me on how she will be when she's 16 and wanting to stretch her wings, we are still proud of how well she's doing in school.  Her reading level started at "A" and now Mrs M feels she is ready for level "D".  It's a little more challenging, but I know with lots of practice Katie will succeed.  She continues to bring home more sight words to add with the others.  She took a test the other day.  I call it a spelling test because it was her list of sight words, which happens to be color names (purple, black, white, yellow, etc.).  She didn't miss a one.  YAY! 

We were suppose to receive Katie's Progress Report the week we had so much snow.  Well, I still haven't received it.  I asked Mrs. M about it and she had to make a few changes, but for me not to worry about Katie.  She added that she's doing great. 

Sickness is going around school, so I've been holding my breath on that one.  What is it with kids being so excited to tell you about the kid pitching their cookies during lunchtime into a girlfriend's lunch box and onto another girl's new shoes?  Everyday I ask her "what happened at school today?" and for some reason or other, she never can remember.  Who knew that it took someone to throw up for Katie to remember what happened that day. 

Colton Update
Colton's growing by leaps and bounds.  He'll be 2 in a couple of short months and I can tell it.  He's been wearing 24 month outfits and pants for the past couple of months, but he could still wear 18 month shirts.  Not anymore!  I finally had to pack up the 18 month shirts because they are a little short on the arms.  Haha! 

I've been s-l-o-w-l-y making Colton's birthday decorations.  Our theme this year will be "Trains".  I've created a general train from MS Publisher.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  What do you think?
Train Labels

I've also drafted out Colton's birthday party invites with the same label to go with it.  I'll post it when I'm satisfied. 

These labels are accessible to anyone who would appreciate them.  Just print and cut for cupcake picks, garland and banner accents.  Have fun!

I've been doing a lot of practicing and idea searching for his party. I liked the train idea this past Summer. At first, I didn't know how to go about it and I really didn't want to go with all of "Thomas the Tank Engine" designs. That's when I checked out Hostess with the Mostess blog and there it was.  The train party of the year!  Of course, I wanted to design my own and did a few exercises before I got it just right.  Here's a picture of the train party that I'm hoping to be Colton's party. 


I'm also making the paper dot garland from scrapbook paper as well. I'm making my garland 60", so I can swag them along my ceiling. I also made a couple of 30" garlands to just let them dangle. It being a boy birthday party, I chose all prime colors (blue, green, yellow, red).

Colton's vocabulary is growing all the time.  His new words are "oh, gosh" and "I cookie", which translates to "I want a cookie".  From time to time, we get confused with "gosh" and "cars" because they sound so much a like. 
Mirya

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Old Spice vs. Sesame Street

As you can tell, today I've been on YouTube quite a lot. Somedays are ruined because I get lost watching all the videos.



I'm sure you've seen this "Old Spice" commercial. But you probably haven't seen this one . . .



LOL! I just love this video and had to share it with you. I hope you have a great day.

Mirya

Alabama Connections

Alabama Hills
So I came across this video from YouTube about the Alabama Hills in California. Now, my first question is "why are hills in the state of California called 'The Alabama Hills'?" So, I did a little research and found out . . .

   The area was named after the confederate warship "Alabama".  It so happens a lot of the miners in the Lone Pine area were Confederate sympathizers and after hearing about the warship, they named several mining claims in honor of it.  As time went on, the entire area was called "Alabama Hills".

     The Alabama Hills were very famous to the western movie scene.  Movies such as follows were filmed in these hills:
  • Star Trek V
  • Star Trek VII
  • Nevada
  • Tremors
  • North to Alaska
  • Rawhide
  • Riders of the Purple Sage
  • Hop-A-Long Cassidy (Enters)
  • How the West Was Won
  • Farewell to Manzanar
  • G.I. Jane
  • Chaplin
  • Maverick
  • The Lone Ranger
  • The Great Race
  • Where the Buffalo Roam
  • The Flintstones
  • The Man From Utah


What Cullman has to offer you

Here's a brand new advertisement video to show the world that Cullman is special. It was funny to actually recognize a few faces on this video.

Mirya

Friday, January 21, 2011

Southern Animal Adventures and more

I'm at the point to where I'm ready to start wearing khaki camp shirts and changing my name to Mi Hanna. Last weekend while taking a leisurely drive, I spotted a pretty young white tailed doe in the woods. The next day (I wrote about it), my sister, Katie and myself ran upon a possum. I've wrote in the past about our encounters with racoons, possums, skunks, rabbits, mice and snakes. My latest animal encounter happened just yesterday. As we were coming home from picking Katie up from school, of all things that I spot right across from our driveway, an armadillo. It's so strange seeing these basically nocturnal animals during the day. I'm guessing it's because of the very frigid Winter we've had thus far. Another surprise and yet alarming was how this armadillo allowed me to get so close for pictures. He stayed around the area for a very long time, I would say past dusk approximately 5:30PM. He acted as if nothing was going to scare him away from some delicious grub. Trust me, he tore up jack across the street and on our property. Katie really enjoyed watching him routing around for food. I know they are not the most beautiful creatures, but here is your Bama armadillo.


Americal Idol
Last year, Doug and I agreed that American Idol was pretty much over for us.  We just didn't enjoy the show that much last year.  Knowing the American Idol premiere was starting last Wednesday, Doug and I decided to give it a chance.  Well, I'm so glad we did.  Steve Taylor and Jennifer Lopez is doing a fantastic job, I believe.  In the 80's, I was a fan of "Aerosmith" with it's lead singer Steve Taylor.  I've always enjoyed listening to their music.  Jennifer Lopez is just amazing, if you look back from where she started and to see what she's been able to accomplish.  I never knew how funny Steve can be and his famous high note on AI is funny to me because that's his signature, just like Randy Jackson's "Dawg".  We've just really enjoyed watching it both Wednesday and last night.  I guess Doug and I are hooked on Idol once again.  LOL! 

Thank You
I just wanted to squeeze in a quick "Thank You" to those of you that like Colton's hair cut.  I was afraid that you wouldn't like it.  Doug still giggles at his hair, but he says that he likes it. 

I Didn't Know


OMGoodness!  I think Channing Tatum is so yummy and to think he has roots right here in Alabama.  What a surprise!  This video is old, but glad I ran across it. 

Crystal Pendants
I had to share this with you.  I think they are so pretty and would make wonderful gifts.  I know I would love to receive one of these. 
You can get all the supplies you need to make this pendant from Hobby Lobby .  The Swarovski Crystal (shown) sales for approximately $5 each.  The design shown is actually scrapbook paper of your choice.  and finished with a silver bail.  I found this project from Little Birdie Secrets.  Of course, it was recommended that you clip any excess paper sticking out with scissors, file the paper on edges just a little (don't file the crystal) with a fingernail file and apply a little diamond glaze on the back of the paper.  It sounds so simple and would love to try it out. 

For the instructions and tips, CLICK HERE!

Kit-Kat and Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
I found this recipe from Little Bitty Bakes and had to share it with you.  I haven't had the chance to make them, but they sound so good.  I mean, come on, anything with Kit-Kat and Chocolate Chips are bound to be delicious!  Just looking at this picture makes my mouth water. I copied the recipe, so I would make sure to have it on hand.
Kit-Kat and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen large cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup crushed Kit-Kats
1 cup milk chocolate chips


Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat butter, peanut butter, and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until blended.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring until mixed. Stir in Kit-Kats and chocolate chips.

For large cookies, drop cookie dough by 2 tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 3 inches apart (I used my whoopie pie pan – muffin top pans work too). Bake about 12 minutes, until light golden brown.

Live, Laugh, Love!

Mirya

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Colton's New Do

Well, you've asked for it and here is Colton's new hair style. I really like it and trust me. The next time Colton needs a hair cut, he will be going back to my hair dresser.



I tried washing his face off, but I see from the photos that he still had some chocolate on his face.  Oops! 

Mirya

Colton's New Hair Cut

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Monday, January 17, 2011

Family Times

It's day 7 since our big Winter Blast and there are only traces of snow left to remind of us of the miraculous day. Katie was so sad last night when our snowlady, Ella, lost a LOT of weight. Her hat didn't fit anymore. Her sunglasses fell off of her face. The purse she once held high was now laying lifeless on the dead grassy ground. "Aww, mom, look at our snowlady." Katie said as we were driving up the driveway. She's been so use to greeting Ella everyday and now it's time for her to go. Such sad goodbyes from Katie. She told us that she wanted it to snow, so Ella wouldn't have to leave us. Sometimes, it's just hard for a child to understand life. We told her that it would snow again someday. Shoot, Peggy and Millard were telling us an ol' wives tale that if snow covers the ground after 3 days, it will show back up. Meteorologist are already predicting snow flurries by the end of the week. Nothing big. Needless to say, Katie sadly picked up Ella's button nose, the buttons from her white dress, sunglasses and purse off of the ground. She went ahead and took off her hat, scarf, and flower that was pinned in her white hair. Then with a sneaking grin on Katie's face, she asked me if she could knock Ella down. "Sure, go after it." I told her, granting permission for her to demolish the once Ella the snowlady that we created just 5 days ago. I think she had more fun kicking, hitting, and knocking her down then when we created her. It did take a long time to gather up all the snow and shape her, about an hour, compared to the few seconds it took to knock her head off onto the ground.

June and Pat came over Saturday night telling us about this house close to Doug's parents home that was for sale. They went on to tell us how we needed to act on it because we could probably get a very good deal on the property. A 3 bedroom, 2 bath, full basement, garage, a couple of storage buildings, stocked pond and 39 acres for $300,000. Not having that kind of money, I rolled my eyes. They told us ways we could afford it, using our home equity from our house. Anyway, like crazy people with no money, we meet with the homeowner to checkout the house and property. The property is beautiful and the house is nice on the outside, nice manicured lawn. Doug didn't like the inside of the house. She had put a lot money into decorating it. Etched glass doors, portable gas fireplace, expensive fans in the Kitchen and Living Room. The bedrooms were a little bigger than ours, but overall you still had this sense of being cramped. Doug didn't like the house because he felt it was still too small. June, Katie and I walked up to the pond. You could tell it had been taken care of. On a funny note, as we were walking up to the pond, June saw something moving in the weeds. At first, I asked if it was a snake. I HATE SNAKES! "No," she said. She thought it looked like an armadillo. By that time, I saw the tall weeds moving. It had an appearance of running away from us. So like any redneck girls, we ran after it. {haha!} Still thinking it was an armadillo. The creature stopped at the edge of the pond, turned around and looked at us. We all stopped in our tracks, I grabbed Katie and backed up. It was a oppossum. LOL! It wasn't hissing at us, but I was afraid that we would give it a sense of being cornered and that it would try to attack us. We backed away far enough to stop and allow Katie to get a good look at him. He was a big fat oppossum. I couldn't believe it because you normally don't see them during the day. On the way back to the house, we were laughing while trying to catch our breath. Us walking around this place, reminds me of home. The house, I grew up in, were basically surrounded by woods and pasture. I lived on 10 acres of fun rolling fields and trees to climb. I loved making forts and climbing haystacks into my clocktower. Like Katie, I had a huge imagination. I practically lived in the woods to the side of us and across the road. I wouldn't go home until my mom rang the cow bell, for me to come home. As a parent, I wouldn't dream of allowing my children to go off without any supervision, but the world is different today. I could see Katie and Colton running along the terrace rows or climbing up the trees in the back of this house or building forts and castles in the woods. Saying all this, honestly I don't think this is the place for us. Like I said, we do not have this kind of money and I'm afraid this house would still be too small.

Katie is out of school again today. She has missed a lot of school days and she's at the point to where she doesn't mind. At first, she missed Mrs. M and all of her friends. Seven days later, she doesn't care to go back. She's gotten use to me being her teacher and staying at home. This is not a good thing for any of us. It will be hard for Katie to get up tomorrow morning and go to school. All last week, I've had a terrible time keeping her in her bed during bedtime. Last night, I finally gave in and let her come into our bed for a little bit, as long as she would not get wound up. I turned on the radio and the next thing I knew both Katie and Colton were on the floor dancing. It was pretty funny to watch them. I'm such a push over.

Doug has given me such a hard time about Colton's hair. In my mind, I thought he would look cute with a short short hair cut. Besides, his hair grows so fast. I've cut his hair a few times and the lady that does my hair has cut his hair a of couple times. Normally, I use my hair scissors to trim him up, but I worry Doug everytime I bring them out. He told me that he wished I would use his trimmers to cut Colton's hair. Well, this time I did. I set the guard at 7 and went at it. At first I was thinking to myself, "what am I doing? I'm ruining his hair." Of course, when you start you've got to finish. Right? Please keep in mind that his hair was really shaggy and long. Once I finished, it took some getting use to it. Yesterday, I put a little hair putty (I used when I had short hair) in his hair. Awww! It is so cute and I really like it. On a sad note, he doesn't look like a baby anymore. He is a little man now with his clean cut do. The next time, I wouldn't mind keeping the top a little longer and trimming the back clean cut. Back to Doug, I don't know if he likes it or not. He tells me he likes it, but to hear him talk to other people about it keeps me confused. He tells others, "you've got to see Colton's new hair cut that Mirya did." This sentence seems to be always followed by a laugh from him. Hearing this makes me automatically drop my jaw and push the sound "ugh!" out of my throat. Well, I like it and it will grow back out.

Movie Review

Doug brought "Knight and Day" home the other day. I have to say this was a pretty funny movie. I wish Tom Cruise (as wacked out as he has become) would do more comedy movies. There were so many twists and turns in this movie that it kept my attention, but not too much to where you don't know what's going on. "Knight and Day" would make a good datenight.

Mirya

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Alabama vs. Auburn Nursing Home Video



ROLL TIDE!

Mirya

Friday, January 14, 2011

Just For Fun!

Now that I've reported about all the Winter Weather happenings, it's time for fun!

Food
I've had time to do a lot of catch up on most all the blogs that I following. When I saw this Vera Bradley Purse cake from Living Locurto, I  immediately thought of Laura and her passion for Vera Bradley.  According to Amy, her friend Christy made this cake.  All I can say, she is one talented lady.  The craftmanship that's put into a cake like this makes me want to pick my jaw up off the floor.  Check out the photos:


Entertainment
I don't know about you, but I love the idea of Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock together.  Ahh! I just think he is gorgeous and she is so beautiful.  What a perfect couple!  Of course, Hollywood will come into effect and will try it's hardest to keep them apart.  For right now, I think it's great! 

Great Finds
Katie and I have found a great find during this very Wintry week.  We are a very big cheese eating family.  I keep a stock of slice cheese, deli cheese, cheese sticks and shredded cheese.  Not to mention the cheese dips and mac & cheese for the kids.  Well, we wanted to try Farm Rich's Mozzarella Bites and all I can say is OMGosh!  It's sooooo good.  You've got mozzarella squares surrounded by pizza dough.  This is probably so full of calories and saturated fat, but we are not going to go there this week.  They are delicious, so delicious that I grabbed another bag from Walmart's freezer section.  Yum!  You might want to take note for your next get together.  They are great appetizers, be prepared because they won't last long because they are that good. 


Just throw these babies into the microwave and your set for a tasty snack

Committed
So True!

Mirya

2011 Winter Storm Day 5 2011-01-14

Click here to view these pictures larger

Snow Day 5

Day 5

Well, we woke up this morning to a whole 9 degrees outside. Of course, Katie was out of school again, so we had class in the Dining Room today. We reviewed sight words and math problems. After the review, I gave her a quiz. She did pretty good. I had her write two stories that I started and read her books aloud.  If you can imagine, Katie had to dress up for homeschool every morning this week.  The dress included her Minnie Mouse ears or one of her headbands. 


While we did classwork, Doug stayed busy cleaning off the driveway. It still had some ice on it. After all of Katie's studies, she was ready to release some steam. She got all coated up and outside we went. I was telling Doug yesterday how I don't ever remember seeing snow on the ground for 5 solid days. And I know I've never been out of school for a solid week like Katie because of the snow and ice. Our neighbor told me, while she was driving down the highway it reminded her of when she lived in Indiana because of all the dirty snow on the sides of the road.
Ice in our driveway that Doug worked on today.  By this afternoon, he got it all off. YAY!

Katie wanted to go for a hike outside. I grabbed the camera and outside we went on an adventure. One of our neighbors has a huge hill and Katie had a blast trying to climb up and slide down the hill. I had fun taking snow photos of my little snow bunny.

Snowlady, Ella, is still hanging in there after 5 days



Mommy's Snow Bunny

Ice and Snow on our street on day 5

Katie climbing a big hill - she loved it!
A lot of people have complained about all the snow and ice. Honestly, I've loved it. I'm sure if I lived in it all the time every year, I would probably get tired of it just like I get tired of our hot humid triple digit Summer months. I can't stand our hot triple digit Summers.

We actually reached a balmy 41 degrees this afternoon.  It was nice to see the sun out all day, instead of a peek every now and then.  The high temps with the help from the sun, a lot of ice and snow melted.  Don't get me wrong, we still have quite a bit of ice and snow for tomorrow. 

Once Doug got all the ice off of our driveway, we loaded up and went for a drive in town. We were running low on food, so we ended up at Walmart. This may sound a little dramatic, but hey it's me. Looking out the window onto all the lawns of white snow, it was beautiful.  Have you ever seen snow that's beginning to melt?  With the sun shining down, it has this diamond glisten to it.  As we were driving, it was as if God dressed the dirty, ugly, dead ground with a beautiful silk cloth.  The most delicate, expensive, white silk that you would find a bride wearing on the day of her wedding. 

Walmart was full of cabin fever survivors.  I don't think they were able to replenish their shelves because it still looked bare.  The most crowded aisles were the snacks and chips.  LOL!  Why is it when you are stranded at home, the only food items that's appealing are unhealthy?  Of course, we ran into a few people that we knew.  Millard and Peggy were there, so Katie went with them shopping.  Later, they came by the house and picked a few clothes for Katie and took her home with them.  HAHA!  I know it was a treat for Katiebug.  She took an armful of dolls and a couple of movies that she wanted to watch with her grandparents. 

We are expecting some warmer temperatures this weekend.  Rain is supposed to be coming in on Monday or Tuesday, but I'm already hearing threats of snow flurries by the end of the week.  I don't think it will be anything big. 

Mirya

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Snow, snow, snow!

Four days later and I'm still at home with the kids. So many neighbors and people I know have griped and complained about being stranded at home or having all the snow. So, I won't say a word (bad) about our situation. We are just trying to make the best of it.

Katie hasn't returned to school this whole week. I let her have Monday and part of Tuesday off, playing and acting silly. Yesterday and today, I set up a classroom on our Dining Room table. We went over her sight words and I tried to help her in pronouncing her "wh" "th" "ou" and "sh" words. I've noticed in the past, she wants to sound them out individually. As you know, doing this makes the word sound nothing like it is spelled. I know it will come in time, but I'm just trying to help her in the long run. I know that Mrs. M wanted to introduce addition to the class this month. I thought it would keep Katie busy to write out a sheet full of math problems. I had her exercise how to read the problem and then figure it out by counting on her fingers. She was doing fabulous until I made my answers go past 11. Ugh! I think I have some hair left from this morning. Have you ever tried teaching your child to continue counting on their fingers past 10? I guess they figure, well I don't have any more fingers so the answer is 10. Ugh! Once I got Katie to start all over on the first hand, in order to count to 13. She got that down pat, but when it came to finding out the total. All she could see was 8 fingers in front of her face, so she would answer 8 instead of 13. I feel sorry for Mrs. M. Surely, she's got a better way of teaching a 5 year old to add past 10 than I do. Saying all this, Katie did good overall in her addition. She just has to practice. I had her read her new school books, which have harder words. Another hurdle to jump over, but she doesn't see it that way. She gets very frustrated if she gets stuck on a word.

We still have snow and ice on the ground. We are at the point where what snow the sun melts, it freezes overnight with temps in the lower to mid teens. We've got salt on our driveway, but there is still one large section of ice that stretches across our driveway. I stepped on it this morning, taking mail to the mailbox, and yeah slipped there a little bit. Thankfully, I recovered my balance and made it over to the hard icy snow. If Katie does go outside for a little bit, I remind her to stay off the sidewalk and driveway. Basically, I try to keep the kids inside. Colton's developed a cold from all of this, so I don't let him out at all.

We haven't developed cabin fever yet, but we are driving each other a little batty. Katie and I are keeping each other occupied by playing Wii. I try to do a little more effort, in hopes to keep my body moving. Katie has found a new love other than Swordplay, she has discovered Cycling. She loves it! This is good because she is jumping around and moving her arms and legs. It really wears her out and me too. I thought that if she liked cycling so well, maybe she would like boxing as well. I love boxing! Nope, I was wrong. Actually, she doesn't like being knocked out. Good Sportsmenship is another thing I have to teach Katie. She doesn't like losing to any game. When we first starting the Wii, sure I let her win. Later, I got to thinking that I might be doing the wrong thing. If she loses at a game with someone else, how would she react? Plus, I hope it challenges her to try better and harder. I've explained to her that I'm older and know how to do some things a lot better than she. She doesn't like it, but she's got to learn. I know I sound like such a bully. I hate it because I want her to win and yeah there are times where I decrease my effort, just so she might win.

Until then, I'll be here watching my chickficks and playing games. See ya!

Mirya

Monday, January 10, 2011

Frito Pie

The other day, Doug and I were hungry for Frito Pie. I don't have a recipe, it's pretty much what I thought would be good in it.


Frito Pie Recipe

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Ground Chuck
small can of sliced black olives
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1 envelope of Taco Seasoning
Sour Cream
container of Con Queso cheese dip (whatever color and heat you prefer)
Taco Sauce
Plain Frito Chips

Cook and drain meat; over low heat, add the taco seasoning with the recommended amount of water from seasoning packet to the meat. Stir to blend well. Once blended, add the tomatoes, olives and any other topping you would like. (I think mushrooms would be great). Stir and heat until warm.

Place a couple of handfuls of fritos in a soup bowl, top with meat mixture and put a couple of dollops of cheese sauce and heat it in the microwave. The time depends on the power of your microwave. I heated it for about 10 seconds. Doug didn't care for the cheese sauce as much as he liked shredded cheese. Shredded cheese is optional. Place a dollop of sour cream, taco sauce and your ready for a great warm meal. Yum!


Mirya

My Heart Felt Wreath

 I followed the instructions - HERE - from The Idea Room, but I made a couple of tweaks of my own. 
Like instructed, I used 3/4 yd of pink felt.  Taking a teacup, I laid the open end and drew a circle onto a piece of card stock paper, for a template.  I pinned the template onto the felt and cut out SEVERAL circles. 

The Idea Room instructs you to pin the ribbon onto the back of the stryofoam, but I wanted to secure it a little better.  I cut 16 inches of ribbon, wrapped it around the top part of the heart and hot glued it in place as seen here.

I folded the circles in half and then folded it in half again, making a little rose tip.  I placed a straight pin through the pointed end of the halfed felt.  The Idea Room had their rose felt tips placed very close to one another, but I kind of like them ruffled out a little.  I think it's whatever you prefer. 

Katie and I love our finished product and it looks so well on our front door.  Katie's excited because I promised that after Valentine's Day, I would hang the wreath in her room on the wall.  She was so excited that she easily grabbed the wreath and began heading for her room with it.  I had to remind her that she could have it after Valentine's Day.  Of course, her bottom lip came out.  LOL! 

Mirya

2011 Winter Storm 2011-01-09

Click here to view these pictures larger

The Morning After The Storm

I think I finally went to bed around midnight or so.  I'm like a kid when we have storms of any kind, too excited to think about sleep.  I kept people updated during the night as far as how many inches we were receiving. 

This morning, I was the first to go out and survey all the snow accumulation.  HAHA! Actually, I knew we would need our thermals, blue jeans and lots of sweatshirts washed.  I just thought, since I was bundled up anyway, I'll go check it out and take a few pictures.  Overall, we measured anywhere between 5-6 inches of snow and our drifts measured between 7-9 inches.  There is a nice sheet of ice on top of the white fluffy snow.  Of course, under the snow it seems to be another thin sheet of ice.  So, everyone has to be very careful today as they get around.  It is so beautiful and peaceful outside.  Walking around in the deep snow, I could see evidence of bunnies out, probably looking for food and shelter.  I took a picture of one area where they dug by a tree, I suppose to get down to the grass.  It is very cold out, so you can't stay outside for very long.  It didn't take Katie very long, when she got up, to get her clothes on and ready to be apart of this miraculous and historic event.  Right off the bat, she wanted to make a snowlady and snow angels.  It was a little hard for her to make the snow angels because of the ice on top, but she was able to do it.  The snowlady wasn't as bad, it just took some time.  Time that Katie felt she didn't have because her fingers were so cold.  Now, I've never lived up North, so my snowman building skills are something I need to work on.  Saying that, I don't think I did half bad.  I know it's the tallest snowlady I've ever made before.  I'm sure if I wanted to stay outside a little longer, she could have been much bigger.  However, Katie thinks she perfect and with all of her accessories, she is the snowlady with the most style on the block.  LOL! 





 

At noon, the temperature got to 33 degrees, so the snow on top of trees and houses seem to be melting just a little bit.  Tonight that won't be so great when the temp dips down into the teens.  I have a feeling no one will be able to go anywhere tomorrow as well.  Further North of us, it is even worse with lots more ice and snow.  Our friend from Florence received approximately 10 inches of snow and Huntsville is reporting anywhere between 8-10 inches.  All the major roads are closed for non-emergency vehicles and the road departments are very busy clearing the roads and spreading salt.  Of course, Doug is home today, but he's already thinking that he may not be able to make it to work tomorrow.  The meterologist are saying with all the snow and ice that it will be several days before the snow will leave, especially with us not getting much warmer anytime soon. 

Meanwhile, Katie and I baked some chocolate chip cookies and the menus for tonight's supper will be baked Tilapia, baked potato and salad. Yum! Y'all stay warm!

All of today's pictures will be on a separate post from Shutterfly. Enjoy!

Mirya