Summer + Bubbles = Fun, Fun, Fun!

I have always loved bubbles!  Bubbles in my bath, Bubbles in my Champagne, lol, & as soon as my girls could toddle we were outside blowing bubbles.  Using the wands, whether homemade or bought are super fun!  We, also, love bubble machines! One time, our neighbors from two streets over saw the bubbles in their yard and came running to play with us.  I had no idea that bubbles would get that far!  It was a fun, fun afternoon! 

Just like with any other kiddo activity, if it’s liquid it will end of spilling!  We had one particular day that almost turned gray when it was discovered that there was NO…MORE…BUBBLE…JUICE!  Oh NO!  The nightmare!!  When the plan is to blow bubbles it’s hard to steer a toddler away from that plan.  Oh, unless you have chalk, chalk will normally steer them away from anything!  Ha!  Alas, bubble juice needs to be kept in quantities!  Instead of buying it in bulk, why not make yourself up a batch with ingredients that you probably already have handy?  

I found this great recipe at:  http://artfulparent.com/2014/04/how-to-make-homemade-bubbles.html 

Easy Peasy Bubbles!!

4 cups of warm water

½ cup Dish Soap (I prefer blue Dawn)

½ cup sugar (granulated)

Stir together the sugar and warm water until dissolved then add the dish soap.  That’s it!  Now it’s time to Enjoy! 

I made mine for a gallon container with a pourer so my girls can fill up their own bubble bottles.  They are a little older now so every now and then the bottles lids are too tight for them but other than that, I get to sit back, watch and of course, take pics of their enjoyment! 

Gallon Recipe -
12 cups warm/hot water

1 ½ cups Dawn dish soap

1 ½ cups sugar

I pour the sugar and water in the container and stir until dissolved then I add the Dawn and stir with a large wooden spoon.

If you want to be real creative how about creating your own bubble blowing wands with wire & beads http://afewshortcuts.com/2015/05/homemade-bubble-wands/#_a5y_p=3822980 or by just shaping pipe cleaners http://www.supermoms360.com/articles/holiday_recipes/bubble_wands

And now how about a recipe just FOR you!? 

(these measurements are for whatever sized container that works best for you.  I used a recycled jar of chicken bullion cubes)

1/3 (Your favorite smelling) Dish Soap (I have just discovered Dawn Escapes Hawaiian Pineapple – YUM! )

1/3 Table Salt

1/3 Granulated Sugar

Blend together until smooth.  Leave it for 24 hours and then Enjoy!  I rinse my hands with warm water and then pour a nickel sized amount in my palm and then I rub my hands together.  Rinse with warm water & You will have THE softest hands EVER!!

Have a glorious rest of your summer!

Ice, Ice Baby!

So along with the change of weather involving snow on a regular basis, today marks my first ever ice storm!  If anyone had ever asked me to share what I would want if an ice storm ever hit, I would say:  my family safe, my home with electricity, and no need to get on the road.  Thankfully the school is closed so my girls are home safe and sound.  My hubby has a doc appointment and then he'll be at work.  The electricity is working just fine.  And there is no need to get out on the road.  The skies today are very bright however the storm that hit during the night truly wrecked havoc on many people in our area.  I'm not going to get out on the roads today because now everything is melting and shifting.  That just doesn't sound like a good combination for this Southern girl!

  

These are all sights just outside my home in Pennsylvania.

                                         

We did venture yesterday when it would have made my hubby much happier if we had stayed home.  The girls had a birthday party and I just didn't have a bad vibe about it.  We did see one vehicle that had spun out on the interstate but we never once felt any slipping and sliding in our van.  I felt very thankful!

And as a very important to my kids side note:  Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday!  To celebrate we had Green Eggs & Ham!  I can't say it was very pretty however it was yummy!!

              

Snow Way!

There have been SO many changes that I'll just have to touch on some along with the present happenings.  The big change is that we moved to the North!  Yep, this Southern girl is dipping my toesies in the snow instead of the sand!  Steve and I continually look at each other and say, "really?! we live here?!"  It is not all negative we just aren't used to the new climate...yet!  I took a picture of myself after trying to get the snow off my van after about 2 hours of snowfall.  Did you know that you have to knock the snow off before you drive away?  I thought it would just come off because of the wind but apparently that can be dangerous for those that are behind you.  Ugh!  Who Knew!?!?  So much to learn...  Anywho, I spent about 5 minutes in the snow trying to get it off of my van which resulted in a covered head so when I got in I clicked a pic to Facebook my snow covered self.  Strangely enough, it turned out a pretty good picture.  I have gotten lots of compliments and it still makes me laugh.  I'm a blessed girl....  

The only issue I am having with living this far up the East Coast is that I'm just that much further from my Momma.  Although, we live closer to an airport now so her trip is only about 5 hours.  I just got to enjoy her presence for two full weeks!  We enjoyed a girls weekend at the IF:Gathering, went to see the movie Paddington Bear, she was a part of the sledding fun and she did the laundry for my girls and helped me sort them.  (My girls (and I) have WAY too many clothes!)  We are paring down but it's not an easy task.

The cold is just that...c-o-l-d.  I don't like being cold but I also don't like being cooped up inside so I'm finding things that I can do out in the cold.  

We went sledding the Redneck way last week.  We used cardboard boxes!  It was great fun!  We have a super cool hill right across the street from us.

The girls just celebrated Valentines Day at school.  This year we did Super Star Valentines.  I attached a bag with star sunglasses to a picture of the each girl and then they signed the back.  It was easy peasy.  Of course, I found the idea on Pinterest.  People can be SO clever!

So, all in all we are doing great!  I haven't been the happiest since I got here.  I don't think it was a woe is me kind of sadness.  There have been A LOT of changes in our last year and a half.  I am so grateful for all of my life's adventures.  I think I just got overwhelmed!  I need to focus more on being joyful and being more of a joy to be around.  I haven't found my groove yet but I'm definitely moving in the right direction.  We keep saying that we are here for a reason and that God is in charge.  Now I just need to make that more of a reality and Believe!  Be happy, my friends!  

                                                    

Baby Shower = Motivation

I haven't written anything in F-O-R-E-V-E-R .... sorry about that!  I tend to trudge through life at times not taking in all the glory and amazing-ness around me!  The goal, once again, is to post away.....

Today's event covered many a celebration amongst friends:  one of us is having a baby very soon, another is celebrating 11 years of being super naturally healed of Crohn's Disease, another is officially launching her business with the creation of her website, yet another of us is having a birthday in a couple of weeks AND I am also celebrating that I had people over to my home to enjoy time sitting around, chatting, and eating....my need to be a host is very clear to me....now.  This morning was incredible!  My home felt good.  It was accommodating and comfortable.  The timing of everything was good.  The food I made and that everyone brought was yummy!  We had a great time!  

MaryAnn and Jason are having a BOY!  He is not named yet but I have to tell you this baby is already so loved!  The three of us weren't able to be a part of the shower that was given to them at our church so we figured getting us girls together was important!  We chowed on an Egg, Mozzarrella & Spinach bake; Zucchini Muffins; Banana Bread; Maple Ham; Hashbrowns; & a fruit medley with strawberries, blueberries and apple.  I was able to use my pretty pitcher with the glasses for water and a couple of us enjoyed some coffee.  YUM!!

I decorated with the onesies that I bought and ironed ties on and a couple that I got from the Thrift Store.

Didn't they come out oh so cute!  The one on the left was my first attempt and I almost goofed!  I put the color up instead of down and actually put some of the color on my pillowcase I was using.  Oops!  I created these by printing out a tie template and then printing out the iron on sheet with the different backgrounds.  I cut out the ties and then placed them on top of the backgrounds and cut them out.  At the top of the tie I had to round the edge a bit to make them fit the shirt.  It was easy, peasy....

Elizabeth got MaryAnn some creative gifts that will come in handy...lol  The first of which I would not know about and have never heard of until today!  Do you know what the green thing is that is pictured below?  

That, my friends, is a Tee Pee cover.  Like I said, MaryAnn is going to have a boy so she will need "protection" when it comes to changing him.  I have girls so this was never a problem for me.  Elizabeth has all girls so she had never had one of these either.  Just for fun Mary Ann put it on her head.  LOL

A couple of the other practical gifts from Elizabeth were a book and also a framed print with the House Rules on it.  So cute!  Here's MaryAnn already learning about being a New Mom ....

Before everyone headed in all the different directions of our busy life we had a time of prayer for Baby Boy & his parents!  

It was a joy to hang with my Sisters in Christ!  

I am so very excited for all of you and your miracles/accomplishments!  

I enjoy "doing life" with you!

  

No More Tears

My girl, Brooke has one of the most sensitive heads I have ever heard of!  She tears up, cries, whines, yells, etc every time I even think about brushing her hair.  We resorted to putting a braid in her hair every single night to prevent daily issues.  You know, Cinderella takes her hair out of braids in the beginning of the movie.  And so, if a Princess wears braids to sleep in, then Brooke would, too!  This started when she was 3 years old.  She's now about to turn 7!  I can't believe she will be 7, sigh...  Anywho, tonight when we were going through the 'after bath' tears of getting her hair brushed, I asked her if she wanted to get her hair cut.  I explained that if there was less of it, then there'd be less tangles, less tears, etc.  She said that would be fine but that I had to cut her hair, she didn't want to go to "that place".  I'm not sure why there is a fear of the hair salon however home hair cuts are cheaper and if it makes her happy, I am ALL IN!

When I was a young girl, I remember flipping upside on the monkey bars in my backyard for my mom to cut my hair into layers.  We didn't have monkey bars available and so a bar stool would do just fine.  

                                                             
And so here are the results:

  

Before

Getting ready...

here we go!!

so far so good...

a little more here and there....

the biggest fascination was the fallen hair

                                                         

All Done... she is thrilled!  & so am I!  To top it off we brushed right through with the greatest of ease!  

No more tears!  Yea!!

 

It Doesn't Snow on the Outer Banks!...?!? Ha!

     Happy Winter!!  It has been a wintry winter for the first time in my adult life.  As a child, I know that when I was 4 my family moved to West Memphis, Arkansas and that winter it snowed and we built a snowman.  Other than that, I have never built a snowman until....a couple of weeks ago.  We are on the Outer Banks and since moving here I've had several of my friends comment that it doesn't snow here.  Well, yes it does!  Every week since January 14th we have had at least one snow day.  Craziness!!  The only snowman building kind of snow happened once.  We built a snow-chicky.  The girls named her Selena.  She was the tallest, most awesome-est snow-chic I've ever seen!!  My hubby is an amazing snow-chic builder.  He said this was the best snow for snow-chic building he had ever seen.  He's from Michigan so that's a big deal!  We had some help from a couple of neighbors, too.  She lasted 4 days!!  Some people say that any snowman that lasts more than 3 days is a predictor of more snow to come.  And....that happened....more snow...the following week!
     How does this Southern feel about snow now that I can officially say I have lived in a snowy climate?  I'm good.  I'm not crazy about being cold so I dressed the part every time we went outdoors but it really wasn't too bad.  I was a smart girl and I didn't drive in it.  The roads were quite clear before I ventured out.  I got a little nervous when this last snow happened because my honey was across the bridge.  I was afraid they would close the bridge and he wouldn't be able to get home.  We can see the bridge from our townhouse and the cars were going no more than 5 miles per hour.  Very, very slow.  Scary slow.  Other than that moment I am fairly settled about our new climate.  Of course, I took lots of pictures!  I hope wherever you are, you are safe and warm!

 

not enough snow for a "real" snowman so I did an outline of one and the girls decorated it.  :)

Our home sweet snow covered home

Our neighbors Ashley and her dad, Dan

presenting.....Selena!

Brooke, Madi and Ashley's son, Lance