Heartbroken...

I have heard news that Miss Linda a sweet lady from bible study is in the last days of her battle with cancer. I am heartbroken as I already miss her sweet face on Tuesday mornings. She is a strong Christian lady and I know she will be with our Lord soon. Please pray for her family as I know they will miss her dearly.

Flat Stanley Project..

A little friend from back home who is now a big third grader sent Aidan a Flat Stanley as part of a school project. We had to take pictures and send them to him so that he could write about them for school. Aidan had a bit of fun with this and the picture turned out pretty cute so I thought we would share them as well. We took a picture of Stanley with Aidan in the snow right away because at the time it was nearly 70 degrees and melting quickly. They don't get much snow in the DFW area. Then on another day of nice weather we took pictures at school and the playground. Flat Stanley will be with us a few more days before he is sent south again. I hope he enjoyed his northern adventure.

Yay!

Things went much better this afternoon that I had anticipated. Aidan was a little disappointed that W could not play today, but I was told I could send him over tomorrow. I am not sure that will work out because we had loosely talked about doing something, but W's Mom was very happy to let the boys play next week. Aidan otherwise was invited to play this afternoon so everything I was worried about seems fine. The power of prayer during a drive up to the mall in Green Bay! I took Ainsley this morning to finally get her 4 year old pictures made. So cute! I am not sure I can scan and post those due to copyright issues, but some of you will get to see them I am sure. More later!

Pray for Aidan today...

I have my concerns about how this afternoon and the playdate situation is going to go. Some things have come up this week and I just pray that Aidan will not be too heartbroken if things go as I think they will. I am trying to not make this about me and take things personally. He just takes social issues so hard. I don't remember things being this hard when I was young but maybe it was and I just don't remember. Sorry to be vague, but this has weighed on my mind for a few days.

A little AInsley...

I posted several pictures of Aidan yesterday so I thought I needed to include Ainsley for equal billing. Ainsley had parent teacher conference this week. For 4 years old she is doing really well in school. The only thing that needs work is her use of scissors. I had this same problem with Aidan, not a big deal just needs more practice. I have trouble getting her to hold them correctly so that is part of her problem. She has improved since they evaluated her officially, but it is something that still needs work. Nothing major. She tends to stick with her favorite buddy as well, so they are trying to encourage her to play with the other kids more as well. All in all good report. I did ask about her listening and following directions, something that we struggle with at home. Apparently at school this is something that she does very well which was good to hear.


When we were out of town a few weeks ago we hit an outlet mall right near the resort we stayed at. I came across a pair of shoes there for Ainsley that I had seen before but did not want to pay full price for. They were on sale and she just loves them! Of course sparkles for my sparkly girl...

Also, I have to include a picture that Daddy took not too long ago when Ainsley got to accompany Aidan to a scout outing. They had gone to a fire station where B's poker buddies get together to play so B was friends with all the volunteer firemen giving the tour. Cool for Ainsley.
My dear friend Miss J always calls Ainsley a little pixie and this picture of her face reminds me of that for some reason. She is my itty bitty! Later Taters!

Oh by the way, I finally took my sewing machine in for service at a local shop and am shocked as to what it is going to cost me. Anyway, I hope they can fix it so I can get back to work. My cousin just had a baby so my baby quilt list gets longer by the day.

It is not often you enjoy a letter from the Principal...

Aidan wanted this so badly and has worked very hard. I am so proud.

Aidan's Map...

Aidan has been collecting state quarters since my parents gave him one of those collectors maps a few years ago. Going through change we got all caught up recently and were only lacking one quarter...Hawaii. My parents happened to come across it and sent it to Aidan in the mail. It arrived yesterday. The screams of joy are something I would not have believed. Aidan was so excited to have finished his map! I will say that map has been an excellent teaching tool. He knows all the states and where they are and can recognize them by shape. I am pretty impressed that he has gotten so much out of this map. Later Taters!

Cholesterol...

Well, what I have been doing has been working. All my levels have improved except for one and that one is being affected by some pills I am taking. I am going to go back in another 6 months have another blood test and see where we are. The bc pills are keeping the migraines at bay mostly, but I may have to switch to the narcotics and beta blockers rather than risk heart disease int he future. Ahh, well. A side benefit is that they help keep my skin clear which I have struggled with again since Ainsley was born. Ahh well. At least all my other levels have improved significantly which means what I have been doing is making a huge difference. That is something to smile about.

Lazy lazy lazy...

I have been so lazy! I can't seem to get myself to blogging. I sit here and have nothing much to say. I have pictures that I still have to work on. Maybe I will get to them in the morning. I am trying sometimes successfully to spend less time tooting around on the computer. B was sick last week and then went out Friday night with people from work and sort of got worse again. We had the babysitter for Saturday night and had a nice evening out. Relatively early since I had nursery duty in the morning. This morning I had my redraw on my cholesterol level. I should hear about that tomorrow. Then the rest of the day kind of went down hill. I was tired so I dozed on the couch while Ainsley watched Dragon Tales and Martha on PBS. Then I forced myself up to work at the church and then head to school to pick up the little man. I got almost no laundry done and for that I will pay tomorrow. I think the drearyness of the rain just got to me. We all had trouble getting out of bed this morning. Okay...tomorrow morning I will work on pictures and then head to bible study. Another friend of mine just lost her job as a teacher! Keep her in your prayers as well if you would. Weird post, but I just wanted you all to know I was still here, just having some writer's block. Anyway, more another day.

I have spread the wealth...

we had a great time at the Dells. All came home exhausted and now B is sick with my cold. It started yesterday. I am still pooped and trying to catch up on sleep to no avail. One day I will feel less tired. I started up my vitamins again in case it is the anemia catching up with me again which sometimes happens. I have pictures still on my camera as usual. I also have a picture project with Aidan to work on as an old friend from home sent us a Flat Stanley to go on some adventures. We took a picture of him in the snow right away since it has been melting significantly in the last few days. Can I say I am loving this warmer weather! We actually walked home from school the last few days since it has been so nice. The kids are itching to play at the school playground after school, but I think we still need to give that a while as the field is a swamp right now. I know it can still snow in April around here, but I am seriously going to put away some of the snow gear that I am sick of looking at. Well, I am off to finish dinner so more another day.

Headed to the Dells...

I am still sick, but we are going. I am armed with my pharmacy and hoping for the best. The kids are bouncing off the walls so they will have fun at least. I am hoping they will let me sleep during the road trip. Or probably not...

Oh the sniffles have arrived...

with a vengance for me just before our long weekend away. Isn't that the luck! I have 3 whole days to get better. I know I can do it. Any tried and true home remedies?

I took an easy morning this morning...

I was concerned about the roads really after all the snow and wind yesterday. We were so lazy we even missed church. Actually, my plan was originally to go to a later service because of the time change and having friends over late on Saturday. Needless to say my plan was thwarted by the weather. Ack! Today is beautiful and sunny and you would never know how awful yesterday looked except for the fresh layer of snow covering the ice from the previous few days snow melt. So, in taking an easy morning, I skipped going to the grocery store. I will make a stop later this afternoon, but I only need to pick up a few staples as we will be heading out for a long weekend this Friday. Hopefully, I will come back with pictures! I finally got photos downloaded this weekend and even put a few on my FB profile page. I need to get some up on here, but I can leave you all with one today. My handsome men...

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Originally from our local newspaper...

1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup very ripe bananas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips


In a large bowl beat the egg. Add the buttermilk, mashed bananas, oil, vanilla and blend. Sift together four, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and blend. Fry pancakes as usual on a griddle. Drop a few chocolate chips on top of each pancake before flipping them. Makes about 8 pancakes.

New Suit

I went with my sister's suggestion and got some board shorts. Probably not a nice as hers, but they will do for that amount of swimming that I actually do. Pretty cute though...something that I think I can live with for a while anyway.

I will post my banana chocolate chip recipe later today. Right now I am off to make some cookies with Ainsley.

Can I please also ask my dear friends to pray for one of my bloggy friends? Too many people I know have lost jobs lately and this sweet family is included. Thank you so much.

Pancake dinner...

Tonight we had a pancakes for dinner. B is out entertaining plant visitors and I just did not feel up to arguing with anyone to eat their dinner. So, pancakes for dinner. Now my children have become very spoiled in this area. I can not just make pancakes from a box...I have to make special pancakes from scratch. Pumpkin pie pancakes, chocolate chocolate chip pancakes, and for tonight it was banana chocolate chip. My personal fave due to my current obsession with bananas. I can e-mail or post the recipe if anyone wants it...just let me know.

So here I am with nothing more interesting to write about other than what we had for dinner. Some days I can think of tons to write about. Maybe I need to get some inspiration from pictures. My camera is loaded with things...blue and gold banquet, B covered in attic insulation from a recent project, kids artwork. I need to get off my tush and into something more creative. I haven't even worked on cross-stitch projects or quilt projects in weeks! I need to do something. Seriously.

On a lighter note, we decided to bite the bullet and make a weekend trip in a week and a half now to a resort in the Dells to break the winter doldrums. The only thing stressing me out now is that I am in need of a new swimsuit. My other will work if I can't find anything, but requires a repair to the seam. I have been putting this off for a few weeks now, but I think I am going to head to Kohl's on Thursday. Oh I am dreading it.

Remaining to do today....

1. Work at church for an hour or so.
2. Shuffle laundry.
3. Pick up kiddo and deal with after school battle.
4. Ask kiddos to make birthday cards.
5. Encourage kiddos to clean their rooms. \
6. Vacuum floor.
7. Shuffle laundry.
8. Make dinner.
9. Make time and have creativity to write a real blog post...priceless.


Me time tonight required...I have to re-work this schedule as Monday's are becoming too much.