One of Those Days...and a Recipe for Cobbler!

Today has been one of those days with my kiddos....well, with one of my kiddos.  Which is why I haven't posted til this evening.  I'm feeling pretty emotionally raggedy after the past couple of days with my 5 year old.

I must confess that I have no idea how I ever could have thought that a strong willed mother and father could end up with a passive child.  Clearly I didn't.  I got a boy version of myself as a child in many ways.  Strong willed he is for sure.  Laugh now Mom...I know you want to.

I know we're in another phase right now and that this too shall pass, but good night people...I'm starting each day here lately with what feels like less and less in my "patience tank," as a friend of mine put it today.

Today, Tid Bit spent a large portion of the day in his room for whining, complaining, willful disobedience, and then the real icing on the cake was the complete meltdown while I was at the post office mailing my Navy Sailor brother a carepackage for his birthday (which was yesterday.)  Embarrassed I was not, frustrated to almost tears I was indeed.  Especially since the past several days, really some large portion of every day since returning home from our Montana vacation, have been similar in his behavior.

I lost it yesterday.  And it wasn't over anything major either.  Just about the 700th time he disobeyed again and I screamed "Go to your room" in a voice (and at a decibel) that honestly freaked me out too.  It was one of those completely un-awesome moments in mothering that I apologized for about 45 minutes later when he'd calmed down and I had too.

But today, it was more of the same on his part.  I handled it all a bit better, but when my husband came home tonight, I fell apart and did what any tired mother wants to do at the end of a hard day when her bathtub only holds 4 inches of water....I made a peach and blackberry cobbler.  Tis the season for both fruits, and twas the day to enjoy them for sure!

And since my longtime friend, Laura Parker, is featuring one of my favorite summer recipes on her blog tomorrow (Wednesday,) I thought I'd finish my day well and share a great recipe with you (and since it's been a little bit since I've posted a recipe.)

So here you go...easiest cobbler recipe ever.  I have another, perhaps even more amazing, peach and blackberry cobbler recipe that I'll share with you later, but this basic cobbler recipe is perfect with pretty much anything.  I almost always have these few simple ingredients on hand as well.  My favorite version of this is to use tart plums to make it...delish!

Ingredients:
3/4 stick butter
3 c. fruit (for peaches, plums, etc...peel and slice)
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt the butter in a baking dish (I usually do it in about a 9x13 because I like lots of the crunchy top parts) in the oven.  While the butter is melting mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk.  Once the butter is melted in the dish evenly pour fruit into the dish.  Then pour the mixture evenly over the fruit and do not mix up or anything.  Bake at 350 for about 30-45 minutes or til it's nice and brown on the top.  Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream.  I promise, it'll make a bad day so much better.

See....

Day made much better... in a bowl. 

And as Scarlett O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day!"

Jesus said it too...but better for sure.  No shock there.  "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matt 6:34

Ain't that the truth?!  And thank heavens for new days huh?!

Fire for Father's Day...and more....

Since I'm out here in the Wild West doing things like hiking, trekking, wild animal sighting, building fires, and roasting marshmallows, I thought I'd share this super cute craft that I came across a couple of weeks ago from crafts.kaboose.com to do with my kids.  It's a fun way to show a little love to the great outdoors in case you're maybe not one who really wants to build an actual fire.  Or...if you are a pyromaniac, then this is probably still right up your alley because it looks like fire.

What you'll need:

• Old CD
• Rocks – about the size of a quarter
• Sticks
• A handful of soil, dirt or sand
• White craft glue
• Small scraps of red, orange and yellow tissue paper
• Toothpick

How to make it:

1. Cover CD with glue  and use a paintbrush or your finger to spread the glue out for an even coat. 
2. Cover glue area with dirt or sand and tap off excess. 
3. Use your finger to push back a little of the dirt from the edges, all the way around the CD, to make room for the rocks.
4. Squeeze out a generous amount of white glue onto the cleared edge of the CD. Press a rock into the glue. Repeat until entire rim of the CD is covered in rocks.
5. If necessary, break sticks into approximately 4 inch pieces. Using white craft clue, build a "fire" with the sticks by laying them down in a teepee formation, gluing as you go. Let everything dry for 2 hours (will not be completely dry, but won't slide around).
6. Tear tissue paper into small pieces, approximately 1" or 2" squares.
7. Place tip of toothpick into the center (don't poke through) of a piece of red tissue paper. Wrap the tissue paper around the toothpick.
8. Dab some glue on the tip and dip it into the sticks, removing the toothpick once inserted. Repeat around the top of the sticks with several red pieces, and then add a few orange toward the middle, and lastly one or two yellow pieces at the top of the stick mound.
9. Let project dry completely overnight.

I think it'd be a cute way to do an invitation for an outdoor party or campout as well.  Way more fun to open this than just your standard card invitation. 

Or, just make it for fun...because it's cute and your kids will appreciate you doing a craft with them.  OR...I just had an even better idea!  Make these this week and invite Dad to a family backyard firepit party for Father's Day.  Men like fire...Dad would appreciate the gesture, and to really make the gift awesome why don't you make a special package with the following other items....


S'mores Kit




Leatherman Tool

What Dad wouldn't love a Leatherman tool, a campfire, and s'mores?!  Or at least be able to appreciate the gesture of it?  Oh yeah, and fix meat and potatoes for dinner.  Try out this recipe for Flank Steak and Roasted Potatoes.  I just made Father's Day easy for you...and in case you didn't realize, it's this coming Sunday the 19th!



Happy crafting, cooking out, and now you have a recipe for happy Dads to boot!

- Logan

Don't forget to check out yesterday's post about the Polebridge Mercantile and enter to win the fun prize pack donated by the Mercantile!  Giveaway ends 12noon EST on Friday 6/17!



Montana Bound...

So, tomorrow I'm finally gonna put my new kicks to work because we are headed out to Montana for a little over a week.

I hope that the state is ready for us!  And more than that, I hope that the passengers on our flights are ready for our kids.  Oh my words...do you remember my last flight with my 5 year old and 15 month old lap child?!  If not, go HERE for a refresher...let me just say that I don't know if you're ever really prepared for travel with children no matter how well prepared you think that you may be.  I'm just asking the Lord that our travel be on time and uneventful....I'm under no illusion that my kids would actually sleep or sit perfectly quietly, and there are certainly other miracles I'd rather the Lord attend to than that!

I'm hoping to post a few times while I'm gone, but in case you don't hear from me every day, just know that it's because I'm trekking around out west!  I'm so excited I can't even tell you!  If I was really awesome I'd have scheduled some guest bloggers while I was gone I suppose, but I didn't...only occasional awesomeness can be expected from here I guess.

I'll do my best to keep you posted on our trip in all of it's snow-capped mountainous glory at least some though.  I'm pretty excited to escape this unbelievable heat wave that's been sweeping through the South lately too...50's, 60's, and 70's here I come!  Can I tell you how pumped I am that I don't even need to pack shorts...and how much more excited I am because that means that I have a week hiatus in the middle of summer from shaving my legs!  Oh yeah...I'm getting granola on you all.  Don't worry, I won't let the pits get out of control though...that's just nasty.

Anywho, I've got to finish packing...there are suitcases and clothes spread all over my room!  I'm determined to pack all 4 of us (and our gear) into just 3 suitcases since each additional one is $50 each way...um no thanks.  Do you know how much chalk paint I could buy with that money?!

Happy trails friends!

Tales of a Lesser Woman: Burn Baby Burn...

And no...I don't mean the "Disco Inferno" type of burn either.  I'm talking sunburn...

Like what this was a few days ago...

In case you were just wondering to yourself...Yes....I did win parent of the year this year.  Probably because of my attention to details like oh...sunscreen on your 5 year old's back for water play day at school. It's peeling something fierce and he asked if that meant all of his skin was coming off.  WOW...seriously, someone give me an award...I am so awesome!

Really though...I cannot tell you how horrible it feels to realize that my inability to think a situation through fully landed my poor sweet kid in an aloe ridden dermatological hell.

Bear with me as I explain (not excuse) myself here.  Water play day...last day of school...bathing suit AND tshirt on...sunscreen slathering before leaving.  

Do you see what happened?  I was thinking that he'd wear his tshirt during the play time (NO IDEA why I thought he'd do that), so i just greased him in SPF50 all the way up to everything that was covered.  And then when he took off his shirt at the play day, it didn't even cross my mind as I watched him have a blast with all of his friends.

It wasn't until we got home and saw in the dim light of inside the house that his poor back was lobster red and he said his skin felt "glazing hot."

Bugle please...the awards are being presented....and the following award goes to Logan Wolfram....

Awful I tell you...I felt just awful!

So today, when we went to meet friends at he pool, you can bet your bottom dollar that I didn't forget a full slathering of sunscreen today! It's 90 degrees here.  And as we like to say here in the deep south... "That ain't rite!"  It's just June 1!  Unreal.  I think I might get to be more friendly with our pool AND our sunscreen this summer than ever before if it's gonna be like that!

Oh, and one more thing... I did give in and let Tid Bit have his lemonade and cotton candy stand yesterday.  Thanks to a few very generous customers he made about $10 selling treats and crafts....all to go to Haiti.  That sure does make a momma proud!

 

I was just giddy that he wanted to write the sign....so stinking cute!  Of course I had to spell it all out, but I'd say he did a pretty bang up job.  And the hydrangeas on the corner of his stand there...yeah, that was his idea!  Just like his momma...it's all in the details!

Happy Hump Day!

Getting Crafty...Massive FAIL!

Since Tid Bit is out of school for the summer, I decided that I needed to figure out some crafty things to do to pass the time with a bit more fun.  So, first thing this morning I set out to make this day full of crafty fun!  We headed out early, went to get bagels for breakfast and then hit Walmart to buy some colored yarn.  See, I had this awesome idea to make baskets with glue and yarn.  You know, where you blow up a balloon and mix a little water and glue and soak your yarn in it.  Then you drape the yarn all over the balloon and hopefully it looks like this in the end.

Yarn Basket Tutorial

Adorable right?  I didn't find the tutorial that I linked until after I made a mess of things.  I read one thing that said to mix equal parts water and glue...I think that might have been just one of the places where I went wrong.  Don't do that...just use glue.  Another thing I failed to realize was that apparently Tid Bit was opposed to getting "all gluey" today, so I ended up being the "gluey" handed one.  So much for blogging during craft time.  I also set the balloon on an empty soymilk container too, which wasn't good since the yarn that fell down stuck all over the box, and the balloon would get too weighted down on one side or another and flop all over the place.  Fortunately, I did realize that I shouldn't pop the balloon until the yarn is completely dry...which it's not...even 5 hours later.  Will have to keep you posted on how that turns out later.  For now, here's what we're dealing with....

 Don't you love how the yarn is just hanging off the sides.  This craft was not awesome today.  I'll try it another day though when perhaps Tid Bit is feeling a bit more in the mood for gluey-ness.

I did salvage the crafting extravaganza though with a couple of twigs from outside and the yarn we made such an effort to acquire today.  Check this out...

God's Eye camp craft

Pretty cute huh? 












Apparently it's called a "God's Eye."  No idea why, but HERE is a tutorial for making them if you're interested.  It was easy and I couldn't find our popsicle sticks so I sent Tid Bit outside hunting for good twigs for a solid 20 minutes...they worked great.  Once he got the hang of it he made three of them. 

Now he's insistent that we go outside and have a lemonade and cotton candy stand and sell these amazing wares.  He has also made some paper and ribbon bookmarks and drawn 4 pictures of our family and our house to sell.  His sweet little heart wants to do all of this to earn money to put in his Jesus jar and send to help the people in Haiti... "because even though it's been a long time since the earthquake, those people and dogs and buildings in Haiti still need our help."

Makes my heart glad to hear that even if our crafting wasn't what we thought it was going to be...he's turning it around to do something great!  Thatta boy!  Guess it wasn't such a fail when I look at it from a child's eyes afterall.

Shopping with Kids...Adventures into Insanity.

Oh my words friends, I'm about to pull out my hair today!  (And after a horrible bangs cutting job the other day, I'm not sure I can afford to do my head anymore disservice.)

We're taking a family trip to Montana in a few weeks and I am super excited about it!  I love the Southeast that we call home, but there's something about sharp looking snowcapped mountains jutting out of the ground that just gets me every time.  My aunt has a house about 20 minutes outside of the west entrance of Glacier National Park and I'm getting absolutely giddy about this trip.  Nevermind the lap child on the plane from here to there, nevermind all the gear we'll be toting along with us...I'm just excited for the adventure! (And with 2 small kids, undoubtedly it's adventure we'll get!)

Here's a picture taken about 15 minutes from my aunt's house at Lake McDonald back in January.

Oh my words...seriously, unbelievable!

So today, I spent over an hour calling around town to try to find a decent pair of hiking shoes for Tid Bit and something more warm than sandals for Little Bit as well.  I don't want tennis shoes that I have to lace up, but I have to take something in addition to the Keen Newport H2 sandals that you already know I love.  I called about 4 different outdoor stores around here and finally found one pair of shoes in Tid Bit's size 13 toddler (and they were on sale...SCORE!)  And wouldn't you know, they're Keen brand too.  Don't know why I'm surprised.

Keen Kids Targhee

They are awesome, and he about drove me nuts running around the outdoor store like a wild gypsy child to show me how amazing they were.  Keen should seriously be offering a giveaway for me on this site as many kudos as I give them...maybe I'll look into it!  Seriously, now that I just thought of that, I'm gonna call Keen Footwear right this second to ask.  I'll let you know...cross your fingers!  They are awesome!

So then I was off to another store that told me over the phone they could order Little Bit a pair of Keen trail shoes in a tiny toddler size 5.  Oh my words, I'm not the person that buys hiking boots for a little bitty person to wear just for the looks of it (and generally I think they look hideous,) but these are AMAZINGLY cute and perfectly rugged enough for toddling along the Montana trails.  I can't wait to see how stinking cute these look on him.

Keen Kids Alamosa

But the part that made me want to pull out my hair was when I had to find a good pair of hiking shoes.  I have an old pair of Vasque boots that just aren't as comfy as they were 10 years ago, and I have a sturdy pair of Montrail shoes we got a few years back, but they've hurt my feet since we got them.  I wasn't about to go to Montana for 10 days and not have comfy footwear.  So I tried on about 8 different brands and a dozen or more shoes, and shock of all shocks, I ended up with the grown up version of Tid Bit's shoes.  So comfy and they'll keep my feet dry too!

Let me tell you though, I seriously broke a sweat trying on shoes and chasing 2 kids around an outdoor store.  I was pulling them out of clothing racks, and stuffing crackers and lollipops in their faces just so I could find what I needed.  It was a reminder of why I buy 6 colors of the same Old Navy tshirt and 3 pairs of the same Joe's jeans.  Shopping with kids is a pain in the tootsie!!  Fortunately I did find what I needed, but at the checkout I told the salesman that while it wasn't a painless process (for him or me,) I was pleased with the end result!  So thank you to Half Moon Outfitters and Appalachian Outfitters in Greenville, SC for tolerating the chaos I brought with me today...and still managing to sell me something awesome!

Happy Friday! 

Ps. I'm planning something really fun to celebrate Memorial Day and to honor our soldiers, so stay tuned for that coming up too!

Circus Monkey

I am a big fat slacker this week. Sorry for the complete lack of posting. I've been trying to write the next installment of the Glory Babies post but I tell you what, it's not coming easy. It's a long story to write and the reality is that I need to sit down and write a lot of it at one time...this broken up stuff is for the birds.

The Hubs was gone all week at a training in Atlanta, so I was doing the single parenting thing. If you remember, the last time that he was gone I wrote a post giving MAJOR props to single parents. Yeah, gonna go ahead and give you another “whoop whoop” shout out here people...it's tough! All to say, between laundry, keeping my house in order, sneaking in some time with friends, and falling into bed at night...blogging has gotten pushed down on the list of things my brain could actually handle this week.

It's been a good week though...just busy. In some really hilarious news, Little Bit now smiles on command. When he does it, I seriously want to suck his cheeks. And I've yet to actually capture the exact hilarious cheese-face smile on camera...this is as close as I could get. (it's not nearly as tooth bearing or squinty eyed enough to look like the actual smile he does on command though.) I love my little circus monkey!

Glory Babies...Part 1

I loved Mother's Day yesterday.  A day where everyone recognizes moms everywhere for all that we are and all that we do.  It's nice to have a day like that because as much as we all love it, being a mother is hard.

Wanting to be a mother and having difficulty with that, well, that is hard too.  And that is a reality that I can understand as well.

Two years ago on Mother's Day, our church dedicated 33 babies.  33!  That is a lot of babies.  And some of those dedications were of my friends' children.  It was a day of rejoicing in the gift of being a mother and the gift of life.

I cried during the whole thing.

I was happy for my friends, but inside I felt like I was stuck in quicksand all the way up to my neck.  It was the hard-to-breathe kind of cry that you never really want to do at all, much less in public.

Yes, I have 2 healthy children now for whom I'm eternally thankful.  But what you may not realize about me is that I actually am the mother of 4 children.  Two of those children went to be with Jesus before I ever got to hold them.  Hunter and Bess...my babies in heaven.  They have faces that I do not know, and names that the Lord gave me after they were with Him.  They are counted among the people that I have lost in my life.  And with loss comes grief...and eventually with loss comes healing.

This story isn't short, and as I begin to tell you about it, it's not one that is a one post kind of story either.  But it's my story and part of who I am.  I will never be thankful for the loss or the grief, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord has turned what the enemy intended for destruction in my life into something good.

There's just something about being a mother.  And even before you have children, you know that it's special.  Noone has to tell you that there is joy in being a mother for you to know it, or to want it.

Tid Bit was the most normal pregnancy possible.  We got pregnant just 3 months after stopping birth control...easy peasy.  I felt tired when the books said I'd feel tired and I felt energetic when they said I'd have surges of energy.  My appointments were routine, and I learned how to pee in a cup like a champ.  I never went into that office with any doubts or fears about anything...ever during that entire time.  He was born right on his due date and aside from an unplanned but necessary c-section, everything was perfect. 

I got pregnant again in August when he was 16 months old...the very first month off of birth control.

On October 31st, 2007 we bought a minivan.

The Hubs is super tall and even in our spacious Honda Pilot there wasn't room behind his seat for him to drive and to have a carseat with a kid in it.  He sits all the way back and either Tid Bit's legs would be crammed or we didn't have room to have a rear facing carseat behind him.

I never wanted a minivan, but it was the only thing that wasn't a gas guzzler that had enough room behind the driver's seat for mutiple kids.  And in no time, we'd be filling that van up with another.

I finished filling out the paperwork and buying our van after 5pm on that day...and I drove it home expectantly...looking behind me imagining 2 little people in the back.

The next morning I had my 12 week ultrasound.  Everything had been great for the pregnancy.  Things looked normal, the heartbeat at our previous appointment was strong.  I felt tired, but good.

The Doppler on my stomach was having some trouble picking up the heartbeat.  I know that even at 12 weeks, it can be hard to pick up the heartbeat clearly, but when the nurse said "I think it'll be easier to just go to the ultrasound room to check it out," I had a sinking feeling.  A dear friend had just a couple of months before had the same thing happen and everything was fine.  Tiny heartbeats can just be hard to pick up sometimes.

I tried to slow my heartbeat and push the worry out of my mind.  And as I lay back and watched the ultrasound monitor, I didn't see the tiny blinking that I'd seen when I was pregnant with Tid Bit.  Everything on the screen was still....and I knew.

I started to cry before the doctor even said the words "This has just happened in the last 24 hours.  Your baby is measuring 11wks and 6 days.  This JUST happened."

Numbness....

Tears....

Numbness....

And then a walk outside to a minivan I never wanted but thought I needed.

Mother's Day can be hard.  I know.  It reminds you what you want but may not have...or have lost.

I'll tell you more of this story throughout this week.

You might be a mother if...

This morning while emptying out the contents of my purse in order to make room for the camera to take pictures of Little Bit's dedication, I came across the following...

Yes, that is a partially eaten three day old hotdog in the instance that you were wondering. I wrapped it up at dinner the other night in case Little Bit was still hungry later...I think the time for "later" to eat that has well passed now though!

I just had to laugh about it...because no one but a mother would wrap up a partially eaten hot dog and shove it into the depths of their personals bag...right alongside car keys, sunglasses, grocery lists, changes of clothes, crayons, and the list goes on...and on!

I thought I'd take this opportunity to think of a few other little gems to add to the treasures in the "you might be a mother if..." category.

You might be a mother if....

• You have ever popped at home and smuggled into the movie theater an entire bag of dairy free popcorn so that your allergic child can have popcorn during a movie.
• You regularly defy the laws of gravity during any family car trip by crawling back and forth from the front seat of the car to the back to make sure that each passenger has all the snacks, coloring books, movies, drinks, etc that they may need....every 6 minutes.
• You can make trail mix...just by cleaning the floor of your car.
• You have ever realized that the burning from rubbing your eye was the result of a stray particle of poop that had gotten on your hand during a diaper change.
• You have ever climbed to the top of any fast food playground, even though they are expressly for individuals who are less than 44inches tall.
• Alone time has been narrowed to just your time in the shower.
• You rarely ever have the luxury of peeing without a tiny audience.
• You buy bathing suits made for "active" lifestyles in an effort not to be the family beach peep show when you are holding a struggling toddler.
• You regularly wipe a child's nose with nothing but your bare hand...or the hem of your shirt.
• You have had pee, boogers, poop, and throw up all end up on you...in one day.
• You traded in your BMW 328i convertible to end up one day with a minivan.
• You now wonder how you ever survived without a minivan.
• At the end of a realization of all of the ridiculous things that you find yourself doing and saying that you always swore you wouldn't do or say...you find that you wouldn't trade any of it for the world...

You just might be a mother.

The other day I was thinking about all of the things that I wanted to do for myself and by myself for Mother's Day...that this day was going to be the day that I could finally catch a break and be alone for a bit. I was thinking about how much I have "earned" a day like that.

Tid Bit had a Mother's Day tea at his school on Friday, and honestly, I felt guilty for feeling all those things. I looked at pictures of my now 5 year old and saw summed up in 10 minutes, a slideshow of all the changes that have occurred, even in just the look of his face, over this past year...and suddenly I found myself already missing this little boy who will be grown for far more time than he will be small.

I read it all the time from women who must be far better than I...from women who either know the value of this time more because it has passed for them, or from women who must somehow do a better job embracing the right here and now than I do.  But I do try...I know these days are precious, even though oftentimes they are hard.  And every time I read something about valuing these days...treasuring this time...holding close these small hands and hearts, I think, "she is so right...I will miss this."

The truth is that I already do.

So this Mother's day, if you are a mother, I encourage you to focus not on all that you do and have done...because we all know that is a hefty and applaudable list.  Let us focus on what we have been given in this role of Mom. Hands to hold, boogies to wipe on our shirts, tears to wipe with our hugs, lives to shape with our influence...because THAT my friends is a gift that no one can ever buy or give to us.

Proverbs 31:28 " her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her saying " many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

Happy Mother's Day friends...if you are a mother...I hope you enjoyed it. If you have a mother...rise up and bless her...not just today.

PS.  For those of you who aren't mothers yet, but wish to be...I know that this day has probably been hard for you.  I've been there too.  And I think that tomorrow I will tell you more about that.

The Grass is Blue....

Sorry for my silence over the past few days...I guess as a general rule of thumb, you can just figure that if I'm quiet, it's because I'm crazy busy doing something!

We've had a full few days around here. My Tid Bit turned FIVE on Friday, we had his bluegrass themed birthday party on Thursday, and then our family left Friday at lunchtime to head out of town to the mountains of NC for a bluegrass festival that we go to every year called Merlefest.  So not only have I been gone, but I really couldn't hardly get a phone signal where we were.

I have loads of blog topics this week and don't worry, I'll show you pictures of the birthday party that we had Thursday (re-purposing the Easter Egg Hunt decor) and of course I have some thoughts on the Royal Wedding that I didn't watch but have poured over pictures since as well.  Right now though, I just have to share a bit from our weekend at the bluegrass festival.

In case you're not familiar with bluegrass music, check out a bit of history HERE.   It's an American roots type music and I'll just go ahead and tell you that these musicians are REAL musicians.  There's no crazy dancing or effects with this music...it's just the real deal with real people who can tear it up on some instruments.  Even if you don't like the sound, there's no denying the talent behind it.  Some of my favorite artists include master mandolin player Sam Bush, the amazing musical trio that makes up Nickel Creek, the gorgeous whispery-like voices of Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris, and a couple of newer favorites for me are Mindy Smith, Bearfoot, and Red Molly.  If you don't know them, lucky for you I linked them all up so you can check them out!

I have to tell you though, that actually going to the festival is a blast.  It's family friendly, all outside, and the people watching is phenomenal.  And thanks to all the interesting characters that we met and saw this weekend, I've compiled a few tips and thoughts about a bluegrass festival should you decide to ever go to one.

1. Take sunscreen...but also it's advisable to actually remember to put it on.

2. If you forget your deodorant, don't worry.  There are so many others who apparently forgot theirs too.  Besides, everyone loves the mix of patchouli and body odor....really brings out the fresh of spring.

3.  It's never a bad idea to shave your armpits...and your legs.  But if you accidentally miss a massive patch on the back of your thigh and wear shorts thereby exposing the caveman like growth that you have, you aren't alone.  I am here to support you in that trend...apparently I sported that accidental look like a champ.  Amazingly though, noone noticed save my husband and sister. Three cheers for hippies!

4.  If you meet the actual musicians, don't say things like "So, I guess you must be playing here since I see you have the gold musician armband on."  And definitely after basically confessing your complete UN-knowledge of who they are, don't ask them to sign your son's ukelele.  That would probably be awkward.  Just guessing.....

5.  Take hand sanitizer.  There are lots of porta-potties....and see #2 and #3 for some additional reasons why this might be a good idea.

6.  It gets cold in the mountains at night.  Take a jacket and probably jeans.  And don't throw 2 parties in one week before packing, lest you never even consider packing the aforementioned items.

7.  Exercise before you go...or else walking around a mountainous college campus to watch music all day will remind you that you are in fact out of shape.

8.  If you've ever wanted to do any variety of dancing that could be classified as "noodling"...this is your chance.  You can noodle all you want, and noone will ever think you odd for it.

9.  Release your expectations of seeing Lyle Lovett for the late show at night before you go...you may in fact have a 5 year old and a 15 month old who are incapable of being active in the sun all day and staying up past 10 o'clock.  I'm sure someone took a video and it will be on YouTube for you to relive it later.

10.  This last one is really crucial for all you gals out there.  WEAR A BRA!  Please please wear a bra.  Even if they're small enough that you don't need to, please remember that your t-shirt is still thin enough to be transparent and I don't want to see your pencil eraser boobs through it.  If you have large "girls" and think that your halter dress will hold them up....it won't...the strings are not as strong as the climbing ropes that you really need to support that kind of weight.  It's not flattering to you.  If you have fake boobs...I envy your phony perfection and don't need to be reminded that after 2 babies, my "girls" don't have the capacity to stand up on their own.  Just wear a bra...its simple.

Well all, hope you all had a fantastic weekend!  Don't forget Mother's Day is this coming weekend and that means, if you're reading this that you have a mother somewhere that you can spend time remembering or loving on in person!  I'll post a list of some great gift ideas later this week too.

Glad to be back home!!!  But of course, I have laundry to catch up on today!

Sharecropping...

I have to tell you something about where we live...our neighborhood that is.  It's the kind of neighborhood with a great blend of families with young kids, families with teenagers, families with college students, empty nesters, and full fledged grandparents....and we absolutely LOVE it!  The yards are big and full of trees and mature shrubbery, flowers, etc...truly, it's lovely.  And everyone for the most part takes real pride and joy in being part of this community.  And today, well I saw members of our neighborhood come together in a way that I just think is how community really should function.

In a world where life is spent mostly in the fast lane, or the drive through, or the self service check out, or within the confines of a fenced-in yard....well, it just seems that people don't invest in one another quite like they used to do...before my time that is.  Back in the day where a barn raising was an occasion for everyone to band together and help their neighbors,  or people would spend long summer afternoons "taking a turn about their gardens" just to spend time together. Seems to me that in a lot of ways, those days have been replaced by a modern hunger for self-satisfaction...leaving little room for selflessness... little room for true community.

But today, today I saw community at it's finest!

A couple from our neighborhood has the most fabulous garden.  Tid Bit calls it the "Secret Garden" because of it's winding pathways and lush plant life.  There is also a full vegetable garden, complete with loads of fruit trees... and the best part is that they are beyond generous with it all!  They have allowed me to clip flowers from their gardens for any party, as well as sharing the most wonderful tomatoes, baskets and baskets of plums, corn, okra, figs...you name it, if they have it, they share it.  So much that we quite look forward to certain seasons when we know we will get to go enjoy the fruits of their gardens!


The gentleman of the gardens (we'll call him Mr Neighbor-Gardener) was recently struck too ill to be able to do all of his usual planting and so his Mrs. asked for some help from friends and neighbors. They provided a barbeque lunch and then everyone set to planting according to the instruction of our neighbor (who is a Master Gardener and full of wise gardening instruction!)

Check this out!

<----There is Tid Bit in the background planting some seeds.  He was taking his work very seriously.  Also, I noticed when I was looking through these pictures that the lady in the foreground was wearing a shirt that said "Life is Simple" and I thought to myself how true that felt yesterday watching everyone pitch in to help out a friend.

Look at all the people who came out to help! In the end everyone planted tomatoes, cantalope, okra, beans, corn, and more!

 I love this picture.  I love watching the friend push our neighbor to the best place for him to give good instruction, and I LOVE seeing Tid Bit following along...ready to receive instruction, and clearly excited to be helping out.  He insisted that he'd need his kid-sized wheelbarrow and looks like he was right!

Mr. Neighbor-Gardener is the nicest man.  He, by the way, is always in a wheelchair and does this garden every single year...from the chair.  Now if that's not a kick in the pants for not making excuses, then I don't know what is.  We have the MOST respect for this man!  He is kind and generous in word and deed.

I so enjoy seeing my husband teaching our boy how to serve others...and to do it well.  Both of my guys had the best time working together and being a part of something bigger than themselves.  It's good to see people come together for the good of others!

I got all of these pictures from Mrs. Neighbor-Gardener who sent them out yesterday as "proof of our sharecropping status!"  I couldn't help but think that sharecropping or not...helping people when they need it really is being the hands and feet of Jesus.

And last night, it was a pleasure cleaning dirt off of those little hands that learned that lesson well.

1950's Fun for an afternoon!

So...I'm in the process of thinking how I want to customize my blog a little more...starting soon with a new header.  And when my friend and photographer extraordinaire, Kim Deloach, said she was going to set up an old timey lemonade stand to do some shoots, well, you know I was all about it!  What says "Life for Dessert" more than old timey fun?!

Um...nothing.

The shoot was really set up for kids, but I asked her if it'd be ok if I hopped in a few for fun, and she was kind enough to oblige.  Of course I didn't want to disappoint, and I wanted the whole thing to really feel like vintage pictures, so I found an old outfit that belonged to my now 28 year-old brother and put it on Hudson, and Walker (Tid Bit's real name) was so pumped about picking out some red suspenders to hold up his pants "like in the olden days!"  I called my friend Laura, who is more creative than I am even fully aware of, to ask for some advice about how to dress myself for this shoot.  She came up with a gorgeous dress from Anthropologie, that I SO wished I had the time and money to have bought, as inspiration. It was really just fun chatting through some ideas with someone I knew would get as excited about it as I was.  She's the one who got me started on wanting to do a throwback picture with THIS amazing picture of her family below.

Seriously, are they not the cutest family?!  I'm insanely envious of Laura's incredible hair...I could pay $600 for extensions and still not have that sort of gorgeousness!  Best part about her...insides are just as pretty as the outsides!

So, next family photo shoot we do...well, something about it will be a nod to days of old.

But I just had to give you a sneak peak of our session yesterday.  It was the MOST fun!  My kids loved it, I loved it, and I think Kim at the very least got a kick out of my silliness to drive through McDonalds and get my kids dinner dressed like I was...1950's ruby red lipstick and all!  Next time I'll remember to get her a Diet Coke though too!

I'm telling you, it was a blast.  Every session with her is actually really fun, but this one was particularly awesome.  And a sticky mess too!  Walker poured probably 4lbs of sugar into the lemonade until it really resembled a confectionery glaze more than a drinkable liquid.  Even Hudson got in on the stirring action.  Fun I tell you.

Just. Plain. Fun!

I busted out a pair of super fun green shoes for the occasion too!  Any occasion to wear green shoes is definitely one worth celebrating!

I'm also pleased to note that the 2 day unshaven stubble on my legs isn't even noticeable!  Whew...that's a relief!

I am about to give myself an ulcer from the excitement I have about seeing the rest of this session!  I just could NOT wait to show you a sneak peak though!

And I have to give a massive shout out to Kim here again.  If you live in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, or Tennessee....well, you need to get yourself on the phone with her and make your plans to figure out how to have her do a shoot of your family.  She's some of the best money I spend all year...no kidding!  A fantastic person, a creative eye, and a true professional!

I'm headed on a plane tomorrow, so I have to pack now and get geared up for over 5 hours with a "lap child!"  Oh have mercy on everyone riding our planes!

Beauty in Blue Ridge...Day at Biltmore Estate

I don't have too many words today because all that I saw spoke for itself.

I live a little over an hour from Asheville, NC which is home to the Biltmore Estate.  If you're not from around here, you may not have heard of it...but now that you have in this moment, you really must mark it down in your list of places to visit in the US.  You can thank me later.  It exceeds "lovliness" in so many ways.

Right now is the beginning of the "Festival of Flowers" at the Estate.  And since we decided to spring for a year-long pass back around Christmas time, you can bet that we'll be getting our money's worth this year.

Welcome to an amazing view of the Blue Ridge Mountains my friends....ahhh...home!

 

 Today we spent all of our time touring a few of the gardens and the farm.  

I cannot tell you how beautiful it was!  I think we're going to head back in another month or so when everything is in full bloom.  Imagine that walkway covered over with flowering vines and the azaleas in full bloom!

Here I am with my little men in the walled garden... and, the Hubs with them in front of the Conservatory.

I absolutely love that they planted an old suitcase full of flowers!  I really might just have to copy this sometime now...adorable!

And all the flowers below....breathtaking!

Makes me wish that I had a green thumb...even just a light green one.  But....I don't.

Bummer.

 

 We finished off the day at the farm on the Estate.  Hudson just loves being outside checking everything out.  And Tid Bit got to hold a couple of baby chicks as well as pet some sheep, goats, a horse, and a bunny.  He was so proud!  I'd say he makes a pretty cute little farmer, wouldn't you?! 

It was a fantastic day!  And after The Hubs has been working so much lately, well, it was just a much needed day of some good old fashioned togetherness!

I am absolutely blessed beyond measure and reminded of God's goodness today as we took in the sheer gorgeousness of creation!

I have the MOST exciting home creation to share with you soon too!  If I wasn't so giddy over my fun day today, I wouldn't even be able to wait any longer to tell you...and show you.  You are going to flip...the butterfly chair is finally finished!  Pictures soon!  I promise!