Twins

  • Book Character Parade

    For the Book Character Parade at school the girls their class featured the book “The Crayon Box that Talked” by Shane Derolf.  The kids and teachers dressed up as crayons for the parade.  Every class featured a different book.  It was a neat seeing the kids get excited about their book.  A lot of parents, grandparents, extended family and friends came to watch the kids in the parade.

    They each got to pick and color the crayon of their choice.  Brina was a pink crayon and Karlie was a blue crayon.  It was cute watching them walk in the parade with their classmates.  Thankfully the weather was beautiful that day too.  I always enjoy participating in the fun events at the girls school.  The kiddos are growing up so quickly!

  • Take a Nap

    As a kid I resisted taking naps.  It was about the worst thing my parents could ask me to do.  I did everything I could think of to get out of napping or to convince my parents I had slept even though I hadn’t.  I am pretty sure they realized it but napping did not appeal to me at all!

    Now as an adult, when I cannot take naps on a regular basis, it sounds awesome!  Isn’t that ironic…. During the busy Holiday Season we get so worn out with the celebrations that people tend to get sick.  Now that the schedule is getting back to “normal” try resting a little more.   Take a cat nap when you can even if it is only once or twice a week.  If you still have kids at home that nap take advantage of that quiet time when they are resting.  A 20 minute power nap can give you the extra boost you need to get through the day.  On certain days when we know the family will be up late we try to have the girls rest for at least 30 minutes (like on Sundays and Wednesdays).

    I have a nap on my schedule in the near future.  Do you? You have my permission to take a nap today!

  • Recipe: Snow Ball Ice Cream

    Vanilla Snow Ball Ice Cream!

    The girls woke us up at 6:30 this morning and announced that it had snowed outside.  We knew they would not be going to school because we received the phone call the night before letting us know that the school was closed.  It is bright and beautiful outside today.  I dug up another great Snow Ice Cream recipe that I enjoy.   This recipe uses milk instead of sweeten condensed milk like our Snow Ice Cream recipe.  We do not get a lot of snow in South Carolina so when it happens we have extra special treats.  We had over 6 inches already today and we have been having a blast playing in the snow.  I am not sure if the kids or the dog are more excited by the snow adventures!

    Snow Ball Ice Cream

    • 12 to 14 cups of Clean Snow
    • 1 package instant pudding (we usually do Vanilla or Chocolate depending on what’s in the pantry)
    • 1 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla
    • 2 cups cold Milk
    • 1 cup Sugar

    Mix the pudding, sugar, and vanilla together.  Add the 12 to 14 cups of snow.  Stir until evenly mixed.  Top with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, or whatever your family enjoys.

    Today we did vanilla pudding because it is what we had in the pantry.  A couple added chocolate to their ice cream and of course everyone had to have sprinkles!

    *The picture above is prior to us adding sprinkles to the ice cream!

  • Book: “My Good Night Devotions” by Susan Lingo

    We purchased “My Good Night Devotions” by Susan Lingo at Goodwill for $0.25 after reading through a couple stories, our copy has a couple markings in it but otherwise in great condition.  It has 45 devotional stories for kids.    The girls LOVE it!  Each lesson has a short scripture verse, a story, thinking time (with a 1 to 3 questions), prayer and sleeping time game or activity for them to go to bed thinking about.  Brina and Karlie’s favorite character is “Night Light” a little firefly that is hidden in each picture and throughout the devotional.  If you are looking for a neat devotional that shows how God’s Word works in everyday situations for your young kids check out this book.

  • Candy Cane Smile Pancakes!

    Now that our Christmas festivities are done with family and friends I am trying to come up ways to use some of the extra goodies.  Somehow throughout the various Holiday celebrations we accumulated a stack of candy canes and as we begin the first quarter of 2011 we are having fun finding ways to use up the remaining ones.  Instead of sprinkles on the girls pancakes we decided to have candy cane smiles.  They loved having minty pancakes for breakfast and the smiles added extra cheer for everyone, smiles really do spread cheer!  Do you have a creative recipe or way of finishing up the last few candy canes around your house?

  • My Parents Are Coming!

    Mom & Dad's picture from our 2010 Cruise adventure together!

    I am very excited to have my parents come out for the Holidays this year.  The majority of my family lives in the Midwest (Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska, and Missouri areas).  We were not able to make it out there this year for the Christmas season so they are coming to see us along with my youngest brother Josh.  The girls are very excited to see Grandpa Russell, Grandma Penny and Uncle Josh. We will be celebrating Christmas and enjoying family time during their few days in South Carolina.  Thankful to have parents who love us and enjoy spending time with our family.

    Somehow I managed to wait until the last moment to finish cleaning and organizing for visitors.  I have some major projects completed but they are flying into Atlanta today and will be arriving early afternoon yet I still have cleaning to do….hm….  I will still be posting on the blog but they may a little shorter during the time that our family is staying at our house.  If anyone is bored today you can help me power clean! =)  Hope you have enjoyed time with your family as well over the Holiday season!

  • Crafts: Painting Christmas Ornaments

    Karlie and Brina's hand painted ornaments!

    We went to early service one Sunday with the family.  Love getting up early going to church and coming home to a relaxing time with our family.  On the way home we stopped by to get a newspaper at Walgreens.  As a super special treat Jake went to Dunkin Donuts, the girls were so excited to get donuts.  They picked out some yummy sprinkle ones and we headed home.  We had a relaxing time sitting around the table eating donuts, talking and laughing.

    After finishing up the donuts the girls wanted to do a craft.  We pulled out some ceramic ornaments, striped the girls down to their underwear and let them paint.  They had a BLAST!  We had to give them a bath after painting but it was well worth a bath in the middle of the day.  Jake watched the girls and started the crockpot for our potluck at church that night while I took a quick nap.  Sundays are a wonderful day with the family.  Not every Sunday is as peaceful and relaxing, however, we treasure the ones that are that way.  It is fun creating memories.  Hopefully they will look back at the ornaments and remember the sweet time we had together.

    Brina painting her tree!

    Karlie being silly!
    Brina checking out her ornaments....
    Karlie painting....
    Karlie's decorated ornaments!
    Brina's decorated ornaments!

  • Recipe: Snow Ice Cream

    We have lived in South Carolina for over 14 years and have never had it snow on Christmas Day so it was an extra special gift yesterday!  Today we have been busy building a snowman, making snow angels, throwing snow balls outside before the snow melts.  The girls and Skipper (our dog) have been enjoying it.  One of the things we always like to make when it snows is Snow Ice Cream.  Some years it doesn’t snow in SC so when it happens once or twice a year we love it!

    Snow Ice Cream

    • 8 to 10 cups of clean Snow
    • 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla
    • (optional) 1/2 cup Chocolate Syrup
    • (optional) Sprinkles

    Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together.  When completely mixed serve immediately.  It melts pretty quickly.  In our family we have some that enjoy vanilla and others enjoy chocolate so we do a mix of both depending on the individuals preference.  Today some people chose vanilla with chocolate syrup and hugs & kisses sprinkles while others chose chocolate.  Enjoy!

  • Merry Christmas!

    Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!  I am looking forward to a wonderful day with my sweet family.  Jake doesn’t have to work today and the girls are excited about celebrating the Holiday.  Each Christmas is slightly different since we occasionally travel during Holiday season.  This year we will be having a relaxing breakfast with the family, open the stockings, then read the Christmas story and take our time enjoying the day together.  It is important to us to discuss with the girls why we celebrate Christmas so they can have a greater appreciation for this special day.  May today be full of great memories, laughter, and precious time with your family.

    Merry Christmas!

  • Recipe: Beary Cute Cookies

    We were not able to make these on our Christmas Baking Day, however, the girls were excited to do them so we decided it would be a neat recipe to do with the girls.   I have had their recipe for a long time, you can either use this Sugar Cookie recipe or following the one below.  The basic idea is the same and the bear shape is a huge hit with adults and kids alike.  The following recipe is from Quick Cooking.

    Beary Cute Cookies

    • 3/4 cup Shortening
    • 1/2 Sugar
    • 1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar
    • 1 Egg
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
    • Additional Sugar
    • 30 miniature Chocolate Kisses
    • 60 miniature M&M Baking Bits

    1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

    2.  In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugars.  Beat in egg and vanilla; mix well.  Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well (dough will be crumbly).  Set aside 1/2 cup of dough for the ears.  Shape remaining dough into 1 inch balls; roll in additional sugar.

    3.  Place 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  Flatten to about 1/2 inch thickness.  Roll reserved dough into 1/2 inch balls; roll in sugar.  Place two smaller balls about 1 inch apart touching each flattened ball (do not flatten smaller balls).

    4.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned.  Remove from oven, immediately press one kiss and two baking bits into each cookie for nose and eyes.  Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.  Makes about 30 cookies.

    Picture by Cooking