Noon Years Party

Every year I feel bad that the kids have to go to bed early and can't stay up to celebrate the new year. So this year we decided to throw a little party for them and their friends. We did it from 11am-1pm so that they could count down the new year at noon. So it was a "Noon Years" party.

Happy New Year Banner

Noise makers, confetti poppers



Noise maker craft table

 We had fun decorating and getting ready. We made a Happy New Year banner and noisemakers for the kids to decorate. We had snacks, played freeze dance and of course counted down the new year which was complete with confetti and lots of noise!!

The kids had a blast and I think it will have to become an annual party for us. Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!!

Snow Ice Cream

We woke up this morning to about 9 inches of snow. Nothing I thought would ever happen in Arkansas! The kids could not wait to go outside. We quickly got them bundled and sent them out back to play. Steve took Will out and started a fire for awhile. I decided that it would be fun to make snow ice cream.

I remember a few times when we were little when my mom would make us snow ice cream and it was always a fun treat. So I had Steve collect some snow for me and once the kids came back in Jordan helped make it.

Here is the recipe in case you want to try it:

+ 5 cups clean snow (unpacked)
+ 1 cup milk
+ 1/2 tsp. vanilla
+ 1/2 cup sugar

Gather your snow and put it in the freezer until you are ready for it. Make sure it is clean and unpacked.

Mix together the milk, vanilla and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Slowly add the snow to your mixture stirring constantly until it is as thick as ice cream.

You may want to add a little more snow or put it in the freezer until it hardens up a little. We just ate ours right away and it was a little slushier than normal ice cream but still delicious!!

Thank you for reading. Happy Snow Day!!

Ashley Express

The other night we let the kids think they were going to bed. They put on the pajamas while we got ready for them to take a ride on the "Ashley Express". We had been talking about taking them to see Christmas lights and thought this would be a fun way. Once they had gotten their jammie's on I told them that I thought Buddy (our elf on a shelf) had brought them something. So they went to look. There they found tickets to the Ashley Express.

They quickly grabbed blankets and pillow pets to take with them. When we got out to the car Polar Express was playing on their DVD players and they had popcorn with m&m's in it and hot chocolate.

We drove up to a place we found online in Little Rock that had a mile of Christmas Lights. It was $5 per car to get in so a cheap, fun way to see lots of lights! We had fun figuring out the theme's of each set. Our favorite was one where an elf would climb up a ladder then drop down on to a teeter totter with another elf and the second elf would end up catapulting off of it.

After we left there we thought it would be fun to drive by the governor's mansion and the capitol building to see them ready for the holidays. The governor's mansion was a disappointment as it was not at all decorated. But there were quite a few other large houses that looked beautiful nearby. The capitol building though was the highlight for me. It was gorgeous. The whole thing was outlined in white lights and it said PEACE up near the top. We loved it.

By the end of our trip we had sleeping kids in the back. The next day they talked all about it. We all had a fun time and it was a magical little trip for the kiddos. I love seeing the holidays through their eyes.

I hope that you all have had your fair share of holiday magic this season. Thank you for reading. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas filled with love, laughter and family!

Gingerbread Playdough

My kids love playing with play dough. Last year I made them gingerbread play dough and decided to make it again this year for Kate to put in the treat bags at school for her Christmas party. I spent yesterday making it and the kids LOVED playing with the extra. Kate came home from her Christmas party today and immediately started playing with hers again. The bonus is my house smells delicious from all the spices in it!

 

I thought I would share the recipe in case you would like to make it for any of the little people in your life :o)

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup water

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan whisk together dry ingredients. Next mix in the water and oil, stir until a thick batter is formed. Cook the mixture over low/ medium heat until a thick dough forms. Turn out onto wax paper and knead until smooth. Makes about 2 cups of dough.


 For some reason I am unable to add captions to the pictures today so I will start at the top and go left to right.

1. I get all of the ingredients together beforehand because the cooking goes fast.
2. This is what it looks like when mixed and just starting to cook. It may get clumpy and that is ok.
3. The finished dough after a little kneading.
4. I put about a cup in small mason jars and attached a small cookie cutter and note from Kate.
5. Kate playing bakery.
6. Some of the "cookies" Kate was making. Don't they look real?

Thank you for reading. I hope your little ones enjoy this as much as mine. Happy Holidays!!

UPDATE: I made a couple of variations to this today.

Chocolate= Discard spices and instead use 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder.
Peppermint= Discard all spices and add 2 tsp. peppermint extract at the same time that you add the oil and water.







 

 

 





Questions to ask your kids

I saw this on Pinterest and thought that it would be fun. It is 21 questions to ask your kids. I think I will save these questions and answers and ask them again next year to see how they change.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Jordan: "Stop"
Kate: "Are you going to live?" (I do ask this every time one of them says they are hurt)

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Jordan: "When I'm good."
Kate: "Playing with me."

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Jordan: "When you say stop and I don't stop."
Kate: "When we go to our dads."

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Jordan: "Tickling me."
Kate: "When you say funny jokes."

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Jordan: "Your mom"
Kate: "Preschool." (Not sure what this means)

6. How old is Mommy?
Jordan: "29" (He's actually right!)
Kate: "21"

7. How tall is Mommy?
Jordan: "10"
Kate: "82"
HUH????

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Jordan: "Play with us and have fun."
Kate: "Shopping."

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Jordan: "Take care of Will."
Kate: "Laundry."

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Jordan: "Be an awesome basketball player." (I suck at basketball)
Kate: "Will."

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Jordan: "Telling us what to do and driving."
Kate: "Gluing."

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Jordan: "Playing a basketball game against me."
Kate: "Knowing what to pick when you go shopping for presents."

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Jordan: "Make stuff."
Kate: "You don't have a job."

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Jordan: "Spaghetti."
Kate: "Starbucks."

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Jordan: "Beating me at a basketball game."
Kate: "When she helps me learn to write new words."

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Jordan: "Sponge Bob."
Kate: "An Indian."

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Jordan: "Play games and hug."
Kate: "Go shopping and hang out and play and take care of Will."

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Jordan: "Cause I was born from your tummy."
Kate: "We both look pretty."

19. How are you and Mommy different?
Jordan: "We're not even different."
Kate: "We have different colors of hair."

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Jordan: "Cause you care about me."
Kate: "Cause I was your baby and comed out of your tummy."

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Jordan: "To the store."
Kate: "Starbucks."

This was a lot of fun for me. Hope you have just as much fun asking your kiddos these questions. Thanks for reading. Happy Holidays!!

Living in Faith, not Fear

As a mother of three I feel that I need to address the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. There is no doubt that what happened to those sweet children was horrifying and pure evil. When you send your child to elementary school it should be one of the safest places for them. I can not imagine the pain of those parents, of the other students watching their friends die and how scared they must have been, and of the first responders and the horrific scene they went in to. I'm sure those images will be forever burned into their minds and I pray that they can find peace.

I've been reading a lot on Facebook about people being afraid to send their kids to school. Yes I too wanted to see and hug my children as soon as I had heard what had happened. But what would picking them up from school early do except raise questions as to why I did so? My husband and I chose not to share with the kids what had happened. I think they are too little and if they go to school today and hear about it then we will discuss it. I know it's scary but are we going to let fear rule our lives? Think of all the things we would miss out on if we lived in fear.

In thinking and reading about the shooting this weekend as well as other recent shootings and events I have come to a realization and that is that I refuse to live my life in fear and instead I am going to choose to live in faith. I have a strong faith. I know that God has a plan for each of our lives that only he knows. Our children are gifts from God that he has given us to care for and nurture and raise up to love and praise him. This is my job. I would be doing my kids a disservice if I were to teach them to fear going to school, the mall or really any other public place. Instead I will teach them to have faith in God and his plan and to live their lives to glorify him. And I will cherish and thank God for every moment I have with them. I will continue to pray for them, their friends, classmates, teachers and school administrators. And I will continue to pray for the community of Newtown.

"May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." -Numbers 6:24-26

Holiday Baking

Yesterday in addition to making the chicken noodle soup I also did our holiday baking. I decided to cut back this year and make five kinds of cookies/ candies. The last few years I've found that I always end up throwing out way too many goodies because I usually make too much or forget to get out cookie plates to our friends. So this year I cut down the number I make and put the cookie plates together right away.

I made fudge (no nuts), peanut butter clusters (they are a cookie/ candy that my mom used to make when I was little), sugar cookies, gingerbread boys (and girls) and individual raspberry swirl cheesecakes. They all turned out delicious! Today the kids decorated the sugar/ gingerbread cookies. They both REALLY like the sprinkles! I kept having to remind them that some people don't like sprinkles. They decided that people that don't like sprinkles must be allergic to them.

Kids decorating cookies

We got the cookie plates all ready to hand out tomorrow. One more thing I can check off my holiday list! Leave a comment with which cookie/ candy you think sounds the best and I will do a blog with the recipe :o)

Cookie plates! Yum!!

Thank you for reading. I hope you are getting things checked off your holiday list. Happy Holidays!!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

The flu found our house this past week. I came down with it first and then passed it on to the rest of the family. It was miserable. It started Friday but I still can barely eat and have been craving some good chicken noodle soup. So today I decided to make my own with homemade noodles. It was quite the project but well worth it :o) I thought I would share the recipe in case any of you would like to make it.

- 9 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups carrots diced
- 4 stalks of celery diced
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 bay leaf
- sea salt & fresh cracked pepper to taste (my husband doesn't really like salt so I just did a tiny bit and then added more to my bowl when I was ready to eat it)
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 2 cups cooked chicken shredded (I used chicken breast)

Will was helping me chop onions. I thought maybe his eyes would water but they didn't :o)

+ Saute onions in olive oil until soft, about 3 -4 minutes. Add garlic & cook for 30 seconds. Add broth & the remainder of ingredients. Cook over medium low heat for 1-2 hours. (I covered it about half way through to make sure that the carrots and celery were extra soft).

Noodles:
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup of milk (I added a little more because my dough was not quite wet enough)

+ In mixing bowl combine flour, salt, egg & milk. Mix until you produce a slightly sticky ball of dough. Flour the counter & roll out dough to 1/8" thickness. You want them thin because they will thicken when cooked. Cut noodles to desired size & place on wax paper. Let the noodles dry out on the counter for at least one hour before adding them to the soup.

+ About 30 minutes before serving soup, drop noodles in & cook. Enjoy :o)

I hope that you are all staying healthy this winter. Thank you for reading. Happy December!!

Buddy's Adventures

I have been a little delayed in blogging this past week. Unfortunately I came down with the flu and it made it's way through our house to all three little ones now. My in laws were here visiting for the weekend from Oregon so I was so disappointed to be sick during that time.

I wanted to give a quick catch up of what Buddy was up to this past week. When I was sick I forgot to switch what he was doing but my wonderful husband picked up the slack without me even saying anything. I love him and am so happy that he finds joy in the things that the kids love and the magic they see around Christmas time.

Monday: Buddy went repelling down our fireplace. This one was fun for Kate because while she was standing there Buddy slipped a little but he held on!

Tuesday: Buddy used Merry Christmas streamers to lock the kids in the the hallway! The found their way out by crawling underneath :o)

Wednesday: Buddy cleaned their bathroom. I had just been talking to them that day about keeping it clean and surprisingly Buddy did it for them. What a nice elf he is!

Thursday: Buddy had a movie date with Barbie. Kate loves when Buddy hangs out with her Barbie's. Our dog Fenway knocked him off the couch this day and Kate came and told me. Wouldn't you know when I went to check on him he was already back on the couch. She was so surprised that he had moved during the day ;o)

Friday: Buddy took a little ride on our Christmas moose.

Saturday: Buddy made a BB gun out of Legos just like the ones the kids had gotten from Grandma & Grandpa Ashley the night before. He also left a note about safety while using your gun.

Sunday: Buddy put on camoflauge and hid out in some of our pine decorations. This one was hard for the kids to find but eventually they found him. He had some good camoflauge!!

I hope that whatever Christmas traditions your family has that you are enjoying this special time of year. What a blessed time to remember and celebrate and thanking the Lord for his ultimate gift.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Thank you for reading. Happy December!!

Nashville

This weekend we decided to take an impromptu family trip to Nashville. Friday night when Steve was looking online he saw that Willie and Korie Robertson from Duck Dynasty were going to be there for a book signing. We love the show Duck Dynasty and really just love the faith and values that the family has and portrays. We thought it would be fun to go see them and get autographs plus we had always wanted to go to Nashville. We decided to sleep on it and decide in the morning if we wanted to take the trip or not, 6 hours is  a long drive for a quick trip especially with two little kids and a four month old baby.

Saturday morning I was in the shower and Steve came in the bathroom and said "Let's go to Nashville!" I was so excited! We packed up some clothes and snacks and hit the road. I have a friend that just moved there a few days before so I text her and we were able to meet up with her and her husband for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. We also walked around downtown Nashville a bit which was awesome! Every place you walked by you could hear the music coming out of the door and there were people on the street playing music with a bucket out for money. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and took the kids swimming. It was Will's first time and he wasn't quite sure what to think.

The next morning we got up and got ready for the book signing. The book signing was 12-2 and we got to Bass Pro where it was at not long after 9. We found out shortly after getting there that they had given out tickets to people right when they opened (at 8) and if you were not there to get a ticket you would not get an autograph. I was so disappointed. We had driven all that way though so we decided to stay until they got there so we could at least see them and get some pictures. The kids enjoyed shooting BB guns and seeing Santa at Bass Pro.

After the signing we grabbed some lunch to eat in the car and headed home. We had purchased The Duck Commander Family book during the signing and I read it to Steve the whole way home. We both loved it. It has so many great bible verses, I'm eager to put some of them up on my walls. What an amazing, faith driven family.

What I love about car trips like this is that Steve and I really get a chance to just talk and connect. We don't have TV or other distractions. We just enjoy each other and the kids. So while we didn't get the autographs we went for (someday hopefully I will have the chance to meet them) we got a weekend neither one of us will forget. We had an amazing time as a family and just enjoyed the little getaway.
So thank you Willlie & Korie for giving us the motivation to take this road trip and have this family time.

I want to share my favorite verse from the book that is going to find it's way onto a wall in my dining room this week: "WHAT, THEN, SHALL WE SAY IN RESPONSE TO THESE THINGS? IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?" ROMANS 8:31

Thank you for reading and Happy December!!