"Ganoba Bar" Equality

One definite highlight of Alia's day is snack time... and one definite highlight of snack time is "ganoba bars".

"Ganoba bars" are a special treat, you see.

The second I give the go ahead, Alia opens the pantry door, locates the box, opens the box (if need be), takes out a "ganoba bar", closes the pantry door, opens the "ganoba bar" wrapper, and puts the wrapper in the trash. She's a pro "ganoba bar" consumer, I guess you could say!

Well, Larren has caught wind of this special snack time delicacy... and demanded equality!

First up... the stunned, surprised, "Oh whatcha got there" tactic


The sad look of a plan gone wrong...

New tactic... sneak up from the side

OH, OH... this is looking hopeful, folks!

Nope, no good. Tactic # 3 - a little good ole'd fashioned begging...



And if at first you don't succeed... try, try, try again!


Enough of that, she says...

Tactic # 4...

Rally up the "ganoba bar consumer" and take down the "ganoba bar dictator"... head straight to the top of the command line!!

Potential Felt Food Fanatic

So my best friend, Jen, has been talking about felt food for the past few months now. I've always just said "Yeah, that's great... but you're the crafty one!" and left it at that. Horrible friend that I am... I hadn't even seen the huge box of food that she made for her kids. Until two nights ago.

GRACIOUS! I've been dreaming about felt food ever since... it's ridiculous!!

Just look at some of these samples from a blog I found...




It's endless what you can do with this stuff!!

She even made cute little bags to put all the food in...


So, needless to say... my sewing machine it going to be in full swing this winter! I am SO SO SO excited to order some felt from the States (you guys have SUCH a huge advantage down there, by the way... good prices, full range of colors... it saddens me a bit!!)

I'm going to spend $20 and only get 1 yard of each color I want... that's my beginning goal! I can't wait!

Oh, here's the blog where the above pictures came from, by the way... http://alltwistedup.blogspot.com/2008/01/fabulous-felt-food.html

And if you want more info on felt food, just google it. There's images and tutorials EVERYWHERE!!!

Happy felting!

Runny Noses...

... might be the "new black" in our house...

but they sure aren't stopping anyone!

Which I'm thankful for... don't get me wrong... it's just that I've practically been BEGGING for some cuddle time.

Runny noses = lots and lots of cuddle time

Will someone please fill my girls in on this!

Stay At Home Mom

So... one of the most frustrating things I'm asked as a stay at home mom is "What do you do all day?"

Typically I have to fight back saying some sort of "You've got to be kidding me?" remark and just smile sweetly.

But for those of you who still aren't quite sure... this is ONE of the reasons why it's hard to get everything done in a given day.

Being used as a fence post by little Miss. Walker Wannabe. Should the fence post move, there would be a big catastrophe... resulting in crying, sniffling and the like.

"I'm sorry... what Mom? You wanted to do something? Laundry, you say? Sweep the floor? Supper prep? Watch paint dry?"

It's either doing everything with one hand... or doing everything from one spot! Depends on the day! :)

Scene of the Crime

Alia isn't the most pleased when "someone" rearranges her alphabet pieces or loses them under the fridge. She likes to have them in order, in lines, or in an arrangement SHE chose for the day...
Needless to say, we came upon THIS the other day after lunch.


I know... we were a little shocked ourselves.

But calm down, calm down... let's gather some evidence.

Clue # 1 - An orange sippy cup was left at the scene. Interesting... very interesting.
Clue # 2 - The letters ABC were left in tact... the suspect has OBVIOUSLY heard the alphabet song played over and over and over and over again.
Clue # 3 - There are several letters "hidden" under the fridge for the next crime strike. And there's only one person in this house whose line of vision is consistently at ground level.

Any guesses?

I'll give you one last clue... THIS was captured as the suspect made their getaway!

Quad Distraction

And here's the reason why it was SO hard for the girls to look at my camera when we were playing in the leaves!! Uncle Ron was going for a little spin on the four wheeler! Of course... Alia and Larren wanted to go too, so they each took a ride on a nice, crisp fall day!







What amazing, amazing neighbors we have! Yes... we are looking for a bigger house, but we really don't want to leave our little community! We have "family" here and that's worth more than we can say!
Uncle Ron and Auntie Betty treat our kids as if they were their own grandchildren (it might help that they don't have any yet!). Ron and Betty's kids also live in our community, and they are some of our closest friends! Alia and Larren have NO idea that they aren't our actual family... and sometimes we forget too! They invite us to their family holiday dinners, birthday parties, Sunday dinners, and will watch the girls on a moments notice.
What a huge blessing God has given us in this family... we're still hoping we don't have to leave this area to "upgrade" homes!

Fall Fun

We have had a gorgeous fall... but unfortunately I haven't utilized it as much as I should be! I've been wanting to get pics of the girls for a long time now... but the pictures just don't seem to turn out how I want. (My lack of photography skills can be really frustrating sometimes!)

These aren't what I had in mind either... but we had fun, none the less!

Pumpkin Ice Cream

In our household, October means Pumpkin Pie Blizzards at Dairy Queen!

We have to make at least a couple trips to indulge in the frosty pumpkiny goodness before the calendar changes (though last year Jon convinced the DQ lady to make us one in early November, so we were quite pleased!).

That being said.... I found this recipe for pumpkin ice cream and it has totally turned our October tradition upside down!

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

Combine pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, and spices. Blend in ice cream. Freeze until firm.

Add some pie crust pieces (which really are the key component!), whipped cream, and a touch of nutmeg... NOW you're in business, folks!!

Curious with a Capital "C"

This girl is beyond curious.

She'll plow over, push through, crawl under, or reach up for anything that catches her eye. She knows no fear.

And her new standing trick really comes in handy for moments such as these!

Ahhh, goal achieved.

Now to stop and take a closer look at what this is, actually, that just HAD to be attained.

Of course, a taste test is in order.

BLAH! Lens caps are not as good as expected!

So a good shake will have to do.

Until UH OH. Horror of horrors, it was shook a little too hard...

and slid under the deacon's bench.

It's a sad day in Larren's world...

but she will not be defeated!

There's still nooks and crannies to discover, dust bunnies to find, and mischief to get into!