Wordless Wednesday : Open Up Mommy!

An Artist In The Making

While Mommy was playing with paint, putting together a little something to show you in the not-too-distant future, Eli had some fun painting too...

Finger painting that is!

Don't worry... I didn't give him actual paint. Different colors of yogurt worked just fine...

It tasted yummy too!

I live for his smile!

He got very into his artwork...

And then very into the tub...

I love my little artist!

An Easter Card For Him

I've been feeling very inspired and excited about creating things, so instead of buying a card for my husband this Easter, I decided to make him one. He is very excited about the fact that I've been so into my crafts lately. He majored in art and happens to like my style, so I know he's going to love this. Plus, he's more sentimental than even I am and will appreciate the time put into it. So here's what I came up with...

Taa Daaa!!!

You can make one too! Here's how:

What you'll need:

Coordinating pieces of scrapbook paper/card stock in earthy tones

ribbon

1 small brad

scissors

pin

Pen/marker

distressing ink

paper towel

Tape

Glue

paper cutter (optional)

rub-on wording (optional)

1. I almost forgot to take pictures (shame on me!) so forgive me for throwing several steps into one... On a piece of card stock, draw out two separate designs, one to fit inside the other. Cut it out and distress the edges. On the back, draw out the shape you would like to follow for your pin pricking. I followed the same pattern for my smaller shape and then drew a more intricate design on the larger one. When finished, use a pin to poke holes along the line to make your design on the paper. Adhere the smaller shape in the center of the larger one.
2. Cut out some of the basic shapes to use on the front (two rectangles, one to place inside the other), a piece of ribbon, and your actual card base. You’ll want to make sure that the rectangles are the same width as the card.
3. Cut out different flower shapes on four separate pieces of paper.
4. Distress the edges on each layer and attach them together with a brad.
5. Attach the flower to the pin pricked shapes you made in step 1 with the brad.
6. Take the rectangles that you cut out in step 2 and distress them. Then adhere the smaller rectangle to the larger one and wrap the ribbon around them, securing the ribbon on the back with tape.
7. Attach your rectangles to the front of the card. Distress outer edges.
8. Adhere your flower and pin pricked shapes to the card over your rectangles. Use rub on transfer or embellishment on the bottom right hand corner.
9. Cut out two rectangles of the same size, just slightly smaller than the card. Distress the edges and attach them to the insides of the card. Using another piece of paper, write or type out desired text. Distress the edges and attach to the inside of the card. I used a scripture verse relating to the holiday on the left side and my own personal sentiment on the right.
10. Using another piece of card stock, place your card in the center and trace the edges. Draw lines from the edges of where the card was traced to the outside edge of the card stock in a very slight “V” shape. Note: the card will be thick so you’ll want to make the envelope slightly larger. I added about 1/2 cm to all sides of the traced shape.
11. Fold all four flaps in towards the center, starting with the sides, followed by the bottom and then the top. Glue along overlap on the bottom flap.
12. Use an embellishment or seal to close the envelope. I had a ton of wax and a stamp with our initial left over from our wedding so I used that.
13. Use some of the left over scraps to cut into rectangular shapes. Distress the edges on both the paper scraps and the envelope. Write the name of the recipient on one of the scraps and attach them all to the front of the envelope.
14. Feel good about yourself... you did something thoughtful for someone you love =)

The Heart Of A Little Man

I love being a stay at home mom. I mean, I really love it. I love watching Elijah as he consistently learns new things. I love seeing his face light up when he knows he's done something that makes me happy. I love watching him explore and discover. This love brought me to today's blog. It's a little different than my usual post, but I wanted to share my heart with you.

Genesis 1:7 tells us that God has created us in His image. Since none of us can actually be God in His entirety, He has created each of us to play our separate roles. By looking at His creation as a whole, we get a glimpse of His depth. I love seeing the differences in men and women. I know many think I'm old fashioned, but I firmly believe that God created men for specific purposes and He created women for specific purposes and gave us certain characteristics that aid us for those purposes. For example, men always feel the need to provide for their families and to protect. Women feel the need to nurture and nest. This also plays into the whole men being logical and women being emotional deal. When we live out the calling that God has placed on our lives, it results in true beauty. In the book Created To Be His Help Meet, Debi Pearl so perfectly states that:

"If you are a wife, you were created to fill a need, and in that capacity you are a "good thing," a helper suited to the needs of a man. This is how God created you and it is your purpose for existing. You are, by nature, equipped in every way to be your man's helper. You are inferior to none as long as you function within your created nature, for no man can do your job, and no man is complete without his wife. You were created to make him complete, not to seek personal fulfillment parallel to him. A woman trying to function like a man is as ridiculous as a man trying to be like a woman. A unisex society is a senseless society - a society dangerously out of order."

I find so much joy in being a help meet to my husband and have been so blessed to be able to stay at home doing what I can to assist him in being the man God created him to be and raising our son to have the same beliefs. John Elderedge states that "In the heart of every man is a desperate desire for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue," in his book Wild at Heart. In the days that I spend with my precious boy, I can already see these core desires taking root in his little heart and it makes me smile.

Being the loving mommy that I am, I of course want to give my son the desires of his heart, so today I made Elijah his own fort... an adventure to live:

He loved it!

Afterwards, we shared an ice cream sandwich...

It has been a good day.

I Want Candy...

After a busy morning of lots of cleaning, some embroidering (working on a project that I'm hoping to be able to share next week), some eating, and some mommy-ing I took a trip to Jo-Ann's and came home with candy molds to make my own gummies!

While browsing the Not So Idle Hands blog by Emily, I came across a recipe for easy peasy gummy candy and couldn't wait to try it! (I do encourage you to jump on over to Emily's blog... her pictures are much prettier than mine ;0)

Ingredients:

2 three oz. packages of flavored Jello (I used raspberry)

6 envelopes of Knox unflavored gelatin

2/3 cup of cold water + half of 1/3 cup (Weird measurement, I know. Half of 1/3 cup could also be thought of as 2 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp.)

Candy molds

I used Emily's idea of mixing everything in my pyrex measuring cup to use later as my double-boiler. So first, you'll want to measure out your water and slowly add all the gelatin and Jello. Make sure you add just a little at a time and stir before adding more.

Once all the Jello and gelatin have been added, cover it and let it sit for 10 minutes. While it sits, you can start boiling some water in a pot. After the 10 minutes are up, it should be thick. (Ignore the disgusting hard water spots on my dish... should have hand washed it. Ick)

Eli wanted to be a good little helper, so he searched for the perfect pot...

Next, put the glass measuring cup into the simmering water and let the mixture melt. Make sure you don't cook or burn it... just melt it (hence the double-boiler).

After it's completely melted you can pour it into your molds. This is when having it in the measuring cup really helps! You'll want to be quick, because the goo will start to set in your measuring cup if it sits for too long.

Now you can put the molds in your freezer or refrigerator for 5 or 10 minutes to help them set faster. Once they've set completely, you just pull them right out of the molds. SO EASY!!

Eggs, Eggs and more... Eggs?

I think Tuesdays may just be my favorite day of the week. I so look forward to Eli's play group... watching the little ones learn how to interact with each other, seeing each of the children growing as individuals, getting a glimpse of the people they will become as their little personalities develop, and having time to talk with other moms have become moments that I cherish.

This morning, our play group had an easter egg hunt for the kids and they had a marvelous time!

After play group, I drove out to meet my husband for lunch. I had made more delicious treats for him to take to the office, but in a rush to get out the door, he accidentally forgot them. So I drove the 40 minutes it takes to get to his office in Tampa to drop them off, not wanting all that yumminess to go to waste. The staff was literally fighting over them. Curious to know what I made?

My good friend Betty Crocker came up with a wonderfully simple recipe that had me drooling when my sister first made it a long time ago.... Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies! Sounds delicious doesn't it? Well, it sounds even better when you add chocolate ganache to the top like I saw on Bakerella (If you haven't visited her blog yet, you should... she has some amazing recipes!). The basic brownie recipe can be found on Betty Crocker's website but here's what you're looking at:

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker Original Supreme brownie mix (with chocolate syrup pouch)

1 pouch Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1/4 c. water

3 eggs

1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened (not melted)

1 container Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting (I substituted Bakerella's chocolate ganache)

Follow directions on the box to make brownies and pour into greased 13x9 pan. Then, make cookie dough as directed on pouch and drop by rounded spoonfuls into brownie batter (I must have been using a really big spoon, ha ha). Press down lightly.

Bake for 35-40 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. Or if you're like me and take everything out earlier than the package says to make sure they're nice and moist, bake them for about 33 minutes =) Place on cooling rack until cooled completely (about an hour).

Then frost them with chocolate frosting or the ganache.

If using the chocolate ganache, you'll want to let it sit until the ganache sets. It seemed to take forever for me, so I ended up sticking it in the refrigerator to help it along. Once set, you can cut them up.

Since I was sending these to work with the hubster, I wrapped them up too (I'm a sucker for pretty packages)...

I baked these the night before sending them off, and my husband and I agreed that they tasted better the next day.

After taking the brownies to Cliff's office, we grabbed some sushi for lunch with Cliff's boss/friend Victor. I ordered an amazing spicy salmon tempura roll, but we all sort of shared our food. After eating a few bites of California roll and a spicy tuna roll (which were both incredible) I was told that the orange stuff on top wasn't seasoning like I had thought, but rather smelt roe. What is smelt roe you ask? Fish eggs. Yes, it's true. I figured that since I'd already eaten them and couldn't really distinguish the difference in texture between the eggs and the rice I'd just continue eating them. I feel tough =)

Sweet Deal

Summer is just around the corner (or already here some days for us Floridians), so I thought I'd share with you my method to making sweet tea. It is seriously the easiest and cheapest stuff to make and my husband goes crazy for it! All you have to do is place 5 tea bags (I use Lipton... SUPER cheap when Publix has their bogo deals) into the basket of your coffee maker. Brew tea with 10 cups of water. Pour over 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar and fill the rest of your 2 quart pitcher with water or ice. Stick it in the refrigerator until it's nice and cold and Voilà! You have an inexpensive, easy, and refreshing beverage. Enjoy! =)

Fun With Friends And Photos

Today Eli and I got to go to his friend Lennon's first birthday party. Elijah had a great time being outside and playing with all the other toddlers and I had a blast just watching.

Eli, always wanting to be a good helper, decided to help out in opening his little buddy's presents...

On a hot day, there's nothing better than splashing around in cool water! Here's my little man and the birthday boy...

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been working on a project and I am dying to share it with you! Besides giving Lennon an adorable wooden block train, I also made him his own personalized ABC book using photos that I snagged from his parents' facebook and blog pages ;0)

Here are a few of my favorite pages:

It makes a great little gift because it is personal, educational, and it will help keep Lennon familiar with the faces he doesn't get to see very often. It was a huge hit! But I can't take all the credit... as much as I would love to tell you that I was the creative one that thought this up, it was actually the ever-so-talented Cheri from I am Momma Hear me Roar that came up with this genius idea.

Happy Mondays

Strangely enough I've had a strong desire to go for a run. So I packed up the kiddo and headed to the park. Never knowing what to expect of Florida's weather, but knowing that I usually end up sweating, I just threw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Silly me. I bundled Eli up in a warm coat and started my brisk walk. Five minutes later, I was headed back to the car completely freezing! Elijah was not happy that I was putting him back in the car so soon. So when we got home, I decided to make the living room his playground. I took all the cushions off the couch and put them on the floor so he would have a few different levels to climb up and down and threw in a bunch of throw pillows. He ended up having tons of fun!

After Elijah went down for a nap, I made some yummy (and super easy) snacks for Cliff to take to work tomorrow to share with the office:

Secret-Center Cookie Cups

Ingredients:

1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookies

18 mini milky way candy bars

1 container chocolate frosting

18 paper baking cups

Directions:

1. For each cookie cup, wrap heaping tsp. cookie dough around 1 candy bar, enclosing it completely and forming a ball. Place in paper baking cup; place cups 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

2. Bake 8-12 minutes or until golden brown (centers will sink slightly). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

3. Frost each cookie cup.

This is just my version of the recipe. The original recipe can be found at pillsbury.com. Happy baking! :)

Break This Big Old Heart

With dull grey skies and the calming sound of rain falling, today was definitely a day I did not want to get out of bed. Especially since all of us are battling colds. But nevertheless, I was out of bed early to get myself and my boys ready for church. After all these years of knowing my husband, I had the opportunity to listen to him formally teach for the first time during this morning's service. I couldn't help but be the proud, admiring wife. There's something very attractive about a man that knows the word of God :)

We enjoyed a relaxing and incredibly lazy afternoon, complete with food I love but should not be eating. I even got a nice, long nap with Eli and Cliff, followed by some cuddles from my smiley little bug...

He makes my heart feel so big!

I've had the song "Hosanna" by Hillsong stuck in my head for over a week now:

"Heal my heart and make it clean.. open up my eyes to the things unseen... show me how to love like You have loved me... break my heart for what breaks Yours... everything I am for Your kingdom's cause... as I walk from earth into eternity."

Every time I hear that part of the song, it speaks powerfully to me. Lately I keep feeling like God is preparing me for something... what it is I'm not sure yet, but I'm excited to see what He has in store!

Tiny Toes and Giant Smiles

After some inspiration, I finally decided to hitch a ride on the bandwagon and start a blog of my own. I am generally the type of person that gets very excited about about new things and when the newness wears off, I move on to something else. I sincerely hope that this blog doesn't suffer the same fate as the dozens of journals I've had (wherever those are). Only time will tell...

This afternoon I was desperate for some time outdoors! After all the cold weather, the warm sunshine was just what I needed. Unfortunately, we don't have much of a yard... mostly just a tiny bit of land covered with leaves and branches thanks to the over-abundance of trees. So I packed up my little darling, his water table, and the camera and headed over to my parents house. Elijah had a BLAST pointing out all the birds that flew by (and naming them for me too!) and splashing around...

And I, of course, could not get enough of his little toes...

While I was at my parents house I wondered over to check out my daddy's garden. It was spectacular as always. With my camera in hand, I just could not resist taking a few photos...

To top off this wonderful day, my hubby decided to clean out part of the garage. It has gotten a little out of hand with all of our stuff piled into a one-car garage and then offering it as church storage space. For a while, it was tricky trying to make it over to the washer and dryer without fearing for my life. Now there is tons of space for me to do what I need to do. He is so good to me... I told him I feel like it's Christmas :)