Savannah's 3rd Birthday Party

Saturday, we enjoyed having our family over for Savannah's 3rd birthday celebration! There's something special and unique about each one of them.....and Savannah loves them all! It was a day of food, enjoying each other's company, playing in the back yard, opening great gifts, eating "dirt cake," and celebrating the life of a precious little girl! We are blessed to have our family and love them dearly! Enjoy the slideshow, that hopefully captures the memories of the day! And happy birthday, Savannah!

Savannah's 3rd Birthday....Part 1

Today was lovely! Not only for me, but also for our little "soon to be" 3 year old ~ Savannah. Today we celebrated her 3rd birthday! We anticipated family coming for the celebration in the evening and she was so excited! But her celebration began this morning, when we "unveiled" daddy's project for the last couple of days. Here's a look at the process.

For a little girl, Savannah LOVES the dirt! Put a shovel, cup, spoon....anything that will scoop....in her hand and she's looking a dirt pile! Knowing this, it wasn't hard for us to come up with a gift idea for her birthday....it would definitely be a sandbox. Not just any sandbox, though.....a "daddy built" sandbox! Dolan was so excited to get started on the project and he made it beautiful (if a sandbox can be beautiful).

After finding a few "accessories" from the dollar store (love that place!), we fixed it all up and let her run out and play this morning!

She definitely likes it!

But first things first...

After all, sand is best felt between your toes!

She spent much of the day here.....

Savannah loves her new play space and we anticipate many hours will be spent here! (note....must buy more sunscreen!!) "Thank you, daddy, for my sandbox!" =)

..."birthday party" part 2 coming soon

~good night

Sitting pretty...

I have a love for hydrangeas! They make me smile! We have 3 large bushes in our yard and I love when they begin to bloom, because my vases (or in this case mason jars) get to house something beautiful! I was a bit disappointed last year when we had no blooms. We had pruned the bushes ALOT the previous fall and figured that may have been the cause. I did a little research and found some info from "Dayton Nurseries Inc." that was quite helpful. If you're like me and you love this "voluptuous" flower, read on!

Pruning

Prune the stems that flowered last season - don't prune un-flowered stems, because these are going to produce the next lot of blooms. The best time to prune Hydrangeas is after they have flowered and the blooms have died. That's not to say that normal pruning rules shouldn't apply: cut back anything that's very weak and spindly and, of course, any dead stems.

Large -leaved Hydrangeas: these Hydrangeas bloom on old wood. A severe trimming in spring may prevent blooming. Just trim out dead wood and trim to shape in late March.

I have also heard so much about changing the color of the blooms! Here is the "formula" if you want to give it a try!

Bloom Color

The most interesting feature of showy hydrangea flower heads is their ability to change color according to the pH level of the soil. Hydrangeas have blue flowers where the soil is naturally acidic, and pink or red blooms in alkaline soil. This gives the home gardener a certain amount of control over the color scheme of the hydrangea bed. Winter is a good time to start planning these changes - by the time the hydrangeas are in flower it's too late.

To change the color of Common Hydrangeas, add 5 to 8 Tbs. of aluminum sulfate for blue or 12 to 15 Tbs. of dolomitic limestone (pulverized lime) for pink per 10 square feet. Pull back the mulch and lightly mix into the top layer of soil and water thoroughly. It may take 2 years for a complete color change.

I don't have a green thumb, but these simple tips just might help me continue to enjoy my hydrangeas....sitting pretty....in a mason jar.

Happy blooming!

Wordless Wednesday

Latest HM Project!

This is simply a 12x12 scrap page that, once it arrives at my door, I am planning to place on foam board (inexpensive from Michael's), attach a black ribbon and hang in Noah's room!

Looking forward to seeing the finished product. I'll be sure to post when it's complete! =) I LOVE my "picture playtime" on Heritage Makers!!!

www.capturecreatecommunicate.com

Yummy Muffins!

So, I found this recipe for "Limelight Blueberry Muffins" in a magazine and had to try them! They are delicious!! Made with ingredients you wouldn't expect...a little healthier...and they're not very sweet. But delicious! I thought I would post the recipe so if you are like me and love blueberries, you might give this recipe a whirl.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light sour cream

1/3 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon grated lime rind

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

1 (6-ounce) container plain low-fat yogurt (I used vanilla)

Cooking spray

1 cup (or more) fresh blueberries (or thawed)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

3. Combine sour cream and next 7 ingredients (through yogurt) in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Spoon batter evenly into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Sprinkle blueberries evenly over tops of muffins. Little hands can help too!! Savannah loves to help me cook! =)

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 12 muffins. Enjoy!!! =)

***Remember, these are not a super sweet muffin, so if that's what you're after, these are not for you! My family loves these and they don't last 2 days in their pretty little basket!

One of those days...

Today was one of those days.....the kind where my patience was tested at seemingly every turn....the kind where my body could never catch up with the pace of my 2 energetic tots.....the kind where I could care less about what my house looked like....the kind where, at day's end, I learned to see the blessing in the small stuff!

I have been feeling well these last few weeks, but every so often the energy is nowhere to be found. And it's always on days when I need it the most. Today, I needed it...It wasn't there! Sweet Savannah is becoming more independent....a good thing! However, this new independence brings with it "attitudes" of a nature that, to avoid going into a lengthy description of our family values (save that for another post) =), we just will not allow. So we are teaching her....daily! Some days are good, and some are more challenging. There were moments in our day today when I wanted to go sit in the garage by myself right beside our stinky trash. But then, I reminded myself that my 11 month old might need me to protect him! =) And so the day goes on...

Lots of "talks," lots of "i love you's," lots of "pulling myself together" today....meanwhile little Noah wants his mommy every other minute. Staying calm is a conscious decision when they BOTH are doing the "fussy" cry. (Garage is looking good.....)

Fast forward to evening. Dinner is cooking...Savannah and Noah are playing in the living room and I hear the sound of "things" falling. Noah had opened the buffet cabinet which houses all of my paper products (plates, utensils, straws, etc.) They both know this is a "no no" cabinet, but Savannah decided to join in on the fun with brother. I come on the scene and explain what I've explained many times before and ask for Savannah's help in cleaning the mess (which was EVERYWHERE). She is not sure she wants to do that.....GARAGE!!!!!!!.....Noah is pulling out paper plates and straws faster than I can load things in. "Savannah, help Mommy clean the mess".....a cup full of straws spills again. I smell the salmon cakes burning on the stove. Now, throwing objects in while wedging myself between Noah and the cabinet, explaining to Savannah why she is to obey when I ask her to do something.

Saved dinner just in time. Dinner was.....quiet. The children were tired. I was tired. We missed daddy who had to stay late for a meeting at work. After dinner, it was clean up time! Since none had been done all day. While the children were in the playroom, I cranked up the vacuum to suck up all the crumbs embedded in our dining room rug just from today!!! I ventured into the kitchen, then the living room, leisurely watching the pretty vacuum strokes on my carpet. I turned to take a quick peek at the children only to find both of them sitting on the step of the playroom looking through the gate....Noah holding the rails with a look of "get me out of here" and Savannah holding her play vacuum mouthing, "Mommy can I come vacuum with you?" I turned off the vacuum, smiling! =) Opened the gate, and Savannah began "vacuuming" while Noah crawled to the front door, where I had already vacuumed, and pulled out all the moss from a fake plant....making a mess!!! "Ok, I think it's bed time for you two." 7:59....close enough!

Bedtime routine went well (no baths tonight). Savannah listened intently to her Bible story about Elijah. While I was reading, she interrupted saying, "Mommy, why didn't King Ahab love God?" We had such a good talk and she was so interested in the story...even with the distraction of her brother climbing over her on her bed to get to her basket full of baby dolls and stuffy toys.

Night night kisses, prayers, "snug as a bug" ritual, and off to make a bottle for Noah. Sitting on the couch feeding Noah, it's so quite...no TV, nothing. Then I hear from the back of the house, "Mommy, I'm gonna pray so I can fall 'afleep' because I can't 'fleep'." "OK, honey...that's a great idea. I love you!" "Dear Lord, please help me fall 'afleep' because I can't 'fleep,' Amen. Good night, Mommy!" =) I love moments like that! I knew I had to get on the computer and "jot" it down.

I am learning that every day is full of blessings! I'm on a search to find every one!!! God is so creative and wants to help me do my job well. As I have said in my profile, I'm a mother hen "in training." I don't want to stop learning. I love this ride I'm on and it gets better and better! Baby #3...bring it on! =)

Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Psalm 105:4

Good night!