If You Give a Mom a Muffin

This was shared with me by a friend of mine, and gracious... it's just too accurate not to share!! :)

If You Give a Mom a Muffin

If you give a mom a muffin, she'll want a cup of coffee to go with it. So she'll pour herself some. Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.  She'll wipe it up. 

While wiping the floor, she will find some dirty socks. She'll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the  washer, she'll trip over some snow boots and bump into the freezer. Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper for tonight. 

She will get out a pound of hamburger. She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.) The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. 

The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old. She'll smell something funny. She'll change the two-year-old. While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. Her five-year-old will answer it and hang up. 

She'll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee on Friday. Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup. She will pour herself some. And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie
Based on the book "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff

365 Project: February 11, 2012

Another daughter...

... that's 100%...

... smitten with her Daddy!

365 Project: February 10, 2012

Somehow dinner with kids, at other people's houses, is crazy.

Are the girls energy levels at their tip top peaks? Better believe it.
Will Alia or Larren be interested in eating? Doubt it.
Do we usually have an out of the blue spill or two? Absolutely.
Will they touch something they aren't supposed to? Probably.
Do early bedtimes beckon just as we're getting into good conversation? Yuppers.
Will we get to play games like we had hoped to? Sorry... maybe next time.

Yeah, it's a lot of work... but seeing the girls interact, play, and be loved on by the generations before them makes it worth it!

From falling asleep in a great auntie's arms...

... to baking enough cookies for a small army...

... we'll take it.

The layed back, relaxing family dinners have changed... but we'll savor these new ones, cause before long we'll miss spilled drinks, lost mittens, and blanket forts... guaranteed.

*and I also guarantee that I'll need reminded of that! :)

365 Project: February 9, 2012

Caidrie and I had a wonderful time catching up with a good friend of mine. But it's times like these that I realize just how much she takes after her mama... wanna know what she's looking at?

NOT kidding!! But really... can ya blame her?! :)

365 Project: February 8, 2012

Since there's no snow...

... their newly acquired sled becomes a boat, an airplane, a train, and a shuttle.

Of course! Why didn't I think of that?! :)

365 Project: February 7, 2012

My weekly women's Bible study means...

- daddy/daughter time for Jon, Alia & Larren

- connection and conversation with grown ladies for me :)

- learning about (and soaking up!) God's love for His bride

- dusting off the ole' piano skills and leading ladies in worship

- and plenty of snuggle time for Caidrie

She usually goes from this...

... to this before ya can say "Anybody wanna hold a ba...?" :) 

365 Project: February 6, 2012

365 Project: February 5, 2012

Make homemade pretzels or watch the Super Bowl?

Pretzels win every time!

I wish we could say we made football shaped ones... but we didn't! We'll try to be more on the ball (ha!) for next year! :)

365 Project: February 4, 2012

Dress up...

Tea parties...

All the kids getting along...

Visiting with good friends over lunch (that THEY brought!!)...

and old fashioned peanut butter pie....

now THAT's a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon!! :)

365 Project: February 3, 2012

Visiting our friends...

... and their little boy blue!

365 Project: February 2, 2012

So of all days NOT to get a great picture... goodness... it wasn't for lack of opportunity, I assure you! My good friend April and I spent the day in the city getting massages, manicures, and pedicures at the spa, we had lunch at Olive Garden, and of course, we did our fair share of shopping!

All that and THIS is the picture I got for the day!! :)

Of Caidrie parked beside me as my feet get painted a lovely shade of burnt orange! 

Ah well... another lesson learned : don't be too shy to ASK someone to get pictures of us... whether we're relaxing with our feet in hot sudsy water, stuffing our mouths with salad & bread sticks, or skipping happily to the car with bags full of clearance finds!!

365 Project: February 1, 2012

Nana Betty and Papa Ron came home from Mexico bearing gifts! Sadly the girls hats were too small...

... but Papa Ron's hat fit "just right!" :)

365 Project: January 31, 2012

This girl is a sponge for learning!

Alia finished learning the upper case, lower case, and sound of each letter today and couldn't wait to have her picture taken with all of them! 

365 Project: January 30, 2012

A little game of Connect Four does a marriage good!

365 Project: January 29, 2012

Charm and I just couldn't resist getting some pictures of her beautiful baby bump... though, sadly, the cold and wind limited us to fewer than we would have preferred!

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. 

{Psalm 139:13}

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. {Psalm 139:14}

An amazing miracle indeed...

365 Project: January 28, 2012

Some of our best friends came to spend the weekend with us... and it was such. a. blessing! Jon and Aaron have been close buds for over 12 years, and Charm and I hit it off the first time we met! They're the type of friends that

... don't bat an eye at my "crazy bedhead, no make up, stay in my PJ's until noon" look

... don't judge us when we (or our kids!) don't have it all together

... we feel we can be 100% real with

... gladly sacrifice sleep so that we can talk until long after midnight three nights in a row!

The added bonus : they adore our girls. I've said it before... but every time I witness it, I'm blown away. When someone treats our kids as their own that speaks volumes about our friendship! 

Aaron did more reading in one weekend than he probably has in years combined, willingly sat through Alia's demonstration of what she's learned in "school"...  then asked if they could do MORE schooling together, plus got his fair share of exercise from chasing the girls around "the football field" (A.K.A. our basement)!

Charm made the girls day by opening up a salon... with the sole purpose of making them feel pretty!!

Mission accomplished! :)

They will be joining the "parenting club" in a few weeks... and if their role as "mommy and daddy" is anything like their role of "auntie and uncle" they will be FABULOUS members indeed!

365 Project: January 27, 2012

When friends are coming over for supper, and things are running a tad late...

... I have two (or three!) eager sous chef's ready to lend their expertise!

365 Project: January 26, 2012

Waiting for the hero of the house to come home...

... but sadly the reunion hugs will have to wait until morning. I have a sneaking suspicion that two little munchkins will be tip toeing into our room at the first yawn and stretch of dawn!!

365 Project: January 25, 2012

My wonderful friend, April, invited the girls and I over for supper in the midst of our "girls only extravaganza" and what. a. treat! She spoiled us with homemade chicken noodle soup, homemade buns, homemade cinnamon rolls (she's got some crazy good cooking skills... and knows my love of all things carb!!) not to mention refreshing conversation!

I peeked in the living room and had to smile at this sight... times sure have changed, eh?! When I was their age I had no idea what a computer was, much less how to use one!

Now adays Alia can navigate her way around the laptop, use a mouse with ease, and even type an          e-mail for her Daddy (he tells her the letters and she pecks away!). Judging by the way the two younger girls are watching, I'm guessing it won't take 'em long either!

365 Project: January 24, 2012

I gotta be honest with you... day two of our "girls only extravaganza" didn't go as well as day one. Among MANY other things... Caidrie was up during the night, Larren had four ear piercing temper tantrums (one of which was in public and two of which woke up her sleeping sisters), I was stir crazy by noon, whining was the girls language of the day, and I lost my temper more times than I would have preferred.

SO... to make the rest of the day somewhat tolerable I stopped by Dairy Queen, picked up some deep fried food for supper, let the girls bring down their buddies, and we had a picnic on the kitchen floor.

It didn't magically make the day perfect, but it brought out a few needed smiles... and considering the day, we'll take it!

365 Project: January 23, 2012

Snowmobiling in the mountains has been a long time dream of Jon's... and he decided that parental leave was as good a time as any to make his dream come true! I was excited for him to live out one of his dreams... just a little less than stellar about being on my own with three kids, ages three and under, in the middle of winter! So... this was the first day of our week long "girls only extravaganza" and I was determined to make the most of it!

We met a friend at the rec center's indoor play place, brought some Tim Bit's for extra smiles and made an afternoon of it!

See that gal in the yellow ball gown?

That one's a princess and she wanted every one to know it!

365 Project: January 22, 2012

While the girls played with Nana Barb, I was able to shoot for a bit with the guys on a warmer than average Sunday afternoon. It felt good to take aim, pull the trigger and hit a few targets...

... though I think I better stick to "shooting" with a black box and a lens! :)

365 Project: January 21, 2012

This is the baby face that I get to kiss, cuddle, and love on every day!

It's a hard job, eh?! :)

365 Project: January 20, 2012

The girls received a train set as part of their Christmas / part of Larren's birthday gift and since they are hooked, line and sinker, on Thomas the Tank Engine we thought this would be "the gift of all gifts" in their minds. 

They like it, sure... but it didn't pack quite the punch that we thought it would!

They're still a tad young for it, and will no doubt grow into it, but for now Larren likes being the "railway engineer!" She is our analytical one... and is always trying to figure out how things work!

She likes rearranging the track, hooking the engines and freight cars together, and dropping cargo from the crane into the waiting cars. But when her shift is done... that's it, the fun is over! All trains go back in the drawer and you'd best be running around the track if you want to get one more lap in!

You can try to convince her that there's lots more work to be done on the Island of Sodor, but trust me, Sir Topham Hatt himself couldn't change her mind! :)

** Shooting at night in the basement is a tad tricky... so another lesson learned - shoot early and shoot often! **

365 Project: January 19, 2012

Alia has informed us...

... that we can "pick her up to baby sit ANY time!!" :)

365 Project: January 18, 2012

The house was a mess... supper needed made... laundry was sorted and ready for washing... painting projects were waiting for me in the basement...

but after three babies, I'm finally learning that some things will wait... and some won't! :)

Cuddly Caidrie