A Beach Trip to Remember

My lovely brother-in-law generously let us tag along on a beach trip to Sanibel for Memorial Day weekend. We actually went down first and he met us down there later. Boy did we have fun!

Connor is a bonafied conchologist (real word). We checked out a book from the library before we left entitled Beachcombing Exploring the Seashore. All week long he said I want to be a "beachcomber." There was a picture in the book describing a beachcomber - "To be a beachcomber, all you need is sunblock, a hat to shade your head, sunglasses to protect your eyes, and a bucket to carry shells and other treasures you find."

He collected gobs and gobs of shells. He knows the name of every shell and so much more than I ever did. I even learned a lot about shells and other treasures this year. I learned how whelk shells are created. Have you ever seen those snake skin looking chains on the beach? Well if you burst one open you'll find tons of little baby whelk shells. It is the neatest thing.

He has quite the collection now. Scallops, shark's eye, worm shells, cockleshells, slipper shells, cat's paw, pen's, tulips, mussels, olive shells, banded tulips, conch's, mottled cockleshells, and so on and so on and so on.

Although nothing compares to the beach Connor did enjoy some pool time too. Towards the end of our stay we played more at the pool and he even got his nerve up to go under the water. I think once he saw his brave, little sister do it so he wasn't as scared.

Connor also loved being buried in the sand.

Speaking of sand we saw some really neat sandcastles. There was a couple who came out each morning and made huge sandcastles. It look hours but they were beautiful!

My second born LOVED the pool! She tolerated the beach for the rest of us but she adored the pool. She was so brave. She even let Uncle Brant throw her up in the air and she went under water with eyes wide open. (I can't believe I got as many pictures of her as I did where she is looking at the camera and smiling, that never happens!)

In order to get her in the ocean we had to tell her that she could pretend to be Dora the Mermaid and help clean up the beach. For some reason it worked! She sang and sang and sang, "Clean up Clean up everybody clean up!"

This was Cooper's first extended beach trip. He is old enough now to get around and eat some sand. Boy did he! He must have pooped a good 4 to 5 times a day due to all that sand. We'd find all kinds of treasures in his mouth.

We took a little trip to the Sanibel Community Park one afternoon and Cooper loved the swings. After the park we stopped off at Jerry's and picked up Connor some soy ice cream so he would have something to enjoy while we ate a treat at the DQ. Some old ladies sat next to us and giggled because Connor had a spoon and a quart full of chocolate soy ice cream all to himself.

Happy Summer time to all!!

Mommy Guilt

Mommy guilt . . . . a nasty little, two word phrase that is keeping me up tonight, along with my teething 9 month old who has decided that sleep goes against his better judgement.

Why should I or any of my dear Mommy friends (who are great mothers) be riddled with Mommy guilt? How come 4 years ago these "guilty" thoughts never even occurred to me and today they consume my every moment? You know what I mean - anything from I can't get my kids to drink water - they down way more juice than my pediatrician recommends (6 ounces in one day are you kidding me?) Should I be a stay-at-home mom or go back to work? Should I homeschool or can public education meet the needs of my children? Do I read to my kids enough? Did I spend enough one on one time with Cooper with the other two clamouring for my attention? How many servings of vegetables did my kids eat today? Is TV rotting their brain out? Did I pick up all the Little People in Caroline's room and put them back in her dollhouse just so? I know if you are normal, and you are a mommy (I guess that's a given since we are talking about "Mommy" guilt but I wanted to clarify just in case), than most likely, you have some form of Mommy guilt. As our children get older I'm sure the scenarios change but the guilt is still the same. Ladies, why do we do this to ourselves?

I've been battling lately with the whole going back to work issue. In one way I miss the classroom and I know God gave me the gift of teaching. On the other hand, it hurts to think of my children spending more time with their teacher than their mother. Even though for our family school will probably be a better option. It hurts to make a decision either way. For some reason I want to make plans for the next 15 years when all I really need to do is take it one step at a time. I'm starting to realize that some of these issues work themselves out and I wasted a lot of energy fretting over things that never happen. As for the big picture, God is going to do what He wants to anyways, I just need to be open to it (has He not already proven that to me over and over again, why didn't I get it the first time?) Didn't He warn me in Jeremiah 29, "For I know the plans I have for you." says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope." I need to enjoy the ride and treasure the moments I have with my kids whether I am a working-mom or a stay-at-home mom. And so what if the Little People stay up late partying in Caroline's room at least she'll know a good time when she sees it. Honestly, how could I be riddled with Mommy guilt when God has given me these three, precious children who have turned out alright so far, right . . . . . right . . . . . .????

So I declare no more guilt! Who cares if my kids have 6 ounces or 60 ounces of juice, well 60 might be a little much. I'll still be a good mother whether I am working or staying at home. My kids will still turn out alright whether they are homeschooled or attend public school. So what if they eat Chick-Fil-A french fries as a serving of vegetables, potatoes are vegetables, right? As long as we place God first in our family and allow Him to guide us in our decision making and guilt-free thinking I think we'll be just fine!

Zucchini Cupcakes

We've had an abundance of zucchini from our garden so I made some zucchini cupcakes a few weekends ago for our neighborhood BBQ and they turned out pretty yummy if I do say so myself (plus they've got veggies mixed in - you can't beat that!) What's better than sneaking a few veggies in a cupcake and feeding it to your kids? I thought I'd share the recipe.


Ingredients for the cupcake part:

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup of canola oil
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 1 cup of dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/4 of milk
• about 2 cups of powdered sugar

Directions for the cake part:

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, orange juice and almond extract. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl; gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix well. Stir in the shredded zucchini.

Caroline loved licking the batter off the beaters! She even had shreds of zucchini hanging from her nose it was gross but cute!

Then fill your muffin tins (I used the paper liners). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let them cool.

Directions for the frosting:

Combine brown sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cupcakes.

What's Bloomin' in Oxford

I just wanted to post a few pictures of the flowers blooming at our house. I've seeded a bunch of different flowers this year and I am waiting to see how they turn out. I do have a few that have started to bloom already like my petunias, Sweet Williams, impatients, day lilies, milkweed, lantanas, & Gerber daisies. I've put four o'clocks, daliahs, & sunflowers in the ground and I am anxiously awaiting their blooms. I was out trimming some of my old blooms off my two rose bushes today and I thought I would take some pictures of what is blooming right now.

Garden goodies

We've been busy with our garden the last few days. Tonight Craig and I snapped beans and it reminded me of my childhood. My sister & I spent many summers at my Granny's house working in the garden and sitting on the porch snapping beans and shelling peas. There is something about putting a seed in the ground and watching it grow and produce. Enjoying and sharing the fruit of your labor is so rewarding. It feels good to stock my freezer full of garden goodies and give away veggies to neighbor's and friends.

Mother's Day

I wanted to do a little tribute for Mother's Day to two amazing women in my life. My mother and my mother-in-law. God has placed these two holy, precious, role models in my life and I am so thankful for that blessing.

To my mom,

I love you and I am so thankful you are my "Mama". You have taught me, through your actions, what a good mother should be. I will never forget the morning prayers before we hopped on the school bus as an young girl, the patience you showed me through my rotten teen years, and the advice and support you have given me as an adult. I would not be who I am today without you. I only hope I can raise my daughter with the same level of patience and love that you raised me with. I honestly don't know how you raised three girls, oh the drama and hormones! But you did and you did an incredible job if I do say so myself!

To my mother-in-law,

I am very thankful to have you in my life as well. The way you tenderly adore your grandchildren makes my heart ache with love for you. You raised three incredible boys and I only hope I can be a mother to my boys the way you were to yours. If Connor & Cooper turn out as good as your boys then I will be a blessed woman. Thank you for accepting me into your family as a daughter, I am honored!

Happy Mother's Day to you both!

A Walk in the Park

We did a little family photo shoot today at Sholom Park in Ocala. Beautiful park!!! Lori Behr took the pictures and they are AMAZING!! We had planned on getting there quite a bit earlier but we had a last minute change of plans and ended up taking the Yukon up to a mechanic so he could fix some electrical problems for us for free. God has blessed us in many ways lately. We had our Yukon fixed for free because of a friend of a friend, we had some beautiful pictures taken of our family for free. Although it took us about two hours to get to Ocala because the battery kept dying on us and we would have to stop and charge it, our Yukon is fixed and ready for us. I still have to go through all the hundreds of pictures Lori took today but I wanted to post a few of my favorites!!

Thank you to all the friends and family who allow God to use you to bless our family.