My conversations with Nolan have gotten very philosophical lately. He told me in the car this morning that if he had more money he would be happier. I've really tried lately to help him become more aware in this department. If we go to Target, toys there aren't free, so now if he wants a toy he has to use money that he has saved in his piggy bank ($5 max). If he could spend all of his money in his piggy bank on one big cool toy he would do it in a hot minute, but I know that toy will be broken/forgotten about in a week and his piggy bank will be empty. I point out that food costs money and the reason Greg goes to work is to provide for us...house, food, bills, etc.
So, this money comment bothered me. I know in his 5 year old mind he made the connection: more money=more toys, which would equal more happiness in his life (or so he thinks). I explained to him that more money wouldn't make us happier, but people in our lives should make us happier. Great concept, but do I really believe it myself??
I have caught myself numerous times thinking, "If I only had: new shoes/ extra bathroom/new countertops/a new haircut, I would be so much happier." Well, all of those things are THINGS, and they all cost money. So, maybe Nolan wasn't too far off the path of my own selfish thinking...more money might equal more happiness.
But I know deep down that isn't the right answer. Just like our first instinct in Sunday School is to answer all questions with, "Jesus!" because we always think that is the right answer; I catch myself answering the question, "What would make you more happy?" "More money!" I definitely think that it would get me more things, but I know human nature. After you get those things, you'll just want more things. I see this in mini-form in Nolan and Mallory. They aren't just happy with one Power Ranger/My Little Pony, they have to have them ALL! And if they ever got them all, they would go to a new set of toys they just had to HAVE!
So, my solution to this problem? To be happy for what I have. Easy answer, hard to put in effect. But I am reminded every day. Take for example, I saw an article on a sick baby. I have two healthy children that I probably don't deserve, but have been graciously blessed with by God. Every time I use the internet/air conditioning/refrigeratory I remember that we are probably more well-off than 70% of the entire world. When I open my fridge and pantry I should be grateful that I don't have to worry about where my next meal comes from. I need to just look up to see the roof over my head (newly fixed and not leaking by the way).
In the next few days I will be making a list with Nolan to post on the fridge of the things that make us happy that are free, and a few things that make us happy that do cost money. I don't want to be unrealistic, there will always be things that cost money in Nolan's and mine lives that make us happy. Does this make me a selfish person? No, it just makes me human.
What do you think? Is money the answer to all problems?
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
29 Things
In celebration of my 29th Birthday (I know I look way younger), I'd like to list 29 things that make me smile, make my heart lighter and make me laugh out loud.
1. Rain on a sunny day where it sizzles on the street and creates steam. A much needed reprieve from the Texas heat.
2. My kids...the funny moments definitely out-way the tough ones, or atleast I choose to remember the funny ones. :)
3. Hugs from a 2 year old. Especially when I say,"squeeze tighter!" and her little arms try so hard to squeeze me.
4. Kisses from a 5 year old. I feel the "oh, mom!" and eye rolls coming on. So, as many kisses as I can get from Nolan while he allows it, the better.
5. Blue Bell Ice Cream: need I say more??
6. Seeing my vegetables ACTUALLY grow in the vegetable garden. I don't have a green thumb, more light green or teal.
7. Little kid's birthday parties. I've never seen kids get so excited over every little thing. Their amazement always brightens my day.
8. Seeing completed crochet/sewing projects. Watching it come together and make something out of basic materials is still pretty cool to me.
9. Swimming, preferably Barton Springs
10. Germany
11. Haribo
12. Nutella w/ bananas, or nutella right out of the jar. Doesn't matter, still delicious.
13. Nolan and Mallory playing tea party...LOVE this one
14. Reading a good book
15. A large fountain drink on a hot day. I wouldn' call myself addicted, but I am much nicer if I have one in my hand.
16. Having food in my fridge/a car to drive/a job to go to/a church to worship at/etc....
17. AC!!! Eventhough it never goes below 78 degrees, I would not make it through summer without it.
18. A good baseball game
19. Mallory walking around in her high heels clickity-clacking through the house
20. Working out at the gym. I force myself to go, but at the end I always feel as though it is worth it.
21. Climbing in to bed with clean sheets, clean blanket and clean pillowcases before the dog has left hair on them/ Greg has wrinkled them/ Kids have drooled on them. Best feeling ever.
22. When me and Nolan play the "I love you more than..." game. My favorite is "I love you more than Power Rangers" which is pretty big in a 5 year old's world. I tell him "I love you more than tater tots" :)
23. Being able to stay connected to friends via the internet
24. Baking for others.
25. Playing board games with the kids. Sometimes completely frustrating, but they love it.
26. Getting letters in the mail, it always seems so very thoughtful
27. Going on a water slide. We did this at Nolan's birthday. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
28. A nice cold glass of water or sweet tea
29. Being blessed with another year!
1. Rain on a sunny day where it sizzles on the street and creates steam. A much needed reprieve from the Texas heat.
2. My kids...the funny moments definitely out-way the tough ones, or atleast I choose to remember the funny ones. :)
3. Hugs from a 2 year old. Especially when I say,"squeeze tighter!" and her little arms try so hard to squeeze me.
4. Kisses from a 5 year old. I feel the "oh, mom!" and eye rolls coming on. So, as many kisses as I can get from Nolan while he allows it, the better.
5. Blue Bell Ice Cream: need I say more??
6. Seeing my vegetables ACTUALLY grow in the vegetable garden. I don't have a green thumb, more light green or teal.
7. Little kid's birthday parties. I've never seen kids get so excited over every little thing. Their amazement always brightens my day.
8. Seeing completed crochet/sewing projects. Watching it come together and make something out of basic materials is still pretty cool to me.
9. Swimming, preferably Barton Springs
10. Germany
11. Haribo
12. Nutella w/ bananas, or nutella right out of the jar. Doesn't matter, still delicious.
13. Nolan and Mallory playing tea party...LOVE this one
14. Reading a good book
16. Having food in my fridge/a car to drive/a job to go to/a church to worship at/etc....
17. AC!!! Eventhough it never goes below 78 degrees, I would not make it through summer without it.
18. A good baseball game
19. Mallory walking around in her high heels clickity-clacking through the house
20. Working out at the gym. I force myself to go, but at the end I always feel as though it is worth it.
21. Climbing in to bed with clean sheets, clean blanket and clean pillowcases before the dog has left hair on them/ Greg has wrinkled them/ Kids have drooled on them. Best feeling ever.
22. When me and Nolan play the "I love you more than..." game. My favorite is "I love you more than Power Rangers" which is pretty big in a 5 year old's world. I tell him "I love you more than tater tots" :)
23. Being able to stay connected to friends via the internet
24. Baking for others.
25. Playing board games with the kids. Sometimes completely frustrating, but they love it.
26. Getting letters in the mail, it always seems so very thoughtful
27. Going on a water slide. We did this at Nolan's birthday. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
28. A nice cold glass of water or sweet tea
29. Being blessed with another year!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The Great Sandal Scandal
If you live anywhere where temperatures creep above 80 degrees, you might own a pair of sandals. Since we live in Texas, where most of the year it's boiling outside, I have a little collection of flip flops...well I USED to anyways.
I am quite attached to my sandals, each pair has a story behind them: where they are from and where they have gone. Take my Reef sandals for example: Greg got me my first pair of Reef sandals as a present for getting my Aggie Ring. I even wore them to pick up my ring, very excited to start breaking them in. Eight years later (I know, I'm getting old), my sandals have been to different states, on the beach during our honeymoon and even went international for our mission trip to Germany last year. I'm even known to wear sandals during the winter time (with a sweater, of course) to Greg's large disapproval of this fashion statement.
Sadly, I am down three, yes THREE, pairs of sandals in the past week. I don't know what has gotten in to our dog, but she is chewing them up left and right. I hear the little "squeak, squeak" of teeth on leather/rubber soles and I go running through the house to find Olive (our dog) hanging out on our bed with a little graveyard of shoes surrounding her. I saw her go through a phase of destroying the kid's shoes, and even Greg's shoes (Greg has lost a pair of Clarks and numerous pairs of sandals as well), but I thought she liked me better than that...I guess not.
I walk in to her on our bed, I'm guessing that's a great location for shoe chewing; and I find her surrounded by three pairs of my favorite sandals. She actually ate the leather off one pair: non-salvageable, the other pair she chewed through a strap, and lastly my beloved Reefs. She chewed a few holes in the fabric straps. They are not completely ruined, but they just aren't fitting correctly.
I suppose there is a lesson to be learned: keep my sandals not only off the floor, but way high up on a shelf in my closet. I wish I would have learned this lesson three pairs of shoes ago.
I am quite attached to my sandals, each pair has a story behind them: where they are from and where they have gone. Take my Reef sandals for example: Greg got me my first pair of Reef sandals as a present for getting my Aggie Ring. I even wore them to pick up my ring, very excited to start breaking them in. Eight years later (I know, I'm getting old), my sandals have been to different states, on the beach during our honeymoon and even went international for our mission trip to Germany last year. I'm even known to wear sandals during the winter time (with a sweater, of course) to Greg's large disapproval of this fashion statement.
Sadly, I am down three, yes THREE, pairs of sandals in the past week. I don't know what has gotten in to our dog, but she is chewing them up left and right. I hear the little "squeak, squeak" of teeth on leather/rubber soles and I go running through the house to find Olive (our dog) hanging out on our bed with a little graveyard of shoes surrounding her. I saw her go through a phase of destroying the kid's shoes, and even Greg's shoes (Greg has lost a pair of Clarks and numerous pairs of sandals as well), but I thought she liked me better than that...I guess not.
I walk in to her on our bed, I'm guessing that's a great location for shoe chewing; and I find her surrounded by three pairs of my favorite sandals. She actually ate the leather off one pair: non-salvageable, the other pair she chewed through a strap, and lastly my beloved Reefs. She chewed a few holes in the fabric straps. They are not completely ruined, but they just aren't fitting correctly.
I suppose there is a lesson to be learned: keep my sandals not only off the floor, but way high up on a shelf in my closet. I wish I would have learned this lesson three pairs of shoes ago.
The culprit
The damage (1 of 3)
The bright side to all this sandal carnage is that it is the perfect reason to go get a new pair :)
Friday, May 11, 2012
Just for laughs....
Here are some things that have happened over the past few weeks that I found entertaining, and you might find funny:
1. At school Nolan filled out a questionnaire about me. In his eyes I am 35 years old with long hair, small eyes, 5 ft tall and only weigh 35 pounds. Hmmmm....
2. Mallory has begun the horrible habit of pooping in her underwear...specifically at restaurants. I will be avoiding any type of eatery to help her start pooping in the correct place, the bathroom.
3. Watching my kids get in and out of the car is like watching two turtles race to see who can go the slowest. Greg always asks why we leave 30 minutes early to get to the gym when we literally live less than 5 minutes away. It's because I add 10 minutes to get in the car, 10 minutes to get out of the car and another 5 minutes to walk the 20 feet to the door. :)
4. Nolan and Mallory have started playing "tea party" which really means that they get out every single plastic food and baby they own and lay it in the hallway. This is a horrible accident waiting to happen.
5. We recently went camping with friends and both kids had a blast. They got to go kayaking, fishing and play to their hearts content. I've never seen them so interested in worms and being able to touch live fish. They came home worn out and thoroughly happy.
6. Watching Nolan rock out to Guitar Hero on the Wii always puts a smile on my face. I don't know where he learned his moves, but he definitely has "Moves like Jagger".
7. Mallory has demanded to dress herself lately. I never thought I'd be the parent with the kids that looked all crazy, but when Mallory chooses to wear pink cowgirl boots, her pink tutu bathing suit and purse you can't help but smile and laugh. Nolan also has questionable choices in fashion: he is rather fond of the rain boots and shorts look with a dragon hat to finish off the outfit.
Here are a few pictures from camping:
Nolan decided to be a superhero the first day we got there. He is showing off his fishing lure. He actually caught something with his Spiderman pole, I was impressed.
I like the look of determination on Mallory's face as she tries to peddle the tricycle. This was her first time trying to ride. The campsite had a large flat concrete pavilion to ride bikes around. It was the perfect area for her to practice on.
The pink tutu bathing suit that we've worn camping, to HEB and Walmart. :)
Have a great week!
1. At school Nolan filled out a questionnaire about me. In his eyes I am 35 years old with long hair, small eyes, 5 ft tall and only weigh 35 pounds. Hmmmm....
2. Mallory has begun the horrible habit of pooping in her underwear...specifically at restaurants. I will be avoiding any type of eatery to help her start pooping in the correct place, the bathroom.
3. Watching my kids get in and out of the car is like watching two turtles race to see who can go the slowest. Greg always asks why we leave 30 minutes early to get to the gym when we literally live less than 5 minutes away. It's because I add 10 minutes to get in the car, 10 minutes to get out of the car and another 5 minutes to walk the 20 feet to the door. :)
4. Nolan and Mallory have started playing "tea party" which really means that they get out every single plastic food and baby they own and lay it in the hallway. This is a horrible accident waiting to happen.
5. We recently went camping with friends and both kids had a blast. They got to go kayaking, fishing and play to their hearts content. I've never seen them so interested in worms and being able to touch live fish. They came home worn out and thoroughly happy.
6. Watching Nolan rock out to Guitar Hero on the Wii always puts a smile on my face. I don't know where he learned his moves, but he definitely has "Moves like Jagger".
7. Mallory has demanded to dress herself lately. I never thought I'd be the parent with the kids that looked all crazy, but when Mallory chooses to wear pink cowgirl boots, her pink tutu bathing suit and purse you can't help but smile and laugh. Nolan also has questionable choices in fashion: he is rather fond of the rain boots and shorts look with a dragon hat to finish off the outfit.
Here are a few pictures from camping:
Have a great week!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The Big Cookie Project: Week 52
I can't believe it's finally over. It's been a year since I started this crazy baking journey. There have been some ups and downs, but in all I thought it was fun to do. Here are some highlights over the year:
The Prettiest Cookie: The stained glass cookie
The Tastiest Cookie: Believe it or not, I'm a basic chocolate chip cookie kind of girl. Some of the other recipes were tasty as well, but also really rich. The chocolate chip cookie, in my opinion, is the perfect balance.
The Messiest Dessert: Boston Cream Pie
The Most Difficult: Recipes with A LOT of steps. I'm impatient and hated to all those things I had to do.
The Biggest Fail: This one is a tie between the coconut macaroon cookies and the earthquake cake. I just couldn't bake them correctly. I felt as though I baked them for forever and they just wouldn't set up.
I've probably used a ton of flour and sugar, atleast two containers of baking powder, one container of baking soda, quite a few bags of chips and close to five bottles of vanilla.
Now for my final week I went with a breakfast dessert. Only because I was signed up to take breakfast to our Sunday School class this past week, and they might look at me like I was crazy if I brought in cookies for breakfast. Here it is:
CINNAMON ROLL CAKE
4.Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out nearly clean.
The Prettiest Cookie: The stained glass cookie
The Tastiest Cookie: Believe it or not, I'm a basic chocolate chip cookie kind of girl. Some of the other recipes were tasty as well, but also really rich. The chocolate chip cookie, in my opinion, is the perfect balance.
The Messiest Dessert: Boston Cream Pie
The Most Difficult: Recipes with A LOT of steps. I'm impatient and hated to all those things I had to do.
The Biggest Fail: This one is a tie between the coconut macaroon cookies and the earthquake cake. I just couldn't bake them correctly. I felt as though I baked them for forever and they just wouldn't set up.
I've probably used a ton of flour and sugar, atleast two containers of baking powder, one container of baking soda, quite a few bags of chips and close to five bottles of vanilla.
Now for my final week I went with a breakfast dessert. Only because I was signed up to take breakfast to our Sunday School class this past week, and they might look at me like I was crazy if I brought in cookies for breakfast. Here it is:
CINNAMON ROLL CAKE
CAKE:
- 3 cups Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Sugar
- 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 1/2 cups Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- 1/2 cup ( 1 stick) Butter, melted
- 1 cup ( 2 sticks) Butter, softened
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
GLAZE:
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 5 Tablespoons Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
2.In an electric or stand mixer add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Once combined well , slowly stir in the melted butter. Pour into the prepared 9×13 baking pan.
3.For topping, In a large bowl mix the 2 sticks of butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together until well combined and creamy. Drop evenly over the batter by the tablespoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.
FOR GLAZE: In a medium bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together with a whisk. Drizzle evenly over the warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe from: www.chef-in-training.com
I think Paula Deen would be proud, 3 sticks of butter in this recipe! The only problem I had was that the topping really didn't stay on top. It all sunk to the bottom to make a delcious gooey mess at the bottom of the pan. So, it looked weird when I cut myself a slice and I'm trying to scrape all the good stuff from the bottom, but I wasn't just going to leave it there. It was pretty much gone by the end of church, and by Monday it had vanished completely. A big success for the last week.
You might ask, would I ever do this again??
Give my taste buds a few months to recover and then ask me :)
Happy Baking!
Recipe from: www.chef-in-training.com
You might ask, would I ever do this again??
Give my taste buds a few months to recover and then ask me :)
Happy Baking!
Friday, April 20, 2012
The Big Cookie Project: Week 51
One week left! EEEKKK! I don't know if I've made a cheesecake for this cookie project, but I definitely haven't made a cheesecake dyed green with sprinkles in them. The cheesecake came out really well, it would have come out even better if I hadn't listened to Greg. I baked it to the time mentioned, and asked Greg to take it out. He came back and said it still looked too jiggly, so I stuck it in for another 15-20 minutes. Greg came back and said that I shouldn't have listened to him, because the recipe said it SHOULD look jiggly and would harden up after refrigerated. Oops, but it really didn't hurt it.
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups vanilla cookie crumbs (Nila Wafters or off-brand would work)
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
16 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, separated
1/2 cup yellow cake mix
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanill extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sprinkles
5 drops blue food coloring (optional)
3 drops green food coloring (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 pan, then line with parchement paper.
2. Stir together cookie crumbs, 2 Tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake until crust in just brown around the edges (8-10 minutes).
3. Beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the remaining sugar, and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and yolk, milk, vanilla, salt and beat until completely combined and smooth. Finally stir in food coloring, cake mix and sprinkles until smooth.
4. Pour filling over crust. Set the pan in a larger pan (9x13) and add enought hot water to come halfway up the sides of the baking pan (about 2 cups). Bake until just set, about 40-45 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the water bath, and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate over night.
5. Cut in to bars and serve!
Happy Baking!
Original recipe from: www.teenagetaste.com
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Awkward Moment #47 AND #48
Awkward Moment #47: Your 2-year old daughter crawls under the door of the OCCUPIED stall, unlocks the door and tried to open the door for me. All the while, some poor lady is using the bathroom wondering why there is a little girl in her stall.
What was my response, you might ask?? I grabbed her by the legs and dragged her out with not too much resistance from Mallory (thank heavens). The stall must have been occupied by the nicest lady ever, because she didn't yell at me or Mallory, just started laughing...
Awkward Moment #48: Your 4-year old thinks he is big enough to go in the Mens Restroom by himself. Then, poops and decides he doesn't want to clean himself, so proceeds to scream, "Mommy! Is my butt clean?" so loudly you can hear it in the Women's Restroom. Then, had to go IN the Men's Restroom to assure Nolan his butt was clean. Another blessing: the Men's Restroom was empty.
I took them to the restroom quite a few times in what seemed like a short period of time. My friend, Molly, even took Mallory. I think she saw the look in my eyes, "AGAIN?" We kept on passing a mom with a 10-month old (guesstimating) and I could see that same look in her eyes, "AGAIN? How many times can they go to the bathroom?" Then, I tried to send her a signal through my eyes saying, "You just wait until this stage of life sneaks upon you and you spend half your meal in a stall waiting for your child to use the restroom." I think it came out as a scowl though.
Oh, the escapades of small children. If I had a dollar for every embarrasing or funny story that I had, I might be rich. :)
What was my response, you might ask?? I grabbed her by the legs and dragged her out with not too much resistance from Mallory (thank heavens). The stall must have been occupied by the nicest lady ever, because she didn't yell at me or Mallory, just started laughing...
Awkward Moment #48: Your 4-year old thinks he is big enough to go in the Mens Restroom by himself. Then, poops and decides he doesn't want to clean himself, so proceeds to scream, "Mommy! Is my butt clean?" so loudly you can hear it in the Women's Restroom. Then, had to go IN the Men's Restroom to assure Nolan his butt was clean. Another blessing: the Men's Restroom was empty.
I took them to the restroom quite a few times in what seemed like a short period of time. My friend, Molly, even took Mallory. I think she saw the look in my eyes, "AGAIN?" We kept on passing a mom with a 10-month old (guesstimating) and I could see that same look in her eyes, "AGAIN? How many times can they go to the bathroom?" Then, I tried to send her a signal through my eyes saying, "You just wait until this stage of life sneaks upon you and you spend half your meal in a stall waiting for your child to use the restroom." I think it came out as a scowl though.
Oh, the escapades of small children. If I had a dollar for every embarrasing or funny story that I had, I might be rich. :)
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